http://www.oldcarsweekly.com August29, 2019 ❘ 9Sound Your Horn
A rainbow of Sun Valley Mercs
In the March
7 issue of Old
Cars, there is an
article showing
a Mercury Sun
Valley in black
with a white
top. I believe
this is not a col-
or combination
that the factory
produced on
this model of
car. I also believe the left front door post would list the color
or colors in which that car was painted when new; if you check
the door post, you can verify whether one or two color codes
are listed.
In a Feb. 19, 1954, bulletin issued by Ford Motor Co., there
was a note to all dealers that Mercury would offer special-
order availability for Sun Valleys in black, white or green.
There was no indication of any two-tone special-order option
in these colors.
I once had one of the dealer bulletins, but it has gotten
away from me. However, since I have owned an all-black
Mercury Sun Valley since 1983, I’ve been interested in them
as collector cars for more than 30 years. My Sun Valley is
original and unrestored, and has been awarded the Historic
Preservation of Original Features by the Antique Automobile
Club of America, and they determined my car was more than
80 percent original and unrestored.
I’ve been a subscriber to Old Cars for many yearsandlook
forward to receiving it each week. Thearticlesandpicturesare always interesting, and I think you and your staff for help-
ing to sustain the hobby.
Norman Abston Willard, OhioEditor’s note: Indeed, the owners of the 1954 Mercury Sun
Valley featured in Old Cars elected to paint their car black
and white during an earlier restoration, which was briefl y
mentioned in the article. Mr. Abston was kind enough to send
a photocopy of the original multi-page bulletin featuring the
Sun Valley, which we have scanned and posted to http://www.oldcars
weekly.com. To view the bulletin on http://www.oldcarsweekly.com
search “1954 Mercury Sun Valley.”Showing off the new-for-’49 Fords
The article and photos from Jim Burwell showing the new
1949 Fords in the July 18 Old Cars brought back my own
memories of the new ’49 Fords. My dad, Phil Miller, owned
and operated Miller Motor Sales, the Ford agency in Upland,
Ind., just a few miles from Jim Burwell’s Elwood location.
Dad received two ’49 cars for the new car “showing.” We kept
them hidden in the basement garage at our home in Upland.
Special friends were taken down to our basement to see
the cars before the showing. The night before the showing, the
cars were driven the fi ve blocks, in the dark, to the dealership
and put in the showroom for the public showing the next day.
The “stands” under the rear axle of the car in the show-
room pictured in Burwell’s images look just like the ones that
we used in our garage until my dad passed away in 1968. They
were made from Model T rear ends that had been unbolted and
each half of the rear end was used as the base; the axle shaft
housing was split and the ends were used to form a base for
axle housings. They were very solid and safe.
EdMille Upland,Ind.Donald Hein is hard to miss
when he rolls down the
streets of Bethlehem, Pa.,
behind the wheel of his
glorious 1974 Chrysler New
Yorker. This isn’t your
average ‘74 New Yorker; it’s
the St. Regis model that the
factory fancied up with the
nose from an Imperial and
fi tted with a “St. Regis” vinyl
top. Hein has added aftermar-
ket Cragar gold-spoked wire
wheels.A t 29 2019 ❘ 9p
Reader
Wheels