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428 Big Block: 1966 Mercury Colony Park Wagon

Week after week, and month after month, I seek out interesting classic station wagons. Well this time I have found a jack pot as this ’66 Colony Park wagon has a factory “Super Marauder” 428 cubic inch V8 with air conditioning! Offering a 345 horsepower, and all the space you could need, this wagon looks like a great project! This muscular wagon is offered for $7,500. Check it out here on craigslist out of Los Angeles, California.

What more could you ask for in a classic station wagon? A big engine and air conditioning are certainly at the top of the list, and the exclusivity of the “Super Marauder” 428 is definitely a brag worthy option. The seller offers little information on this Merc’ only saying that a carb is needed.  The condition of the engine isn’t listed, but I would assume the carb is the defining factor of the engine being able to run. Massive and fairly tidy for being in the wild, this V8 lump would be so much fun to revive and improve upon.

Although the driver seat is a bit rough, the rest of the interior is in reasonable condition. There are a few wrinkles in the door panels, but a little time and patience could likely fix that. Surprisingly the interior looks to have little fade, and the dash and steering wheel are in nice shape as well. There is even an 8 track tape player installed so you can drive your friends and family crazy with your classic jam selection.

Depending on your taste, this exterior has a neat original appearance that begs for a set of Torque Thrust wheels. Regardless of my opinion, there are a few condition concerns to point out. The wood applique has seen better days offering more surface rust than wood appearance. Rust is located in a few places, but overall this wagon seems solid enough. The worst of the rust looks to be the tail gate, rear side door bottoms, and a small area on the driver rear quarter. There is surface rust present on both sides of the roof near the back of the car. There are no detailed photos of this area, but hopefully it is only surface rust. The paint is burned through on the roof, as well as on the tops of the front fenders. All of the trim appears to be accounted for, and bumpers and grill look nice as well. With a great engine and air conditioning, I think the only way this wagon could be any sweeter is if it had a 4 speed. Would you drive this big block station wagon?

Comments

  1. Avatar Ken Carney

    Holy crap!!! My folks had one of these my freshman year in high school. That was 1969 when my Dad bought the 3-year old wagon for my Mom so that she
    could have a safe dependable car to drive
    to work, and that he could take us all on those long rides after church let out on
    Sundays. Ours was a creamy yellow with
    a medium brown leather interior. It also
    had A/C, AM/FM radio with twin rear speakers just below the rear quarter windows just ahead of the C pillar. Other
    power options included windows, locks,
    front seats, brakes, and steering. Power
    came a 390 V8 with a 4-barrel carb mated
    to a C-6 auto tranny. Other than a fuel pump return spring that sounded like a bad lifter, that wagon gave us no trouble
    at all. It took us tearing the engine down
    4 times to find the problem with the above mentioned fuel pump return spring
    so by the time I got it from my parents, I
    basically had a new engine under the hood! I used the car to haul band equipment or anything else too large
    to put in Mom’s ’66 Caddy. I can tell you
    first hand that these cars can carry a stack of 4X8 foot sheets of wood paneling with no trouble at all. After racking up over 140K plus miles I sold
    it to my uncle who wrecked it in a drunken stupor. So long Old Yeller, may
    you rest in peace.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Brian Birkner Member

      Great story Ken! I always enjoy hearing stories of the family car. Plus how can you beat the classic looks of this wagon with all that cargo space for 4’x8′ sheets of wood? Sad to hear your beloved wagon is gone, but this 428 wagon is looking for a new home!

      Like 0
    • Avatar Oingo

      The old drunken uncle thing.

      Like 0
  2. Avatar C Carl

    $7,500
    Top dollar.

    Like 0
  3. Avatar Bruce Fischer

    Got to love it if its a STATION WAGON!!!! Bruce.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Brian Birkner Member

      I couldn’t agree more Bruce!

      Like 0
      • Avatar Jeffro

        I love how people can come together over automobiles. Especially a wagon!

        Like 0
  4. Avatar John M.

    Vintage wagons like this big Merc have been coming into their own in recent years. They make the perfect hauler that the owner can pack his buddies into, take the family to classic car shows in or as a tow vehicle pulling a Air Stream camper trailer behind it.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Brian Birkner Member

      I am a wagon fan for sure. I really appreciate the styling and versatility of these classic wagons. Even more so when they have big blocks and air conditioning! There are a wide array of great uses for these cars, and I like that there is more appreciation for them as time marches on.

      Like 0
  5. Avatar Barzini

    Today, it’s highly unlikely that a car company would use a name like Marauder (to roam about and raid in search of plunder).

    Like 0
    • Avatar Mr. TKD

      Mercury did in the early aughts. I think the only reason one wouldn’t now is because there’s so much alphanumeric garbage out there.

      Like 0
    • Avatar Andrew

      Nissan rogue

      Like 0
  6. Avatar scottymac

    Tilt column. Factory tape plyer. Power windows. Power vent windows. Power steering. Power brakes. A/C. Auto trans. Nicely equipped. $500 in the Prudent Penny ad? $7000 profit?

    Like 0
  7. Avatar Ken Carney

    Well Brian, if you liked that story, I’ve got one that may be hard for your
    readers and yourself as well to believe so here goes nothin’, with that,
    I’ll begin.

    I have a visual impairment that has kept me from driving–but not
    from enjoying the old car hobby. From the age of 10, I’ve worked on a
    lot of classic cars over the years. I started out helping my Dad and his
    friends keep their classics on the road, and from that point, I
    was hooked. I did mostly tune ups and other small repairs to earn extra
    cash during my school years. After tuning up the pastor’s ’64 Chevy
    wagon, our pastor told me about a totally blind transmission repairman
    out in California who made a decent living repairing the units so well
    that the shop’s customers began asking for him to make the repairs
    over the other repairmen. Like him, I used my senses of hearing, touch,
    and smell to aid me me in completing the jobs I was given. I took auto
    shop in high school and aced the course. From there, my Dad and I
    ran a small business fixing and selling used cars. I was 15 when we
    tore into the motor on the Merc and I was the one who found the faulty
    fuel pump return spring (much to delight and embarassment of my Dad)
    that was causing the problem in the first place.

    Nowadays, I don’t work on anything much anymore due to my health
    but I’ve passed my knowledge on to my brother in law who is a gifted
    mechanic in his own right. Whenever I visit your site, I get to relive all
    the fun times spinning wrenches and making old cars run again. Keep
    the finds coming, and I’ll keep reading and commenting. Maybe you’ll
    let me write some of the articles you post. Now that’s what I call fun!

    Like 1
  8. Avatar Big Mike

    You all talking about the fuel pump spring reminds me of a true story about my Older Brother who is 4 1/2 years older than me, as we grew up in and around the body shop that Dad owned for 45 years, we were always required to help out whenever we had nothing to do, as Dad put it you want to eat, have cloths on your back, car to drive, and money to spend then you will work for it, (Dad grew up on a farm in NE Arkansas and worked hard everyday, which was excepted of him.)
    Anyway my older Brother decided he was going to be the auto mechanic for the shop, so Dad paid for him to go to Automotive School in St Louis. Well after he graduated and worked with Dad for a few months he decided he could not work with Dad, so he went to work in a fast food pizza store and delivered pizza for a living, while going back to school to become a truck driver, which Mom and Dad paid for of course.
    Well anyway he buys a Ford Granada with a 6 cylinder with a 3 speed tranny, then the fun begins, for some reason my brother could never drive a clutch worth a crap, he would have to replace clutch’s about once a year. Well one day I came in to the shop and over in the mechanics bay sits his car, Dad said that it locked up last night and he had to have it towed to the shop.
    For 4 hours I watched, really laughed as my brother the trained mechanic worked to figure out what was wrong with this car. They (Brother and one of his buddies) finally decided that the motor was locked up because they could not think of anything else it could be. So they decided they needed to pull the motor to see if it was repairable. As the were getting ready to pull the motor, I suggested that they pull the bell housing off to make sure he had not again ate a clutch, he told me to mind my own business and work on the body of the cars, that he was the graduate of a mechanic school not me, yes but I had worked on stock cars since I was in high school and learned a lot more working on them and working with Dad for nearly 10 by this time in the body shop, well anyway as he and his buddy was getting ready to pull the motor they needed help sitting it on the floor, to take the bell housing off to bolt it to the engine stand. So I go over and help get the bell housing off and remove the clutch and as I am doing that a small piece of a clutch spring falls out from behind the fly wheel. I looked at the 2 of them and over to Dad walked around grabbed the end of the crank and spun the engine over, the head had been removed before it was pulled, I looked at them all and said that is what you call a trained mechanic, I would take stock cars any day.
    Needless to say I was a little peeved at them and walked away. They left for some reason and Dad asked me later if I would help him later that night to put the car back together because he had a car coming in later in the week that was going to need some mechanical repairs, and he didn’t know when my brother would get it in his head to finish the work, that and he wanted his car back that he loaned my brother, so we worked until late in the morning and had it back together and running.
    To this day anytime my older brother needs a car worked on he will ask me to look at it or take it to a mechanic near him, by the way after about 4 -5 different things he went to school for, including business administration, he is currently driving a bus for a Veterans group home, in Poplar Bluff.

    Funny but true story!!!!!!

    Like 0
  9. Avatar BillO Member

    Never did understand why some of the 60’s (60-66) Mercury Colony Parks woodgrain didn’t follow the contour of the car lines. I think it would have looked better boxed along the lines of the car all the way to the front. Maybe they thought people would confuse it with a Ford Country Squire?

    Like 0
  10. Avatar Stang1968

    Price drop to $5000.

    Like 0
  11. Avatar curby

    I have one Ive owned since 1980. Rebuilt motor and trans a couple years ago. Woodgrain trim surrounds are now red vaigated goldleaf. White with orange flake roof, white powder coated roof rack. Buckskin interior. Power seat ac rear power window. Came from California.

    Like 0
  12. Avatar Neal Jacobson

    I use to have a 66 colony park wagon in the same exterior color. It had a 390 and a 4 speed. I loved that car. It is now living in Connecticut.

    Like 0
  13. Avatar Bill Healy

    Hi Neal! As you know, I bought your old 4 spd Colony park. Some updates: I put in a refreshed 428 4v out of a 66 Thunderbird, new clutch, exhaust, shocks, Carpet, bench seat (had incorrect buckets), and correct toploader shifter. runs great, more work to do on body and paint.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Neal Jacobson

      Nice to hear from you Bill. I’ll let my cousin know too, he was the second owner. I put the bucket seats in it as the original bench seat was broken. It had that Hurst shifter in it when he got it. Does it still have the Echlin dual Point distributor with it? I bet that 428 moves it along nicely. Take care.

      Like 0
  14. Avatar William

    Hi Neal, I’ve been working on your old 4 speed Colony Park since I bought it from Kevin in 2019. 390 had cracked block. Put a 428 in from a 66 T bird, new clutch, exhaust, shocks, tires, seats and carpet, and added a tach. runs great, should be registered in a few weeks. I did find a build sheet, which validates its a real 1 of 1? 4 spd.

    Like 0

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