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Production Figures
for the Mercury Trucks*
( these figures are for TOTAL
Mercury/Ford truck units produced 1/2 ton through the largest )
Production Figures for Mercury Light Trucks (1/2
ton - 1 ton)
Year
-Total
1946 - 2074
1948 - 2714
1949 - 8526
1951 - 8889
1952 - 8581
In 1946, 52
Mercury 114 sedan delivery trucks were produced, in 1947, only 18 Mercury
114 sedan delivery's were produced. In 1952, Mercury built Standard and
Custom cabs and had 11 different chassis. There were seven series and a
range of 11 wheelbases. Four engines --- all V-8s --- included a truck
version of the 239 cid V-8 that was rated at 106 hp, a 255 cid V-8 rated
at 120 hp, and two overhead valve Mercury truck engines which developed
145 and 155 hp. In all, there were 80 Mercury truck models listed for
1952. The last year Mercury trucks were produced, the total number of
models were close to 290.
*
In 1968 all pickups (Ford
and Merc's combined) came down the same line, and were sequentially
numbered, not separately numbered into Fords or into Merc's. Both brands
shared the same sequential numbering system, and Mercury production was
sporadically interspersed with Ford production. On March 23, 1968 the last
"Factory" Mercury was built, Mercury dealers continued to rebadge Ford
trucks on special order through the 1968 model run. The only way to seek
out the last Mercury made is to find the one with the highest VIN number,
no easy task since separate records do not exist.
- From: Keith Robinson, Prince George, B.C./ Canada
From June 1959 to Feb 1964, I worked for Mclennan Motors in New
Westminster, B.C. My job was warranty clerk and to check in the new units
off the car carriers. We would get mercury trucks with Ford emblems on one
side, Ford grilles, Ford Tailgates. It drove me nuts doing the claims.
Finally got smart and Fogg motors, the Ford dealer around the corner, we
would swap needed emblems and parts, as they got Ford trucks in with some
Mercury badging.
Production Figures for 1963 through 1968 Mercury Trucks
March 5, 2002
Figures are available
for the combined totals of Ford and Mercury trucks in the years 1963
through 1968. However, it has proven to be much more difficult to
determine how many were Ford trucks and how many were Mercury trucks. An
archivist at Ford Motor Company Archives tried every avenue available but
was unable to come up with the separate production figures. However, the
archivist did forward an e-mail excerpt from a former Ford employee who
was familiar with truck production, in hopes that his recollections might
be helpful. Here is the excerpt:
" … Although
the Mercury truck was noticeably distinctive when it first arrived in
1946, by the mid-1960's it was strictly "badge-engineered" and that is why
virtually every Ford truck model could be duplicated as a Mercury.
Following the Auto Pact even this aspect was diluted. As I recall after
1966 the sales literature no longer depicted any vehicle with the Mercury
nomenclature (not even retouched photos), after having been described in
joint Ford and Mercury-labeled (vs. exclusive) catalogs since 1965. A
further recollection was with a discussion with a plant process engineer
at Lorain Assembly Plant regarding the production of Econolines for Canada
with Mercury name plates. His remark (summer of 1966, 1967 launch, post
Auto Pact) was "We used to have Mercury items that we put on those trucks,
but we don't any more." I suspect that was also the situation with the
very heaviest models that were built exclusively at Louisville after the
Auto Pact. (Kentucky Truck didn't go on line until after the Mercury line
was discontinued.) Based on a mix of some facts and some unsupported
judgment, I'm of the opinion that by the time 1967-1968 rolled around,
Mercury production was at Ontario Truck Plant exclusively and limited to
F-100 through F-750 trucks and B-500 thru B-750 School Bus Chassis. … "
With that, the former
employee suggested contacting Ford Vehicle Operations (VO) for
plant-by-plant breakdowns. The Ford Archives contacted VO, but the figures
could not be located. The Archives then asked VO for general production
figures for all trucks built at Oakville during those years. No luck.
Any ideas? Please
contact me at
tom@mercurypickup.com if you have suggestions for how to get the
numbers for Mercury pickup production from 1963 through 1968.
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