Last summer I inquired about this Mercury M350 that had sat in a field for approximately 40 years from what I was told and was given the go to take it at will. Last summer unfortunately was a very wet one and being a clay road leading to it made it impossible for me to get it until the fall. The truck had a very hard life by the looks of it and the pictures are proof of it..Here it is when it finally made it out to the main road thanks to a friend and waiting for the flat deck hauler..



Side emblems are in fairly good shape, lettering on the nose piece are badly pitted and I'm missing the Letter C in case anyone feels sorry for me and has one please contact me..
It would appear to be a fairly basic base model with very little going for it..223 cu.in inline six, 3 speed heavy duty transmission and SRW rear axle with 5.14 to 1 ratio. It did have what looked like a home made flat bed on it made of wood which was removed where it sat. Wood was so rotten it crumbled in your hands..
The day it arrived was the 20th of October 2019


The rear wheels were locked up and wouldn't roll and surprised the tires held air..



This is where it sat all winter
Now for a glimpse of the interior..lol


this truck actually had seat belts..


This spring after it warmed up enough I started removing everything from inside the cab


cardboard headliner.


Seat and tank were removed then swept out, rear floor section appears that it can be saved but requires patching above the rear cab mounts,
needs rear inner cab corners and a front left side quarter section of floor. Passenger side under the cab mount needs some small patches as well..



Now the front sheet metal or what was left of it was removed and taken to the dump..
Most of it was secured together with baling wire, tin plate and sheet metal screws..

 

Motor is all there but missing the rotor from the distributor, oil in it is remarkably clean, it is seized up but put an inspection camera in each cylinder and no sign of rust so I did put about 2 ounces of transmission fluid in each cylinder last fall but haven't tried to see if it is free . I'll take the ring gear cover off one day and see if I can get it to move. No plans on using it or any of the drive train for that matter..
A couple weeks ago I removed the cab from the frame and brought it in my shop..




I gapped the doors and braced the cab before putting it on my rotisserie then started to scrape off all the under coating and sound deadening
material from both inside and outside..

I was then left with a rolling chassis that later was moved to the back fence line, I'll get to it once the work to the cab is done

 

All four corners are rotten
Plan is to fix the the small sections of floor under the front cab mount and lower door post. Replace the front quarter section on the left side and a section of the toe board ( left side )
Then I'll remove the complete floor and do the repairs to the back section and replace the inner cab corners , rockers and outer corners all the way round..

 

Yesterday I cut out the small sections needing replaced under the right front cab mount.


Made those patches.




Today I made the lower section of the door post and welded that in and can now weld the floor patches in and replace the cab brace and inner cab mount bracket..
then onto the other side..

 

John, thanks for starting your build thread. As bad as the front fenders are, it's amazing how good your cab is especially the 56 roof peak. And your doors don't look too bad.

Maybe Mercs are different but the Heavy duty 3 speed is special and you have a passenger side sun visor. Looking forward to your progress.

 

It's going to be a slow process in all likelihood, suspension will have to wait for another year. I have most of the sheet metal to complete the body but need a short running board for the passenger side and going to make a flat bed frame eventually too..

First thing I did was free up the rear wheels, it was suggested that I just take a sledge hammer to the drums and break them to free the brake lining that were stuck to them but I thought better than that and saved them just in case there was a need for them by someone other than I


It took some doing but with persistence and a several hours each side I did get them off
Apparently the rims on it is the widow makers

 

John, did you find out if Ford/Mercury ever made a Mercury "Script" flatbed?

And if not would it be sacreligious to put a Ford script bed on a Mercury if you can find one?

 

And your neighbour's are having a meeting without you with the theme being " oh no not again " . You my friend are a brute for punishment but keep us updated . lol

 

This cab appears to be in better shape than his F100 cab.

 

I have plans on making my own bed abe. I don't want Mercury on front and Ford on the back but I may end up with a script bed just the same..

 

I'll know more once I get the sandblaster out, there is a hole in the window frame I discovered when I pulled the glass..

 

Good to see another build tread John was hoping you would do this

 

Agree, thanks John for keeping us in the loop!!

 

Love following your builds, John. Subscribed!

 

I'm a fan as well John...subscribed!!! I bet you finish yours before Pat finishes his.