Scott’s Hotrods – ’51 Merc Custom

Scott’s Hotrods received this 1951 Mercury Project as a “running & driving” vehicle. It was Hot Rod Black with some scallops, all the louvers on the hood and a convertible top. We disassembled the entire Merc and sent it to Strip Technologies of Knoxville for blasting. The first handful of images in this gallery will show you just how BAD the metal and metalwork were on this beast. Very amateur metal patching and hammering to make way for gallons upon gallons body filler. The Rust Repair will be lengthy, to say the least.  It started life as a 4-Door, crudely converted into a 2-Door and had a “custom” convertible top made.

We are going to have fun with this one. The plans are still up in the air and will not be discussed, so keep checking this page for the latest updates!

Scott’s ’51 Merc SuperSlam Chassis

•2”x4” Mandrel Bent Frame Rails
•8-Point Chassis Round Tube X-member
•Body Mounts

•Scott’s IFS
•1-piece IFS Crossmember
•Tubular Upper & Lower A-Arms
•CNC Adjustable Upper A-Arm Rod Ends
•Slam Specialties Bags
•RideTech Single-Adjustable Shocks
•Built-in Anti-Dive
•Power Rack & Pinion
•Forged Steel Spindles

•LS Motor Mounts
•Adjustable Dropout Trans Mount

•Stainless Steel Fuel Lines Plumbed
•Stainless Steel Brake Lines Plumbed

•Scott’s 4-Bar Rear Suspension
•Machined Link Bars
•CNC Machined Rod Ends, RH & LH Thread
•Scott’s Watt’s Link
•Moser M9 FAB Housing Fill & Drain Plug
•35-spline axles
•3.70 WaveTrac 3rd Member

•Scott’s Aluminum EFI Fuel Tank
•In-Tank Pump
•Sending Unit

•Brake Flex Lines
•Parking Brake Cables
•Scott’s Power Steering Line Kit

•100% TIG-Welded
•All Grade-8 Hardware
•LIFETIME GUARANTEE

Scott’s Hotrods employs the best welders, fabricators and machinists in the industry who manufacture our products 100% in America at our facility in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Scott’s Hotrods ‘n Customs was established in 1996 by Justin Scott Padfield in a small 1,200-sq/ft facility in Ventura, CA. When Justin opened the shop doors, he had less than $2,000 in the bank and only a handful of jobs lined up…mostly fabrication work.

Justin’s reputation as a master fabricator quickly grew and within a year the shop was bursting at the seams with jobs and builds.  Knowing that the shop would ultimately be too busy to handle alone, one employee at a time was brought aboard; but only those that met a strict qualification checklist. Justin once said, “I would rather hire a kid that can learn, than a man that already knows everything. I can teach the kid, but I can’t un-teach the man.” It was with that method of hiring employees and his drive to create the business that established Scott’s Hotrods into what it is today.

Scott’s Hotrods has grown substantially over the years from the shop in Ventura, California to the shop a few miles away in Oxnard, California in 2005.  Soon after the move to the 8,000-sq/ft Oxnard building, Justin started looking outside of California for a larger shop that would centrally locate his company to the majority of the customers and 20+ car shows already attended every year.

After years of meticulous research and deliberation, Justin decided on Knoxville, Tennessee.  In April of 2018, Scott’s Hotrods ‘n Customs relocated its entire operation to a much larger 20,000-sq/ft shop on 3.6-acres, just 2-miles East of Downtown Knoxville.  Justin and ten of his employees made the move across the country.  More and More employees have slowly been added to the growing team of 36, so far.

In 2022, Scott’s Hotrods added a 12,000sq/ft building next door to the existing 20,000sq/ft shop.  This new building is the Sheet Metal Fabrication Hot Rod Shop that houses all of the Project Vehicles with a showroom upfront with completed vehicles.  This expansion allowed us to expand all of the manufacturing in the main building.  Scott’s Hotrods added a Plate & Tube Laser, more chassis tables, more workstations, more CNC Machines and more employees in 2022.

Scott’s Hotrods is continuing to offer more and more to its customers every year by adding an 8,000sq/ft Custom Paint & Body Shop to the mix in 2023.  This shop is strictly for the project vehicles built by Scott’s Hotrods and is located just 40-minutes away from the main shop.  Keeping this crucial part of a custom build in-house allows Scott’s Hotrods to maintain a high-level of quality & precision while keeping the project timeline moving forward.

Over the last 25+ years Scott’s has placed in the Great Eight at the Detroit Autorama; notably the most prestigious show in the country comparable only to the Grand National Roadster Show. Scott’s has also been featured in countless shows on Discovery Channel, TLC and the Speed Channel. Scott’s has never been a shop to seek the limelight, but through networking, the limelight has sought out Scott’s and provided for an unsolicited boost in business.

Scott’s has taken home the GM Design Award at SEMA 2008 for a trend-setting 1955 Chevrolet, Quick Trip, dozens of individual 1st place trophies at a number of the car shows traveled to across the country.  Scott’s Hotrods ‘n Customs is the only company in history to win, back-to-back, the “America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR)” award at the Grand National Roadster Show in 2008 with “Undisputed” and again when competing in 2010 with “Possessed.”

It is without question that Scott’s Hotrods builds high-profile cars to win high-profile shows and does so with great success, but the unexpected success of the business is the manufacturing of parts that has catapulted Scott’s to its current level of success.

Scott’s IFS kits, 4-Bar Rear Suspension kits and Complete Chassis have become the bread and butter of the business.  Shipping out these kits and chassis from the more centrally located base of operations in Knoxville reduces the shipping time and that makes the customer happier.  The team is constantly looking for ways to improve upon its already superior products.  Quality, Engineering and Workmanship is the mantra in the shop that is one of the most equipped in the country.

To add to their lineup of chassis, suspensions and frame parts, Scott’s offers many CNC billet items that stand out from others with a custom, yet purpose-built look. The attention to what is needed in the hotrod market is the key to Scott’s success and is the reason

Justin’s dream of owning one of the best Hotrod Shops in the country is becoming a reality.