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There is a truck local to me that I may be interested in looking at but would like to know more about what the basic one looked like.
Any links appreciated.
I understand most of the differences between the Fords and Merc's are just trim and badges. How does the tail gate look? That is probably the most valuable part.
However I am wondering what bumpers it had, because I have found two types, see below. I know rear bumpers were probably optional but fronts came with each truck, no?
The tail gate was also a question but this seems to answer that but I am no expert so if you know more then please let me know.
I have seen a few with this style.
I have found more with this but it looks like a 60's stye bumper.
And according to this site Mike Tanner Cars
My understanding is there were two different rear bumpers and three different front bumpers that were installed at various times during the production run of '57-60 Ford light trucks (F-100). I can only assume the same is true for the Canadian versions of this truck (Mercury). Up until the '60's, a rear bumper of any kind was an option and many times it was dealer installed. Rear bumpers on trucks were not mandated by law at that time. The rear bumper shown in your first picture is sometimes referred to as the "contour" bumper and is typically installed on trucks with the Styleside bed. The contour exposes the bed mounted, center rear license plate. The other rear bumper is a relatively straight, flat item and was typically installed on trucks with the Flareside bed. These trucks had the license plate mounted on a bracket that hung under the left tail light.
The Mercury trucks differed externally from their Ford counterparts in having a brand specific tailgate and hood.
As for the front bumper, there were three distinct versions. The bumpers shown in your fourth and fifth pictures were the last style of bumpers made for the '57-60 light trucks. They were first introduced on the 1959 trucks and carried over to 1960. The '59 and '60 frame horns are shaped different than the '57 and '58 versions. This frame horn tweak puts the bumper in proper position to match up with the front sheetmetal. However, this later version front bumper can easily be mounted on a '57 or '58 truck as your pictures illustrate. Accomplishing this requires flattening out the two lower bumper mounting brackets that bolt to the bottom of the frame and installing two "L" shaped brackets which bolt to the side of the frame.
The bumper shown in your third picture was the standard bumper installed on '57 and '58 trucks. It is basically a hold over from 1956. The front frame horns on the '53-'56 trucks are basically the same as the '57-'58 models. This bumper also has provisions for a center mounted front license plate.
The third style of front bumper was an option on '57-'58 trucks shown on the truck pictured above. As you can see, it looks similar to the '59-'60 version, but it does not have a provision for mounting a license plate. If a front license plate was required, Ford supplied a bracket that mounted the plate above the top edge of the bumper, next to the right side parking light. This was not one of Ford's "better ideas". This bumper and corresponding brackets are relatively hard to find and not very popular as it turns the rather ugly license plate into an eyesore. As far as I know, this style of front bumper is not reproduced while the other two kinds are available new.
As mentioned earlier, I can only assume Mercury offered the same basic bumper configurations for their trucks during the same year models and time period. As you already know, there were hundreds of different aftermarket rear bumpers produced to fit these trucks. What I am referring to here is the stuff that came from the Ford factory. I hope this is of some help.
03-26-2018, 11:57 AM
