Stallone "Cobra" '50 Mercury

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Mar-ko
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Stallone "Cobra" '50 Mercury

Post by Mar-ko »

Does anybody know what engine the '50 Mercury in the Stallone movie "Cobra" has?
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low n loud
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Post by low n loud »

I beleive it was a tunnel rammed small block chev, T350 and olds rear end
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Post by low n loud »

I beleive it was a tunnel rammed small block chev, T350 and olds rear end
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Post by HYPORX »

I googled this answer:
It was a 1950 Mercury Monterey custom. "Built for the Sylvester Stallone movie Cobra (1986) by noted Hollywood customizer Dean Bryant, this Mercury was later updated with new paint, upholstery and other details for the Nicolas Cage movie Gone in 60 Seconds 2 (2000), in which it was prominently featured. The low silhouette and gently rounded contours of these 'James Dean Mercs' evoke feelings of nostalgia that appeal to both customizers and movie producers wishing to recall a well-remembered part of the past.

This beautifully proportioned coupe received its radical custom treatment by noted San Francisco Bay Area customizer, Joe Bailon, during the late 1950s. Credited with formulating the first 'candy apple' paint finish, Bailon chopped the top and shaved the body for then-owner Frank Morini. First painted candy apple red and equipped with a 283 cubic inch Chevrolet engine, the custom Mercury was later repainted black by Bailon and fitted with a powerful and reliable 327 cubic inch Chevrolet engine in the 1960s. The chopped Mercury was discovered near Lake Arrowhead after sitting idle for many years and retains its original lustrous lacquer finish applied by Bailon more than thirty years ago.
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Mar-ko
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Post by Mar-ko »

Thanks guys
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Post by rog »

now that's a car i can relate to.. and sounded so sweet too :wink:
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Post by rowie »

Well colour me stupid!

I always thought it was a custom 49, happy to learn something new.

I always loved that car.

But this movie "Gone in 60 Seconds 2" never heard of it!
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Post by chopper »

The '50 Merc featured in "Cobra" actually consisted of 4 cars built by customiser Eddie Paul, all in varied conditions, appearance, and mechanicals. The one that endured the most close ups is in Stallone's possession and ran a small block Chevy, another was used for interior shots, and two for stunt scenes. These were wrecked, one breaking in two after a jump and injuring the stuntman, which got Stallone on Eddie Paul's case!
I was commisioned to build a clone for one of my customers a long time ago, luckily I was able to convince him not to go with the hood scoop! Power scoops don't have a place in kustoms :roll:
During the build I was talking with John Couw, and he told me some fascinating things conserning the "Cobra" Merc, which unfortunately I can't divulge, and will keep to myself.
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Post by rog »

the remake of the origional gone in 60 seconds... aka, gone in 60 seconds 2.. :wink: the nick cage movie :roll: :lol: :lol:
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Post by rowie »

rog wrote:the remake of the origional gone in 60 seconds... aka, gone in 60 seconds 2.. :wink: the nick cage movie :roll: :lol: :lol:
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Well it looks like I need to watch that again, I don't remember a Merc in it, I remember lots of others.
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Post by Pontiac Jack »

HYPORX wrote:I googled this answer:
It was a 1950 Mercury Monterey custom. "Built for the Sylvester Stallone movie Cobra (1986) by noted Hollywood customizer Dean Bryant, this Mercury was later updated with new paint, upholstery and other details for the Nicolas Cage movie Gone in 60 Seconds 2 (2000), in which it was prominently featured. The low silhouette and gently rounded contours of these 'James Dean Mercs' evoke feelings of nostalgia that appeal to both customizers and movie producers wishing to recall a well-remembered part of the past.

This beautifully proportioned coupe received its radical custom treatment by noted San Francisco Bay Area customizer, Joe Bailon, during the late 1950s. Credited with formulating the first 'candy apple' paint finish, Bailon chopped the top and shaved the body for then-owner Frank Morini. First painted candy apple red and equipped with a 283 cubic inch Chevrolet engine, the custom Mercury was later repainted black by Bailon and fitted with a powerful and reliable 327 cubic inch Chevrolet engine in the 1960s. The chopped Mercury was discovered near Lake Arrowhead after sitting idle for many years and retains its original lustrous lacquer finish applied by Bailon more than thirty years ago.
Where did this (mis)info come from?
It's wildly inaccurate!

Chopper has the correct info.

Cheers,PJ

PS: Who's Dean Bryant???? :shock:
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Post by aussie56 »

I read in an article (I'll have to dig out the mag) that the movie studio commissioned a guy to build 4 of them for the movie and once he was finished they didn't pay him and actually stole one of the cars and the others were wrecked in the movie. Not sure if this is 100% correct so I will look for the magazine it was in and double check.
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aussie56
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Post by aussie56 »

The original cars for the movie were made by Eddie Paul and here's a tidbit I found on the net. I do remember that one of the cars was stolen from a storage yard.

The Mercury comes with a particularly interesting story. It is one of four Mercurys Paul built for the movie, an action-thriller that involved a lot of gunfire and wreckage. In the movie, the car was used in a highspeed highway chase scene in which a stuntman made a spectacular 180-degree spin backwards and then spun it back around. Bullet holes were shot into the trunk during the scene. The movie subsequently took it to Venice Beach, Calif., where it was used to jump canals.

"It took some pretty bad abuse," Paul said.

If that wasn't enough to destroy it, consider what happened after the film. Someone bought it off a junk yard, restored it and ran it two years in the Carrera PanAmerican race in Mexico, one o€ the most grueling races in the world. At same point, it also went to the harsh Bonneville Salt flats for land-speed trials. Paul said he believes it once was in the hands of the Hell’s Angels also.

“It’s been all over the country. I’m amazed he tracked it down. I know I knew I was never going to see it again.”

The business man had seen one of the four cars in 1986 but couldn’t buy it at the time. After 16 years of searching, a friend alerted him in 2002 that one of the Mercs was being offered on Ebay, and he jumped at the chance. He flew to Washington state, where the car had been garaged for 12 years, looked it over, had it authenticated and bought it.

Later, he met with Paul and arranged for the car to be put back in movie condition. After nearly 20 years, Paul couldn't remember all the details that went into building the car, so the businessman sat down with a copy of the movie and examined it frame by frame and made notes and photographs.

"A funny thing I tell people it took two weeks to make the Merc for the movie, 10 seconds for them to wreck it and me two years to put it back together again," Paul said.

The car is chopped 1 ½ inches, has a roll cage and a 350 Chevy supercharged, nitrous powered engine that can churn out over 600 horsepower. The engine was shot when Paul started rebuilding the car, so the businessman had a new one made from scratch in Lynchburg.

Paul was skeptical when the studio making "Cobra" wanted 1950 Mercurys for the film. He wasn't sure he could find four 36-year-old Mercs, but a buddy who has a junk yard on the West Coast had them in the driveway of Paul's El Segundo shop in about two days.

Paul finished rebuilding the car in early June and had it shipped to Virginia. Its appearance at the car show on the Market will be its first public viewing ever as the "Cobra" car or "Awsom 50 car," as it is also known because of the movie license plate - AWSOM 50.

"The movie makes it look virtually indestructible, and this car has actually been virtually indestructible," its owner said.


This was from an article that Eddie Paul wrote, it might be right or wrong or differ to what "Chopper" has but he is not divlging. :D
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Post by aussie56 »

Another bit of the story for you......

The producers of "Cobra," for instance, went bankrupt and took advantage of a lot of people--I was one of them. When we did the movie, they gave me a down payment, and I built seven 1950 Mercs. But after the movie, because I'd heard about their financial troubles, I'd told them, 'I'm keeping the cars until you pay the balance of what you owe me." And they were, like, "Oh, yeah, yeah. No problem.' So they told me they were bringing a check and a transporter for the cars. The driver came into my office and said, "I know you’re not going to release these cars until you’re paid, so here are the keys to my transporter. I'm just supposed to wait here until the accountant brings the check down. But could you do me a favor and line up the cars--I need to load 'em up quickly once he gets here.' So we lined 'em up, and then I got a phone call: My secretary said, "It’s the accountant with the check. He's lost. And he insists on talking to you.' So I took the call, and he started asking me all these weird questions-- "I'm on this street, I'm on that street:' And while I was talking to him, I heard a noise out front. So I put the phone down and ran outside, and all the cars were speeding around the comer. The truck was a decoy. They had a bunch of drivers hiding who came up and told my guys they were supposed to load up the cars-that I gave the okay-then they hopped in the cars and drove off. They stole the cars, and there was nothing I could do. The police just said it was a civil matter.
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Post by rog »

rowie wrote:
rog wrote:the remake of the origional gone in 60 seconds... aka, gone in 60 seconds 2.. :wink: the nick cage movie :roll: :lol: :lol:
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Well it looks like I need to watch that again, I don't remember a Merc in it, I remember lots of others.
out front of the casino.. has "dean" on the plates i think.. :D
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