1940 Ford Rat Rod Truck Mercury V8 Model A Roadster Caterpillar 60 Hot Pickup

I believe this very unusual truck/tractor and trailer combination was built to haul ore for a gold mine near Jardine Montana some time in the 1950's. Perhaps it was used by a contractor near there to haul gravel and dirt for various construction projects. Due to our nasty weather at times here in Montana, I can see no reason why anyone here would ever want a truck of any kind without a cab. Perhaps this truck was rolled over at some time long ago and someone with very limited monetary resources but lots of imagination and talent removed the cab, saved and shortened the chassis. To that shortened chassis, someone then added the unique combination of parts for the cowl, hood, windshield, grille guard, seat assembly, headlamps and other home made parts such as the 4 fenders, front bumper, hitch, weight box and many other interesting parts. This truck was built of such an interesting mix of parts that I nick named it the "Mongrel" a few years ago. With the current trend of so many "Rat Rods" being built, this truck could be called a "Rat Truck" for sure.

If one were to get this running and upgrade a tire or two, it could be a lot of fun to drive and take to car or truck shows. It is definitely a "one of a kind" and deserves to be preserved for future generations to enjoy. Our very dry climate here in Montana has been relatively kind to this very interesting truck through the years.

If you added this pair of vehicles to your collection, it is quite likely that it will get more attention than any other vehicle in your collection. I looked all over the front frame rails in hopes of finding a serial number to use to date this gem but have not found one yet.

The front cross member is specially made to fit the pair of flathead V8 front motor mounts so this truck has to have most of a Ford chassis under it. The truck/tractor has a 24 stud late (1949 and newer) Mercury flathead engine that still turns over fine but I have not yet tried to make it run. I believe the transmission is also a stock Ford component from the same era. The rear axle is a two-speed unit and is shifted manually with the short lever located in front of the seat. The steering gear does not match any Ford steering gear I can recall seeing so it may be a larger unit from a larger truck.

The grille guard appears to be from and old floor furnace and has a cast bronze WW I FWD truck of 1918 vintage emblem on it. The cowl and hood are from a 1930 or 1931 Ford Model A roadster or phaeton. The ornate cast iron seat assembly is from an early Caterpillar crawler tractor from the 1920's or early 1930's.

Please help me out here on the positive identification of any of these components if you can. The back of the truck/tractor has a large chunk of concrete cast into the back of the truck frame for increased weight and more traction. The only hitch is located at the back of the frame and mates with the hitch on the front of the trailer as you can see in one of the photos. The trailer has a dump box that has a hydraulic hoist under it.

You can see the pipes and hoses for the hydraulic plumbing running up to the hitch of the trailer. I can't find any evidence of any hydraulic pump or reservoir ever having been mounted on the truck/tractor. The axle under the trailer has 5 hole Budd wheels so it is probably from the rear of a 1-1/2 or lighter duty 2 ton truck from the 40's or 50's. I believe the Mercury engine in this truck/tractor is the 1949 and later version which is now becoming quite popular with street rodders again. I think there is a lot of history in this old gem and that it deserves to have a permanent home in a Ford truck collection or a mining museum somewhere.

I have seen a lot of trucks in my 61 years but I have never seen anything like this anywhere else. I have referred to the truck/tractor as being the "Mongrel" which is kind of what it really is. I will be adding better photos and more information soon. The item "1940 Ford Rat Rod Truck Mercury V8 Model A Roadster Caterpillar 60 Hot Pickup" is in sale since Sunday, November 06, 2016. This item is in the category "eBay Motors\Parts & Accessories\Vintage Car & Truck Parts\Other Parts".

The seller is "toysanyone" and is located in Bozeman, Montana. This item can be shipped to United States.

• Warranty: No
• Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
• Part Brand: Ford