[IMG]file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/GT/Desktop/images.jpeg[/IMG]Yeah tailgates are hard to find and usually run at least a couple of hundred dollars unless you're lucky enough to get one in an obscure junkyard somewhere - or a farmer's field.
That said, I've looked at some photos of 61 Ford shortboxes and the Merc box is definitely shorter than short! In fact, if you look at the side-on photo there does seem to be something odd in the sheet metal work about 2 or 3 inches from the rear where it looks like someone has tried to match up that line that flares from the front of the box to the back (just below the top of the box). Why anyone would do this is a mystery because it only shortens the box by maybe 4 inches? A possibility is that this truck was rear-ended and the box chopped rather than straightened. Who knows when it's 50 years old? I'm thinking now: not running, possibly rear-ended, mystery bodywork, was the frame shortened, straightened, etc.?...I think I'd save my money for now. It's an attractive price, but I suspect you're looking at least another thousand just to have it on the road, provided there's nothing else seriously wrong such as the transmission, which of course you can't know about if it's not driveable. It's a shame, as they are few and far between. Are you set on a Mercury? I like them because they're a Canadian icon, but there are more Fords available from that era that also look pretty amazing when they're redone - or even as they are! And there are Mercs around. It took me about two years to find one I liked that I could also afford - but came with no tailgate (actually has a Ford one)! I've been looking for THAT item for the last eight months...and that's just the beginning of the list. Fun to drive though. So if you decide to pass on this one, another will come along, not to worry.