Is This Frame Worth Anything?

[L5wolvesf]

The chassis pictured below I somewhat local to me and my interest is in some of the chassis parts (for my car) but not the frame itself. He says it is a 1956 Merc Wagon frame, which leads to my first question. Are the wagon and car frames the same? I'm presuming the Merc and Fords are the same.

If I investigate further I’ll get the frame number to confirm what it was. I would also try to verify whether the frame/car was stolen – but I’m not sure how to get a solid verification of that. Is that possible?

He also says there is no rust through just surface rust. If that is true – Is this frame worth anything?

Thank you

[paul2748]

55 Merc's were quite a bit different than the Fords. I'm assuming the frames are also different.

[darrell]

ford and merc have different frames.as far as i know wagons have their own frames

[pj's junkers]

State police can run the VIN

[scicala]

I believe Darrell is correct. I know Ford and Mercury had different frames and wagons had slightly different body mount locations on a couple mounts ( I think ?). I know it shows it in the factory shop manuals.


Sal

[Herman Munster]

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Maybe we Kultulz to chime in.

[streetdreams]

The front cross member if not rusted out is useful to somebody doing a Merc of that year. They usually rust out on both Fords and Mercurys.

[KULTULZ]

Originally Posted by Herman Munster

Maybe we Kultulz to chime in.

Sorry guys, I have no MERC references.

A frame will be different between a sedan, wagon or convertible. Also possibly between a sedan and HDTP.

Originally Posted by streetdreams

The front cross member if not rusted out is useful to somebody doing a Merc of that year. They usually rust out on both Fords and Mercurys.

There you go. Unless the frame is available to someone doing a frame-off, it might be better to salvage certain parts and scrap the rest. Kinda hard to put on shelf in the garage ...

[5851a]

I thought the Mercury wagon used the Ford body, from the front fenders back the body looks Ford. Maybe Merc Man can tell us.

[KULTULZ]

Well, they may be (main body). Both (and earlier LINC) are similar in appearance. You can bet FORD did not vary much in their tooling. The trim levels is where they excelled.

I just hate to say yes/no with no reference materials as oldmics is just waiting to pounce again ...

[L5wolvesf]

Originally Posted by pj's junkers

State police can run the VIN

I was thinking that but with it being so old not sure if they would still have a record of it. If I decide to buy it I’ll check with them.

Originally Posted by darrell

ford and merc have different frames.as far as i know wagons have their own frames

I figured wagons just had a longer and possibly reinforced frame.


This and . . .

Originally Posted by 5851a

I thought the Mercury wagon used the Ford body, from the front fenders back the body looks Ford.

This

Originally Posted by KULTULZ

Well, they may be (main body). Both (and earlier LINC) are similar in appearance. You can bet FORD did not vary much in their tooling.

Are what I was thinking too.

Originally Posted by KULTULZ

Unless the frame is available to someone doing a frame-off, it might be better to salvage certain parts and scrap the rest. Kinda hard to put on shelf in the garage

Yup, pretty much what I was thinking, all I would need is the suspension parts. I would hate to scrap it if someone needed the frame.

Originally Posted by streetdreams

The front cross member if not rusted out is useful to somebody doing a Merc of that year. They usually rust out on both Fords and Mercurys.

Do you know if there is a particular place/spot on the front cross member that was rust prone?

[56sedandelivery]

Originally Posted by L5wolvesf

Do you know if there is a particular place/spot on the front cross member that was rust prone?

On mine it was the bottom and the rear. Mine is not that bad but it did rust thru mostly on the back (engine) side,.

[Daves55Sedan]

That is a 1956 Mercury wagon frame. Notice the rear leaf springs have 7 leaf's (wagon). Notice it has the wagon gas tank which is supported strictly from the frame whereas the car gas tank is supported from the floor in the front. Also, it is a wagon tank mounted which is completely different from the car tank. Notice the rear shock absorbers. Those were used on '56 models only. Notice the front crossmember. It is Mercury, not Ford. Notice the transmission crossmember. That is Mercury, not Ford. Notice the front coil springs. They are lighter gage but have more coils. Ford used heavier gage but fewer coils. Look at the bolt circle of the brake drums. Mercury had a larger bolt circle than Ford.

[L5wolvesf]

Originally Posted by Daves55Sedan

That is a 1956 Mercury wagon frame. Notice the rear leaf springs have 7 leaf's (wagon). Notice it has the wagon gas tank which is supported strictly from the frame whereas the car gas tank is supported from the floor in the front. Also, it is a wagon tank mounted which is completely different from the car tank. Notice the rear shock absorbers. Those were used on '56 models only. Notice the front crossmember. It is Mercury, not Ford. Notice the transmission crossmember. That is Mercury, not Ford. Notice the front coil springs. They are lighter gage but have more coils. Ford used heavier gage but fewer coils. Look at the bolt circle of the brake drums. Mercury had a larger bolt circle than Ford.

Wow you know your Ford Merc stuff !

[L5wolvesf]

Thank you for the info guys. I was going to check further on it as the price he listed $300 had dropped to $150. Unfortunately this AM the ad is gone.

[5851a]

Originally Posted by Daves55Sedan

That is a 1956 Mercury wagon frame. Notice the rear leaf springs have 7 leaf's (wagon). Notice it has the wagon gas tank which is supported strictly from the frame whereas the car gas tank is supported from the floor in the front. Also, it is a wagon tank mounted which is completely different from the car tank. Notice the rear shock absorbers. Those were used on '56 models only. Notice the front crossmember. It is Mercury, not Ford. Notice the transmission crossmember. That is Mercury, not Ford. Notice the front coil springs. They are lighter gage but have more coils. Ford used heavier gage but fewer coils. Look at the bolt circle of the brake drums. Mercury had a larger bolt circle than Ford.

Good points I didn't notice any except gas tank, but was curious about front crossmember. Where does the engine mount? Are the engine stands torched off? Or what make it different than the Ford? Inquiring mind is curious.

[My50sfords]

The heavy duty springs and the gas tank filler that goes out the side is like my 52 Ranch Wagon. My 54 Customline has fewer springs leafs and the gas filler is out the back. I hope this helps.

[Daves55Sedan]

The '55 and '56 Ford full-size cars have the identical front crossmember. It includes a heavy stamped steel bracket centered at the top of the structure and welded on. That metal part has one hole in front for the center grille support bracket positioned underneath the front splash pan. At the back of the steel part there are two holes for the radiator support studs and a third hole in the middle (and further back) for the front engine steady rest. The Merc crossmember didn't need a grille center support.


All '55 and 56 wagon models had 7-leaf rear springs while all the car models had 5-leaf rear springs. The wagons had a much bigger but shallower gas tank to account for the space needed for the spare tire under the floor. The wagons had a removable filler neck with attached vent tube at the side of the tank, whereas the cars had a smaller but deeper tank with a short, curved filler neck at the back of the tank that was leaded-in place at the factory.

[Daves55Sedan]

You would need to check with the State where the frame is located to find out what is required to get a title deed if you wanted it.
I don't know if it is worth anything, but I would love to have those rear leaf springs for my '55 Courier.

[ahshoe]

Where the heck in the VIN number on the frame?