Car guys all have the same game plan—projects begin and end with the word ‘eventually’.
Most projects end up in the crash-and-burn-hauled-away-to-the-crusher story line, but this 1947 Mercury project had a much happier ending.
Jerry Sutherland
Mike Manchulenko was 16 when he spotted this old Merc (Canadian version of a Ford truck) buried in a riverbed. He was on a property trying to buy other projects, but the truck was the only one in his price range for sale.
The guy wanted 600 bucks, but Mike only had 200 dollars to spend, so he cut a deal. The condition was the seller had first rights of refusal if the Merc was ever sold. Mike wondered what he’d done—the truck was buried almost to the windowsills, but Mike and his buddy dug it out and dragged it home. He said he could only see part of the truck, so he didn’t know what he was up against when he paid for the Merc. Mike said the Merc was “so buried in the riverbed you couldn’t even tell if it had a motor”.
Mike’s neighbors weren’t impressed when Mike opened the doors and washed out tons of river mud into the paved back alley. That was the beginning of the project, but it would be decades before the Merc was back on Mike’s project radar. He needed four parts trucks to move the process along.
Mike knew exactly what he wanted out of the old truck. He wanted a reliable driver, so the factory flathead was out—so was the factory leaf spring setup and manual transmission.
He went for a tried-and-true 383, 450-horse stroker engine because they are affordable and he lucked into buying one that was destined for another project. The 383 stroker was a good fit for what Mike wanted, but he needed the truck to handle a lot better than a 1947 Merc pickup did from the factory.
The solution was found in the form of a Mustang II front end. The truck was destined to be a road machine and Mike’s a retired firefighter, so he’s seen the aftermath of inadequate suspensions. He wanted the old Merc to safely handle the extra 383 stroker power.
Mike also took six leaves out of the rear suspension to lower the truck, and it worked but the ride is still hard. Mile plans to add an air bag system to soften the ride—and drop the truck at the same time.
The headlights were upgraded, and the truck has signal lights now because again—Mike wanted a reliable, safe daily driver.
The Merc sat for decades, but Mike put it back on the road over one winter. The truck was in amazing shape after its extended mud bath because Mike said, “It only had one small rust hole”. The seat was also in great shape, so Mike saved that too.
Mike has no plans to paint the truck. He said, “That’s the story” so the Merc will never get a new finish. He also said, “It will never be a trailer queen or garage candy”.
His plan for the truck came 47 years later, but Mike has already taken it on a 900-mile shakedown run to a car show, and it passed with flying colors.
16-year-old Mike didn’t have a defined game plan for his ’47 Mercury, but older Mike put it together fast—he defied the odds.
Jerry Sutherland
By: Jerry Sutherland
Jerry Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer with a primary focus on the collector car hobby. His work has been published in many outlets and publications, including the National Post, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post, Vancouver Sun and The Truth About Cars. He is also a regular contributor to Auto Roundup Publications.
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