Rusty But Trusty

Even though this site has a primary focus on cars, it’s interesting to take an occasional look at other related vehicles that either enable the hobby or capture some of the same elements we like so much about affordable classics. With pickup trucks it’s a little of both – they can help haul stuff around, and they have an elemental simplicity and purity of focus since they were built mainly with utility in mind. Of course, the other focus of this site is the oddball, and nothing scratches that itch like an otherwise ordinary truck that’s been rebranded for sale in another market. With that, check out this 1966 Mercury M100 for sale for $3000 in Calgary, AB.

So the only significant difference up here is the Mercury logo on the front – everything else seems to be the same compared to a Ford F100. Either this is a lower spec truck with a silver bumper, or it’s the result of using chrome paint to replace failing OEM chrome. It’s said to have been a Saskatchewan farm truck, so it’s likely the former. It’s said to be reliable, so hopefully the seller has done some maintenance to get it mechanically decent.

The 1990s Ford truck wheels together with whitewalls are kind of a non sequitur, and some matching steel wheels or something with full hubcaps would help the look. There are certainly signs of rust around the cab, so you’ll want to ask if they’ve been treated or just painted over. The Mercury tailgate is pretty cool, and from the rear the window and tailgate combine to read “Crazy ‘Bout A Mercury”, though he can’t be that crazy about it if he’s selling it.

The interior is stock F100, and it’s not clear if the awkwardly-placed crest to the right of the gauge cluster and the Mercury script on the glovebox door are original. The bench seat has a typical pickup seat cover, which probably means the vinyl underneath is torn. The steering wheel is cracked, though this appears to be the same as found on Fords, so it shouldn’t be awfully hard replacing it.

Things are not exactly clean under the hood, but hey, it’s a truck. Blue paint on the valve cover and block, along with fresh black paint on the air filter housing, suggest some work has been done, but it’s worth asking for details. Overall, this looks like a fun oddball, and with a little negotiation you might have a decent, honest, basic runabout.

Tags: canadian, Feature, m100, mercury, pickup

This entry was posted on October 30, 2015 at 10:43 am and is filed under Feature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.