Way back, my father owned a 1968 Mercury Monterey, but it was hardly this car; it was a boring, plain vanilla four-door sedan – you know, something a sensible business person would have driven. This example, however, is a high-performance ragtop and one of only 1,515 assembled 58 long years ago. Thousand Oaks, California, is its stomping ground, and it’s available here on craigslist for $18,000.
A Mercury was still a Mercury (sorta) in ’68, but there’s no denying the ever-creeping Fordness that was slowly penetrating their various models. Mercury’s full-size lineup for ’68 put the Brougham at the top, followed by the Parklane, which was just ahead of the Montclair, leaving the Monterey to bring up the markers. Monterey body styles included four-door sedans and hardtops, a sporty, sloped-back two-door hardtop, and, of course, the convertible. Mercury still mattered in ’68, putting up an eighth-place finish in the great domestic production race and knocking out 360K units. Finished in what appears to be Lime Frost, our subject’s finish has seen better days as it’s faded and scratched. This appears to be a rust-free specimen, and the underside images don’t reveal any unsound issues. Every old car has a story, and in this case, it’s “THIS IS MY FRIEND’S CAR, OVER 10K SPENT ON IT TO GET THE MECANICS WORKING… HE WAS GOING TO DO A RESTORATION, BUT HIS HOUSE BURNED DOWN, IT HAS BEEN SITTING FOR ABOUT 5 YEAR STARTED EVERY MONTH AND DRIVEN AROUND THE BLOCK, UNDERSIDE LOOKS RELLY GOOD.”
The big news is under the hood, where a 340 gross HP, 428 CI V8 engine is holding court. The seller claims, “runs and drives great,” and I’d suggest the engine is surprisingly clean considering that it has experienced a supposed 99K miles of use. Perhaps its appearance has something to do with that $10G spend. As is usually the case, a three-speed automatic transmission is backing up the big FE powerplant.
The images of the interior aren’t terribly revealing or comprehensive, so it’s difficult to make an assessment of its overall condition. What can be spied shows a black vinyl upholstered environment that doesn’t appear to have seen too much top-down time. That said, the dashpad is looking a bit flat, so it may need some attention.
Verdict? Being a rare convertible with big V8 power makes this one intriguing. I would like to see an image or two of the power top in the up position, and I can’t say that white letter tires do much for this car’s presentation, but that’s a subjective call and one that’s easily remedied. Let’s talk price; with an $18,000 ask, would you say this Monterey is priced right or not quite?
Seller is a dealer.
That’s relly good-looking convertible.