What are you going to do with this 1978 Mercury Zephyr four-door? “Collect it” seems like a silly thing to reply, but you know what? Someone’s got to do it as a reminder to future generations that this is what cars were like in a given era. You’ve got a head start based on the car’s low miles and excellent state of preservation. The price is tempting, too, with a buy it now here on eBay of $7,800 and an auction stalled at under three grand. You’ll need an Uber to take you to Upper Sandusky, OH to collect your prize. Then drive it home if you dare.
This one’s plenty worthy of continued care. It was owned from new by the same woman, who drove it a grand total of 5200 miles in these many decades. At 93, she’s gone to the heavenly garage, leaving it for the next person to care for what was undoubtedly her baby. One thing that seems lacking, and this is often the case, is original paperwork and documentation, but that won’t stop you from making up a poster to use when you display this four-door at your local orphan makes car show.
Motivated by a 3.3-liter 6-cylinder with an automatic backing it up, the car sports its original tires. Recently the heater plenum was removed and cleaned—it that a sore spot on these, anyone know?—and also deodorized. Other than that, apparently nothing’s been done because nothing’s been needed. If you’re going to show the car, though, a thorough going-over of the under hood area would be a good idea. It hasn’t aged as well as the top side appears to have. The engine, by the way, was one of four available on the model line, which began with this 1978 year. Those included two V8s, a 255-cid mill and a 302.
No, it’s not a sportscar, but it’s cool in a nerdy fashion that needs to be admired. The worse you can do is try the seller at 5 grand, agree to six, and get a year’s mileage out of this car even if collectability is not your thing. On the other hand, you’ve got a 45-year head start on having something old and kinda cool in its own way and that nobody else will be piloting at the local cruise night, so why not? The color is a bit bright, but it’s what Mercury sprayed, one is given to believe. Everything else looks like the day the assembly line gave birth to this car. And it’s modern enough to likely offer reliable service for tens of thousands of miles, if you go that way. Otherwise, make it your mission to see how much fun you can have in limited runs and still keep it under 10,000 miles while you own it over the years.
Nice write-up Brian. If we expand to include the Fairmont, another example of a car which was common in its day, and rarely seen today. Bread-and-butter four-door sedan, the beginning of all things Fox. I wonder if the Ford engineers had any idea what all the platform would spawn, and how long it would be in production.
I’ll comment on the mileage. It is natural for us to cast doubt. My mother-in-law, in her later years, drove her car sparingly. If church for her was one mile away as opposed to ten miles away, it would have been even less. So it is rare and hard to fathom, but it can happen. And what about that grungy-looking engine? Having restored the engine compartment in a Fox Body with this exact engine, I can assure you this is what they look like…. just from the passage of time.
Nice car. Something different for Cars & Coffee, for dirt cheap money. Or maybe, make sure it is mechanically sound and drive it regularly.
Ah, the mileage. Once a week to church, one mile away, or ten.
That’s not necessarily a positive thing, unless it’s a flipper buying it and looking at the low numbers as a selling point. Here’s why: COLD STARTS. A cold start can put the equivalent of hundreds of miles on an engine, each time it happens. A cold start, and not running it long enough to get the whole engine block up to operating temperature, invites even more problems…condensation in the oil, stress on the block.
As a contrast example, I bought a Ford Transit Connect panel van that had 280,000 miles on it. Ran like a champ (although its transmission, its second, was toast). However did it get all those miles with such little wear? It was a highway “escort” vehicle for oversized-loads. For about five years, every day, all day, whoever pulled the duty, got in there, got on the interstate, drove 55 mph, leading a truck with a wide load on it. Light use, easy use, relatively few cold starts.
And those short runs, and an elderly owner, also explains the filth under the hood. Four months out of the year, that trip to church was through road slop and slush. Probably the owner also went through the wash rack, and that’s good; but that salty crap didn’t get washed off the innards under the hood.
I know there will be negative comments on this,
but I’ve liked the Fairmont/Zephyrs since they were new.
These were utterly reliable (6 cylinder),decent handling,
& had plenty of room.
We had a ’78 wagon.Kept it for about 10 years until
I got hit by a drunk driver,who totaled it.A few years before
that,we were going to buy a new car,but I didn’t see anything
that I wanted to borrow money for,so we had most things re-
built on it.
We then bought a ’90 Taurus wagon for $1000 under
low book that had really low miles on it.It was a major dis-
appointment,but only lost $200 on it when we sold it.
You must have gotten a lemon Taurus wagon, Angliagt. I’ve had two Taurus wagons, an ’89 and a ’99 as well as an ’04 Sable wagon. All bought used, none of the three gave me a lick of trouble while I owned them and never cost me a dime except for gas and oil changes.
If you like your cars clean, original and fairly well-optioned, this would be a very nice three-season driver. It appears to have most options we all like, PS, PB, probably disc brakes (?) and the all-important A/C. The 3.3 six should give decent performance, too. The extra doors help when you have to transport three or more people, it has a decent sized trunk for grocery runs and it’s probably fairly good on gas. Throw on some new tires, check the mechanicals over and enjoy motoring, 1970s style. The price seems reasonable for a vintage car that’s not even broken in yet.
6 ThriftPower i6 motors, this was the revie one (therefor to machine, hop-up’n race AK Miller style). Best known is “the gasser that’s a diesel” a 300 or 4.9L that went all the way (60s to ’96) to efi. Yes, like the bodies around the slant6 these rusted but by the time of above, w a y better lasting. 1st fox Grenade-a thru ’93? (well even the SN-95 some claim is ‘fox’ thru ’98? up to ’04?). A 2nd to the Dodge “passenger van” on longest running ‘platform’.
As usual (I’m ‘Wagonman’ after all) I like the wagon fox, have the dwn sz LTD (fox) which is this one’s son. There were Grenade-s & Cougars in wagon shapes (rare) – and even the 1st gen Stang (justa handful, not coach built but ‘test’ cars done @ factory).
Not a lemon – just that the longer we had it,the cheaper
it appeared.I was lucky to transfer the extended warranty-
(it had about 17,000 on it when we bought it).I once took
a tight corner fast,& had the rear sway bar pop out of it’s
mounts.It had the bigger V6.
I talked to a lot of owners & mechanics about them.
The mechanics hated them.
For us “Gringos” that haven’t adopted the metric system yet,,the 3.3 was the trusty 200ci, and the workhorse of the family fleet for years. It chugged on relentlessly, with little or no maintenance, until the car itself literally rusted from around it. I remember PILES of Ford in line 6s, cars long gone. A lot of industrial equipment used Ford inline 6s. I’ll tell you what to do with it, DRIVE the darn thing. Not every car is going to be collectible, unless of course, collectible includes cars that were never intended to be, yet, by some miracle, survived. We, well, not me, but as a country, we are bamboozled by the automakers as to what we SHOULD drive, when all that’s really needed, is a car like this. You’ll see, I’ll be long gone, but these will make a comeback in 2037 with that new “Ion” engine. I have no doubt on the mileage, I’ve seen several examples in my little town, keeping in mind, there are always problems with a low mileage, older car, but you will get ahead of it, and could very well be the last car you’ll ever buy. Great find.
According to our Government,if they have their way,
you’ll only be able to buy electric cars by then.
I hope I’m wrong.
My take is, we’re running out of oil, so they are pushing EVs so as not to instill panic.
The U.S. has more untapped oil than Saudi Arabia or Russia.
https://money.cnn.com/2016/07/05/investing/us-untapped-oil/index.html
Howie the oil is plentiful, the saudis have tons … more than we’d ever need.
Love it but my concern is how it looks underneath.
@sleeperdude88
Josh, you need this one!
“Recently the heater plenum was removed and cleaned—it that a sore spot on these, anyone know?—and also deodorized.”
Mice nested in there. On my project, the mouse urine seized up the blower motor beyond repair.
I hope they replaced the heater core while they were
in there (I can’t imagine why not),as it’s an 8 hour (flat rate).
On Fairmonts/Zephyrs with A/C you have to pull everything
out up to the firewall.It’s actually not a bad job if you go in
thinking it’s going to really difficult.
The first assembly-line station at the factory is where they hang the heater core from a rope and then they build the rest of the car around it.
From the limited pics of bottom side stuff (fuel filler area and underhood) I would venture this is as clean underneath as from above. If I had the room and a few extra $$ I would pick this up in a minute. Coyote or 2.3 turbo swap would be nice… Also Fun Fact: Upper Sandusky is actually mid-state in Ohio.
Columbus is mid-state……
yup, lotsa da fox bodied get stang power this and stang dancing suspension/break,etc…
“Orphan”? How old were you in 1978, Brian?
A neat old Mercury, but not for $8k. If it had two less doors and a 302? Yep.
I like it but my opinion is the current bid of $2,500 is all its worth but one question remains per the add listing they say its being sold by the original owner then later they say she’s dead so are you buying it from her ghost?
My father bought a new 78 or 79 (can’t remember) Fairmont 4-door with the 200 CI 6. It was definitely more of a cruiser than a performer and the 6 would struggle up hills.
It had a fatal flow though – it would fog up inside in all weather. In the winter the inside of the windows would freeze. Nobody could fix it. My father dumped it and bought a Datsun 510. He never went back to Fords.
Meh, looks like a car some girl in high school would have driven. $1500 max. if it runs and drives excellent…I’d use it for a winter beater.
Yeah dude! It’s not a pre-1972 2 door 4 speed with a big block so it’s completely worthless. Barrett-Jackson forever, maaaaan!
Points for pristine low mileage. $4500 tops. It’ll sell to someone who has fond memories of their’s back in the day.
That is some miserly mileage. My mother-in-law has a 2007 Honda Accord EXL V6, bought new, with only 16,000 miles. Mother-in-law finally agreed to buy new tires, due to age, but we can’t convince her to do the timing belt… preventative measure due to age. I ran my identical 2006 Honda Accord EXL Navi V6 up to 260,000 and sold it for $2000.
I like the subject car and think a fair price is $4,000. Care for it and use it as a 3 season daily driver…hang out at car shows, cars and coffee etc.
I remember my dad bringing home, for a test drive, a LTD ll….2 tone beige/gold paint, leather, power everything, etc. It would have an upgrade but a much smaller car than our 77 Delta 88 4dr with air, crank windows, am/fm. Dad passed on the LTD ll. However, Ford took revenge on our family as dad ultimately purchased a 4dr Tempo (auto, air, stereo, crank windows) and then a 3dr Mercury Lynx ..stick, air, stereo and crank windows.
In the 80’s and 90’s, I owned several at my rent a car business in Ca. Great SIMPLE cars. All had 6’s on them; easy to maintain and reliable. Sat 6 comfortably.
As to Taurus’s good cars but bad transmissions, ‘Had 10 of them , all the trannies went.
It looks like he “young lady” maintained both the car and herself.
RoyBoy
True on the Taurus, as I recall the 3.0s had bad transmissions, and the 3.8 ( or whatever the bigger engine was) would blow head gaskets .
nope, 2 different 4 cyl – bent8 oh, sorry U mean @ ur rental co. OK, anyway~
(1 of the Limas U could order w/turbo (that 1st production car from merica to offer 1 I believe). Also 5 different trannies (5 of each). Another milestone of sorts as that (’83) ended an era of sedan, coupe, s.wagon choices in 1 model & the ‘5’n5 offerings. (some added fastback, sedan delivery and chero/camino to the body style just yrs earlier – fairlane/chevelle). Opposite – honda, U go pick up the one they got (3 – 5 color choice only?)
I really wish you could proofread your comments ; I’m sure you have interesting things to say , but nobody – NOBODY understands anything you write !! Think about it.. You write unintelligible comments, no one understands, so your point does not get across – Is it really worth your time to write things that no one car read ? .
THANK YOU! I’ve posted (and posted,and…)
about that but chrlsful doesn’t seem to get it.
ONCE AGAIN – Don’t “text” your replies,please
use full words.
Ok, I admit it’s in good shape, and based on the comments, now I know this and the Fairmont have reliable drivetrains. Still, I remember when they were new. I couldn’t imagine a more ho hum car, the styling was so bland it scared me to think of where we were heading. I thought from the soaped windows and anticipation of new model introductions at dealerships we got to this? I know that’s just an opinion, everyone’s got one, but I could bring myself to spend anything on this car, ace condition or not.
Totally agree ! I remember when these came out and couldn’t believe how boring and cheap they looked . We used to joke that they were designed using only a straight edge , and the only part of the car with a curve was the steering wheel and rims . That, and some had an orangey interior . But, as it turned out , they were a successful car, and while not a looker in any way, they proved to be a dependable car
that’n Granada they attempter the MB look, right dwn to grill’n tail light
If you asked a 5 year old to draw a car, this is what you get.
You often hear people decrying the complexity of modern cars and say why don’t they build a cheap, easily repaired car, without a lot of bells and whistles. This is what you would get. I wonder if it would sell now.
Wow some real bashing going on, these aren’t bad cars. Just not great cars, but they are the grandaddy of the Mustang that Ford sold millions of. The best part is all that later Fox body stuff bolts in. Dropped the tired six and auto and in went a Mustang K Member 5.0, 5 speed and 8.8 differential with the GT sway bars. Yep clutch pedal had to pull the dash while it was a part swapped the air box with new heater core and evaporator. Used Mustang AC lines ond found a condenser at the pick apart so the AC blows cold. My beater here in Fl the quick steering rack is also in there.
The various color keyed cloth interiors sure look great & inviting on these cars, especially when they are super clean like here! Gotta love that bench seat!
But i could never understand why the roof was so high on these – even on the 2 door(& therefore the derived Mustang back then) – were they trying to sell it to more people? – say those over 6 feet 2 inches tall? & do those side windows on the front doors even roll all the way down?
Same colour as my rare as hens teeth ’80 Futura 2.3L turbo!
These were very durable cars if they didn’t live inside the Rust Belt. And no cars were immune to the Rust Belt back then. Maybe Volvos.
We changed the K member on a ‘78 Fairmont four door and pulled the drivetrain out of a low mileage Mustang GT 5.0 with a 5 speed and stuffed it all in.
It was more fun than our ‘74 VW Transporter with a 911 engine. Probably because we couldn’t drive the Bus on windy days.
The heater blower was a mouse house hence the deodorizing but the seller really should have vacuumed up the other mouse nest in the trunk along with the mouse poop as pictured.
That might have pushed the bidding past it’s current amount.
The squarish design on these gave a lot of room in a small and lightweight package. These were great cars for their time. I may be biased, but my experience with the Farimont/Zephyr was likely different than most due to the way mine was equipped.
Fresh out of high school, I bought a 80k mile used 1980 Fairmont Ghia 2-door sedan with power windows & locks, bucket seats, plusher carpet, tilt, cruise, air, woodgrain dash and full gages but with the 2.3 4-cyl & 4-spd. It had the knurled knobs for the quarter vent windows, delay wipers, remote mirrors, a woodgrain inlay around the steering wheel rim, map lights, rear defrost, stereo and better sound insulation. By how spartan most appeared, mine seemed almost luxurious by contrast. I haven’t seen another with so many option boxes checked.
Power was more than adequate, definitely better than the Rabbit diesel the folks had. My friend’s 302 Futura wouldn’t leave it in the dust, but I think the manual tranny and handling package his lacked made mine more fun to drive, maybe the factory tach made it look like something was going on, rather than just seeing a speedo and fuel gage most had. Dark pine metallic with deluxe sand velour thinly-striped bucket seats. Young & dumb me, took it into an incompetent shop for a clutch issue… they replaced the clutch, then took it apart again to replace the bent clutch fork (the original problem), adding in a bunch of other repairs that weren’t broken, and left me cash-strapped with a newly leaking rear main seal they likely caused. Sadly, I traded it off. Of the way-too-many vehicles I’ve owned, that’s the one I’d want back the most.