Merc of the Year 2011 – also Stromberg Equipped!

You’ve got to love Ron House of Lake Grove, NY. I mean, he doesn’t just love customs. I mean he LOVES KUSTOMS. So for Ron, life doesn’t get much better than winning Merc of the Year at The James Dean Run 2011. At the 2012 event, his ’50 Merc convertible will appear on all the event T-shirts, Hats, Jackets and Sweat Shirts. As he said, “My Merc came together better than I ever dreamed and being the 2012 T-Shirt Merc was the frosting on the cake.”

Ron’s a real ‘Back in the day” kinda guy and for him a Full House Flathead means bored, stroked, hi-compression aluminum heads, full race cam, hot ignition, exhaust headers, dual exhaust and of course, a triple deuce manifold. So in August 2010 his fabricator Anthony Bordonaro (aka The Kustom Kid) contracted Gary Sharkey at The Engine Shop, Babylon, New York to build exactly that. And we’re talking…are you sitting down?… “Full House Flathead”, 294 cubic inches, Edelbrock High-Lift large chamber heads (PN 1116), 3 5/16 Ross pistons, 4.250 Eagle crankshaft, Scat con-rods, Isky 88 Full Race cam, Sanderson tubular headers (PN FH1) with Stainless Specialties custom 2.250 tubing, mufflers and exhaust tips, Power Gen alternator, Power Master XS Torque starter and an MSD electronic distributor (PN 8573). The cooling system is a Griffin Radiator with high flow rebuilt water pumps and 160 degree Robert Shaw balanced sleeve thermostats. Naturally, the whole motor was  balanced, blue-printed and dyno tested.

Did I mention the tripower? I have now. Edelbrock 3×2 intake manifold (PN 1109) with new Genuine Stromberg 97 carburetors, TwoStep fuel line and progressive linkage kit, with a trick Kustom Kid fabbed throttle set-up.

On September 14, 2011, Ron headed West in the Merc for a 2200 mile road trip, taking in  The Rebel Run (Lima Ohio), Henry Ford Museum (Dearborn, Michigan), The Ducktail Run (Gas City, Indiana) and The James Dean Run (Fairmount, Indiana). The flathead V-8 performed flawlessly, the Convert received great reviews, winning awards along the way,  before arriving at The James Dean Run. A dream come true.

Ron told us, “I just came from Anthony’s and he stated my tripower 97 setup needed no jetting changes. He just wired the chokes open on the front and rear carbs, and did all the fine adjusting on the center carb. He also ran an Aeromotive pressure regulator with a return gas line to the tank, so he could adjust the pressure at a steady three pounds. This Full House Flathead (294 CI) runs super with your 97s. I had to pull this heavy Merc over some big mountains in PA, but no problems. When I needed that extra push, the other two carbs would kick in and this Turnpike Cruiser Merc ran like a superstar. The Stromberg 97s were the key to success for my Full House Flathead.”….Rave on, Ron! Enjoy the pics.