“Woodgrain, or not woodgrain, that is the question”, to paraphrase Bill Shakespeare, who I’m just assuming would have been a big fan of full-sized Mercury station wagons. The seller has beautifully presented this 1978 Mercury Marquis Wagon here on eBay in Anoka, Minnesota and they have a buy-it-now price of $11,999 with a current bid price of $9,850, but the reserve isn’t met.
I mean, how could Shakespeare not have been a fan of this car if he had been born 400 years later than he was? He could have curled up on that huge front bumper and written several plays. We have seen many vehicles from this seller in the past, and they really knocked it out of the park with photo quality and quantity. Even a top-down drone photo – who does that? They do, that’s who. Well done! They list the miles as being 83,709, and after 45 years, 83,000 miles would be considered low miles by many buyers.
Mercury offered a base Marquis wagon without the “simulated rosewood applique bodyside paneling”, which came standard when checking the box for a Colony Park trim wagon. Buyers would opt to get a high-trim level Colony Park without woodgrain, but it’s fairly rare to see one. This car appears to be in beautiful condition, I don’t see a flaw outside other than a couple of scuffs on the rubber bumper trim. The second generation Marquis was made from 1969 to 1978, and a redesign occurred in 1973.
The underside looks rock solid with barely any surface rust showing up on the bits and pieces under there let alone serious rust issues. They say that it’s a California car and it sure looks rust-free from the dozens of photos that they have provided. The interior looks nice with some normal scuffs (and a broken speaker grille) on the aged plastic in the huge rear cargo area that could be fixed in a solid weekend. This base Marquis wagon has vinyl seats and they look great both front and rear. The rear gate opens either down like a pickup or swings to one side, and the power rear window works as do all of the other power and electrical features. Although, they don’t mention the AC.
The base engine for non-California cars was a 351 V8. Since this is a California car, it has a 400-cu.in. OHV V8, which would have had 160 horsepower and 319 lb-ft of torque. A weekend of detailing under the hood and on the interior plastics would do wonders to bring them up to the level of the Bright Red exterior. This car would be a standout in almost any car show with some interior and under-hood detailing. I could check this one out for anyone who may be interested, although there’s only a day left on the auction! Any thoughts on this California red wagon?
That front bumper could be Juliet’s balcony.
Wow! You can have a full blown picnic on that front bumper!!!
Ditch that 400 and find a 460.
Very nice, would be fun to bring to cruise-ins.
This car is on the other side of town from me, about 40 or so miles. Good looking wagon, but I’m neither a fan of Fords or vinyl seats.
Same dealer had a ’69 Buick Electra with 4,000 miles. Still had the dual whitewall tires. $35,000 too much even with the miles.
If you buy a Ford product from this era with a 400 c.i. engine, you will regret it.
Setting aside the question of why the 400 V8 is a bad motor for the moment, a new 460 or 572 crate motor is a phone call away, and for less money, you can get a 429 or 460 from your local automotive recycling center, a.k.a. junkyard. Rebuild the block with fresh pistons and con rods, then put set of new heads and a new intake on the rebuilt short block, and it will pull almost anything! A nice side benefit to overhauling a junkyard motor is that the primitive ’70’s smog gear goes away, especially if you ditch the Autolite carburetor in favor of some form of electronic fuel injection.
I feel the same about those boat anchors, but note the GM A/C compressor, more reliable than those Ford units!
The baroque styling of these later 70’s Ford/Lincoln-Mercury wagons always left me cold, I prefer the cleaner look of the 70-71 models, and the Mercury examples always seemed to add just a little extra bling to bring them a bit more over the top than their more pedestrian Ford sisters. On the other hand, a full-size station wagon, with a full perimeter frame and a big V8, what’s not to like? I especially like the fact that the original owner ordered it without the faux wood contact paper glued to the sides!
This is not a radio flyer.
Honestly, replace the carpeting and interior-spray the plastic parts especially in the cargo area that were roughed-up, then have a GOOD detailer go through and over the car and you could run it through Mecum or someplace cool like that and you come out way ahead. Except the color I’d like it for myself! It’s a nice vehicle, too bad it’s not 30k or 40k miles.
A friend had one of these and took 5 guys pheasant hunting in Kansas years ago. It hauled 6 big guys, 2 dogs and all our hunting gear for a 3 day hunt. Very comfortable and lots of room, ride was great.
Dogs got in a fight in the back and when the owner tried to separate them, had his arm punctured in 4 places. He stuck a mertholiate (?) spout in it and we went on hunting.
I still had hair then!
Merthiolade. Feel the burn!
Ooo baby. This is sweet. No bigger than a crew cab pickup just more fun to show up with. Can never lose it in a parking lot. Would take real courage to order your new SUV to look like that.
It looks like the outside bright red paint color does not match the original darker metallic red in the jambs. Am I right?
Looks like a respray to me. I Love the wagon, and had a ’76 Marquis Brougham, but would worry what’s hiding under the shiny paint-without an in-person inspection…
Yeah, kind of looks plain and naked without the wood grain.
Now that’s what I call a car! I had a 75 Colony Park, 9 passenger, 460 cubic inch engine with a Motorcraft 4300 4 barrel carburetor, and duel exhaust that came out under each rear fender, the tips were flaired to give the sound of the exhaust a very healthy rumble. It was white with tan tuck and roll vinyl seats and matching door panels. The dash and carpet was dark brown, the carpet was the thick shagg that was used in the Lincolns at that time. It had every available option and feature, including ATC. Ford used vacuum to power most of the accessories. From the headlight doors to the parking brake release function that released the brake as soon it was shifted into gear. Even the luggage rack on top was trimmed with the same woodgrain that covered the sides and tailgate. It was a beautiful car, everything was selected to match the rest of the car. It was very comfortable and handled very well for a car of that size and weight. I put KYB gas shocks front and rear and that really helped both the ride and handling. Being a Mercury, everything was a little more upscale than it’s sister the Country Squire. The 460 was a perfect match for that wagon, it would climb the steep grades of the High Sierras without missing a beat. Fully loaded with people and luggage, or empty, it always got 10 to 11 miles per gallon of gas. Everyone loved that wagon, but no one more than me. I remember the grief my friends all gave me when I first brought it home. Their favorite remark was “when was I going to take it out of the woodgrain box it came in”. However, that all changed once they saw what a great car it was. I drove that wagon for over 30 years, and every time I got in it, it felt like it was the very first time, I know most Gearheads feel the same way about their favorite cars. I always kept it in showroom condition, and when it wasn’t out on the road performing beautifully I kept it covered with the biggest car cover ever. I would still have my wagon today, however sometimes life twists and turns in ways we wish it didn’t. I’m now in my late 60s, at one point I had 8 cars and a 33 foot Southwind motorhome, and everyone of them were Fords, Mercurys and Lincolns, even my motorhome was built on a F450 Super Duty chassis. It of course was a fuel injectioned 460. At that time, 5 of my cars had 460s under the hood. Today I just have a 2008 Explorer XLT. It’s black with Grey cloth interior. It’s the first car I’ve ever owned that didn’t have a V8 under hood, it’s a 4.0 liter V6. It’s my second Explorer, my first was a 97, Eddie Bauer and I loved that one too, but I will tell you, this 08 has the best ride of any car I’ve ever owned. It rides like a Lincoln. Some day soon I will start rebuilding my stable of Fords.
But It Now price of $11,999? For a 45 yr old Mercury wagon???? GTFOH 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I love classic cars so long as they’re true classics! This? 🤦