CAMS Member is Owner of Undefeated Mercury
by Tim Irby

To say that Troy Wilkins loves Mercurys is an understatement and then some. He owns six (with a seventh under construction) including his show stopping ’51 Mercury shown in this article. Troy traveled around the country where he and the Mercury competed in the indoor International Show Car Circuit. After about ten years and two rebuilds Wilkins retired the Mercury undefeated, including wins at the prestigious Oakland Roadster Show and the Portland Roadster Show.

He bought the car from his parents (the original owners) in 1979 after a car dealer offered his parents a ridiculously low price on a trade-in. “I’ll never sell it,” Wilkins said. “It just means too much to me.”

David Ross laid down the stunning 2-tone paint and the leather interior was stitched by the Recovery Room in Bradford, Arkansas. Under the hood of the ’51, you won’t find a flathead either; instead you’ll find a 460 cubic inch Thunderbird engine. That’s plenty of beef to push this baby around.

Troy’s collection of Ford built (primarily Mercury’s) include the ’51 featured here, a ’39 Mercury convertible, ’54 Mercury 4-door, ’59 Mercury truck, ’62 Mercury hard-top, ‘55 Mercury, ‘39 Ford Coupe, ’67 Cougar and a ’67 Comet Cyclone. His current project, a ’54 Mercury, is taking on new life at his showroom shop in Maumelle.

Asked why he had so many hot rods, Wilkins replied, “Some people have boats, other people hunt and have a lot of rifles and stuff…I just love cars and have all my life.”

Troy, a member of CAMS, has been in the plumbing business for 40 years and owns Tanglewood Plumbing and the Bath Shop in Maumelle. Troy conveniently located his shop across the street from his business so he could always be near his lifelong hobby.