hotrodaddy, I like the Merc, and if Rat is your theme, I think you hit it pretty well with the paint job. Couple of things on the car that in my opinion are not "rat", is the butt winshield and the moulded lake pipes. You have a great start on a HotRod rather than "rat". Spend the time and money to get the body work perfected, then pick the paint you like. You are the one who is going to be looking at the most.
A friend of mine has a 49 Merc, with exact same pipes, windshield and chopped top, that is painted a wild, lime green. It gets a lot of attention and wins a lotta awards, such as GoodGuys, NSRA, and 2006 James Dean. He is the T-shirt car for James Dean this year.
As mentioned earlier, its the prep, not the painter that makes or breaks a paint job.
Good luck, and keep us up on your progress on the Merc.

Jack