Located in Douglas, Wyoming, and offered for sale here on Craigslist is this Mercury Marauder. Offered for sale with a clean title, the seller has set the price for this one at $4,500.
This Mercury was released during the initial six months of production of the first generation Marauder. According to the seller it has escaped the worst of the ravages of time, and the body is solid and largely rust-free. The seller states that the floors are solid, although the trunk pan will need replacing. There also appears to have been some form of repair work done on the driver’s side rear quarter below the trim-line, but the seller doesn’t mention this. It appears that there is something wrong with the trunk latch as the lid is held down with cord. All of the trim and badges appear to be present, although some of the chrome will definitely require refurbishing.
The interior is a bit of a mixed bag. The dash looks quite good and there are no obvious cracks in the pad. The carpet also looks good, as does the console, although the console lid appears to be discolored. Unfortunately there is some significant damage to the wheel rim which would need to be addressed as I think that it might make driving a bit uncomfortable. Both the front and rear seats have perished and will need new covers, and the tops of the door trims also look quite sun effected. There is also some minor damage in the rear passenger area to armrests, but the remainder of the trim appears to have held up fairly well.
Under the hood things look quite dirty, but I have definitely seen worse. The engine is the original 390ci Marauder V8 backed by the auto transmission. The seller states that you could easily drive it “as is” because a fair bit of work has been undertaken to bring the mechanical side of the car up to scratch. It rolls on new tires, and has also been the recipient of new brakes, master cylinder, wheel cylinders, plugs, points, distributor cap, plug wires and fuel pump.
If this Marauder is as solid as the seller claims then it is quite a good basis for a project car. It is certainly a candidate to be driven as is if the new owner so desired. The option is there to address the issue with the trunk floor and trunk lock and just hit the road and enjoy it. So is this a car that grabs the interest of Barn Finds readers? If so, how would you tackle it as a project?
Kinda cool but too much dinero
I was hoping for Jackalope hide seating :) . I’ve seen..and for that matter, driven…much worse, so it’s probably worth restoring in original colors
Perfect daily driver for the wife ! 5 ‘ tall women are meant for this rig !
Cool car, but as a profitable restoration, it’s a non-starter. Had it been a 427/4-speed, it might have been otherwise.
Buy it – restore it – drive it – enjoy it…
Bargain – buttons compared to a comparable Ford – posher too
No telling the components that make up that 390. My buddy had an 428 S55. We rebuilt the motor and found lemans rods and sodium valves. The engine builders then could be quite generous with parts.
I had quite a few of these ’63 Mercury’s, but all of them had the Breezeaway window.
One was the S-55 model.
I would buy this one in a second if I could get it across the border.
I have a 1963 mercury marauder for sale if interested
Neat Merc you don’t see at a starter price for an owner and not a speculator.
Nice enough, but as for the dash being free of cracks, it could be a steel one. I’ve owned three ‘64 Galaxies, and two had steel dashes, and one XL, which I still have, that is padded. Difficult to tell from a distance, Merc or Ford.
Excellent resto-rod candidate.
Nice dash & center console.
Needs to be a tad more realistic about that asking price.
This car has NASCAR history. Not this specific car, but this model.
It should be saved and cherished.
High school ride was a 64 , same specs as this one. Delighted in taking out more than one S B C Novas and similar cars at the local drag strip aka pig farm road. It,s a wonder we all survived.
l
Not a bad price to start, would be nice to get a little cheaper. I like the roof on this. The breezeway was a good idea for some, but I always thought it was kind of ugly.
The Breezeaway is a conversation starter at a car show, which is what one of these cars would be used for.
Also they were really good for flow through ventilation.
With that rear window down, there is a nice Breeze going through the car.
Douglas,Wyoming is a great little town.We stopped there
about 2002.Kids are polite,& I saw a TR6 along the main highway –
with the keys in the ignition.
BUT it is in the middle of NOWHERE.