Gil and Al worked together to create this unique custom for their own use. The top was chopped 6 inches in the front and 7.5 inches at the back. The back portion of the top was designed to flow into the turret panel using prefabricated metal panels made by Californian metal shaping, and the windshield was chopped less and raised into the top to prevent a mail-slot opening. In the colorized openings photo this custom can be seen in its early stages. The chopped top was still missing its rear portion. Most likely cardboard templates where made by Ayala and had been delivered at Californian metal shaping comp and they where making the metal shaped panels at the time this photo was taken. The most striking modification on this custom is the full fade away fenders, which where a Ayala trademark. The front fenders where extended most likely with pre-shaped metal made again from cardboard patterns. Not an easy task to create the fade-away’s from the stock very round 1940 Mercury front fenders. But the Ayala custom modification succeeded extreme well. And at the rear the stock Mercury rear fenders where replaced with 1949 “fish-tail rear fenders which where molded in with a very graceful radius. Stock 1949 Cadillac taillights and rear bumper where also used. The top trunk corners where rounded to make the flow of the trunk to roof more pleasant. Portions of the 1949 Cadillac rear body work and sheet metal where used to make the rear fenders flow into the Mercury trunk, not and easy job to do, but again very well executed.

In the colorized photo the doors where cut all the way to the bottom, but on the finished custom this was modified and the lower edge was cut from the doors and molded to the fender/rocker portion of the body, and its corners where rounded. The b pillars where chopped, but remain straight as on the stock 1940 Mercury. The hood was de-chromed and the beltline side trim was removed completely. The stock 1940 Mercury has always been a very nicely styled unit and Ayala understood nothing really could improve that so it was left alone. A 1947 Ford  bumper was used on the front. At this point the car was primered and was driven around for a while, it was even raced at the lakes several times in the late 40’s with a raised rear suspention, before it was finished by the Ayala’s. Vertical mounted headlights where placed into the extended and reshaped front fenders, and the Ford bumper was replaced by a 1950 Studebaker unit. Personally I don’t think this last modification was an improvement over the slightly modified custom version the primered car could be seen with. The custom was painted jet black with a interior panels painted in gaudy purple and cream. The rest of the interior was upholstered yellow leather. This Mercury was on the cover and featured inside (two photo’s) in finished condition in the November 1950 Motor trend while the colorized photo showing it unfinished was used on the October 1951 Cover.