1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Custom

Imagine wandering the back alleys of Hollywood in the early days post WWII and looking for an old Ford or Mercury to turn into a custom to cruise the Los Angeles automobile scene and for the right price. All that you manage to actually find is a derelict 1937 Mercedes 540K that has seen better days. It is missing its supercharged engine, wire wheels and much of its trim — and you are amazed it didn’t get dragged off and be recycled during one of the infamous “scrap drives” that happened in the USA during WWII and which many a Duesenberg or classic car met its final demise. But the price of the Mercedes is right as who would want an old German car that is out of style and not very politically correct anymore. You drag it home and stuff a Ford flathead V8 with a Ford transmission within. Given the missing engine side panels, you make a new set of “smooth” panels and install. You bump out those funky coachbuilder creases in the fenders to make them flow better and fix all the dents. Of course you had to lower it with a bit of speedboat rear drag, single bar hubcaps, aftermarket hot rod headlights, swap the front bumper, add fresh paint and put that California license plate on it before heading off to cruise…