“Woodgrain, or not woodgrain, that is the question”, to paraphrase Bill Shakespeare, who I’m just assuming would have been a big fan of full-sized Mercury station wagons. The seller has beautifully presented this 1978 Mercury Marquis Wagon here on eBay in Anoka, Minnesota and they have a buy-it-now price of $11,999 with a current bid price of $9,850, but the reserve isn’t met.
I mean, how could Shakespeare not have been a fan of this car if he had been born 400 years later than he was? He could have curled up on that huge front bumper and written several plays. We have seen many vehicles from this seller in the past, and they really knocked it out of the park with photo quality and quantity. Even a top-down drone photo – who does that? They do, that’s who. Well done! They list the miles as being 83,709, and after 45 years, 83,000 miles would be considered low miles by many buyers.
Mercury offered a base Marquis wagon without the “simulated rosewood applique bodyside paneling”, which came standard when checking the box for a Colony Park trim wagon. Buyers would opt to get a high-trim level Colony Park without woodgrain, but it’s fairly rare to see one. This car appears to be in beautiful condition, I don’t see a flaw outside other than a couple of scuffs on the rubber bumper trim. The second generation Marquis was made from 1969 to 1978, and a redesign occurred in 1973.
The underside looks rock solid with barely any surface rust showing up on the bits and pieces under there let alone serious rust issues. They say that it’s a California car and it sure looks rust-free from the dozens of photos that they have provided. The interior looks nice with some normal scuffs (and a broken speaker grille) on the aged plastic in the huge rear cargo area that could be fixed in a solid weekend. This base Marquis wagon has vinyl seats and they look great both front and rear. The rear gate opens either down like a pickup or swings to one side, and the power rear window works as do all of the other power and electrical features. Although, they don’t mention the AC.
The base engine for non-California cars was a 351 V8. Since this is a California car, it has a 400-cu.in. OHV V8, which would have had 160 horsepower and 319 lb-ft of torque. A weekend of detailing under the hood and on the interior plastics would do wonders to bring them up to the level of the Bright Red exterior. This car would be a standout in almost any car show with some interior and under-hood detailing. I could check this one out for anyone who may be interested, although there’s only a day left on the auction! Any thoughts on this California red wagon?
Fun write-up Scotty. Another full-size wagon, which looks to be in very good shape. The bright red paint isn’t seen often on these, and almost looks out-of-place. But to bring attention to a type of vehicle no longer in production, why not? Like Scotty says, it would be a people-magnet at almost any car show.
Not a fan of the color on a car that large, unless…, it had a gum ball machine on the roof and a fire dept. decal on the door. Otherwise very nice car that would make someone happy (if it fits in their garage). Best wishes to new owner, have fun.
I’m sure there were plenty of these sold to volunteer F.D.s across the country back in the day. Definitely an attention getter!
That front bumper could be Juliet’s balcony.
Wow! You can have a full blown picnic on that front bumper!!!
I remember seeing one just like this not that long ago. In fact this is the same wagon sold on BaT for $6,400. Not that I would ever remember a fire engine red Mercury wagon. All you need is a light bar and you can be the first person to show up every time.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-mercury-marquis/
Ditch that 400 and find a 460.
Yeah sure ! And mess with the originality of the car. Nothing wrong with that 400
Exactly, I think 78 was the last year for the optional 460 in any full-size Gord-Lincoln-Mercury. The 400 was a reliable engine but pretty lame power wise
My Dad had a nearly new, fully optioned G.m.c.p. with the 460. Wasn’t long before we found out about the 460 serious oiling troubles. I’d keep the 400 in this beauty. Steel sides are pretty rare and should stay in tact.
Very nice, would be fun to bring to cruise-ins.
This car is on the other side of town from me, about 40 or so miles. Good looking wagon, but I’m neither a fan of Fords or vinyl seats.
Same dealer had a ’69 Buick Electra with 4,000 miles. Still had the dual whitewall tires. $35,000 too much even with the miles.
If you buy a Ford product from this era with a 400 c.i. engine, you will regret it.
Setting aside the question of why the 400 V8 is a bad motor for the moment, a new 460 or 572 crate motor is a phone call away, and for less money, you can get a 429 or 460 from your local automotive recycling center, a.k.a. junkyard. Rebuild the block with fresh pistons and con rods, then put set of new heads and a new intake on the rebuilt short block, and it will pull almost anything! A nice side benefit to overhauling a junkyard motor is that the primitive ’70’s smog gear goes away, especially if you ditch the Autolite carburetor in favor of some form of electronic fuel injection.
Why exactly? Had one in a van and it was still running great when I sold it with 290,000 miles on it
I feel the same about those boat anchors, but note the GM A/C compressor, more reliable than those Ford units!
The baroque styling of these later 70’s Ford/Lincoln-Mercury wagons always left me cold, I prefer the cleaner look of the 70-71 models, and the Mercury examples always seemed to add just a little extra bling to bring them a bit more over the top than their more pedestrian Ford sisters. On the other hand, a full-size station wagon, with a full perimeter frame and a big V8, what’s not to like? I especially like the fact that the original owner ordered it without the faux wood contact paper glued to the sides!
This is not a radio flyer.
Honestly, replace the carpeting and interior-spray the plastic parts especially in the cargo area that were roughed-up, then have a GOOD detailer go through and over the car and you could run it through Mecum or someplace cool like that and you come out way ahead. Except the color I’d like it for myself! It’s a nice vehicle, too bad it’s not 30k or 40k miles.
A friend had one of these and took 5 guys pheasant hunting in Kansas years ago. It hauled 6 big guys, 2 dogs and all our hunting gear for a 3 day hunt. Very comfortable and lots of room, ride was great.
Dogs got in a fight in the back and when the owner tried to separate them, had his arm punctured in 4 places. He stuck a mertholiate (?) spout in it and we went on hunting.
I still had hair then!
Merthiolade. Feel the burn!
Ooo baby. This is sweet. No bigger than a crew cab pickup just more fun to show up with. Can never lose it in a parking lot. Would take real courage to order your new SUV to look like that.
It looks like the outside bright red paint color does not match the original darker metallic red in the jambs. Am I right?
Looks like a respray to me. I Love the wagon, and had a ’76 Marquis Brougham, but would worry what’s hiding under the shiny paint-without an in-person inspection…
I like the car, but it’s pretty obvious that it’s been repainted. Most of these old cars, “all original ” have been repainted.
The hood is all whe hawed also. High on driver’s side and low on the passenger side. It looks warped?
I wouldn’t want to own it, but I do like it.
Just my oponion!
Yeah, kind of looks plain and naked without the wood grain.
Now that’s what I call a car! I had a 75 Colony Park, 9 passenger, 460 cubic inch engine with a Motorcraft 4300 4 barrel carburetor, and duel exhaust that came out under each rear fender, the tips were flaired to give the sound of the exhaust a very healthy rumble. It was white with tan tuck and roll vinyl seats and matching door panels. The dash and carpet was dark brown, the carpet was the thick shagg that was used in the Lincolns at that time. It had every available option and feature, including ATC. Ford used vacuum to power most of the accessories. From the headlight doors to the parking brake release function that released the brake as soon it was shifted into gear. Even the luggage rack on top was trimmed with the same woodgrain that covered the sides and tailgate. It was a beautiful car, everything was selected to match the rest of the car. It was very comfortable and handled very well for a car of that size and weight. I put KYB gas shocks front and rear and that really helped both the ride and handling. Being a Mercury, everything was a little more upscale than it’s sister the Country Squire. The 460 was a perfect match for that wagon, it would climb the steep grades of the High Sierras without missing a beat. Fully loaded with people and luggage, or empty, it always got 10 to 11 miles per gallon of gas. Everyone loved that wagon, but no one more than me. I remember the grief my friends all gave me when I first brought it home. Their favorite remark was “when was I going to take it out of the woodgrain box it came in”. However, that all changed once they saw what a great car it was. I drove that wagon for over 30 years, and every time I got in it, it felt like it was the very first time, I know most Gearheads feel the same way about their favorite cars. I always kept it in showroom condition, and when it wasn’t out on the road performing beautifully I kept it covered with the biggest car cover ever. I would still have my wagon today, however sometimes life twists and turns in ways we wish it didn’t. I’m now in my late 60s, at one point I had 8 cars and a 33 foot Southwind motorhome, and everyone of them were Fords, Mercurys and Lincolns, even my motorhome was built on a F450 Super Duty chassis. It of course was a fuel injectioned 460. At that time, 5 of my cars had 460s under the hood. Today I just have a 2008 Explorer XLT. It’s black with Grey cloth interior. It’s the first car I’ve ever owned that didn’t have a V8 under hood, it’s a 4.0 liter V6. It’s my second Explorer, my first was a 97, Eddie Bauer and I loved that one too, but I will tell you, this 08 has the best ride of any car I’ve ever owned. It rides like a Lincoln. Some day soon I will start rebuilding my stable of Fords.
William, if you like large, nice riding Ford wagons, do yourself a favor and take a Flex out for a ride. Even with the 20″ wheels / tires, it is like driving on a cloud.
We have had a couple of them now, and everyone who has driven it is surprised at how smoothly it drives. I think a lot of people expect it to drive like an SUV, but it is so much smoother than that.
I’ve seen one of these in black…it reminded me of a hearse!
But It Now price of $11,999? For a 45 yr old Mercury wagon???? GTFOH 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I love classic cars so long as they’re true classics! This? 🤦
It does have AC. VERY OBVIOUS LOOK AT ENGINE COMPARTMENT PIC
Bill, thanks for shouting at me and thinking that I’m a total moron, but if you read that paragraph again, I talked about the power features working but the seller doesn’t mention whether the AC works or not. Sigh…
That is wwwaaaayyyy too much red