The seller of this 1965 Mercury Park Lane Marauder tells us that it is technically a one-owner car, having remained in the name of the original purchaser since new. It can be found here on eBay in Rescue, California with one bid of $3,000 and no reserve. The ’65 grille and headlights are my favorites for these cars, let’s check this one out.
What a beautiful car. Those sweeping lines, that sloping fastback rear window, the whole car is just gorgeous, in my opinion. The seller does have more wheel covers, I’m not sure why they didn’t put them all on for the photos, it would have really made it look nicer than it does with a few of them missing. Back to my echoing mantra of pleading with sellers to take better photos of their vehicles in 2020. I have a feeling that things won’t get better, but a car as good looking as this Park Lane Marauder would look good with or without wire wheel covers.
The Marauder trim package was available on four different Mercury models in this era, the Monterey, Montclair, S-55, and the top of the line Park Lane. The S-55 Marauder was only available for 1963, the first year for the first-generation Marauder. The next cars would be more luxury-oriented (think Hawaii 5-O) and then Mercury reintroduced the Marauder for its full-sized Grand Marquis for 2003 and 2004.
The interior looks great in this car other than the residential sculptured carpet. Luckily, new carpet is available and that’ll be a nice project without breaking the bank. I have commented on luxury vehicles from previous decades not having power windows and it’s always interesting to see manual windows and locks on a car of this level, at least for me it is. The backseat is mostly covered but the seller says that it’s in pristine condition for such an old car. Now, about that one-owner claim: this car was bought by a gentleman who signed the title over to his daughter and subsequently passed away and she never put it in her name. The car sat for a few years and the daughter’s husband tinkered with it and got it running but then it sat for a few more years until the seller’s father acquired it and apparently still didn’t transfer the title into his name, so here we are. I hope that the next owner can get the title through their DMV without too much trouble.
This Marauder should have Mercury’s 390 cubic-inch V8 with about 300 hp. The seller thinks that it should run again with a little of the normal preparation for an engine that hasn’t run in a few years. As a general reference, Hagerty is at $9,100 for a #4 fair condition car so with just a day left to get your bids in, this could be a good deal. Are there any fans of the ’65 Mercury Marauder out there?
Good looking Mercury. The lines are pulled from Elwood Engel’s design ideas, as in the ’61 Lincoln. After Engel left Ford, he went to Chrysler, and you can absolutely see his influence in the C-body cars of ’65-’68. Here’s a shot of my ’67 Newport, certainly the sister car to this Marauder in both styling and target audience.
I’ve always liked this design. Very clean lines.
Re: lack of power windows and locks- most would have ordered a Merc with both, but a few didn’t, and they could have it any way they wanted- Ford was happy to oblige. I remember feeling a bit sorry for my dad in the mid 60’s when he had a new Ford Country Sedan wagon. He was very proud of the “Squire” interior that he custom ordered. Than his older brother, an Air Force officer, came to visit with a new Colony Park Wagon loaded with options and cousins.
The power window systems Ford had in the ’60’s was a nightmare.
It was a rare option because the people that bought Mercury’s at that time were older people and they didn’t trust those new systems, and rightly so.
My brother had an S55 with a 428ci and it was a 1966 model, tiel green with black leather interior,
There’s a lot to like with this big cruiser. A good-looking Mercury that seems to be rust-free and complete. I think some serious cleaning and polishing will do wonders and the big 390 should be fairly easy to bring back to life. Chrome and trim looks pretty good. It looks good inside with bucket seats and console. It may end up being a bargain, too. Love to have this one, the potential is here to have a very cool vintage cruiser with a little hard work.
Never knew there was a Park Lane Marauder. Thought the Park Lane was just an upscale version of the Monterey. Still like the 63-64 versions better though. For the price I’d take a chance if it was on the other coast!
Reference no power windows, a lot of people still didn’t trust them back in the day so they would order without them. I had one aunt and uncle that always had them in their Oldsmobile 98’s. In her 65 model the right back window would go half way down and stick. She always went to the dealer and they charged her $30 to put it back up. My dad would’nt have a car that had them
I don’t mind manual crank windows. Spent a lot of time fixing the electric ones on my 67 Lincoln!
I had an aunt that well into the early ’80’s wouldn’t have power windows.
She said that if she drove into a lake they wouldn’t work.
I told her not to drive into a lake.
My parents bought a new ’67 Montclair (between Monterey and Park Lane) right off the dealers lot. No power windows or a/c, but they got a really good deal on it. I also had a ’67 Monterey with no p/w or a/c and no power brakes, it was a bear to stop.Both cars had the same vinyl seats, light blue and dark blue. My parents car was a medium blue but mine was originally yellow. You could get it any way you wanted in the ’60’s.
Bee-you-t-ful. A friend of mine (we went all the way from first grade through High school together) had a 63 Galaxie 500XL 2 drht in the early 70’s then another friend moved from L.A up to Redding, he had a 65 Merc 2 drop same color as this one, he had lost the keys to it so he told my friend he could have it if he would go with him to move the rest of his furnishings up to Redding(about a 500 mile trip one way). I knew how to hot wire the car so I went with them. We made the trip with no problems then my friend gave me his 63.
Good memories. My friend passed a few years ago, RIP Larry.
God bless America
f I had the room I would jump on this even though I hate auctions. I’d call the Seller and ask he/she what they want for the car. If they are not on another Planet I’d buy it, give it what it needs, install power windows (kits available, Johnson Controls), Vintage air and heat, take my girl, and go for a lap around the United States. We and the car would love it. Never mind gas mileage. If you worry about gas mileage, you are in the wrong Hobby.
Wow, look at that huge trunk. It stretches back about as far as the hood goes forward. Looks like it holds about as much as much small pickup bed. Perfect for some Goodfellas, 2 bodies, 2 shovels and 2 bags of lime at least.
Yea, back in the day you could sneak several of your friends into the drive in movies, LOL
The title issue sounds like a can of worms. Unless the person to whom the title was signed over to is alive, there could be major issues. This may be a parts car.
In California I don’t think the bill of sale has to be notarized, so you just sign a bill of sale and go register it.
I would be more worried about the tag on the plate which says 1985. What has happened to the car since then.
Thanks Joe, your comment is spot-on in the real world. Every State has different title laws, and they just don’t seem to cross over from state to state. Everybody talks about how they can finagle the titles from state to state, but that’s not my experience.
You would take this title with a VIN inspection, because I bet the car is out of the system, and order a quick title in your name at your home address in the other state. It will arrive in a couple of days and you go to your DMV and register it.
It really is not that hard to deal with California DMV.
Sold for $4250 USD
I’m reviving this because I’m the one that bought it. I just happened to do an image search for 65 Marauders tonight, and this entry was there. I look at many barnfinds articles but never realized one of my cars was featured.