Wheels Galleries

Ron and Kathy Bontrager's 1953 Mercury Monterey, in cream over orange paint, is a call-back to the car Ron drove during his high school years. He tried to find the original car years later, but instead located this beautiful twin, which he says won't ever get away from him.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Kathy and Ron Bontrager enjoy showing their colorful classic Merc at area car shows.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

At the other end of the spectrum is Ron Bontrager's richly patined 1951 Ford Tudor. This is the one that didn't get away, a car originally bought as family transportation by his dad and eventually handed down to Ron, who lowered it, souped up the flathead V-8 a bit and dressed it up with faux leopard-skin seat covers and lots of pinstriping.

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The '53 Merc shared the basic shape of the same model year Ford, but was more lavishly trimmed with a heavy bumper outfitted with bullets and a wide jet-style hood emblem.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Out back, the Merc sports forward-slanting vertical taillights and lots of chrome accents. The dual exhaust tips deliver a wonderful rumble through a set of glasspack mufflers.

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Wide whitewalls, lakes pipes and fender skirts are perfect complements to the sleek side trim of the Merc hardtop. Original style hubcaps complete the theme.

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A dummy spotlight and period-correct mirror keep the classy theme going.

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A two-tone ivory-and-black steering wheel gets an assist from factory power steering. The black dash and door sill trim is a nice contrast to the orange and white upholstery.

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Check out the aircraft-inspired "flight deck" instrument setup, with control levers mounted on an extended horizontal panel. The half-moon speedometer/gauge package nestles between those control sticks.

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Plush orange-and-white leatherette upholstery in tuck-and-roll style makes the Merc interior an appealing place to be.

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The rear seat of the Mercury hardtop is simple but elegant, in gorgeous white tuck-and-roll with accenting bolsters in glowing orange.

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The last year for the venerable flathead V-8 was 1953. This 255-cubic-inch Mercury version produces 125 horsepower. The silver canister in the foreground is a factory power steering pump.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

By 1951, Ford had added more chrome accents and detailing to its Shoebox. Note the chrome strip that wraps around beneath the trunk lid and the three-pointed horizontal tail lights. The '51s also had chrome spears running back to the taillights.

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The '51 Ford received a repaint of its seafoam green color in about 1974 and has since aged to a nice semigloss hue. Ron Bontrager said he lined up Nick "Kid Kustom" Wolenhaupt to do the pinstriping and "just turned him loose." Note the satin patina of the chrome on the deck lift handle.

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The 1951 Ford got a new, more modern dashboard, but it was Ron Bontrager who added the faux leopard-skin seat covers and armrests for a one-of-a-kind custom look.

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The Shoebox Ford is equipped with a traditional Ford flathead V-8, with Merc 4-inch crankshaft, a Max 1 cam and a custom modified intake mounting a 4-barrel Holley carb. The yellow Mooneyes theme is picked up by the engine, which has been converted to a 12-volt electrical system and uses a modified Chevy distributor.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle