Pics of a newbie's unibody project...

The Big M · Post by **The Big M** » August 14, 2006, 5:35 pm

As you can see I've got a lot of work to do! This is what it looked like in December of 2005 and very little has changed. I'm looking forward to gaining a lot of knowledge here on Slick 60's and posting pics of my progress.

Enjoy!

MadMaxetc · Post by **MadMaxetc** » August 14, 2006, 5:39 pm

That is a LOT of elephent to chew!

Good luck man!! Let us know if you need help figuring something out!

jakdad · Post by **jakdad** » August 14, 2006, 6:20 pm

BOY............You in a heap o' trouble!!

thomasphilbeck · Post by **thomasphilbeck** » August 14, 2006, 6:43 pm

you have given me new hope i thought mine was going to be a long haul.

good luck you have found a great bunch of people full of info on these trucks

DocDave · Post by **DocDave** » August 14, 2006, 6:56 pm

But It's got a great Hurst shifter

It's bit tougher than mine but seems like it's going to be a great truck if you can stay with it.
Good luck
Dave

BigTim · Post by **BigTim** » August 14, 2006, 7:29 pm

That will make a man out of you.

unibodyboy · Post by **unibodyboy** » August 14, 2006, 8:57 pm

The rear tailight pockets look pretty solid! Everything else is more than fixable.... keep us posted!!!

Max · Post by **Max** » August 14, 2006, 9:15 pm

Never seen the hood ornament on a Mercury like that. I think I want one. 'M' for Max. How hard are those to come by?

Johnny Canuck · Post by **Johnny Canuck** » August 14, 2006, 9:45 pm

You got some tough sluggin ahead of ya Big M, but it CAN be done

Max.. those Big M's are Stock on Slick Mercs from 61-63

those and those tailgates are about one for every seven chicken teeth you find

Comet · Post by **Comet** » August 14, 2006, 10:12 pm

Right on! That's worth saving for sure. Mine was only a little better cosmetically. Still a ways to go for me.

willy3486 · Post by **willy3486** » August 15, 2006, 8:05 am

Hey that looks familiar, the rust not the truck. Mine was in that condition and I got it going. You can see the before at the old site at
http://groups.msn.com/slick60sfordfseri ... lls66.msnw

and at
http://groups.msn.com/TNSlicks/wills66.msnw

To see what it looks like now go to the pictures in my album here in willy3486
[img][albumimg]311[/albumimg][/img]

The Big M · Post by **The Big M** » August 15, 2006, 9:57 am

Thanks for the comments, everybody!

I've always liked Mercs and the first time I saw that giant 'M' on a truck I just knew I had to have one. The funny thing about this truck is that it sat for about 5 years between the time I first saw it and when I finally bought it. There used to be two of them sitting on the side of the road. Twins. Both red and white Mercury Custom Cabs.

My friend tried to convince me to buy one but I was still in university at the time and cash flow was an issue (to say the least!). I pondered it a while but ultimately decided it wasn't in the cards. I never did get a hold of the owner as I was convinced he'd want big money for it. A while later I noticed one had been sold. The second one disappeared some time later and I naturally assumed that it too had been sold.

Fast forward to the fall of 2005. I was finally making a decent buck and started getting the itch to finally buy a project. I spotted another uni. A green Merc, no drivetrain. The guy wanted $500 for it. Again I ponder. Again the object of my desire gets snapped up.

In December of 2005 my friend called me and announced he had found a truck for me. A red and white Mercury unibody. It was a Custom Cab with a chrome grille and bumper, he said. I asked where he had seen it. He described the location to me. "You mean the one we looked at on the way to that football game?" I asked. "Could be," he said.

We went and looked at it and sure enough it was the very same one I had seen years earlier. The owner told me the trucks had been owned by two brothers who had a plumbing business together. Mine had a pipe rack on it at one point! He also told me that the other one had been sold to someone who came up from the States with a car hauler. The buyer would have taken both trucks but he didn't have enough room on the trailer. Lucky me!

$250 later and she was mine. The seller said someone had offered him $375 for the tailgate alone.

Johnny Canuck · Post by **Johnny Canuck** » August 15, 2006, 4:45 pm

What are you doing for wheels? gonna run caps?

Mike Kimbrell has some beauty Merc stainless dog dishes, for "Outie" wheels..

The Big M · Post by **The Big M** » August 15, 2006, 5:12 pm

I was just going to paint the steelies and run 'em without caps for a while. I was thinking of going with chrome reverses and wide whites. Eventually. Though Merc dog dishes would be sweet.

I've got some motor issues to work out first. The bad cylinder in the pic is really bad. It's already 20 over and would probably need another 40 on top of that to clean up. I'll be needing a sleeve or a different block.

I'm pretty disappointed in that block actually. The other five cylinders are really clean. I don't think there were too many miles on the rebuild before it was parked. Pulling the head revealed an exhaust valve with a hole in it, which I think explains the buildup of goo in the #4 cylinder.

I was hoping to avoid a motor swap for the time being. Just get 'er running and go from there. I may need to find a 292 somewhere though...

FORDBOYpete · Post by **FORDBOYpete** » August 15, 2006, 7:41 pm

Big M

I don't envy ya all the work ahead

But on the other hand, when ya "gitterdun" lots of folks including me will envy you. . . . .

You'll know your Slick as a true "Love". . . .And that's what makes these Slicks So Special.

It's a love affair with what might have been roughest, most beat truck in the world, but when you're done. you have the best, sweetest Ride around
not to mention the best feeling of all, "I did it My way. . . .

"

FBp

The Big M · Post by **The Big M** » August 17, 2006, 9:44 am

It will be a lot of work but I'm looking forward to the challenge! However, I will be having a pro handle the floor repair. My friend referred me to a coworker who does body work. He's going to install my floor, weld in the new cab mounts, build me some rockers, and fix some rust holes in the bed. Then she'll be solid.

I have done minor body work before but I want that welding done right. The rest I can do myself. I think I'll try my hand at saving my driver's side fender:

What do you guys think? Is it salvageable?

mikecarson · Post by **mikecarson** » August 17, 2006, 10:25 am

My opinion? Buy a replcement. I believe by the time you get done, a good used fender would be cheaper, if you add up the hours required.

Johnny Canuck · Post by **Johnny Canuck** » August 17, 2006, 10:48 am

I'd look south (Southern Idaho, Utah, Southern Washington, Oregon, California) for a good Ford Uni sheetmetal body. My buddy and I road-tripped to Denver to pull a rust-free running '63 LWB big window out of Denver he got for a good price. He might even sell that one to you, then you could use the VIN tag, Merc hood sail panel, emblems and tailgate to make a good Merc.

I bet I have seen a dozen nice sheetmetal Unis in California, on Ebay in the last year go for a song, like this one http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... MEWA%3AIT.

By the time you get all those parts and bodywork done , you are gonna wish you'd done that to start, trust me.

jakdad · Post by **jakdad** » August 17, 2006, 1:13 pm

Ditto!!!

The Big M · Post by **The Big M** » August 17, 2006, 3:37 pm

I've thought about that. I don't really have the resources to pull it off. No space to stash a parts truck, no car hauler or a truck to pull it, and not a whole lot of time or money for a road trip to the States.

I guess I figured it'd be a wash; any money I saved on rust repair would be eaten up by transport costs...

Pics of a newbie's unibody project...

Pics of a newbie's unibody project...

It could be worse!