When I think of a 1970 Mercury Marauder X-100 I think of a luxury cruiser – fast, posh, smooth, quiet, sleek, powerful. All things that I am not. This example can be found here on eBay in Union City, Oklahoma with a $6,000 buy it now price or you can make an offer.
This Marauder looks somewhat rough and showing a car propped up on a jack is maybe not the best way to show off the condition, or perceived condition. Maybe the rear tire was flat and they didn’t want to show it with a flat tire, who knows. It’ll take a fair amount of work to bring this car back to its former glory but they are rare cars having only been made in 1969 and 1970. They offered a dark ivy green but I’m not sure about this color? The “Original wheels were damaged years ago. Two original wheels are included with four aftermarket steel wheels. All wheels are 15 inch. Will need new tires.” They also say that this car “was apparently involved in an accident once and was repaired.” The body looks pretty good from what I can tell, at least for a 49-year-old car that has been in a barn for 30 of those years.
I told myself that I wouldn’t concentrate so much on the photos in 2019, or the poor photo quality and poor “staging” – spending ten whole minutes to get a vehicle presentable before taking photos – so I won’t do that here (or, did I just do that?). The seller mentions the missing trim piece on the right quarter seen in the above photo. They say that the rear wheel skirts were an option that aren’t on this example. It really makes the look complete in my opinion, it looks too much like a standard Mercury or, gasp, even a standard Ford for my taste without them. But, like everything, it all comes down to taste, a lot of folks don’t like the look of fender skirts. They say that this Marauder was in a barn for 30 years and it sure looks like they just pulled it out, but being indoors has helped to preserve much of it which is great. “Body is is decent condition for its age, with surprisingly little rust. Under the car has rust consistent with a 48+ year-old car. Car is fairly dirty making it hard to see rust. It was kept in a barn for about 30 years, somewhat protecting it from the elements.”
I was hoping to see the center console with the U-shaped automatic transmission gear selector, but this one has a column-shifted automatic. No bucket seats or power windows here either, but the Marauder had quite a few options to upgrade the interior, exterior, and drivetrain. The back seat looks like new other than being a little dusty from being in storage. Speaking of storage, the title is missing, so plan on doing some legwork there.
This 429 cubic-inch V8 will need some work but hopefully not a full rebuild. “Car started and ran on fuel from the tank for the first time in 30 years. Points were replaced in order to start engine. Leaked fuel on top of engine block, will need new fuel line. Pulley for water pump was sized.” I’m always worried about mice when a car is in storage for so long, especially when it’s in a remote building like a barn or shed. This engine should have had about 360 hp which is great. This car deserves to be restored back to like new, in my opinion, but it won’t be inexpensive to do that.
Nobody could do ugly as well as FoMoCo in the 1970’s.
No I think GM had everybody beat when it came too ugly in the late 60s and 70s. Remember corvair. Nova. Anything Oldsmobile that’s quite a stable of ugly.
2nd gen Corvairs are beautiful as Olds 442s. Mid 70’s agree
73 and newer Chevelles….really?
In your opinion, maybe. Most 70’s european or Japanese cars are, in my eye, approaching the pinnacle of ugly…
Sure would be a nice, relatively uncommon car when done. But why even list tires as a necessary expense? There are a dozen things to sort first, without even looking too closely. Honorable mention for how not to try too hard to sell a vehicle.
When I took a quick look at the first pic from the side view I thought it was a Dodge.
Leaked fuel on top of block? Ya think? Yeah every gasket in this engine bay will be dried out. Not surprised about the “sized” water pump. Oh, and without any sort of PCV hosiery the engine will run like crap anyway. The interior and body is this car’s saving grace. I think the seller is making bogus claims about the skirts. Shame about the factory mag wheelcovers too which I remember in these years. Next owner: get it sorted and write up a success story for the rest of us BF regulars!
Regarding mice- when this car was built, manufacturers had long ago done away with any interior materials (jute, cotton) that mice would be interested in. They were replaced by nylon and other synthetics. So mice might camp, but they usually wouldn’t chew.
If this one were restored, Frank Cannon would be proud. Although he might look down a bit on a mere Merc- he liked the Lincolns.
Not exactly why the manufacturers went that route. It was mostly for safety/flammability. But I’ve had two cars recently restored with new nylon loop carpet and the rodents pull out all the yarn and make warm cozy bedrooms in the trunks and quarter panels. Sometimes the top of the air cleaner. The mice have also eaten my new car covers which sort of defeats using them in the first place.
I’d be pressed to go $600 let alone $6000.
Thank you. I was thinking along the lines of $6. bucks. And on that, I expect change.
6K, another 80K to restore it, and you’re all set!
Thank you Bill !! Finally someone who understands the cost of a restoration!
You left out “IF you can find some of the parts you need that will NEVER be reproduced” and after $86,000 you might find a buyer for what, $30K?
I’m a Mopar guy but I do have a soft spot for big mercurys. I even own two of them but I don’t think this guy is decribing this car that honestly. If it never came with fender skirts it would have trim around the rear wheel opening.
I saw this on Sunday, but I didn’t submit it because the price is so out of line, it wasn’t worth considering.
Me too. It look good from the side
And rear, but that front is ugly. 6000$ when title is gone??
Keep dreaming. And i like Mercury, but no thanks, or max 2000$ with title.
From doing some research : “The Marauder X-100 gave buyers a choice of twin comfort lounge seats (on this green example), bench seat or bucket seats with a console /U-shaped shift handle. The X-100 includes Kelsey-Hayes road wheels and fender skirts.”
You can feel a little chill in the air looking at the pictures. No sunshine, the aforementioned jack, and WD-40 on the trunk, etc. These are pictures for the scrap book, not for the auction. You know, what they display at the car show.
Base Marauders had optional fenderskirts.
On the x-100 they were standard.
They were there at some point in the past!
Clearly the owner appears to have an impressive drug dealer connection. No title, been in accident, car on jack, front entry damage, rust evident on front bumper, styling light years away from more popular 60s models, etc, etc.
Unless this is your dream car and if so that’s fine, but $1,500 and I’ll tow it away.
Just finished restoring 64 Mercury and I know what it takes and mine was in ten times better shape to start with, still ran up $24,000 bill.
That said, when done should be fun to drive to cars n coffee etc.
But that green, really, were they all out of purple.
My goodness another car that someone could not bother to clean up.
I agree with most comments. No one is going to pay 6 grand for this. Not even 2.
Wake up sellers !
Has Scotty ever restored a BF?
These cars were very elegant looking all the way around. Cars with hidden headlights only look good when its dark and the headlights are on. My parents bought one in 1969, and every time we stopped for gas or a bite to eat the car drew a crowd. We even had people in the pouring rain with umbrellas looking at it. The Marquis had different rear tail lights that had the sequential flashing system. It was a midnight evergreen that looked black and was a very attractive car. The high performance 429 4 barrel sucked the super ethyl and that car could fly. My Dad loved that car.
Squinting, trying to imagine what it looked like new, and still hate the vinyl top. These looked best with a body color roof, and black or blue cove behind the rear window.
I hate to sound like a broken record but-
Under the car has rust consistent with a 48+ year-old car, ok, to what degree? for 6 large potential buyers want to see it. Pictures and crappy staging. Another guy looking for maximum $$ with less than Minimum effort. good luck, looks like $600 car to me. Promise to cut back on the caffeine.
Cheers
GPC
It says a 429. If it’s the 429 cobra jet. There will be plenty of people interested in it. There’s lots of cougar Eliminator owners out there who would probably pay that much.
That would be a Thunderjet. There’s no way a car like this would have had a CJ from the factory.
This is the first time I have seen a Marauder X100 without fender skirts. There is only 2 cars in my opinion that look better with fender skirts. This Mercury and 1960s Chryslers.
Hi guys.
A little history…I can remember riding in this car when I was a child. The owner is probably many decades older than most of you and I’m pretty sure is the original owner since he remembers what he paid for it. His grandson listed it for him. Hopefully they’ll both learn from your useful comments. And I think someone knows where the other two tires are.
The Marauder X100 has a uniquene muscle car vibe about it that makes it appealing to me, amongst the Mercury family. I actually like the colour on this one, but buckets and a console would look far nicer in that white interior. The price is problematic for the condition…I’d at least want a driver for that kind of money. For my wallet this is a $1500 car at most, assuming it’s solid and the engine sounds healthy…get it safe and clean, then refresh the rest while you drive it.
From the side view, it looks a lot like a Dodge Charger. This would not be a restoration for the faint of heart and money.
I restored my 1969 X100 a couple of years ago. Mine is factory red with console, buckets, cruise, power windows, AM/FM stereo and intermittent wipers. The 69 X100’s came standard with 360hp 429, Magstar wheels, skirts, and the Sport Tone rear paint treatment. I think they tried to make the 1970 X100 more conventional looking….more hubcaps, vinyl tops, and fewer Sport Tone paint jobs.
The interiors of the 69’s feature diamond-tuck treatment that extends to the door panels…the 1970 doesn’t. I had my vinyl seats and console lid reupholstered but the door panels are original. The dash pads in these cars are usually cracked; mine cost $1,400 to redo @ Just Dashes in California.
Looks like a charger in first photo , never would have thought marauder
I hope that really wasn’t 30 year old gas they used to start the car. If it was, you just caused a whole new set of problems.