I've just bought a 65 Mercury M250 pickup in the interior of British Columbia and brought it to Vancouver. I'm not a mechanic so I'd like to find someone who can check it out. Can anyone recommend a mechanic or garage in the Vancouver area? In time I hope to learn what I need to know about this old beauty, but for now I just want to be sure it's running well and it's safe to drive!

 

A bit too far away for me to help but please post some pics of the truck.

Someday I will own a nice mercury pickup from 65 or 66. As soon as I can find a rust free example...

 

I am a tad closer...but still a heckuva drive..and then theres the border stuff since I dont have updated border crossing docs.

Post pics if you can and ask questions..theres a ton of info here from more people then you can shake a stick at..a couple on here, myself included have parts catalogs the dealers used back in the day and can help you figure what year/s they will interchange with and so on...



Welcome, cs65

 

I just bought this a few days ago. The VIN says M250, and the hood says Mercury...but check out the Ford 100 badges! Maybe I can find someone who wants to trade for some Mercury ones.

 

Still figuring out how to upload photos!

 

there's gotta be an easier way to do this! Bear with me.

 

Hey, welcome to FTE. Can't help you find a mechanic, I'm in Central Alberta, still too far away! I have a '65 Mercury M250 too, and I learned all about it right here. If you post your Warrenty Plate info, someone will decode it for you. Your truck looks great, I wish that I had one in as good a shape. I'm curious what kind of radio you have?

 

dank4120 - thanks for the message. I was just out in Sundre about 3 or 4 weeks ago - not sure if that's 'central' Alberta, but it's sure nice! Lived in Calgary for 12 years, but that was a while back now.
My truck has a Ford radio, probably the original, analog AM only of course, not sure if it works but I'll try it out. A previous owner installed an under-dash CD player that's not in good shape so will have to go.
I'll try to attach a couple more photos. The truck looks in great shape, drives relatively well but needs a tuneup. I suspect the 500km drive home in that blistering heat last week - 35 plus - probably wasn't good for its health, although it handled it with no problems.

 

Yep, Sundre is Central enough for me, I'm about a hour North, in Rocky Mountain House. You've probably seen the M250 fender badges before, but if not, here's what you are looking for:



I can't tell from the picture if your steering column is original? I've learned that lots of people swap in newer frames and/or front ends to get an upgrade to disc brakes. Have you popped off your hub caps to see if your hubs are 5 bolt or 8 bolt? I'm pretty sure you would have had 8 bolt hubs in an M250 originally. If not, who cares, as long as it drives good, and looks good, right?

Does your radio have pushbuttons and are they circular or rectangular? If you have a chance could you post a closeup? I'ld like to compare it to mine.

 

I'll post a photo of the radio - it doesn't sound quite as fancy as yours. Also, the steering column and wheel obviously came from something else - it's not clear in the photo but the column is purple! The horn works but the wheel is not Mercury, at least not mid-sixties truck. I don't know enough about Fords/Mercs to be able to say what it came out of, but the driver's door panel is also patched in from some other vehicle. The passenger door panel is currently stuck behind the seat - neither door has door handles, so you have to open the window to let yourself out! Oh, yes, she's pretty on the outside, but...got some interior issues as they say.
I'm going to get the steering and brakes checked out by a Ford dealer here. I think the brakes are hydraulic drums all around, although they work well enough, given a bit of lead time. The steering is looser than I'd like it to be, but I'm used to rack-and-pinion front-wheel drive. As most of my driving will be city, I'd prefer to switch to front discs if that's possible. Also the tail-gate is a later Ford addition. The seats? I have no idea where they might have come from.
Rocky, eh? I used to head up there a lot when I lived in Calgary - a friend of mine was married to a lawyer there but they split up. I drove through on my way to Sundre, as it's a shorter drive from Vancouver than through Cochrane - sure has grown! Many fond memories of the House.
And thanks for the photo of the Mercury badge. I know where there's a Merc parked on a farm in Manitoba, but I'd prefer not to cannibalize it, as it's got great restore potential. I'll keep an eye open around here and put the word out to friends on the prairies - probably more Mercs on the flatlands than out here on the coast.
Take care - will get a pic of the radio posted asap. Are there any photos of your truck available anywhere?

 

the radio doesn't work, but this is what it looks like...

 

Hey, thanks for the radio pic, it's different than mine. Looks like a '60 or '61 Ford or Falcon radio, according to this site Chevy Car Radio Manuals, others may know for sure. You'll also see what the original '61 - '66 Ford Truck radios look like. Too bad yours is toast!

The best way to see everyone's ride is to click their user name, then view their gallery. Or you can select the Galleries pulldown, then filter on specific years or models. Don't laugh too hard at my wreck! I spent so much on the brakes that I'll have to wait until next year for body work and paint!

Disc brake conversions come up a lot, Bill W just posted a link to a good article, although it was for an F100? Search around a bit, I'm sure you'll find someone who has put discs on an F250/M250.

 

Thanks for the info - I'm on it. Will keep in touch.I 'm also restoring a 1920's Canadian Company Canoe, cedar and canvas. It's all about the same thing.

 

Got:That sure looks like a beauty.Good luck with it.Iwant my m100 lookin like that.

 

F&M - haha! nice paint can cover a multitude of sins! If you're restoring your M100, I'd put the time and $$ into the mechanicals first; paint really is the icing on the cake. Although my M250 looks pretty good, there's work to be done that shoulda been done before it was painted so nicely - or not done, as the case may be, with items such as the purple steering column and whatever mysteries lurk at both ends of it. All in good time...got to finish building the garage first! Glad to hear your ride's a Merc - in my opinion, FWIW, they're pretty classy.