My son is also a member on these forums and he sent me this link.
1956 Mercury M100 4x4 - 1956 mercury
Does anybody know any more about this truck. I am curious about the way is was built. It would seem to me that the engine would have had to be moved forward or the fire wall was modified. If one of you guys posted it I would appreciate it if you could get back to me by PM or e-mail me at db1@pvpmedia.com. Thanks.

 

he's a member here i beleive dave and that truck was for sale north of the border if memory serves me right . i dont remeber what he goes by though . thats a case of shortening it { the frame } and probably like i was suggesting , when you cut it just replace the curved frame peices with some new straight channel like i did and boxing it so it'd be easier to mount the body . {oh and yeah i used the late model rear cab mounts on mine to get rid of the dog bones }. with the right wheels and tires it looks great even lifted up like that . yet another possibility eh dave ????? oh and moving the driveline forward , splicing the front 56 frame horns in . sounds like a lot of work but to me it's fun and a challenge and from what i seen aint no prob for you !! later !! oh and a cut down express bed or leave it long enough for a long bed , is wide enoughto cover the rear tires up .

 

Thanks for the reply 55,
My chances of finding one of those express beds around here are as about as good as the chances of me winning the lottery. I have been entertaining the idea of building a special bed for my Miller Big 40 welding machine but since I'm using a half ton chassis I don't think it would be up to the challenge. That thing weighs about 1400# and then there's the weight of all that 1/8" deck plate. I don't want to go with then 3/4 ton chassis so I will probably just forget the whole deal and go with the regular bed. I can widen it. I have the sheet metal equipment to make most of the parts.

 

Dave I don't know how big your miller big 40 is but I brought home my late 70's Miller 300/300 with a water cooled Tig and it was more than my old 1990 Ranger wanted. 20 miles at a slow speed! Too much for my Ranger or for Willard my F-1.

 

The Big 40 is roughly the size of a Lincoln SA-200 long hood and weighs about the same if not slightly more. it's about 5 feet long, 22 inches wide and 3 feet high with a 4 cylinder flat head Continental Red Seal engine. I always have the option of putting the Big 40 on a nice trailer base. That may be the best option as people keep terying to buy it from me. I keep telling them $4,000.00 because I think it will be too high for them. If someone calls my bluff I'll have to sell it. I kind of hate to do that as I put a lot into restoring it. But this is not about welding machines, it,s about the trucks.