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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Mercury Discussion / 40 Mercury Clock

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Discussion Topic: 40 Mercury Clock

jerandbee

09-10-2014 @ 9:06 PM

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Just got back from the Thousand Oaks, CA. meet and the judges knocked off a point or two because the clock was inoperable. Looks great and wired in but not running. As I remember they were a pretty good battery draw. Anyone know who might repair or rebuild with quartz movement for zero point loss next year?
Any help would be most appreciated.

Jerry Luthin

len47merc

09-11-2014 @ 5:59 AM

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Quality sources for this are found in the Early Ford Club's V8 Times as well as Hemmings Motor News. Quartz conversion services while logical can be costly (~$250-$400+). Recently when having a mid-1800's mantle clock cleaned the clock smith looked at a similar clock ('47 Merc) for me and recommended a local source who specializes in smaller movements including automotive (local only, no national advertising). Upon arriving at the source's shop I found quite the eccentric with his home shop full of electro-mechanical vintage/collectible auto clocks from the 40's - 60's. In the end his pricing was roughly half that of the national sources for complete rebuilds with either quartz conversions or to original standards including new bushings, pivots and/or points. Lead time was the only problem at 4 months minimum but I fortunately had a work-around. Suggest you pursue both routes before making your decision.

For benchmarking, my clock was fully disassembled, cleaned, all pivots polished, 2 bushings were drilled out/new ones lathed, refabricated, polished and installed, the points resurfaced, reassembled/lubricated for $175, all by this source. National sources were $300 and up minimum for similar service, sometimes just for taking their first look. Many national sources indicated to me they did not have the capability to personally replace bushings and lathe new ones if required and would have to outsource the same (i.e., more $$$'s).

As the wise man said, it's only original once - if you only have the clock operating when driving the car (i.e., battery disconnected otherwise) your car's clock with a quality restoration to its original movement will more than likely outlive you. Personally I like hearing the winding every 4 minutes or so as well as the 'tick tick tick'. In response to the 'battery draw' concern, the clock only requires a miniscule shot of electrons every 4 minutes or so when the points close. To satisfy my own curiosity on this I tested mine by leaving the battery connected (something I never do) over the month of August when the car was idled and not driven due to the hot weather here. Cranking it the first week of September was not a problem and by the time I was out of the neighborhood the 'AMP' gauge showed the battery had already fully recovered. Testing the battery with a multimeter confirmed the same. Given both this result and the battery being routinely disconnected after each drive and sometimes during overnight tours this is not a concern now - consider this urban legend to have been debunked (at least for this '47).

Have to defer to others for specific national source recommendations. PM me if you are interested in this seasoned NC source with long lead times.

Steve

This message was edited by len47merc on 9-11-14 @ 6:23 AM

TomO

09-11-2014 @ 7:02 AM

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Jerry,

The clocks are pretty sturdy and unless you intend to use it for Road Rally's can usually put back in service by just spraying the works with a tuner cleaner available from Radio Shack. Do NOT direct a blast directly at the balance wheel as you will have to have the clock rebuilt.

Open the case and look at the contact points, if they are closed, you can try cleaning the contacts and using a lantern battery test the clock. If it winds and operates, just clean it. If it doesn't, then send it out to be repaired.

If the points are open, give the clock a gentle shake to see if it will run. If it does, clean and test it with the lantern battery. I like to let them run for a week on the battery before re-assembling the clock.

The 40 Merc clock location is very convenient. I remove the clock fuse and disconnect the POS cable of the battery when I park the car for more than an overnight stay. As long as the car is in use, it will not drain your battery.

How did you enjoy the meet?

Tom

This message was edited by TomO on 9-11-14 @ 7:03 AM

jerandbee

09-11-2014 @ 10:54 AM

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Thank you for all your great comments Tom - the Thousand Oaks meet was super. Met some wonderful folks from all over and saw about 300 outstanding cars - everyone was so nice and friendly. And, thanks to your beautiful door handles and cranks the car got 989 points and a Dearborn award. Heading to Hershey next month and hope to find a proper horn relay and some 2 ring H-10 spark plugs.
Jerry

jerandbee

09-11-2014 @ 10:56 AM

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Hi Steve,
Thank you for the great clock answers. I would greatly appreciated the name of your North Carolina clock expert. I will contact him and make arrangements to send it to him.

All the information was most helpful.

Jerry Luthin

TomO

09-12-2014 @ 6:02 AM

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How about posting a couple of photos of your car?

Tom

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