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When you think of a fully custom cruiser, it’s usually something along the lines of a shaved and slammed early 40s Mercury, painted flat black with vibrant flames. Rarely, if ever, do we see something from the late 40s-era Mercs turned into the afore-mentioned street cruiser. The reason behind this is pretty simple. It’s because the late 40s Mercs are fairly ugly from the factory. However, Goran Lassell from San Jose, California has changed all that.
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What started life as a run-of-the-mill 1948 Mercury Coupe has been totally transformed into one of the slickest cars on the road today. It all began when Goran bought the ’48 as an empty shell. The only thing installed on the empty car was a Mustang II suspension. A few months later and the first iteration of the Merc had a 383 stroker bolted up to a turbo 350 and air suspension.
The interior was almost entirely empty except a seat for Goran to pilot the massive Mercury with. After driving the car for a while, Goran had a chance encounter with Jesse Miller at Sacramento Kustoms [3]. Before long the Mercury underwent surgery and came out sporting a whole new look. The top was chopped, the trunk bobbed, and the rear fenders were welded on for that seamless, flowing body and sexy curves.
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Another smooth trick are the grille and headlights. Those came courtesy of a ’46 Buick for the grille and ’53 Buick headlights. The front bumper comes from a ’50 Mercury and the bumper guard is from a ’55 Chrysler. On the inside, you’ll notice a bench seat from a ’46 Ford wrapped in a chocolate and pepper brown combo. Even the steering wheel is from a different car and came out of a 1940 Lincoln.
The dash is a slick custom-fitted piece from a ’50 Ford. With all the hard work and extensive customization of this clean ’48; one thing we can all be assured – Goran has proved that a car might start off as an ugly duckling, but with the right coaxing, it can definitely become a beautiful swan.