Without question the 1939 Ford and Mercury cars are the finest and most reliable that the Ford Motor Com-y has ever produced.
Many people think that the Mercury power plant is just a standard Ford V-8 "85" with the cylinders bored out an eighth inch larger. This impression is probably due also to the fact that the "95" or Mercury engine is interchangeable with the 85" in the Ford trucks. While looking like the "85" from the outside it is quite a different engine inside. First, it develops a full 10 horsepower more and does it at 200 r.p.m. less speed—3,600 instead of 3,800 r.p.m. It also develops 13 per cent. more torque or pulling power and does it at 100 r.p.m. lower speed than the "85."
Weighing, with clutch and transmission, only seven pounds more than the "85" it scales less per horsepower than any other engine in the line. The weight in pounds per horsepower for the line are as follows: Mercury 6.38, "60" 6.75 and the "85" 7.05 lb. These figures are particularly interesting because it was only a few years ago that engineers considered 10 pounds per horsepower was about the lowest point that a production engine would reach. Aeroplane engines of course go far below this but their cost would be prohibitive in any motor car and even more so in cars found in the Ford price class. This remarkable reduction in engine weight is another significant reason for Ford using the type engine.
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