1969 Mercury Marauder, $15k, Baltimore

[Gearheadengineer]

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/935138110998007/?ref=marketplace_profile&referral_code=undefined

 

For sale is a 1969 Mercury Maurader. This one is a rare one as it's a manual transmission (column shifter). It does need a new battery. It's been kept in a barn and in pretty nice shape for it's age.
 

 

Edited February 25 by Gearheadengineer (see edit history)

[classiclines]

duplicate removed

Edited February 25 by classiclines
duplicate (see edit history)

[K8096]

Was red an original color on these?   I see overspray in the engine bay, indicating a repaint.   Looks like the original buyer didn’t spring for a clock as I see a clock delete panel in the dash.  

Edited February 26 by K8096 (see edit history)

[Bloo]

12 minutes ago, K8096 said:

Was red an original color on these?   I see overspray in the engine bay, indicating a repaint.   Looks like the original buyer didn’t spring for a clock as I see a clock delete panel in the dash.  

I think so but I am not sure. I see evidence of a respray for sure. Maybe the original color though? No pics of the door jambs or trunk. They were trying to make these look sporty, and really lost the step by putting the Marquis nose on them when the Monterey probably would have fit. The black tail panel is a common factory option. I've see it mostly on 69s, but was probably also available on the nearly identical 70. Any clock delete in a car that would have had a Borg clock is a blessing. I have heard of three-on-the-tree in these, but have never seen one before. I would be more interested in my 70 if it had the 3 speed. Manual brakes on this one too. I wonder if they are discs? Probably not I suppose, but it would make for an interesting car. My 70 has discs, and the booster is a little much.

 

 

 

[DavidinCA]

I’ll like to see the Marti report to know how may manual transmission cars were built.  It can’t have been many.  I don’t know if the 3 on the tree would be fun in that or awkward thought.  Looks like a cool project and the price is reasonable.   .  

[Gearheadengineer]

1 hour ago, DavidinCA said:

I don’t know if the 3 on the tree would be fun in that or awkward though

I’ve had multiple 3 on the tree vehicles over the years. They are ALL awkward, even the non “luxury performance” vehicles like trucks and economy cars

[1957Birdman]

Three on the tree may have been awkward, but it was a real benefit to the middle person when sitting 3 across, for obvious reasons. 

Lew Bachman

1957 Thunderbird

[Bloo]

They aren't all horrible. The bathtub Nash's column shifter is really nice and refined, probably the best I have encountered. Most of the truly awful three-on-the-tree setups I can recall driving were in GM or Chrysler vehicles where the shift linkage wore out long before the rest of the car.

[JACK M]

Click on this guys bio, he has several interesting cars for sale, also a bunch of Beatles memorabilia.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

14 hours ago, Bloo said:

They aren't all horrible. The bathtub Nash's column shifter is really nice and refined, probably the best I have encountered. Most of the truly awful three-on-the-tree setups I can recall driving were in GM or Chrysler vehicles where the shift linkage wore out long before the rest of the car.

 

 The rubber grommets wore and seldom replaced.

 

  Ben

[Ed Luddy]

Red was a very common color on these Marauders. It's  a base stripper model. Bolt action 3 on the tree, no A/C, crank windows, no clock, and looks like a base FE 390. The K-H wheels are not present so maybe sold new with hubcaps?

looks like a common Canadian bare bones model that snuck back across the border!

[B Jake Moran]

Ed, I’m not sure KH wheels were a Marauder standard. This isn’t an X-100, where they were standard in 1969. KH was optional on all 1970 X-100s. 

[Bloo]

I believe the K-H wheels were standard on X-100 and optional on all Marauders. Do you mean there were some 1970 X-100s without them?

 

It seems in retrospect there was little difference between an X-100 and a standard Marauder. As near as I can tell, X-100 got you the top of the line engine (429-4v) the K-H wheels, and fender skirts(?) as standard equipment. Those things seem to have all been optional on the standard Marauder. X-100 didn't even automatically get you bucket seats and a console, though some have it. I have seen so many different interiors in these cars, I can't make any sense of it. Why would all that exist for a low production car? Most if not all of the oddballs I have seen have been X-100s, but it seems most surviving examples are X-100s, so maybe that detail doesn't mean anything.

 

I'm not surprised to see hubcaps. They could easily be original on a standard Marauder. In fact, I think it is more likely.

 

 

Edited February 28 by Bloo (see edit history)

[Ed Luddy]

5 hours ago, Bloo said:

I believe the K-H wheels were standard on X-100 and optional on all Marauders. Do you mean there were some 1970 X-100s without them?

 

It seems in retrospect there was little difference between an X-100 and a standard Marauder. As near as I can tell, X-100 got you the top of the line engine (429-4v) the K-H wheels, and fender skirts(?) as standard equipment. Those things seem to have all been optional on the standard Marauder. X-100 didn't even automatically get you bucket seats and a console, though some have it. I have seen so many different interiors in these cars, I can't make any sense of it. Why would all that exist for a low production car? Most if not all of the oddballs I have seen have been X-100s, but it seems most surviving examples are X-100s, so maybe that detail doesn't mean anything.

 

I'm not surprised to see hubcaps. They could easily be original on a standard Marauder. In fact, I think it is more likely.

 

 

Yes. I'm likely wrong about the K-H wheels. The base Marauders sold up here in Canada had the fake "Mag wheel" hubcaps it seems. One of the best looking hubcaps ever. I'm a big fan of the 1968-72 Mercury cars, and have owned a few back in the day but never a Marauder. A long lost buddy of mine had a red 70 X-100 with the 429, blackout rear panels and ivory white bucket seat interior. He traded in it on a new 1973 Mustang Mach 1 Q code 351 4 speed when he got a job at the Ford Oakville Ontario plant. I was too young and poor to buy it, but have never forgot it!

[B Jake Moran]

7 hours ago, Bloo said:

I believe the K-H wheels were standard on X-100 and optional on all Marauders. Do you mean there were some 1970 X-100s without them?

 

Correct. 1970 X-100s had standard hubcaps.  Optional were the KH wheels.  
 

The Marauder (not X-100) could not be ordered with the 429.  429 was exclusive to the X-100.  Marauder got the FE 390 only.   
 

The X-100 got fender skirts because that was considered a “luxury” item but they add nothing to the car in my opinion.  I believe the rim blow steering wheel was also a standard X-100 feature.  
 

Absolutely the bucket seat console interior was optional.  Sad really. But the X-100 was meant to cut into the Buick Riviera, Olds Toronado sales and by 1969 very few of those had bucket seat consoles.  Mercury did not want to cut into Cougar sales, they wanted to take away from GM.