What caught my attention about this 1963 Mercury Monterey Custom, with its “Breezeway” rear window, is that it’s a two-door hardtop; every Breezeway-equipped Merc I can recall encountering was a four-door. No, this two-door subject isn’t rare, it just escaped my attention over all these many years. And this is one defining feature that set a Mercury apart from a Ford back in this era. Today’s topic is not a “convertable” as the seller has claimed, twice, in the listing – not sure what that’s all about, but it is a very original and clean example with a mileage reading of only 60K miles. Los Angeles, California, is where you’ll find this “breezy” cruiser, and it’s listed here on craigslist for $22,500.
The seller opens the listing with, “Super rare vehicle, especially in this condition.” Well, maybe in this condition it’s rare, but this is not exactly a rare car. Mercury built about 13K Monterey/Monterey Custom two-door hardtops in ’63. OK, maybe not real common, but not rare either. Other body styles included four-door sedans and hardtops, as well as a two-door sedan and a four-door Colony Park station wagon. Sporty chores were handled by the S-55 performance model, available as a two-door hardtop and convertible as well as a four-door hardtop. One exception to the Breezeway treatment was the S-55 “Marauder” two-door hardtop, which featured a fastback roofline like the ‘63.5 Ford Galaxie and XL500. This Monterey Custom is exceedingly clean; the seller believes the finish is 100% original; unfortunately, the images aren’t the clearest. The only objection I find is the “Fiesta” wheel covers, which, to my eye, look completely out of place.
A 390 CI V8 powerplant occupies the engine room, and I’ll run with the assumption that it’s the base 250 gross HP version. The engine compartment shows no signs of modification other than a chrome-plated power brake booster (maybe it shaves a few feet off the 60 to 0 stopping distance?) No surprise is the deployment of a Merc-O-Matic automatic transmission. The seller doesn’t elaborate on this Monterey’s running and driving characteristics, but he does include a long list of engine/mechanical services recently performed.
The seller claims the interior is original, and while the upholstery pattern is similar to what I could find for both the Monterey and Monterey Custom, it’s not exact, and it is certainly very spritely for a 63-year-old environment. So maybe it’s original, and maybe it’s not; regardless, it looks great. Ditto the chrome, aluminum, and stainless steel festooned instrument panel – it’s beautifully elaborate for ’63 and appears to be in like-new condition. This is not an A/C equipped car.
The breezeway concept was really ingenious. I remember as a youngster seeing these Mercurys out and about (four-door versions only, as I stated at the outset), and thought, “How cool is that!”, literally, I guess. Mercury did go its own way for many years before it got mired in being nothing more than just a slightly more expensive Ford. How sad the ultimate result!
The seller concludes with, “You will have a very hard time finding another 63′ Mercury this original for sale.” That may be true, but I’m not sure it fits the ask. At $22,500, what’s your thought: priced right or not quite?
I always thought that rear window is so cool, and today i still do.
https://www.craigslist.org/view/d/arnold-yamaha-terrapro-1988-amazing/a5JmwKupMYvey7PD3j2LDy
I don’t know how to refer anything to the authors but somebody should write about this. I know Scotty did one a year ago
What does that have to do with the price of beans in China?
These look especially nice as a two-door, with that longer rear deck. The Breezeway first appeared on the ’57-’59 Turnpike Cruiser, then disappeared until the ’63 in the Monterey line. It carried on into ’65. It’s a nice feature unless your little kids aren’t belted in and decide to wander outside the back, while the car is motorvating down the freeway. The seller here is a bit optimistic on the price, since his car isn’t exactly rare or concourse. Now if this car was an S55…