1940 Ford Ore Truck, 1931 Model A Roadster Cowl, Fwd Grille, Caterpillar 60 Seat on 2040-cars

     This very unusual truck/tractor and trailer combination was built to haul ore at a gold mine near Jardine Montana some time in the 1950's. I am not yet sure about the vintage of the truck/tractor but I hope to figure it out soon. I looked all over the front frame rails today in hopes of finding a serial number but could not find one. This truck has hydraulic brakes and I am sure it is a Ford of some year. The front cross member is specially made to fit the pair of flathead V8 front motor mounts so this almost has to be a Ford chassis.  

     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 from and old floor furnace and had 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. I believe it is from a Model 60 but am not sure yet. I have no idea what the windshield assembly is from yet but I am guessing the back of a sedan from the later 40's or early 50's. I suspect the old non-sealed beam type of headlamps are from a 1935 or 1936 Chevrolet pickup or truck. 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 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 2 ton truck from the 40's or 50's. I am sure this trailer originally had dual wheels and tires on it and someone borrowed a pair of wheels and tires for another application.

     I bought this very special combination because of the combined value of the interesting components about 8 years ago but am loosing the storage I had for it soon so I have listed it here. A friend told me that the long stroke Mercury crankshaft that this engine most likely has is worth $750 or so. 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. If  you need or want this engine, you can buy the combination, swap out the engine with a smaller Ford V8 and resell the combination to someone who is not interested in the larger displacement and horsepower Mercury engine.  

     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. Thanks a lot, Bob Woodburn - phone 406-799-1847 in Bozeman Montana