Mercury as a brand often suffered from an identity crisis, moving up and down market as the corporation saw fit, but it perhaps never achieved such Lincoln-crowding heights as it did in 1969 and 1970, especially with the hidden-headlight Marquis. It would take a comfy chair and some deep thought to find a mug that was more “in the Continental tradition,” as the ads used to say. This clean 1970 Marquis Convertible adds open-air enjoyment to the Marquis’ air of luxury; Barn Finds reader Scott found it on craigslist up in Victoria, British Columbia, with an asking price of $15,000 (American or Canadian?). That’s a pretty good price for a summer-themed party barge, and it’s rare, too: only 1,233 were built.
The standard engine in the Marquis Convertible was a 429-cubic-inch big block with a two-barrel carburetor, which made 320 horsepower. The seller sends us a mixed message by saying that it’s a 320-horsepower four-barrel engine; if we assume that the seller knows what carburetor is currently on the car, this may be the 360-horsepower 429. Either way, there’s plenty of Ford torque to push the big Marquis to extralegal speeds. Mercury, of course, installed the strong C6 automatic and 9-inch rear end, in addition to power steering and power brakes. The seller claims that the Marquis has 116,713 miles, which shouldn’t be a concern as long as the car was maintained as well as it seems to have been.
The convertible came with an all-vinyl interior, although this one has clearly been reupholstered, as the pattern doesn’t match the originals. It’s no matter, as it’s been done tastefully (and the color matches well). You can see that the original owner chose power windows (and an 8-track radio, although there’s an aftermarket stereo under the dash). All Marquises got woodgrain dashboards and “rim blow” steering wheels.
The power top works and the white top appears to be in reasonable condition for a nice driver. The rear end styling looks appropriately Continental-esque, although the jutting dual exhaust pipes might be a little too “powerboat” for the Marquis’ image.
The seller of this Marquis is proactive, posting a startup and walk-around video and a drive-by video (the exhaust does sound good). Everything seems to work except for the power antenna, and the body appears to be in good shape. Light colors (Pastel Blue?) can hide some repairs, of course, so an in-person look-see might be in order if you’re looking for a big Mercury to enjoy this summer.
Crazy about a Mercury. This is a car from an age of excess. Perfect. Pull up to the drive and let everyone in.
Better yet, save a few bucks and stuff your friends into the trunk, LOL! Then let’em out after you get past the ticket booth! That was how we rolled until the drive-ins got wise and began charging by the car load!
Lots of road hugging weight and the wind in your hair. Very nice looking convertible with a 429 for not much money. $15000 Canadian is $11000 US.
Seems like a good deal for a nice summer cruiser
Too bad it’s not gold/beige with diamond pattern interior…. you’d have a Green Acres tribute car daaaahling. Nice find
I always remember these from the black pillar-less hardtop that Steve McGarrett drove in Hawaii Five-O. “Book’em Dan-O. Murder 1.”
These Marquis convertibles filled the gap left by the demise of the Lincoln Continental convertibles after 1967. Yet this 1970 was the last Marquis convertible! Ford convertibles would be around for a couple more years for those wanting a full size droptop. This one looks like a beauty. They are wonderful dependable cruisers. I should know, I have the nearly identical ’69 version.
That is one (tire) smoking’ Merc! Get out yer Creedence tapes! GLWA
Creedence? I LOVE Creedence! Dan Akroyd in “The Twilight Zone” (the movie) (1983).
Most cars of the late 60s were just great cars. It was a time in automotive history of great styling, comfortable rides and interiors and huge horsepower engines. Any make, most models. Convertibles especially reign.
Mercury was never high on my list. I’ve always been a GM gal but there are a few FoMoCos I like. Lincoln, Thunderbird, a few late 60s early 70s LTDs. Mercury rarely hit the radar, but they did have some gorgeous and powerful cars and this is one of them. At one time, I believe it was in the 70@ that Mercury was actually bigger than Lincoln.
The 1969 Maurader X-100 was one of Mercurys finest. Just before Mercurys death in the early 2000s when all they were making were 4 door sedans, they brought back a full sized 2 door convertible. To me that was a brilliant move. Unfortunately it didn’t help.
If I had a stable, this one would be a part of it.
👍 Angel. Good write up thanks Toth.
The convertible was a one-off concept car, a Mercury Marauder, but never saw production, which was a mistake IMHO (see link below).
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a15137079/mercury-marauder-convertible-concept-auto-shows/
The convertible would have boosted Marauder sales, especially if they gave the Marauder more power and replaced the solid rear axle with the IRS setup from the Ford Explorer. Both of those mistakes can be fixed on the aftermarket, but alas, for Mercury, it’s too late now!
I saw this one at the Cleveland Auto Show back then. I was hoping something would come of it…
Beautiful car!
Very nice. Like Aaron says in his good write-up, at this time the Marquis was well-executed, “not-quite-a-Lincoln.” And as Angel says, this was a time of peak American cars, including full size models like this.
Not expensive, would be a fun cruiser.
I have a rust free 1972 LTD coupe right now that was basically on body restored exc. for the drive train. If I was still on the hunt for a 70s full size car, I might be catching a flight to Canada. $11k US is a great deal for what this is. And it has a 429? I wonder how hard it is to import a classic from Canada…
“Great” car. A little too great for me to trundle around in. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s an awesome car for a low price. I just don’t want to feed it, stable it, and herd it through the Walmart parking lot. It would be a blast on the open road as long as your gas card held out.
You’re right, Robert. I could have sworn it was a low production factory car. But, I’m often wrong.
Thanks for the correction.
No problem. As my dear old Dad used to say: “There was only one guy in this world who was perfect and they nailed Him to a cross one dark Friday afternoon!” I’m far from perfect and made my share of mistakes, particularly in this forum, so you admit it when you’re wrong, learn from it and move on. Have fun and best wishes!
I remember looking at a 1970 Mercury Marquis at the dealership in Newport, RI in the Spring of 1970. The sheer size of the car was mind boggling. The trunk was absolutely massive. I remember thinking we could pack all our household goods in it, and save the Navy the expense of our next move.
The 1970 Mercury was essentially a far nicer version of the 1970 Ford XL/LTD — much like camparing a 1979-1991 Ford Crown Victoria with a 1979-1991 Mercury Grand Marquis. The Mercury often was a Lincolnesque Ford — right down to that 429! I often prefer the Mercury to the Lincoln — just as I often prefer a Buick to a Cadillac (at least, back in the classic years!) (Sorry, Angel). I must admit, though, when Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln, are all essentially the same car, the Lincoln has some nice touches (who else would have provided the outdoor temperature in analogue form under the driver’s side rear view mirror?)
@ Harrison Reed
Cadillac! That’s who.
Check out the 1974 through 1976 (or maybe even beyond) Cadillac. They had an analog outside temperature gauge on the rear view mirror ……… AND……. it lit up at night!
(Insert smilely face here)
Hi Harrison, always nice to see you!
I like the old Lincolns, also. Just prefer Cadillac
Buick and Olds, too. Was pretty much a B-C-E body feature using that fancy remote mirror.
There are a lot of really nice cars advertised from B.C., hopefully they’re not scams
Still no “deSade” Edition, however, LOL! With apologies to the Editors of “Car & Driver”!