Rembrant

I had to go check to make sure I wasn't fibbing Gary...lol. It wasn't for the entire run of Mercury trucks. Apparently just for the first 11 of the 22 years. Quote below: "But, although Mercury’s trucks were essentially F-Series, they did have some unique features. For one, until 1957, Mercury trucks were exclusively V8-powered; in the F-Series, it was an option. The M Series also had different grilles and bumpers with more chrome and more interior trim options."

Greetings Sebastien! Nice truck you have there. I'm a big fan of the 5.8! If you ever wanted a Kilometer per hour speedometer, let us know. They are fairly easy to find here in Canada, and very easy to change out in the Bullnose trucks. Those of us that are outside of the USA are always scheming and trying to find ways to get parts cheaply out of the USA. Shipping has always been very expensive, and now with Covid things have gotten even worse. Shipping within the USA is very efficient and inexpensive...but once you try to move it out of the country, costs shoot up fast! Taxes are...well, taxes...they aren't going anywhere unfortunately.

Ha! That's a great idea Jeff, very creative. That will get people asking questions at car shows and wherever else you stop and get people looking the truck over like they do! Can't wait to see the finished product. I like special touches like this that are unique, but still look factory-ish. My current project truck is a 1952 Mercury M1 that I bought last year. It's currently getting a drivetrain "makeover", albeit a slow one... Gary, I knew the last year was 1968 for the Mercury trucks, but I can't remember the first year...it was around 1946. It's an interesting story, but because Canada was so sparsely populated back in those days, many towns and regions were not big enough or populated to have both Ford and Mercury dealership. To get better coverage, Ford Canada offered Mercury pickups so that all of the towns that didn't have Ford dealerships could still buy pickup trucks locally. They were of course just Ford trucks with Mercury badging, but they had their own unique features. One thing was...if I'm remembering correctly, that Mercury pickups only came with V8's. It you wanted an inline 6, you'd have to buy a Ford....at least for part of that time. As far as I know, the Merc's came in both Styleside and Flareside, and even one tons and medium duty series. Basically the same thing as Chevrolet and GMC, except it was Ford and Mercury in Canada...at least for a couple decades, back before we adopted the metric system, haha. (I was going to insert a USA joke here, but I won't pick on you guys!!). In any case, this is a cool project that Jeff has going. Can't wait to see the end result.

Man I hate seeing those bed rails drilled like that, but I know it was a very common thing one time. The way things rust around here, people are scared to drill a single hole in anything for any reason... The truck looks really solid otherwise, but as noted with the head laying on the seat...lol, that decreases the value obviously. I always say, start high!

Gary, It’s still working as original (normal) on my iPhone, but still showing as unread on my laptop. It’s weird because I’ll click on a thread thinking there’s a new reply but then there isn’t lol.

That sure IS dedication, I agree. Once those bolts are corroded in the aluminum, the water pump removal is tough enough without getting into the timing cover. I know it's too late now, but there is a way around having to replace the old CW carbed timing cover when switching to serpentine drive. Install a water pump from a 1986 Mustang 5.0 GT. I guess because Ford started using the serpentine drive system on the 5.0 when it was still carbed (or still used the old timing cover) they made a water pump with round ports instead of the D shaped ports. The pump with the round ports can be installed on either CW or CCW timing cover, and they're physically the same as all the other water pumps otherwise. I have one of these on my 5.0 now as I was planning to run an old carbed cover, but I ended up with an EFI timing cover anyway. What's his name put me on to this?...Who is the member on here that works at a Ford dealer in Oregon or Washington?...Earl?

Welcome aboard! Great group here, from all over. I have to ask, what is the Steam Power name about?...

I have to give the seller some credit for getting the price he did, but these trim rings are getting pretty hard to find aren't they? And nobody is making duplicates in the aftermarket... I see he has a neat set of fog lights for sale also. https://www.ebay.com/itm/353994281337?hash=item526bb41179:g:MaIAAOSwfzliTNmn

Got it! Thanks Jim, and thanks John for the great post with all the pics (Sorry for the hijack!).

But if I don't want to use a bulb, I can just use the 510 ohm resistor then, right? Or should one use both like in the Ford diagram? Since I won't have a factory gauge or bulb to wire to, I'll have to install something else...and I'd like it to be at least somewhat pleasing to the eye (as opposed to the 194 bulb that was dangling under the dash previously lol).

Excellent write up, well done! Great pictures too. I have a 1996 5.0 with original serpentine drive and 3G alternator that I'm installing into my 1952 pickup, so some of your info is very helpful to me. I'm planning on installed a triple gauge set like yours, so I'll check out the Stewart Warner gauges. I wanted them to be all electric like yours, so that's great info. I too was wondering about that excite wire since I'll be installing the 5.0 with 3G in my pickup this summer. The previous setup in this truck had a little peanut style 194 bulb dangling under the dash as a means of exciting the GM alternator that was installed. I'll be installing all aftermarket gauges, so I wasn't sure what I needed to do with that green/red wire. If I can just wire it directly to the ignition and not even worry about a bulb or anything, then I guess I can just carry on. However, I believe the dash gauges I have been looking at DO have an alternator indicator light, so I wonder if I could use that....hmmm.

Yes. On the '96 5.0 I just rebuilt, the two corner bolts on the driver's side head snapped off. I was able to get one out, the other one I left for the engine shop. Those corner bolts are exposed to the elements on the outside, and they're the ones that see the coolant leaks first, so they always rust in place.

$1900 haha. I have a high tolerance for buying rusty stuff...probably higher than most, but this is not a $1900 truck in my opinion lol. It wouldn't even be allowed on the road where I live.

Me too, haha.

Copied and pasted from your other thread: Stock un-ported heads on this 351w? Did you say the intake was an Edelbrock Performer? If yes, I think the Fel-Pro 1250 and 1250S3 are good choices. I don't think the Performer has an exhaust crossover, so the 1250S3 would be good imho. If you need the crossover, go with the 1250. I use Permatex Grey around all 4 coolant ports, and both ends of the manifold at the "China walls". I've used the fancy ARP SBF manifold bolts before, but the 5.0 I'm doing now I bought some grade 8 5/16" bolts. I bought 2.25" long bolts this time just to make sure I get lots of bite...I think the factory bolts are 2"? Probably overkill, but whatever. Torqued to spec in 3 stages, and let it sit overnight to dry if possible. I think it was Bill on here that suggested I use 4 long guides (long bolts with the heads cut off) to ensure you lower the manifold on to the engine perfectly square and even. They're in my tool box now;).

It's weird. I usually use Chrome, but I just checked MS Edge or whatever it's called. Same issue. The threads all show as read in the "Topics" column, but in the "Replies Last Post", they are not showing as red. However, they ARE showing as read on my iPhone, even after viewing them only on my PC. It seems sort of random, but it is a thing for sure. Fine on my mobile. I just cleared all my cookies and whatnot, and re-signed into the forum. No change. Maybe my antivirus or something...I'll keep trying. And on Edge..

I don't know if this has been posted before or not, but I thought it was pretty neat!

I noticed recently that the threads on the forum are not showing as read after I've viewed them. I assume that is an issue with my browser? ie: Chrome? It still works on my iPhone...I can click on "Topics View", and then the threads that I've viewed are a different color than the one I have not viewed. On my laptop though, they're all staying as blue (unread). Is there something I should check in Chrome to change this?

Agreed, Jim 100%!

What transmission is behind this 351w? 1984 with an auto trans will have a Neutral Safety Switch (Normally open, closed when in Park or Neutral). Manual trans will have a Clutch Lockout Switch (Normally open, closed when clutch depressed). Both can block power from getting to the start relay/solenoid. On manual trans trucks, there are still two wires in the harness than run down under the truck to the transmission (but there is a jumper installed, closing the circuit). My 1984 had this, under the cab along the frame. Is this thing an auto with a really sloppy shifter by any chance?

Something I would do with your existing harness, or the new one, is to re-wrap it or wrap over the original wrap, and make sure it's nice and tight. Add clamps or whatever you can where the harness can move or wiggle as the truck goes over bumps, etc. I'm a bit OCD when it comes to wiring both new and old in that it must be secured everywhere, and covered, and not able to budge or move (unless of course it's supposed to, like between the engine and the cab or the engine and the fender, etc). I used to spend a lot of time working on industrial equipment chasing wiring faults, and when I found them it was almost always due to chafing where the wires could move from vibrations or whatever. They would also crack and break inside connectors a lot too. They're a pain to find. PS: I watched an old guy years ago...crude as it may be, he kept installing larger and larger fuses in a machine's panel until a circuit board went up in smoke. He pointed and said "there's the problem, right there!" haha. True story. We installed a new circuit board and the machine worked fine afterwards lol.

I'm interested in these when I see them as I need a Duraspark harness for the 5.0 that is going into my '52 Merc. However, I think $65 bucks is kind of rich. In my mind this is more of a $20 part, with one in super condition being more like $40. Am I crazy? The Painless Wiring duraspark harness is only $85 bucks, and the on Ebay for $65 is going on 40 years old? Maybe I'm just being cranky and cheap...lol.

Hey SVandal, I have done something similar. I swapped a 1980 F150 body on to a 1995 F150 short wheelbase frame. My swap doesn't help you much, but I did have to modify the 1995 frame to mount the 1980 bumper. (PS: I have no idea if the F250 frame is different from the F150 frame, but I only have experience with the F150 frame obviously). I cut several inches off the front ends of the 1995 frame, and welded on a set of frame horns I scavenged from a 1986 F150 at the local junkyard. Might give you some ideas if nothing else lol. I also installed a 1994 F150 radiator in the '80 Bullnose core support. It all worked great.

Hahahaha...that IS funny.

100% agree!