My truck's history is documented on the site https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ely-giddy.html but I'll relay the story briefly here. I bought the truck in northern Washington state right by the Canadian border in October '09. The guy I got it from said it belonged to his grandfather. It was last tagged in 1969 and had been sitting on the family acreage for all that time. Allegedly his grand father used it on a sheep ranch in British Columbia before migrating south with the truck to the states in the late 50's/early 60's. The truck was totally dilapidated with the radiator and heads missing from the flattie, so the engine was pretty much toast. The wood on the bed was so rotted the left rear corner was falling down. On the plus side, it was all original with basically solid sheet metal less the usual fender and cab corner rust, and most importantly, all the unique Mercury trim was there and perfect.

Fast forward to me taking the truck home and cleaning it out when these insurance cards came flying out of the header panel above the windshield. It clearly showed the original owners of the truck. With some help form forum member Rod, aka Old Ugly, I was able to not only track down but talk to the original owner's family members and get some valuable information and historical documentation, including family photos of the truck when it was new. It turns out the truck, built in Windsor, Ont. in mid '52, was sold at a Mercury dealer in Vernon, B.C. to Mick's Moving and Storage, ordered in primer as a cab and chassis, then subsequently painted white and had a stake bed installed before delivery. The Mick's used it for several years before possibly selling it to the sheep rancher. And now the 52 Mercury M1 resides in pieces waiting for the usual time and money to return it to it's former glory.

 

That's a great story Wayne. Thanks for sharing.

 

Great story! Thanks for sharing.

 

Both Wayne and rustyrelic have great stories. It is nice to know the actual history of these, but most of us can only guess.

 

They are great stories. And I'd love to see some more from others that know their truck's history...

 

I'm the second owner of the 49 F3. Bought it from the son of the original owner out of the last farm in Cook county Il which is Chicago the farm all the tractors and even the barn was sold and he had to be off the property in a few weeks. The truck was parked in the barn in 1982 when his dad got cancer and passed away. His mom would not sell it so it sat until I came along in 1999. It was in reasonable shape but the engine was frozen it had 51000 miles and had never been out of Illinois. He paid $1551.00 for it and sold it to me for $1500 so it cost $1 per thousand miles! The only way his mom would sell it was If she liked me when i came to the farm and if i promised to restore it to look like it did when her husband drove it. So it has modern drive train but will look original and green when painted.

 

One day while talking with a friend he says hey I know where one of them trucks your looking for is..
Off we go to his grandmothers house and in a dirt floored garage out back is this 1955 F250..
With some work the owner was tracked down and the deal was struck and I paid 500 dollars for Ol Blue..
Towed her home and pulled the plugs and when all that water poured out I knew it was a slightly larger job then I wanted to tackle.. Pulled the engine and dropped at the local engine rebuilder.. Long story cut short after 2 weeks they called me to pick it up.. .060 bore .010x.010 crank runs like a dream..
That was back in 91 as near as I can recall with the help of the old registrations in the glove box..
Once she was running I drove her the few miles to the address on the oldest registration I had and pulled up out front.. Her former owner comes running from the house yelling " My Old Truck !! " We had a nice chat and I got her back story..

Bought to haul a 35 foot travel trailer back to the Midwest she was ordered with 5.88 gears.. fitted with hydraulic interfaced unit for elect trailer brakes and a full bank of relays to handle the amp load for the trailers directional.. He even dragged out a few old pictures but wouldn't part with any of them that showed her all hooked up for the long haul..
Repainted and sold in about 1970 to a gardener who blew the head gaskets and parked her in the garage where I found her many years later

So she remains more or less as I found her.. Still her original 239 baby Y block.. T98 4 speed with little more then the 65k miles she showed on her odometer when I got her.. I did have her interior done when I had the engine rebuilt.. Seat and door panels covered.. The cardboard headliner is still original..

In about 1995 I'd been playing with the idea of creating a 4x4 out of her and ran down a junk yard willing to dicker with me.. 600 bucks got me the Dana 3500lb HD front.. Rear axel, NP 205 transfer case, driveshaft's, cross member from a 75 F250.. About a month later she rolled out about like you see.. The new gear sets of 4.10 leave her a bit shy on power when loaded or towing but sure made her far more able to hold her own in So Cal 80 mph traffic..
https://app.box.com/s/ro1zy5lah6muentzdlnq
https://www.ford-trucks.com/g/picture/1395054

 

The history of my truck is easy. My grandfather (maternal) bought it new on December 26, 1954. He traded in a 1947 Ford half ton. He used it on his dairy farm. I remember driving it in the tobacco field as a little kid as me and my cousins dropped off tobacco lath for the men spearing the tobacco. I remember riding in the back of the truck with my cousins as Grandpa drove from his one farm to the other. We kids thought that was cool. I liked the sound the Yblock made. He retired and sold the farm and built a new house to live in. In 1977 my 57 Chevy Bel Air needed the tranny rebuilt. I now needed a vehicle to get to my summer college classes and then to work. Mom said Grandpa wants to sell his old Ford truck. I got cash that I had been saving and went to talk to him. I offered him $300. He said he can't sell it to me for $300. I thought now I have to borrow money! But then he said he would sell it to me for $200. It was my daily driver and work truck for that summer. I drove it to my girlfriends house and we went to the shore shortly after I bought it. In the fall I took it with me to college about 3 hours away.

I had the engine rebuilt in June of 1979. Its been a reliable truck ever since, except the last year and a half. Hopefully my brother in law gets it running soon and back on the road.

 

Thanks for sharing guys. These are great stories.