As a lover of mid-60’s FoMoCo products, this one really caught my eye. And it’s got those great GT wheels that Jesse & Josh’s Torino has, too! The seller of this 1968 Mercury Montego has decided to let their pictures do the talking. The car can be found in Damascus, Maryland and is listed here on eBay. There’s a buy-it-now price of $4,500 and lower bids are being entertained as well. The Montego was a new car for Mercury in 1968, and was related heavily to the Torino. This one has a middle of the road engine with a 302 and 2-bbl carburetor – some of these came with 429’s! This one really looks good on the outside in pictures, with shiny paint and what looks like straight trim and bumpers. The seller mentions minor body touch ups, and correctly says a lot of interior work is needed – I don’t think there even is any carpet. Interestingly enough, the dash pad looks really nice and what you can see of the original back seat and door panel upholstery is OK. I’d need to know a LOT more before bidding, but the price doesn’t seem out of line if it runs well. There’s even a copy of the window sticker, showing the factory A/C which still has a belt attached! I’d sure like to know more; maybe the seller is a Barn Finds fan and will chime in!
Yes, typically pictures do speak a thousand words but here they seem to just repeating themselves, and some of them are frankly a bore. Being an east coast car, I’d like see several shots of the underside as well the radiator support bottom section. Instead, we get loads of outside pics with varying beautiful backgrounds and even 2 pictures of the same window sticker.
Ok, so the car is not original color and to seller’s credit no claim of originality is made. Looks like a complete change of color including jambs. The front seats remain covered throughout the photo session which is a red flag. The left windshield pilar trim looks rough in the photo and the lack of headliner pictures is a red flag #2. What is the roughness at the rear body panel visible when the trunk lid is up?
Problem with east coasters is that their perception of rust severity can differ quite a bit from those of the west and south west population. What may appear as serious rot to the Cali crowd may be deemed as “a bit of patching required” by those living in much harsher climates.
This Montego has GREAT street appeal, new paint has lots to do with that of course. But as mentioned above, some true rust intrusion reconnaissance is in order, ala personal inspection, which i’d mandate before purchase (like i tell everyone considering an ebay car buy).
Case in point: Gorgeous looking gotta-be-new trunk liner set, but i wonder what may be lurking just beneath it.
All that said, there’s still plenty of this car to like as is…
seller has 687 feedbacks with a 100% which is great. needs a good PI. might make a good driver.
I probably own the most original 68 non-registered in existence. Mine was bought by a collector in 1983 in PA who had over 700 Ford Lincoln and mercs not a misprint yes over 700.parked in warehouses garages, barns etc bumper to bumper and never ever driving again after he bought them. Maybe a hoarder than collector. I bought mine with 20k original documented miles at his estate auction with original Hoses belts etc under a inch of dust and grime. It just turned 42k miles now and I drive it year round. I finally did a repaint 3yrs ago bc original paint was thin.
Common areas to check are the rear frame rails rust from inside out and front floor boards near the rockers usually rust first.