Anyone ever swap in a set of inner fenders,rad support,cab supports( for inner fenders) from a 73-79 into their 67-72?
With rotten supports,rad support and inner fenders and some 73-79 stuff lying around mint..I figured I would give it a go as i've heard it done before.

So.. it all bolts up ok.. had to slot one of the holes ( the single one) on the cab braces to mount it up. Going to need a little playing to get the 67 fenders to line up but looks to be no problem.
However.. when I went to test bolt up the hood.. initial findings do not look good. Not sure if moving the cab braces "in" as in towards the engine will...fix it, but the hood will not bolt up ( the 67 hood looks as though its hinge holes are further in then then 73-79 hinges will allow for)...

Now this could be a matter of adjustment..and to compensate for the fact that the cab braces are a different width from 67 to 73.... either way preliminary findings appear to be that the 67 hood is closer together towards the insides of the inner fenders.
Is this true or am I on crack? I don't have a 73+ hood to measure at the moment.
Marc

 

As far as the cab braces go, if memory serves me correctly, you can avoid slotting the one hole by using your old ones. If yours works, great. As far as the hood goes, the hinges are bolted on to the outside of the fender aprons supporting rib for the 73-79 trucks and it is opposite for the 67-72's. In order to use the 73-79 aprons, you have to use the 73-79 hinges as well. The adjustable range for the 67-72 hoods is approximately 62-1/4" to 63" and the range for the 73-79 hoods are 61-1/2" to 61-3/4". After you slide the J-nuts as close to the hood centerline, there is only a 1/2" of difference. This can easily be made up with the slopin the factory hinges. I actually got this information from another site, I just can't remember which one at this time. Another thing that I found is that a 73-79 hood will also bolt up. It won't look original but it works and the mounting width difference is not an issue. If you have any more questions, I will try to answer them to the best of my abilities. It is a good swap because then you have the galvanized core support and aprons so rust won't be a future issue.

MOSES

 

Glad you are here in this forum as I was wondering this for awhile. The 73 up peices are much better because of the galvanizing and are little easier to obtain. Around here it is alot harder to get parts for the 67/72 then the 73/79 parts.

 

Project update

Well so far moving the J bolts and inner mounts isn't going to work out so well. Tried that tonight with no sucess. I am using the 73 cab brace as the 67's were rotten ( and I chucked them). They are different ( bolt spacing)...
and more narrow ( 2.5 instead of 3 inches I think it was) .
Anyways... To get them to mate to the cab you need to open ( horizontally ) the single bolt on the engine side of them brace. Not a big deal but...

With them slid all the way in ( as much as they slide)...and the inner fenders in with hinges installed you get a centre on centre bolt spacing of 64 to 64 1/4 ... the 67 hood is 61 1/4. So I need 3 more inches. Not going to happen ( you would mishape the inner fender something fierce I think? ) even if you could slide them that much. May work better if I had some correct year braces...but I don't. I may have to re use the 67 hood hinges and mount them on the inside of the inner fenders ( as the factory did)..drill hole and use some plate on the inside of the inner fenders for support.

The big trick to that as I see it ??? Having to mount the hinges compressed.... install the hood. Then try and get up into the engine compartment and mark the hole for drilling. I can't see any other way to go about that..otherwise I will be totally guessing. Then I have to hope it opens without running into the cab. ....Oh boy.

Any more help???
Marc

 

Just thought I would add some insight.......couple of years ago I added 78 rad support and inner fenders to my 69. I used 73 cab braces, if by that you mean the extension mounts that are bolted to the cab that the inner fenders bolt to, and 78 hood hinges. The 69 hood bolted up with a little fiddling then all I had to do was line everything up I think it looks good. The inner fenders were also a little time consuming to install, I had to loosen all the bolts and really push on some bolts to get them to start but eventually they all went in. The hood latch was a unique story I ended up using the 69 version eventually when I installed the 69 hood, I used a 78 style at first as I used a 73 hood for a while.
To top it all off the 69 sits on a 73 frame and uses a 78 300/C6 powertrain :-)

 

Whoo hooo... Good news. Well when you bolt up the 73-79 mounts on the inside of the fenders by drilling straight through the rear most part of all three mounting holes... you end up with a hood that sits 3/8" too high and 1" too far forward. SO....that being said, tomorrow I will re drill all 6 holes in the new " correct" position...and viola!! I will have a hood that bolts up, and lines up. Now I can correct the cab/bed body line up issue and bolt on the fenders and grille so it looks like a 67 Mercury truck again.

I want to see if I can get that done this weekend.. and possibly start on the suspension mods( rear shackle flip to start on the rear... hopefully my now too long driveshaft will bolt in after that much lift)... kinda long after the 4spd to C6 swap.... lol.( 3 inches)

I will post some pics soon...
Marc

 

i want a merc

 

Latest issues...

Well initial observations of having to re drill my hole are false. With the balance of the ront clip all back together and adjustments made... I see now it will almost work out. Other then the large gap between my pass side fender and the bulkhead that I will have to try and fix...

So for your info on the swap guys... More information on the inner fender issues. If you located the 73+ hood hinges in the stock hole locations but inside rather then out.. you should be ok if you just elongate the bolt holes in the hinge that bold on the hood. Do this about 3/4 inch more towards the rear ( in other words making it easy to move the hood back towards the windshield when closed) otherwise everything lined up when closed. Had to add 3/8 pipe pcs cut to fit the inside width of the inner fenders to prevent colapse when tightening the hood hinge bolts.

I would have all lined up..but when you push the inder fender combo back to make the hood line up..the fenders don't fit ( hit the door)... so that is no good.

Rad support from the 73+ worked mint ( with the exception of 4 holes you need to drill, but those become obvious when mounting the grille)...a hole for the old style hood latch ( not a problem)...However I will recommend that if you don't have a 73+ rad support that still has the 3 nuts still welded into the top of the support that hold the support/grille/outer fender all together..go find one. Putting nuts inside there with a wrench...is a bitch.
It works..but still not my cup of tea. ( you will know the ones I mean when you go look at one)...anyways its done so whatever.

Inner fenders will need to be drilled for all new bolt locations for the outer fenders (all the ones that run on the top of the fender bolting to the innner. They all end up under the outer fenders now...so the bolt hole will not line up at all. Not a big deal that some bolts and nuts cant solve. They will also need to be pulled up ( as in towards the outder fender) as they are tucked down too low ( less then a inch) but will flex up into place nicely when bolted so no big deal. Took some pics this weekend I will try and develop when I get back from BC. Taking two weeks of as of Friday, Visiting Victoria, Skiing in Whistler and sledding in Revelstoke..should be fun. Then it will be back to her in early Feb. Would like to take her out 4 wheeling in the spring melt.

Hope this helps someone else. More to come soon

Marc

 

Only in Canada, will almost only in Canada. Some did make into the States but orginally Mercury trucks were sold only in Canada. I have a 53 M250 , a 56 M100 and 1 or 2 57/60 Mercurys trucks. My 56 M100 was one of less than 7000 units made, kinda neat but not that impressive when you think about it. It will be a nice truck if I ever get it off the rotisserie and back on the frame where it belongs. It is a frame off restorod, stock body and a Mercury car front clip. It will have a stock body with a modern running gear. I kept the orginal frame in tack in case some one wants to put it back to stock. Doubt that will ever happen but it would be possible and not too hard to do.The last year of Mercury trucks I believe to be 1968. Mercury trucks are the very same as the Ford trucks except for the name on the badges and on the tail gate. A little unique but I like all the FOMOCO`s trucks, Ford and Mercury.

 

what is really involved when swapping a 67-72 radiator support for a 73-79? i was thinking about doing it since no one sells brand new ones and used ones are usually junk. how does each piece bolt up?