Ernie Adams from Maricopa, Arizona, is known as “Mr. Dwarf Car.” Ernie’s Dwarf Cars, as the name suggest, are smaller versions of some of the classic American cars from the 1940’s. These cars are real, working machines and are street legal, complete with lights, signals, gauges, and everything a “real” car has.
Ernie has built 7 of these dwarf cars, by hand; he even made the tools to make these cars. He built all of these cars from scratch. Pretty amazing.
The ’49 Mercury is an all time American favorite, made popular by James Dean’s movie, “Rebel Without A Cause.” The ‘49 Mercury had been one of Ernie’s favorites as well.–
At first glance it seems like an optical illusion. You spot this beautiful classic car – a 1949 Mercury, wide-bodied and curvy, with an eye-catching front grille like a fierce predator snarling teeth of chrome. The car’s a stunner, but something’s not quite right. Then you notice a towering beanstalk of a man standing next to it, the mighty Merc barely reaching the guy’s waist.You can rub your eyes all you want, but the image doesn’t change. No, Ernie Adams is not a giant. He only appears to be when he stands next to his Merc.
He has a meticulous eye for detail. The number of grille bars on the Mercury dwarf matches the number of the original ’49 Merc. The hood latches of the dwarf cars function just like their original counterparts. All the little quirks are included, such as the crank hole in the ’42 Ford. Even though manual cranks had been replaced by electric starters for decades, Ford cars included a manual starting feature until 1948. If a feature was in the original, it shows up in the dwarf version.
When asked, do you think your Mercury is the best car yet? Ernie smiled and said, “The best is yet to come. Nobody enjoys retirement more than me,” he adds. “I get to spend all day in my shop doing what I love. I get to visit with people when they drop by and show off my accomplishments. What’s better than that?”
