This 1950 Mercury was purchased new by Wally Welsh and taken to the Ayala Brothers, Gil and Al, for customizing. The top was chopped, head and taillights frenched, frame c-ed, door handles removed and solenoids installed. All emblems were removed and DeSoto grille teeth installed in the frenched shell. The Merc was finished in Metallic Lime Green. As one of the first chopped Mercs, the car was considered one of the top ten radical customs of the 50's. It was featured in several magazines and was awarded the Best Custom title at the 1951 Pan Pacific Autorama. In late 1951, Wally took the car to Barris Kustoms where two teeth were added to the grille and it was refinished in deep-deep purple. It was then named Purple Rage.
In 1953, Purple Rage was sold. Its second owner enjoyed it for two years, then Uncle Sam called. The car was placed in storage where it remained for thirty years. In 1985, it was found and purchased by its former owner Joe Eddy who began a 3 year restoration. The car was stripped to bare metal and the body massaged where necessary. The running gear was rebuilt and updated with a Chevy 400 engine. Turbo-hydro transmission, 9 inch Ford rearend and power steering. All chrome was replaced and, in 1987, Purple Rage was reborn, glistening in a lustrous new coating of Candy Grape.
In 2004 the Mercury was sold again and will now be restored in its former Lime green/gold Ayala version.

Click here to see the Barris Version:
http://public.fotki.com/Rikster/11_car_photos/beautiful_custom_cars/barris-1/wally_welch_49_merc/