While not drastically different from its Ford sibling, it’s still refreshing to see the lesser-known variant of a popular model. This 1952 Mercury M3 pickup is not some long-lost BMW motorsport variant but rather a distinct Canadian-built version of the Ford F-Series trucks produced in much smaller quantities. They are relatively scarce today, and this barn find example here on eBay remains incredibly original with its numbers-matching flathead V8 that still turns freely.
The seller explains that the Mercury was produced in far lower quantities than the Ford, and the harsh Canadian climate made short work of those that did see daily use. Put that all together and it’s rare to see an M3 of this vintage with mostly original sheet metal and paint, especially with the upscale “5 Star” cab trim. The tires all hold air, incredibly – even the spare!
That’s not to say the Mercury was pampered – it’s still a prairie farm truck, after all, and the body and interior show plenty of signs of hard use. However, someone must have at least kept the body cleaned of road salt and stored in a dry environment, as it’s much too solid to have been left out in the elements. Note the rare Mercury radio blank and horn button.
The seller notes the bed has been converted to a dump-style arrangement, and that the tailgate is missing. This is a bummer, as the gate is specific to the Mercury and will be hard to find; however, the seller has endeavored to find one for the next owner. The Mercury is a highly original example of a rare truck and is being sold at no reserve with bidding just over $2K.
This look suspiciously like one we saw here on BF some weeks back that the wife liked and agreed to buy when one of her Super Lotto/ Powerball /Megamillions tickets pay off..
I need one of those lottery tickets to pay off too. Retirement is great except that now that I’ve got lots of time the money is severely lacking…
Black fenders and deluxe cab were std. equipment on a Mercury truck. If you didn’t want fancy you got it as a Delete option. 255 engine from the M1 to the M6. Bigger than that and you got the Lincoln engine. I might add that the Big Job/ Super Duty trucks of both Ford and Mercury were made in the US.
My favorite year!! That grill is worth $2000 in my opinion!!!
Again with the Sweetgrass, with as many trucks as this guy posts, he should have a tailgate in his stash somewhere. And what’s with the cab lights? A Canadian exclusive, eh? Whoever this is, at least they have plausible prices for the trucks.
Well Rube, I don’t think it mattered if you were in Montana, North Dakota, or Canada, it was a common sight to see cab lights similar to the ones on this truck. Yes, they’re mega tacky and if this truck came my way the lights would be history. As for the tailgate (or lack of one) a lot of them were removed and a wooden one with a grain slide was installed. Some farmers just got out the torch and cut one in. My ‘35 pickup even has a (very crude) grain slide in it.
what i get a big laugh out of is the comment harsh canadian climate! so if you live in northern us you don”t have a harsh winter climate! bull! for your information point pelee in ontario that runs out in the lake is farther south than northern california! what you guys think we live in igloos up here? drag your ass up here and see for your self eh!
Hi Jerry. I guess you’ve got to live in the northern states to fully appreciate the weather and understand what actually goes on north of the 49th. I come from the Chinook Belt that runs a straight line (east of the Rockies) from Bozeman to at least Calgary. I’ve seen 30 below two days before Christmas and 50 above on Christmas Day. I’ve been in downtown Great Falls when it was 40 below and I’ve been in Wolf Point and Glasgow when it was 45 below. That makes the ‘brass monkey’ complain. My brother lives in Las Cruces, NM, and about five years ago, in February, they got a Siberian Express that dropped a major cold front, sending the mercury running for cover at 17 below. That paralysed the city for at least two days. Montana and Southern Alberta don’t habitually have bad winters; I’ve seen many of them open right through. Then I’ve seen 104 consecutive days of below 0 (back in 1968-69). Eastern Montana and the Dakotas can get numbing cold in the winter, but so can Saskatchewan and Manitoba. But all of them can hit triple digits in the summer.
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Good stuff, Jerry. All I know about the Canadian climes is there is a lack of air conditioning in the Sandman Hotel when we really needed something to cool us off(Surrey,2006)! That and the drivers there all seem to treat motorcyclists much better than here-very much appreciated..interesting point aboutPoint Pelee!
FYI, my dad was stationed 112miles north of Tule, Greenland in the ‘50’s when assigned to the DEW line; they had -20F weather in the summer and the guys were some acclimated to it they wore long sleeve shirts with no jackets. Twice they had to “pull start” C-47’s that had left the skis in the engine nacelle too long-they froze to the ice runway and had to be yanked loose. Now THAT’S COLD!
Cant imagine how fun the journey of the Sweetgrass seller finding and picking up all these old trucks. But I sure saw lots of these in fields all over the state of Montana over the years and brought four of them home myself.