There are some vehicles we see here that you just know have one heck of a story attached; this Mercury truck is one of them. Yes, Mercury. If you are new to Barn Finds, you can be excused for not knowing that Ford marketed pickups in Canada as both Fords and Mercurys. We’ve covered plenty of them over the years. This one is located in Cavalier, North Dakota and is listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding is up to $2,247 as I write and there is no reserve!
As you can see from the pictures, this is a solid truck, although I’m puzzled by the mismatched paint and wheels. Perhaps it was assembled from several donors? Regardless, although there are certainly some dents, the body as a whole is pretty darned solid compared to many we see.
Judging from the tailgate graffiti, the truck made someone happy over the years!
Even the floor is pretty solid. The seller tells us that “there is a little rust in the front fenders where they usually rust but not bad at all.” I can’t say I’d be thrilled about leaning back on the fuel tank, but that’s where FoMoCo put them at the time.
While the seat is there, I think we are past the “throw a blanket over it” stage. The seller notes that the Mercury steering wheel center is present and you can see it in this picture.
While the original flathead is seized, I personally would go through the effort to rebuild it. It’s also nice to see seller ratings that are really glowing, including a 1949 Mercury truck. If I were in the market for an unusual old pickup, this would be first on my list. How about you? Would you keep the original engine? I’m guessing one of the first five comments will be “LS swap”!
A very solid truck, I would love to have a 50 Mercury pkp. Since I have a 50 mercury coupe. I am building a 1956 Ford pkp now so I don’t want to get loaded down.
A nice 302 punched out to a 331 would do, I would love to have this truck but not enough space right now.
That would be a good project to take on, and the price, so far, is pretty good. Mercury always had an edge over its Ford siblings. Mercury trucks came standard with the deluxe cab which included: heater, dual wipers, dual visors, sliding rear window, cigarette lighter and ash tray, two-tone paint and bright hubcaps. Starting in 1950 the Mercury 1/2 ton could be ordered with the 255 engine. I would definitely check this one out before contemplating dropping in something else. There were a lot of these in Northern Montana back in the day. Nearest dealer was a 10 mile drive into Canada or a 35 mile drive down to Shelby.
I would install a 337 flathead, and that keeps it looking the same under the hood, and yet gives me the horsepower and torque I would want for a daily driver. I would dump the HD tranny, and put a beefed up Ford transmission, or for driveability, I would use a T5.
http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/flathead_specs-337bigV8.htm
Bob
A flathead v8 was exactly what I was thinking too. Maybe install a couple of period correct aftermarket speed shop goodies on it too.
I’d go nuts on getting that flathead to run again. Pray to the mercury god that its the larger motor size ( and our maker too) and (dear baby Jesus help this olde man out). Street Thumpr Cam or this build up from Honest Charlie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpoUtzedVWk&t=74s
Vintage style paint job. Is that a dark blue? I’d go with that. Along with a Pearl white paint job on the roof. As in leaning towards a 60’s look though very subtle. Steel wheels with hub caps that I got on ebay years ago dirt cheap. Wide white wall. Nakked Lady Trucker mud flaps. You know what I’m talking about. Well, that might be cheesy. You get the idea though. Right slick?
Mustang II front end with the typical 2 inch drop.
Keep the Bench seat. Chocolate leather moose hide. Headliner would be natural light brown hide. Dark blue paint on the dash. 60’s style gauges that you can find on ebay. Try to keep the mercury steering wheel if not. Go with this.
Seems like you already have it built… go get it!
Ha! I’m working on it. Two days to go. Is this going to get scary on the bids?
So far I have the high bid! Come on Mercury god and baby Jesus. Wish me luck!
Very original, bid is up to a little over 4 grand at the moment it’s worth every penny, and more!