How To Marry A Mercury
The beauty of old trucks is the cab for anything from a half-ton pickup to a one-ton bobtail is bound to be the same. The only thing that usually separates one from another is the frame, and what might be bolted on behind the cab. For Larry Belter, a native of Batesville, Indiana, and former body shop owner of 30 years, the cab to a '56 F-350 flat rack that he picked up about four hours south of Indiana was all he really needed. The chassis and engine was going to come from a '98 Mercury Mountaineer that didn't need it anymore. The 30 years Larry spent doing heavy collision work really paid off when it came time to "marry the Merc's firewall and the '56's floor together. Everything from the steering wheel to the Merc dashboard on out to under the F-350's hood is pure '98, including a 302-inch EFI motor and four-speed overdrive automatic transmission. Thanks to the help of Larry's daughter Dannie, and his wife, Rose, the five-year project looks like it just rolled off the line as a '56 Ford pickup that married a new Mercury.
Editor's Note: Getting your truck into Readers' Trucks is a snap, of the camera, that is. All it takes is a stack of good-quality photos of your ride that are in focus and well lit. Due to the volume of mail we receive, we regret that we cannot return photographs. Send photos of your truck (no Polaroids or printouts) to: CCT, Readers' Trucks, 774 S. Placentia Ave., Placentia, CA 92870. It is important that you include a detailed description of the modifications you have made to your truck, including any interesting stories behind it.