New to the world of classic cars.

[Krugle]

Hello All,

 

So I've recently had a 1964 Mercury Meteor Custom come into my possession from a family member who no longer had room for it. It's mostly restored,  just a few things left to do.

Anyway I am having a pretty hard time getting some background on this line of cars, I can find some decent information on the Meteor but not much in the way of the custom.

I'm guessing this is a pretty rare car but not too sure to what extent.

[zepher]

Congrats on the new car.

That entire dash sure looks like the ones in the '64 Galaxies.

I don't have much more to add, sorry. 🙁

[alsancle]

I’ll add that it is a fairly rare car since I’ve never seen one before.

[kgreen]

Indeed, many similarities to the same year Ford Galaxie.  What engine do you have?  In searching for mechanical parts,a good place to start looking would be the Galaxie Galaxie Club of America.  http://www.galaxieclub.com/

 

I have no idea if it is rare or not, but enjoying the car for its' family history, design and uniqueness should bring you great joy.  Good luck with your fun times.

 

Edit: More info

http://www.mercurystuff.com/pdfs/1964-Canadian-Ford-Meteor-Mercury-Identification.pdf

 

Edited September 2, 2019 by kgreen (see edit history)

[Roger Frazee]

Nice car!  Is this the model that had the electric roll-down rear window?

[Robert G. Smits]

Welcome to the forum.  If our members don't know much about your car it is probably unusual.  Now that you are in the family consider bringing it to a show or tour.  Your car would be welcome in the HPOF class.

[Alex D.]

Mercury Breezeway, I remember a friend of my parents had one back in the day.

https://macsmotorcitygarage.com/a-look-back-at-the-mercury-breezeway/

[MCHinson]

Welcome to the Forum. I know almost nothing about this particular car. It appears to be a Canadian manufactured car. It will probably share a lot of parts with US built Mercury and Ford cars of the era. You may wish to check out the small amount of information about the Canadian 1964 Mercury Meteor in this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_Meteor. I suspect some of our Canadian forum members will know a bit more about this and will be able to help you a bit more.  

[60FlatTop]

Here is a pretty good write up on that series of Mercurys:

 

https://auto.howstuffworks.com/1963-1968-mercury-breezeway2.htm

 

 

[Laughing Coyote]

Nice one.  It's a keeper for sure.

[1912Staver]

Nice enough cars. They were popular with younger family's on a bit of a budget. Like anything of this era, ones in decent condition like this one have a following. I can't even count how many of these were driven by the parents of kids I went to school with. The 4 door was even more popular.  

 

Greg in Canada

[Krugle]

Roger Frazee

Yes this one does have the powered back window and it does work

kgreen

It has the 352FE The one in this car is original to the car to my knowledge.

 

Thank you for the welcome everyone, I do hope to get it into show and shines next year there is some aesthetic work that needs to be done like a new headliner (squirrels made their home in it last year apparently) and there's some damaged paint from rust I need to take care of. I'm a little surprised by the lack of information considering they were supposedly popular in their heyday, kind of seems like they were just forgotten about. I do have an original mechanic guide for them as well as the brochure for the car as well.

[Laughing Coyote]

47 minutes ago, Krugle said:

I'm a little surprised by the lack of information considering they were supposedly popular in their heyday, kind of seems like they were just forgotten about

Back then it was just an every day car.  Nothing special like a Vette, Mustang, or any other sporty type car.  Just inexpensive transportation. 

[1912Staver]

And even worse, the everyday Canadian version of a everyday car.  A few Canadian market cars are quite rare AND quite interesting, SD Beaumont's just to pull an example out of the air. 

 But much of the Canadian market was dominated by " good value for the money " but pretty ordinary cars.

 Nostalgic to the people who grew up with them , but otherwise nothing to get a modern day car guy's heart racing.

 And generally not very well documented on the internet or elsewhere. 

Today the survivors provide a decent , reasonable cost way to get your feet wet in the old car hobby.  Cars like this are often available at a price almost anyone can afford, and mechanical parts to keep them running are usually available. 

 

Greg in Canada

 

[58L-Y8]

Is this '64 titled as a Meteor rather than a Mercury Meteor?    For the Canadian market, an austere version of the 1964 Mercury returned as simply Meteor after a two year hiatus while the American intermediate '62-'63 Mercury Meteor was on the market.  All base Canadian versions had a Ford instrument cluster, rubber floor mates, Ford Custom 500 trim sets.  The Custom, a Monterey interior.  The retractable backlight was optional.  This car is a Custom which has the front fender trim "louvers" and lower bodyside moldings making it the equivalent to an American-market Monterey.  Engine selections were 223 six, 352 and 390 V8's..

 

As far as what shows up at current collector car shows, enjoy the few of interest, politely ignore the rest.   If variety and rarity turns your crank, be the fellow who brings such cars to the show.    The masses may not care, go for the popular and flashy, but a handful will appreciate your unusual car and that's all that matters.  

[John S.]

Krugle, welcome to the Forum. You have a very nice Mercury Breezway., I would contact the AACA library for any information about your car. Chris Ritter and Matt Hocker are very helpful in getting information any and all on what you need. Also try Ebay for brochures, shop manual, owners manual, etc. Hemmings Motor News also has a literature  dealers that might have what you are seeking. Hope this helps. Good luck with the Merc. Thanks, John

[padgett]

I suspect that what did not come from Ford came from Lincoln. It had a similar roof with power window (which may have come from a station wagon).

[Robert G. Smits]

John_S:  I have both Corvette's and Mustangs and did not consider your comment insulting.  I actually agree with you.

[JamesR]

I'm guessing the OP's family member who provided the cool Mercury had a shop manual that went with the car. If he (or she) didn't that would be the first thing to get. Sorry if you already know this, but by "shop manual", we mean a reprint of a service manual that would've been used by an authorized dealer repair shop back when the car was new..or near new. I don't believe they were available to public back then (though I could be wrong) but the reprints of old shop manuals have become very common on the internet in the last 25 years. These manuals are specific to the year and platform (e.g. full size Mercury vs. Comet) of the car. When I was a kid, most manuals available to consumers were the Chilton's type, which weren't specific to the year. I would avoid those. Everything from timing specs and carb adjustments to wiring specifics might change from one year to the next, even if the engine and trans are the same. Shop manuals can get a little pricey for some cars, but they're never not worth the money. They will also provide you info about the different models offered that year.

 

The car looks real good. Looks like it has a set of rudimentary wheels and tires that should be replaced with -  or refurbished into - something that would be more original in appearance. If the repaint isn't an original color, you don't need to be a stickler about the details, but if it is an original color or close, I'd avoid making the car look conspicuously modified from original. Expensive aftermarket tires and mag wheels will be flushing cash down the toilet, IMO. That car isn't a muscle car, despite being a mid-60's two door with a V-8. I say that because I see so many nice old cars that are made visually unappealing by people who can't afford a muscle car so they try to turn whatever they inherited from their uncle into one. Best wishes.

[Krugle]

JamesR

 

Yeah my uncle gave me the original service manual for the car, as far as tires go the one that is on the front in the picture was just a toss on so I could get it onto the trailer. I've since replaced that with the same tire that's on the other 3, it also has the matching rim as well so that's all taken care of. I tossed around the idea of a few small performance additions but as it stands I believe I'll just keep everything as is and just try to restore it to the best of my ability.

[marcapra]

I'm curious, did your Mercury come with safety belts, or were they optional in 1964?  It's a nice looking car for sure and true, you don't see them anymore on the highways.  In fact, you dont even see the old Dodge Darts anymore!  

[Mark Gregory]

This brings back good memories of a different time to me . My friends father used to give us a ride to High School in car like this in 1965 . It was quite a car to say the least .

 

Look at this ad he has 552 other items for sale all brochures . His Uncle used to sell NOS Ford parts , etc and sold all the parts to another Company when the Uncle died . So he might know where a rare part is for you .

 

 

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-art-collectibles/oakville-halton-region/1960-ford-mercury-meteor-nos-owners-manual-1st-print/1421321407?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

[Laughing Coyote]

8 hours ago, marcapra said:

did your Mercury come with safety belts, or were they optional in 1964?

My 61 didn't