That’s right, it’s a Mercury truck! As it turns out, due to some interesting dealer regulations, Mercury dealers in Canada got to sell trucks that were largely but not entirely re-badged Ford trucks. This one is a 1962 “unibody” Mercury M-250 (think F-250) with a V-8. It’s located in Canada, but if the purchaser is in the US, the seller will transport the car over the border and handle the necessary paperwork to sell it in North Dakota. It’s for sale here on eBay where bidding is just over $1,000 without a reserve as I write this.
I’m not sure whether this color scheme is original; I can’t imagine a black tailgate and hood with a red and white body, but I suppose you never know. I actually kind of like the way it looks! The dog-dish hub caps are original and all four are there. All of the Mercury emblems are there as well; I would imagine those would be pretty difficult to find, especially in the USA.
The seller states that the floor is in very good condition, with a small rust hole on the driver’s side and another small rust hole on the passengers side step. I’m not sure what the dark spot at the rear of the driver’s side front fender is. I do like how long the bed is; it certainly makes the truck more usable and I think the two-tone paint treatment really works.
As you might expect, the interior is pretty well-worn, but you can see the bright red and white that the truck was originally. I know a lot of folks would leave the paint alone, but I think this one would look gorgeous restored with a fresh coat of red and white paint. I’d have to find a Mercury club somewhere to show it off to afterwards! However, I think the condition of the interior means this has 136,000 rather than 36,000 miles.
Here’s the Y-block 292 V-8. That unusual cross-over pipe in the front is stock; anyone know details on that? The truck is said to run and drive well, and the seller has videos of it running and a 5 degree cold start that they will send to anyone interested. I know I’d be interested if things were a little different, but I’ll have to leave this one for someone else. Is it you?
Chrysler did the same thing in Canada. It rebadged Dodge trucks as Fargo for its`Chrysler-Plymouth dealers so they would have a truck to sell.
Yes we had a 72 Fargo van- nicknamed it Rusty
My grandpa had a 3/4 ton Fargo, which he gave my dad in the ’80s when he sold the farm. Slant 6, three-in-the-tree. To get the washer fluid on the window there was a rubber foot pump on the floor next to the high beam switch.
My boss has a ’50 Mercury pickup.
Mercury trucks were in production from 1948 to1968. There was a huge collection of them, many restored, at Slab City, in California, but some stupid, brainless cigarette idiot dropped his ciggie and the whole place went up in flames, destroying all the Mercury trucks.
They actually started in 1946.
I restored my ’47 Ford years back and was tempted to install a Merc grille as the horizontal bars really change the look of the truck vs. the “jailbars” on the Fords.
This is my ’47 Ford, just for comparison’s sake to the Merc above.
Thanks for sharing, Rob, that’s a great truck!
1946
We see Mercury trucks here in AZ and also in CA from time to time. Rare but not unseen. The 292s all used that funky exhaust setup with the manifolds running over the front of the engine.
was not used to hard or there would be sheetmetal damage from the frame twisting. i like the look a lot. right now it is in the right price range for me. make it safe and put it back to work. great find.
Having driven proper body on frame trucks off road I can tell you the twisting and contorting is pretty dramatic. No sheet metal damage has ever resulted from that flex.
I’m even more confused how that would happen with a street driven truck with unit body construction.
I’m not being confrontational just wondering if I’m missing something.
unit body and unibody are not the same thing. these ford trucks had the cab and bed welded together to make the body then bolted to traditional frame style chassis. when the frame flexed the body could not and something had to give. that is why ford only made them in 1961 and 62. if you do a yahoo or wikipedia search under ford unibody there is more detail. this is also why some 63 and 64 ford trucks came from the factory the bed design of the 57-60 truck. thanks for asking.
I appreciate the input. For the record though, unit body and unibody or unitized construction are synonymous in the industry.
The construction of these wasn’t strictly unibody though. Which is why they had problems.
Went to reading about these trucks some more. Very interesting, reading and a solid sales angle, that truly did propel trucks forward in time despite their short run.
Thanks for the input.
While trying to find out how these Ford body’s were attached to the frame. I came across this very good article on frame construction.
http://www.mre-books.com/resto/restomod4.html
When I was in high school there was a Mercury pickup in my home town. It had the ’40 Ford style front end on it so I always assumed it was a ’39-40??
Here in Manitoba you will see Mercury Trucks a great deal. I own a ’67 that you would think is a Ford F-100 from a distance.
My brother in-law is looking for some Mercury 250 parts for his 67.
I’ve always liked these
Anyone else wonder why there is a dog dish hubcap supporting the rear of the motor and no transmission cross member? Also some weird waves in the frame on both sides over the rear axle and no pictures/description of the cab mounts. Otherwise looks to be a pretty solid piece overall but the condition questions would make me leery of paying a whole lot for it.
Does look odd to find the typical Trans Mount pad unattached to anything and the Trans sortof cantilevered rearward off of the Bell Housing. But if you look forward to the Bell Housing X-member, you’ll see the 2 robust ‘donut’ Mounts on either side. That’s the usual design for mid-century FoMoCo trucks, usually including a single Mount way up front on the front X-member, just fwd of the Oil Pan…
Never did see the Dog-dish Hubcap you mentioned, only see the ‘half-moon’ tin inspection cover underneath the Bell Housing, all correct and in place.
(Rear of the engine’s being supported by the BH and same 2 donut mounts…)
I don’t see the hub cap you mention. Maybe you’re seeing the tin inspection cover? It’s actually factory for these to have no transmission crossmember. The two substantial mounts on the bellhousing crossmember are what holds the transmission in place on one of these trucks.
Just came across one of these WITH a cross member. 3 piece unit.
Maybe tranny dependent?
There won’t be pictures of the cab mounts because this is unit body, with the whole body, bed and cab, mounted to the frame in a dozen places.
David and Matt are right on the money. I contacted the seller and he confirmed what they said. He also said that there was no OEM tranny mount. Seems to be the most common opinion from what I can find with the exception of the owner with the three piece mount.
I would guess that if this were a short bed, it would go over 10K. I have no idea where this one will go, but it will surprise some folks. The manifold cross over was to facilitate only one downpipe from the engine. It would make more room for the shifter linkage etc.
the question posed was have you heard of a Merc truck, yes, I have heard of them, but never have actually seen one ( in person) it would be a unique truck for the shows
My neighbor across the street has a ’66 Merc truck in his side yard. He is “going to fix it up” – hasn’t turned a wrench, or a wheel, in the six years I’ve lived across from him. Truck is in better shape than this one – maybe when the snow is gone in the spring I’ll take a few pictures and post them. I don’t know the ratio of Fords to Mercs, but these weren’t all that rare in Canada.
Any Ford trucks in Canada would have been imported.
There were Ford trucks built in Canada.
VIN tag shows it was made in Oakville Ontario which was pretty standard for Ford/Mercury. “Badge Engineering” was very prevalent here in Canada which meant the same vehicle went down the same line but with different trim. Wouldn’t suggest too much winter driving with the “floor mounted air conditioning” at the drivers feet.
We didn’t get many Mercury trucks in Wisconsin( even though we aren’t far from Canada, hey) but I had heard of them. This particular model, the “integrated pickup” was the official term, was not well received. Reports of the cab cracking and doors that would jam shut with any weight in the box, surfaced and it was discontinued mid-year 1963. Clearly, the hood and tailgate are from another truck, but I believe, the rest of the paint is original. That hole by the drivers feet may spell trouble. That’s right where the front cab mount is. A sore spot for these.( but not unrepairable) Great ad, too. Wish they all were like this. What a cool find. http://images55.fotki.com/v508/photos/0/11760/9149256/oldstuff011-vi.jpg
Cross over exhaust was dangerous when hot and used as a hand hold.
That sounds like the voice of experience!
way cool.
I saw 2 of these when I lived in northeast Florida, one was a restored 48-50 in a private collection, the other was a 66 junker just parked in a driveway.
a Mercury truck has always been on my want list.
Saw a Robert Redford movie recently where he drove a Mercury truck. I had never seen one before. It was very cool-
Quite common here.
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars/saskatoon/barn-find-67-merc/1130286974?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true
My 1950 Dodge Special Deluxe 2 door coupe (Canadian) is a Plodge.
Rebranded Plymouth.
Look at this beauty;
http://www.hotrod.com/cars/featured/1103clt-1962-ford-unibody/
I like the truck. Some people Just Hafta be angry, don’t they?
There is actually one running a small block chevy for sale out here. (Western MA). Was on CL in Nov. for $2000. Quick sale, maybe some work, now $5000. It was the first I had seen.
The unitized cab/body looked good. No gap between the bed and the cab. I could see where it could create problems with chassis flex.
The cast iron bell housing supports the rear of the engine and transmission. the lack or a cross member is correct. It has a bullet proof Dana 60 also!
Growing up as a border brat, Mercury trucks were commonplace on both sides of the border. It was interesting to see a Mercury M-47, alongside a Ford F1, and a Ford F-47 (Ford of Canada named the models for the GVW. In this case 4,700 lbs.), and all three of them had Montana plates. I thought it was normal until my Dad explained it to me. Here’s a nice ’46 Mercury.
I’ll have to try this later. The images won’t upload…
It’s bid over $4100.00 with three days to go.
$4850.00 now, and only a few hours left.
$5600.00 30 minutes left.
sold for $6102.12
Yep, it is mine, it came to Chicago, just freshened up paint, all original