Chrome gravel guard?

[cdnwillyg]

Going thru my parts I just noticed that the sheet metal between the front bumper and grill is stainless/chrome. Everywhere I have seen these are painted body color, is this a mod or was it an option?

[bluef250]

Check to see If the guard is stainless, a magnet will not stick.

Any other different upgraded pieces on the truck.

What year is this truck?

Just looked at several 1968 to 1971 Mercury' trucks using Google images. All appear to be painted!

[cdnwillyg]

I believe it is stainless , no that is all that I have noticed different from other Merc's.
It is a '68 Mercury M250 Camper Special.

[bluef250]

Post some photos.

[cdnwillyg]

Pics as requested! Still needs to be polished out.

20171109_061420.jpg

20171109_061436.jpg

20171109_061512.jpg

[hdman90]

No Way! That's very cool! I wonder where that came from? As it certainly is NOT stock!

[Ranchero50]

Really hard to tell from the pics but it looks like a stock part from the underside.

[cdnwillyg]

I had a chat with the PO and he informed me that he had this piece chromed, so mystery solved!

[jzjames]

Had ME going!

Guess you didn’t try the magnet test. :lol

[jamesdfo]

Just an FYI: Some Stainless steels are actually magnetic;) So "The magnet test" is not a definitive way of ruling out if an object is made from stainless or not.......

http://www.stainless-steel-world.net/ba ... ilies.html

excerpts
Ferritic stainless steels
Ferritic stainless steels are plain chromium stainless steels with a chromium content varying between 10.5 and 18% and a low carbon content. They are magnetic and not hardenable by heat treatment. Ferritic alloys have good ductility and formability but a relatively poor high temperature strength compared to that of austenitic grades.

Martensitic stainless steels
Martensitic stainless steels were the first stainless steels that were commercially developed (as cutlery) and have a relatively high carbon content (0.1 - 1.2%) compared to other stainless steels. They are plain chromium steels containing between 12 and 18% chromium. They are magnetic and hardenable by quenching and tempering like plain carbon steels and find their main application in cutlery, aerospace and general engineering.

A relatively new group of martensitic stainless steels are the supermartensitic stainless steels. The supermartensitic grades combine high strength and low-temperature toughness with acceptable corrosion resistance in many applications. (please also see the section on supermartensitics in the "More Alloys" Fact File.)

Austenitic stainless steels
Austenitic stainless steels are non-magnetic. When nickel is added to stainless steel in sufficient amounts the crystal structure changes to "austenite". The basic composition of austenitic stainless steels is 18% chromium and 8% nickel. This enhances their corrosion resistance and modifies the structure from ferritic to austenitic. Austenitic grades are the most commonly used stainless steels accounting for more than 70% of production (type 304 is the most commonly specified grade by far). They are not hardenable by heat treatment.

Super austenitic grades have enhanced pitting and crevice corrosion resistance compared with the ordinary austenitic or duplex types. This is due the further additions of chromium, molybdenum and nitrogen to these grades.

[geradr4]

Thanks for the info. I learned something new today.