Options Going Forward

There are a number of ways to move forward with this project. We will attempt to list five four overall possibilities and then branch out from there.

Option #1

This was our original plan from the start. We had planned on purchasing a “donor” 47-48 Mercury Sedan, one such as this one pictured, with gobs of well aged patine oozing out of every crevice and using that car as the “new” body for the Marmon-Herrington chassis. Unfortunately that might not be as easy as first thought. The location where we’d originally planned on performing the body swap was not made available. So the search for a work location continues on, as well as the search for a donor body.

Option #2

Our second option is to simply locate a donor body and present the pair as a viable option for someone else to take on the next steps themselves. This holds both good and not so good sides. While it eliminates the need for a “work” location, at the same time neither does it get us to where we were originally headed which was a rebodied 1948 Mercury Marmon-Herrington chassis. Even if only running & driving well enough for a trip around the block. A dream for the past 30 years has been to drive a Marmon-Herrington of our own, even if only for a short time.

It does however eliminate the need to either perform the “body swap” ourselves or having to pay someone else to perform the task. That could well end up being a huge savings right there.

Option #3

This is where it begins to get interesting. And by interesting we mean that at this stage it might be time to include a fellow adventurer. Let’s say we handled the M-H chassis side of things. We have ours repaired, transmission, front & rear ends resealed, prepped/painted, refreshed brake system, all new fluids, etc. and ready for a new donor body to be installed.

Keep in mind this has a number of ways in which to move forward. For example Option #3A could include a “partner” supplying not simply a “base” donor body(one needing lots of work) but instead what if it were an already restored 47-48 Mercury Sedan. One that didn’t require a paint job or any restoration to speak of. At that point “we’re” only a body swap away from an amazing M-H Sedan. Or combine the pair “as is” and sell them as a cool combo. Both pieces of the puzzle already there, some assembly required. The potential there would be undeniable and easy to see.

On a side note, the big question here is where and how to come up with the funding for the labor to perform the body swap once a fine “no restoration necessary” example has been secured. Do partners “split” the load. Do we bring in a third partner to fund the body swap. That’s another path to the as yet unknown. At least it’s a distinct possibility.

Option #4

This is where it’s all leading to and perhaps the best way to work this entire endeavor. Start at the desired end result and work backwards from there. Our end goal in this entire Carventure is to move the M-H Sedan into a Collector’s hands. As much as we’d enjoy hanging onto it forever, I’m afraid it’s simply out of our league. At least the “finished” version is anyway.

So with that in mind perhaps we should present this opportunity to a potential Buyer while the project is in its earliest stages. Let the Buyer decide how he/she would like to proceed. Chances are they would prefer more of a “restored” appearance as opposed to a “needs everything, could take a while to restore” patina version. And who could blame them. We would likely want the same thing if we were on the other side of this. Instant gratification. Which means the previous rebody(if we were to have gone that route) would have been a complete waste of both money and time.

We also wouldn’t have a problem approaching this from more of a Project Manager’s standpoint. Being there to help facilitate its forward progress until completion. At least we would get to be along for the ride as it were, journaling every step of the way, and that’s most of the fun in this anyway.

Option #5

There is always Option #5 and that is to simply admit defeat, declare it to be just too much of a project to even begin to take on, sell the ’48 Marmon-Herrington Sedan “as is” and walk away. But what fun would that be. Not to mention the huge regret we would feel knowing just how close we were to driving our own M-H and rather than get tough and make it happen, we walked away, head slumped in defeat fueled regret.

So no, that’s actually not an option after all. Scratch #5 from the list. From the start of this endeavor giving up has always been last on the list, if even on the list at all. We have to improve this situation in one way or another and as time goes on we have a distinct feeling the “path” will begin to show itself more and more. We’ve already met people and made unexpected connections. People we never would’ve met had it not been for taking this Carventure on. Who knows what the future holds. All we know is we’re anxious to find out.

Even better yet it now appears that we may very well be reconnecting with long time friends. People we’d lost contact with decades ago. It’s almost as if this entire “project” was meant to be. Set up by the Universe from the very start. A way of not only allowing us to live our dream of owning a post war late ’40’s Marmon-Herrington AWD conversion, but also to reconnect with old friends from our past. Something we should’ve done anyway. Isn’t it funny how the Universe works. Perhaps they were right when they said “Everything happens for a reason.”