Slick 60's

In the beginning there was Ford. A '78 Ford F-100 custom that my Dad had bought from the brewery he worked at, when they closed in 1991. He had a D-50 at the time and didn't need a full sized truck, so for $1.00, I got this Lethbridge Brewery truck.
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It turned out to be the best vehicle I have ever owned, bar none. Other than tires, gas and oil, all it cost me to drive it for 12 years was a Die hard battery and a set of front brake shoes. Had a 302/C4. I loved that truck, it got 20 MPG on the highway all day long. Started on the coldest day in winter and never left me stranded. A Scotsman's dream. But it was getting pretty ratty in the body, after 12 years in Calgary salt. By then I had moved back to my home town of Lethbridge. A local fireman had restored one just like it, and it looked SHARP. So I started inquiring in to body parts to replace the rusty bits.

They turned out to be pretty expensive, when you counted in a paint job, it was going to cost me $5000+- to bring the old '78 up to snuff body wise. and the truck would be worth 2500 tops. So at 79000 miles I decided to part her out. But that engine wasn't going anywhere, besides in my next vehicle.

I began looking for a replacement. I knew there were Mercury trucks in Bumpsides, and I looked for a shortbox Mercury Bump for 6 months or more. I mean I really searched. Never, ever, found one. Only years later did I ever even SEE one. One, 1968 shortbox Merc Ranger is all I have ever SEEN.

I had to try something else. So I looked for fat fenders and others, etc, always having my eye out for a Merc. So many of the fat fenders I saw had been desecrated with off-brand junk that I finally gave up on them entirely, but not before I insulted a good number of sellers with my thoughts on their "handiwork".

Then someone phoned me that he had seen a '64 Merc for sale in the local buy and sell type paper. I read the ad. It had a 428! I didn't want no 428, who could afford gas for that pig? But I could sell that and slip the good old 302 I had stashed in my garage in there. So I went out to see the '64.

The body parts were all there. The floor needed some rust repair but not as bad as many of the trucks I had seen... it seemed every Ford truck needed floor repairs, period. The radiator and the alleged 428 were gone tho. The seller had sold them the day before i got there. It still had an FE C6 in it and some hokey Mr gasket floor shifter. No matter. I needed a 428 like a hole in the head anyway. I bought the truck. When I brought it home, it looked like this.
You can still see the mud on the grill from us getting stuck pulling it out of the field it was in.

JC I completely agree with your first post the dent sides are one great truck. I owned a 79 Bronco for 20 years till it got so rusty that it was unsafe to drive it. I just bought another 79 Bronco out of Cali. I got it running this morning felt good to drive one around the shop today.

Now that I said all that do we get to see the Merc @ SS this summer?

About time you got a build thread started Johnny. Great intro for your truck. Even though I know the story I look forward to hearing it all again. Keep the pics and lies coming!!!!

JC I know the feeling,, over the years I have had several trucks with a 53, then 56 small window then to the 56 big window 56 panel, another 56 big window and still have my first 56 big window which is hiding in the garage, if I only could move several trucks to get her out, now have several slicks + crew bump + a Mercury that I have had a blast with or somebody comes by and see it sitting here all ?'s ,, missed several Mercury's incuding a 67 crew mercury but I think Vancouver is just a little far,, One Big is how far will one drive to get a Mercury mine came from LA and thats not lower alabama either,, JC Great Story ++ I always like your color combo on yours

Thanks guys.. hopefully I finish this story and get to work LOL, this is all about getting motivated to get it there.

So I joined Slick 60s and Ebay around the same time, and went on my journey to find parts for the Merc. One of the first things I found in the club was a dissertation from Uncle skip on Dane's (now this) site on how to restore and old truck. http://fordtruk.com/index20.html I knew right then that this was the place for advice.

There was also all kinds of cool pics how Foodstick had cut a long box down to a short box, and Matt's suicide door extended cab Merc. Truckfarmer was talking about an Aerostar clip he and a friend had done that had worked real slick, and a guy named Packrat in Texas actually had pics of his Aerostar clip installation. I decided I wanted rid of the straight axle, since I had learned to drive on a straight axle Dodge and I disliked the way they change lanes automatically over bumps and train tracks.

So I found a reputable welder in town who had done a few front clips before, including the Volare under his own '57 Fridge. He welded it up lickety split and did a great job. Next up... Body work. So I got 3 guys to give me quotes. 2 around $10,000 and one guy, who did nice work that I had seen before, would only quote me hourly.

I wanted to use him. So while I waited for the last guy, I took the truck to be soda blasted. Big mistake. The truck rusted while I waited for almost 6 months.

So I had taken some small parts to my choice of Body Men, Kustom Auto Body. they had straightened out the dings in my hood, taken about 5 lbs of bondo out of the driver's door, and fixed up my nearly mint replacement front fenders. But then, they told me it might be a year before they could do anything else. So I went looking for another guy.

The first 2 guys that I had quote me were busy, and I thought too expensive anyway (little did I know). I found another guy who sounded real good, had a place and luckily wasn't busy. I took the cab out to him , along with the new floor pans I'd got from Carolina Classics. He even had me go thru paint chips and pick out colors, but was always vague about paint cost. Things started off well, he cut out the old floors, welded in the new ones, and fixed the garage door sized hole in the dash where the PO must have had a radio the size of a microwave.. Things were looking good. He asked me to bring out the box. So we loaded it up and took it out. and then I waited. and waited. and waited. and waited. and waited. Finally ,after what seemed like about 16 million phone calls, he said "come out and have a look".

So I got there and the first thing I see is that he filled in all the holes in the side of the box where the fasteners for the chrome go. He said you told me to fill in all the holes. I had meant holes like the dash radio, the antenna one that looked like it had been cut with a chisel, and the hole in the top of the roof that must have been a CB antenna in another life. I also wanted the gas cap hole filled in. I was glad he didn't have the hood, it was at the other body shop, or the doors, also at the other place, or I would have no holes for chrome or badges at all. maybe not even door handles. I paid him my third installment of $2500. The truck was still a box and a cab in primer. I told him he was getting no more money until I saw something in paint. Finally he came up with prices for paint. I near flipped out, and went to cheaper colors right away, Chrysler colors of Neon blue metallic and Crossfire silver. and then I waited. and waited. and waited.

One day put of the blue, after he had had my cab for nearly 2 years, he calls me. says "Your cab is painted!!" I said I'll come get it tonight!!
he says no I'll bring it in (he lived on an acreage about 10 miles NE of town). I said sure.

I lined up 4 burly guys to help me unload the cab. We waited. and waited. and waited. Finally he showed up. With this.





Oops, he says I dropped it off the trailer, coming up the hill. (it had one strap holding it on the trailer, that broke)
Oh, he says, and by the way I need $2000 to continue.

I was just flabbergasted. I could barely speak. My wife tied in to him like a hungry tiger. He left, with his tail between his legs and my wrecked cab on his truck. I began the long process of getting my truck out of his shop without giving him any more money. Long, long story short, the RCMP officer who lived down the street came out with me (the second time) and we loaded the stuff on the trailer without getting shot. I never have spoken to the body guy ever again.

Now what was I going to do with my cab? it had new floors in it, it was so rust free that the cab corners didn't even need to be done. or the cab mounts, or the steps. I was in chat on slick 60's one night, and Mike Kimbrell says he has a BBW uni for parts, any one need anything?
I jokingly said yeah, a roof!! Mike cut it off and shipped it up to me in a crate he built special for it. All the way from Alabama!! I can't tell you how much I appreciate Mike Kimbrell's contribution, there just aren't enough kind words..


Meanwhile back at the body shop. Three years later now, I am back at the original body place, Kustom auto body. They still have my hood and doors. I ask if they are busy. He says yeah, but after hearing my story, he takes pity on me. He says bring in your cab. And the roof. Lets see if we can fix it.

this was the result:





Turned out pretty good. only problem I found out later, is the windshield hole is sized for the uni without chrome trim around the glass. the windshield doesn't fit, I need to grind it off just like Ford did at the factory, made the hole 1/16" bigger on top and bottom for the stainless trim.

$8000 later, this was the result of the body shop's work

DAMN JC, I cant remember seeing pics of it before, It is Awsome. That truck is going to look great Cruising aroung the Des Moines Iowa area in Aug. I know I give you alot of crap but man you need to get to the garage and get busy. Now you are motivating me, I am headed for the garage right now.Later

Meanwhile during the 4 or so years while my truck was in the body shop(s)
i had decide what I was doing with the rest of the truck. I got some eagle rods and an RV cam off eBay, so I took the good ol 302 in to get rebuilt. I bought some iron heads off eBay with big valves, as well as an edelbrock performer 289 and a Holley 600 carb. I also got a set of ford roller rockers, and mustang shorty headers. a low torque starter completes the deal.
I decided I wanted a rear sump pan and traded a mustang guy straight across for his. Bought some eBay chrome doo dads and had them powder-coated blue,,the blue on the chrome is striking.

I also concluded that the weak point on the old 78 was the C4 tranny, it used to slip while I towed my old '40 with it. So I sold the C4 to a mustang guy and got a '90 E40D out of a wrecked van, that had just been rebuilt. I picked up a Baumann controller for the tranny , and then a local Ford mechanic talked me in to getting a Holley throttle body Fuel Injection , so I sold the 600 Holley. Got the frame sandblasted and painted it with 2 brush coats of POR15. I at one time used the frame as an anvil to straighten nail, it never even put a scuff in that POR 15.

I read another of Uncle Skip's articles on a rear tank, then I read another one by Pugsly that used a Bronco 2 gas tank with a side filler. I had saved the piece of body off the '78 that had the gas door on it, and the guys at Kustom auto body had made that work for me, so the gas filler is on the side of the box with a door from a '78.

Here are the pics, starting with the engine.







gas tank




Next, I decided that the most recent version of a Mercury Marauder wheels would be cool..not much clearance to the Aerostar


also I wanted a stock steering wheel with a tilt column. Column is from a '79 ford truck with a 4 speed, rare column


Then I found some 2003 ford f150 seats. They sit too high though, I am not real pleased with the feel of them

Latest stuff. brake have been bled 5 times but I have never bled them with the pressure relief off on the distributor block.. it uses the one from the '78. Need to do that. Here's the booster and the engine comp't with inner fenders


Here you can see the roddoors headliner, unupholstered, and the uni interior light for which I have to make a lense.

That is going to be sweet!

I thought all that stuff you've been through just happens to me! It builds waaaayyy too much character and patience!

It is really easy to get deep in the hole with these projects and that's why you sometime see the "unfinished" ones for sale out there.

The one good thing about it when you get done is… it WILL be YOUR truck.

way to hang in there.

JC It just seems just the other day we where all talking about the cab damage just did not realize where all the time has gone since then , Tom

The motor looks great with the "Mercury" valve covers.

I agree, never seen your ol' motor JC. Looking real nice!

Looks awesome JC...The Marauder wheels are definately a nice touch.

Lookin good John. BBW in that truck is gonna be a major attention getter for sure.

Cam

JC, That is going to be one sweet truck when you get done. Please keep us posted with pics. Heck, it makes me want to go to the shop tonight and work on mine some more. Red

ME LIKEY !

Awesome!!! You know I love the Marauder wheels. I have 4 of them too! It just keeps getting better...............................