Brucekoukalaka

And here's some pics of the merc.

I recently traded a 1962 Mercury unibody pickup truck for a '52 F3 and I'm more than happy with myself. First the Merc, of which I paid nothing for, was in sad shape floor, cab, and engine were all very bad, engine was seized, floors did not exist and the body had holes in the doors, box, and even some places that I couldn't even find. I found the F3 online and the ad stated "willing to trade for a 1960s era truck." I called him up and asked about it and he lives about an hour away and would be interested in coming up on the weekend to look mine over. He fell in love with the Merc and we agreed to trade, he had a trailer and was willing to deliver the F3 and pick up the Merc the next weekend. Now I'm chomping at the bit to work on this gem and have it running by my 60th birthday just over a year and a half away. granted the engine in this is also stuck but they are easily freed up for the most part. I also have a couple friends that rebuild flatties for a living and they both have offered to help out whenever I need it. The cab is in excellent condition and the floors have no rot in them at all. She is about 95% complete (only things missing are 3 original rims, the rear window, and the ashtray.) I even have a pair of hubcaps that belong to it. I also need new glass all around but again I have friends that work in the business to come to my aid when needed.

I already found a gasket set for it, and Mac's Auto has sleeves to bring it back to stock bore.

Finally got around to checking the engine out a bit (been cold and lousy weather here in the great white north) and found she's stuck... 2 bottles of Marvel mystery oil in the plug holes and down the carb might help free it up. everything under the hood looks like it came from the assembly line except 1 hose clamp and a plastic fuel filter. I'll tear the engine down later this year to rebuild after I get my '53 'Binder running.

I'm not partial to the '59 Edsel as it looks like Ford couldn't make up their minds whether to go with the '58 styling or proceed with the 1960 model. I think this was one reason the company failed, never mind reliability issues, they just tried to make the cars too different each year as well as running the on the same assembly lines as the Ford and Mercury vehicles.

I would love to find a station wagon (Bermuda) in half decent shape to restore as well but I'll take what I can get and carry on.:cool:

Next time I go out there I will probably pull the doors and anything else I can. I doubt the car will go to crush before next summer as there is someone nosing around it and number 16 (a pre-production car that was supposed to be destroyed in 1958 after touring every Edsel dealership in Canada.

The old girl is sitting at home waiting for her turn in the garage (I have my '53 International in there now) Today I was out where she came from and collected a few parts I'll be needing to fix her up with including a pair of brand new rear quarter panels the former owner had sitting in the parts car, he told me to go through everything and take what I wanted before the car went to crush... There certainly isn't much left of it except a pair of nice doors which won't work on mine, it's a 2 door.

The Edsel paint code breaks down to Sunrise Coral, Colonial white, and Silver grey metallic. It is the only one on record with this combo.

These are my toys the Edsel and Galaxie are pretty much stock however the International is being built on a 1991 F350 frame as the original was too far gone. The Ford products in my stable are mainly going to be drivers not show cars (I'm not stuck on people that build them strictly to throw on a trailer to go to shows!)

She has tires under her now, waiting for next weekend to be delivered. As for originality, I don't think there's much been changed on her aside from tires and a battery. I was out looking at her today and must say I am very impressed with the overall condition. I also think that I will be able to get the starter rebuilt and fire the old girl up (last time it ran was about 9 years ago) My plan is to fix the mechanical problems( if there are more) and do a minimum of bodywork IE replace the driver front fender, fix the rust holes and hammer and dolly out the rear fenders as needed. I am hoping not to have to paint the whole car, just where repairs are required to keep it as a survivor.

Here are a couple of pictures of my new car; She may not look too great now but I will be driving it hopefully within the next 2 years. Sorry it's a Pacer not Ranger