The Montego became Mercury’s mid-size car in 1968 (as they were phasing out the Comet) just as Ford was introducing the new Torino. The car’s name was taken from Montego Bay in Jamaica and would be little changed for ‘69 with the upscale version having the MX suffice added to the moniker. This ’69 Montego MX station wagon is said to be a barn find from out West, although we don’t see a barn anywhere. It’s been nursed back to running condition at 81,000 miles. Located in Jackson, New Hampshire, this wagon is available here on eBay where the bidding has reached $7,500, but not the reserve.
Mercury would build 92,697 copies of the Montego in its sophomore year, of which 10,590 would be the MX station wagon like the seller’s offering. This one came with a nine-passenger seating capacity thanks to a hideaway third seat so the rear half could be used for transporting cargo. We’re told it lived in a barn in Idaho for many years, so it looks as though the seller trailered it to New England to use in the summer months, but it’s not seeing enough road time. So off it must go to someone you can enjoy it more.
We’re guessing the paint is original and it looks good from 20 feet. Any closer and you’ll see the imperfection in the left front fender and the patches of rust on the rear left quarter panel and at the bottom of the tailgate. When put up on a lift, the chassis is rather crusty. The interior looks nicer than you might expect with many more miles left before you’ll have to do any real work in there.
The seller did quite a few repairs to get this wagon back on the road. The 351 Windsor V8 has been treated to a new Edelbrock 4-barrel carburetor (replacing the stock 2-barrel), a new automatic transmission, front end, shocks, sway bar, and a new gas tank and fuel sending unit. Also, a bunch of switches required changing and American Racing wheels were added with new 225/70 tires. The seller’s estimate of the car being worth $18,000 sounds realistic, although if it were rust-free, it could command more.
Those cars are stamped quite thin and rust may be a problem. The tailgate, finding a replacement is going to be tough. Don’t know how much more the car will bring but can never tell
These look great as a wagon! Never seen one before.
The Sheetmetal on these older cars is twice, if not three times thicker than the cars of today, (which are high strength steel). A car 52 years old came from the factory with minimal if not no rust protection at all.. Mostly all they got was the sealer dip while traveling down the assembly line before the paint booth. This one is from up north, so road salt and sand has played a big part in the cancer you can’t see.. The tail gate will possibly need the sheet metal cut out and new welded in to repair it..But then again, shopping for a replacement gate is half the fun.
Hubba hubba ding ding.
Perfect car, wish it was mine.
Looks like the action got cancelled or reserve nkt met and its reposted and currently at 5300.
I like that is a washington state car and that the vanity plate says beech (bch) bum.
Not a bad car. I have a thing for wagons. I owned a ’71 Mercury Monterrey wagon in the late ’70’s that I used for a tow vehicle. I liked it a lot.
On this one, the engine has chrome V/C and air cleaner, but he went cheap on the radiator hose. It’s a big pet peeve of mine to see those flexible universal hoses on cars. They were meant for short-term use, until you could replace it with the properly formed one.