RON DOXEY WAS 18 OR 19 WHEN HE OWNED A 1950 MERC 4-DOOR WITH CUT COILS AND OLDS SIESTA HUBCAPS. “I’VE ALWAYS HAD A THING FOR 4-DOORS,” SAYS DOXEY. “BUT THE BULK OF THE CARS I’VE OWNED SINCE THEN WERE 2-DOORS.”
     About four years ago, he starting looking for another ’49-’51 Merc but wasn’t having any luck. Then he saw this ’49 Monarch at a Torchmen’s barbecue and liked the car right off the bat. “I wanted the car, but we couldn’t settle on a price for a while.”
     Doxey and the previous owner eventually settled on a price and the Honda Tiger Eye Pearl Monarch found a new home on the coast. The car was almost perfect just the way the previous owner had customized it, but Doxey wanted to add a personal touch. “The first thing I did was take the skirts out of it,”says Doxey. “If it has skirts it should be a taildragger.” Doxey also replaced the ’59 Cadillac taillights with original frenched ’49 Monarch taillights. The car came with Coker wide whites and 1957 Caddy hubcaps, but Doxey decided to mix new school custom with his old school custom and bolted on a set of 18-inch Colorado Custom Valdez wheels wrapped in Michelin rubber. While it’s clearly not a taildragger, Firestone airbags on all corners mean this Monarch can lay frame at the touch of a button. “You can take six or seven inches out it,” he says. “You can set the lakepipes on the ground.”
     The car might look like something out of the 1950s, but the cabin of this custom has all the modern conveniences new car buyers have come to expect. It has Vintage Air, cruise control, power door locks and windows and even a trailer tow package. A split bench seat from a 1994 Chevy Silverado makes things cozy during the long trips and an Alpine AM/FM stereo with a six disc changer keeps the tunes playing. The back seat is a custom built unit and Ron Francis wiring — by Dick Knorr of Route 66 Rebuilders — keeps it all running smooth. Dan, of Dan’s Place Custom Interiors in Westbank, BC did the lavish, plush leather tuck & roll interior.
     Under the hood, this beautiful barge is  powered by a 350, 4-bolt main bored the requisite .30. An Edelbrock tri-power manifold is topped by three Rochester two barrel carbs operating in smooth unison thanks to Dick Knorr’s hand built linkage. A 700R4 spins the power back to a Ford 9 inch with 3.50:1 gears put together by Paul Hutchings. The air ride suspension is by Street Rod Engineering.
     But this car’s character is all in the sheet metal, modified and stock portions. The Monarch sports a Hagan Frenched headlight kit, Hagan fuel door and rounded hood and trunk corners. The roof was chopped 3 1/2 inches by Larry Foster of Larry’s Upholstery in Port Coquitlam and the hood was punched full of louvers — 100 in total. Eric Adams of Adams Auto Body in Spruce Grove, AB laid on the 2001 Honda Tiger’s Eye pearl paint job with Bill Gouchie of Penticton taking care of the pinstriping.
     The car’s an attention getter and was even invited by Blackie Gejean to his prestigious invitational only Fresno Autorama. The Monarch won a 4-foot trophy and introduced Doxey to a lot of people. “You get to meet a lot of neat people,” he says of his trip to the Autorama and Pleasanton, CA for the Goodguys show, where the Monarch again turned a lot of heads. “I love it,” says Doxey of his Monarch. “It’s very quiet to drive, like a new car. The thing’s awesome.” We’d have to agree.
     This is one Monarch we have no problems bowing to as it cruises down the boulevard.