1923 MERCER SERIES 6 SPORTING

Details

With the exception of a stillborn 1931 prototype, the Series 6 represents the final Mercer model and, with it, the end of one of the greatest names in early American motoring. It was produced during the famous Trenton, NJ, manufacturer's final three years, during which time Mercer had been saved from Hare Motors, an ill-fated attempt at an East Coast GM competitor by former employees, among them John Kuser, a member of one of the wealthy Trenton families that had established Mercer in 1910. As

its name suggested, the Series 6 was both a successor to the previous Series 5—famously powered by Eric Delling's robust L-head four—and also Mercer's first 6-cylinder automobile, with an engine by Rochester and manual transmission by Brown & Lipe. It was a fine, powerful sporting automobile, true to Mercer tradition, but by this time, there was little money to build it and few customers to buy it. Series 6 production began in July 1923 and stopped in March 1924; it picked up again in early 1925 and finished that June, with only 153 produced in total. This car, chassis number 20239, is a Sporting, which is essentially a four-passenger version of the famous Raceabout. It features similarly distinctive styling, including leather door saddles and dual cockpits for the driver, his copilot and two passengers aft. The overall impression for both driver and passengers is of riding in a vintage biplane, which was undoubtedly Mercer's intention. Records on file from Stan Smith, the historian for Mercer Associates, record the earliest known owner of this Series 6 as having been a Mr. Stiritz. It was eventually acquired by Harrah's Automobile Collection, of Sparks, NV. The car was acquired from Harrah's in 1986 by the late Joe Loecy, of Cleveland, OH, a legendary figure in Brass-era automobile circles. It next passed to Alfred Ferrara, of Gates Mills, OH. Today, the Series 6 still wears its fine restoration from the late 1980s, with the body finished in pale blue over very smooth panels and black fenders. The maroon leather interior is still in very good condition, as are the leather door panels and saddles, the wooden trim, the dashboard and the floorboards. The level of detail throughout is impressive, extending to a correct Mercer-badged Boyce MotoMeter atop the radiator and proper Mercer-badged Rudge-Whitworth wire wheels, finished in a dramatic red, including the dual rear-mounted spares. The firewall, rear frame rail and engine are all stamped with correct numbers in the proper locations. Under the hood is similarly clean and properly finished, with correct accessories and firewall wiring, and it shows only minor signs of age and wear. Manual transmission.