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1951 Mercury Truck Parked for 50 Years Roars Back to Life Just in Time for Halloween

Discontinued in 2011, Mercury is mostly remembered for cars like the Cougar, Marauder, Montclair, and Grand Marquis. But Ford's medium-priced brand also built pickup trucks for a couple of decades. Not only almost forgotten, but these haulers are also hard to find nowadays.
1951 Mercury M6 barn find 7 photos
Photo: Strong's Garage/YouTube
1951 Mercury M6 barn find1951 Mercury M6 barn find1951 Mercury M6 barn find1951 Mercury M6 barn find1951 Mercury M6 barn find1951 Mercury M6 barn find
That's far from surprising, though. Sold primarily in Canada, Mercury trucks never became as popular as the Ford F-Series haulers they were based on. As a result, many owners abandoned them in barns and backyards once they were done with them. All told, you need a lot of luck to see a Mercury M-Series in the metal today. Especially if we're talking about rigs that run and drive.

But it's not all bad news when it comes to these old trucks. While we can't talk about a proper cult following, Mercury haulers are favored by a small group of enthusiasts who save what they can from barns and junkyards.

Jim of YouTube's "Strong's Garage" is one of them. Already the proud owner of an M1 for a few years, he recently saved a bigger Mercury truck of the M6 variety. The early 1950s rig spent about 50 years in storage, but, as we've seen in a previous video, it emerged out of the barn in pretty solid shape, albeit dusty and a bit rusty.

Why are we looking at this truck again? Well, rare vehicles always deserve a second look, but this footage is about getting the old flathead V8 engine running again. And not only does it roar back to life after 50 years without a sip of gasoline, but it still has enough oomph to take the Mercury on a short drive around the yard. Isn't it amazing when old-school rigs get revived after so much time off the road?

If you're not familiar with Mercury trucks, the company started making them in 1946 when Ford still produced trucks based on its main full-size car. When the F-Series arrived in 1948, Mercury also adopted the design and switched to the M-Series nomenclature.

The nameplate remained in production until 1968, covering five different generations of the Ford F-Series. On top of light-duty trucks, the brand also produced medium-duty versions (F-500 and above) and even a bus chassis based on the Ford B-Series. A tilt-cab version of the Ford C-Serie was also included in the lineup.

But that's enough history for today. Hit the play button below to see this cool 1951 M6 two-ton grain truck come back to life just in time for Halloween.

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About the author: Ciprian Florea
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Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer.
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