Mark- set back and watch Ebay for a while just to get an idea of what is out there, what prices and conditions are and such.

West Plains sounds like a smaller town so a chopped top won't probably interfere with visibility in traffic cause you got little of that I'd guess. It's up to each person about how and where they drive a hobby car. If you don't have far to work it might do as a daily driver. On the other hand a lot of folks never drive their special car in the rain.

As an example in Ebay there are 9 1950 Mercs. from stock to custom with prices all over the board. http://motors.shop.ebay.com/Cars-Tru...1950Q20mercury