1946 Mercury 69M Convertible. Currently Disassembled

This car is currently in pieces in a barn and has been that way for many years. The late owner bought the car for his wife and it was a very nice car (see 2 pictures of car before disassembly). He wrinkled one fender, then decided to do a complete restoration on the car. He owned a restoration shop near Detroit and was particularly fond of Packards. He took the car apart and unfortunately sent out various pieces to be redone all around the area. There are several pieces unaccounted for, but we have managed to track down what appears to be the majority of important parts. These cars were almost identical to the Ford version except for some trim pieces and a different grill. So most parts are available through several suppliers. The rust you see in some pics is all surface rust. The car is solid and all the floors are solid, including the trunk. (Disregard the fender skirts, those are from a 47 Packard.)
The (believed to be original) flat head V8 has been rebuilt and primed to be painted and assembled. The 2 speed rear axle also appears to be redone and has been painted. The frame was blasted and primed, and many of the chrome/stainless pieces have been done. There is a NOS radio and dash cover, plus many new trim pieces. Several manuals come with the car.
This model and year car was the pace car for the 1946 Indy 500 after WWII. We all know the history of no cars being built during the war, and after the war they started making cars again. They used the designs from 41 and 42 primarily until the later 40's. So these Mercury's and Fords looked very similar to the early 40's cars with the same drive trains.
To be clear, this will be a major project, but this is a really cool and rare car that needs to be put back together. Look at the numbers they are going for, a nice one can fetch over 70 easily. A "Woody" version of the same car sold recently for over $230,000. I know, they only built 200 of them, but these are also very rare. The Ford version's are getting big money now, but the Mercury's fetch even more. So bid with confidence that your getting a car that will only go up in value. I'm selling the car for the widow and have set a very low reserve because it now needs to go to it's next home. I can assist with loading/shipping but send a trailer with some strong backs. More pics are available, but I've picked the best of the lot. It is for sale on Hemmings, and it could be sold prior to the auction's end.