1950 Leo Lyons Custom Mercury
History, Restoration & Pebble Beach
Graham Kozak – Autoweek Magazine
At Pebble Beach Concours in 2015. From Left To Right: Rick D’Louhy, Graham Kozak and Geoff Hacker.
Starting on September 1st, 2013, our team at Undiscovered Classics had a daunting task – to restore and show our 1950 Leo Lyons Custom Mercury at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. It was going to appear as part of a class of historic Custom Mercury cars built in the 50s and we had little time to begin the research and complete the restoration.
The series of 10+ stories by Autoweek (below) is the largest number ever written about a single car and its run up to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Graham Kozak of Autoweek Magazine penned these articles to chronicle our team’s journey over the last 10 months of the Leo Lyons Mercury restoration.
Finished and on time, the Leo Lyons Ultra Modern Mercury was driven onto the Pebble Beach field by Graham Kozak of Autoweek and debuted to the public on Sunday August 16th, 2015.
Enjoy the stories by Graham Kozak below and be sure to check out the added detail about the Leo Lyons Ultra Modern Mercury at the bottom of this page.
Photo By George Barris, Circa 1959
Shown Here On The Day It Arrived in Tampa, Florida: September 20th, 2013
Shown Here at The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance: August 16th, 2015 – Just Less Than 2 Years Later
Ten+ Autoweek Articles
Click on the links below to read the stories – most recent stories appear at the top of the list
11: Leo Lyons Custom Mercury at Pebble Beach: Right at Home (Print)
Graham Kozak: Autoweek Magazine
September 14, 2015
10: Thrill of a Lifetime: Driving the Leo Lyons Mercury Onto The Lawn at Pebble Beach
Graham Kozak: Autoweek Magazine
September 2, 2015
9: Bone Up On The Leo Lyons Mercury Before Pebble Beach With This Nifty Judge’s Book
Graham Kozak: Autoweek Magazine
August 14, 2015
8: The Leo Lyons Mercury is Ready for Pebble Beach, and it’s Gorgeous
Graham Kozak: Autoweek Magazine
August 5, 2015
7: 100 Hours To Go: Leo Lyons Mercury Gets a Groovy Interior in the Nick of Time
Graham Kozak: Autoweek Magazine
July 31, 2015
6: Naked No More The Leo Lyons Mercury Gets a Fresh Coat of Paint
Graham Kozak: Autoweek Magazine
July 22, 2015
5: What Actually Happens When Your Car Is Invited To Pebble Beach Anyway?
Graham Kozak: Autoweek Magazine
July 17, 2015
4: Here’s What The Leo Lyons Mercury Will Look Like When It Hits Pebble Beach
Graham Kozak: Autoweek Magazine
July 7, 2015
3: Tick Tock Pebble Bound 1950 Mercury Custom is on the Clock
Graham Kozak: Autoweek Magazine
June 5, 2015
2: It’s Official: The Leo Lyons Mercury is Headed to Pebble Beach
Graham Kozak: Autoweek Magazine
April 29, 2015
1: A Radical Custom is Reborn: The Leo Lyons Mercury Restoration Begins
Graham Kozak: Autoweek Magazine
November 13, 2014
Autoweek Magazine’s Thoughts on Undiscovered Classics
Instead of bidding on (or buying) cars that come with a concours invitations attached, Geoff Hacker and his team are finding intriguing, long-forgotten (and relatively affordable) cars and building cases for their historical significance. Time and again, their enthusiasm has opened doors to some of the country’s top concours.
If the concours scene is going to survive in the coming years, it’s going to have to embrace the “Undiscovered Classics” and emerging trends. So go forth and seek the cars you find intriguing, whether or not they’re worth boatloads of money, and you too may find yourself cruising onto the concours green.
If you do end up with something special, Hacker’s model is one that you’d do well to emulate. Unlike the typical, secretive owners, they’re nothing but transparent about what they do, which lets guys like me share every step of the previously mysterious process with all of you.
Their objective is to make the whole process engaging and informative and maybe even fun — not something you usually say about a stranger’s car restoration. They would have succeeded even if they hadn’t let me hop behind the wheel the morning of the concours. Not that I was about to stop them
- Graham Kozak, Autoweek Magazine. From the article “Thrill of a Lifetime: Driving The Leo Lyons Mercury Onto the Lawn at Pebble Beach” September 2, 2015 Click Here To Review Autoweek’s Full Article
Click Here To Learn More About Graham Kozak
Click Here To Review The Online Book About the Leo Lyons Custom Mercury
Click Here To Learn More About The Model Now Available of the 1950 Leo Lyons Custom Mercury
