Disclosure: This site may receive compensation when you click on some links and make purchases.

Road Ready: 1971 Mercury Grand Marquis Coupe

b1

Apart from the period aluminum wheels, this 1971 Mercury Grand Marquis is remarkably stock. It’s been garaged for it’s entire life, which lately has been in Avondale, Arizona. The owner doesn’t give a reason for selling, but they believe it’s a two-owner car (so I’m guessing perhaps three-owner if you include the current seller?). If you are interested in pursuing this giant coupe, it’s being offered here on eBay.

b2

The big coupe has some shiny paint, although the seller admits it’s a repaint from somewhere along the line. There’s what looks like some damage right behind the right rear tires, and another problem in the right door. As a whole, though, both the chrome and the paint look pretty nice.

b6

Ok, we have a wrinkle in the plan. Actually, we have a wrinkle in the door! Despite what the seller says, this will be a somewhat difficult repair to get correct (at least for the home restorer). On the bright side, white is the best color to hide bodywork (of course, that means you need to look this car over closely for previous work) and the seller’s assertion that you can match the paint is probably true. I’m hoping someone recorded the paint code so that it’s even easier.

b3

You can see some minor wear on the car in the front, and some possible misalignment of the headlight doors, but overall I’m just happy to see that shiny chrome. I can fiddle with the fits, and touch up the paint, but rechroming is expensive!

b4

The seller is very enthusiastic about the interior. While there are some nice features, and it’s obviously original, I’d like it better if there weren’t two tears in the driver’s seat, if the fading weren’t true at the top of the seats, and if the dash mat were not in place so I could see if the dash pad was cracked or if the mat was a preventative measure against the Arizona sun.

b5

The star of the show for me is the 429 cubic inch V8, which almost unbelievably only has a two-barrel carburetor. It may not be original, but one of the first things I’d do is install a four-barrel to unleash the power of the huge engine. The ice-cold air conditioning and general clean appearance are pluses as well. I think this would be a great weekend driver (and even during the week with current gas prices) as a very distinctive coupe. What do you think? Feel like making an offer?

Comments

  1. Avatar Thomas

    These cars are like crusing down the road in your favorite chair…Great comfort, not so great mpg, but if you are crusing in this is mpg your biggest concern?

    Like 0
  2. Avatar MH

    That’s a cool looking car. It would look good with some chrome wheels.

    Like 0
  3. Avatar piper62j

    Great big mobile comfort sofa. These cars rode like you were driving on flat glass.. Plenty of room and thick seats. Quiet as a mouse too..
    Wonderful find.. Will make someone very happy tooling along the highways..

    Like 0
    • Avatar Donald Barclay

      My mother had one, and it was quiet as a mouse UNTIL you put the pedal down and hear that two barrel carb opens up that thing sounds like a thousand snakes hissing in unison!!! LOL

      Like 0
  4. Avatar Steve Member

    It shows blue seat belts. Wouldn’t you think the seat belts would be the same color as the interior? Strange, I’d say, but a nice looking car overall.

    Like 0
  5. Avatar DanB

    While it’s a great cruiser, there sure are a lot of little things that are needed. From the front you have the misaligned headlight doors, the lower left grille piece is missing and numerous scratches. At the rear the bumper pan needs refitting as it’s bowed on the left side. then there is the passenger side rear quarter and door. In the interior there is the faded seats and the third gauge binnacle is missing with two other guages stuffed in it’s place. That’s just the visible cosmetics.

    Like 0
    • Avatar boxdin

      Its a used car………

      Like 0
  6. Avatar Birdman

    ….and cue the ’70’s police chase music…. WAIT! CUT!!…Where’s the pimp? There’s supposed to be a pimp behind the wheel, squealing away as the police come around the corner….. Anyone know where he is?

    Like 0
  7. Avatar AMC STEVE

    So this car is as close as you can get to a Marauder without the buckets and the console. I always wanted a red on red one, but these cars are rare now and don’t come up that often. It’s very hard to find sheet metal for them and other parts as there’s not much support behind them.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Keith

      AMC Steve I’m with you on that. About 10 years ago I passed on one of these….black with red interior about the same condition as the car featured here for $2500….still kicking myself on that one…..

      Like 0
  8. Avatar Rick

    Looks a lot like a 69-70 Marauder X-100, in fact it has almost the same front sheet metal, I had a 69 X-100, had a 429, think it was rated at 365 hp, what a fast car, some X-100s had a distinctive contrasting satin finish black out treatmeant on the trunk lid and around the rear window,mine was light metalliic blue with dark blue on the trunk, wish I still had mine especially now that gas is cheap again

    Like 0
  9. Avatar RON

    i think this one is covered pro’s and cons, rick covers the over all for me. if i wanted a muscle ford it would be a maurader or other for the big block and smaller body. these cars in any mfg are beautiful,comfortale cruisers that i deary love. but 428-429’s at 4000 lb plus and low octane unleaded and 10 mph just don’t cut it any more unless it is indeed a muscle car. i can’t see unless some sentimental reason, this kind of money or collecting these lovely cruisers. nice car for the right person

    Like 0
  10. Avatar Kevin

    omg love those seats

    Like 0
  11. Avatar Luke Fitzgerald

    Standard 2V – fine on fuel so long as you don’t want to be first off from the lights – belts are black – just fade and the pictures – headlite doors are creeping up – a Ford thing when they sit – imaginative instrument installation

    Like 0
  12. Avatar Greg

    Love it!

    Our family car growing up was a ’72 Marquis Brougham — a more luxurious version of this car. This appears to be a base Marquis (hand crank windows!). The Brougham added a lot of features (power windows, vinyl roof, extra trim over the fender ridges from front to back, etc.). However, this particular car also has power seats which was certainly an upgrade.

    Trivia note: There was no Grand Marquis back in the day — the ‘Grand’ didn’t show up until 1975. However, some website databases don’t show just ‘Marquis’ without the Grand, so they often get called Grand when they aren’t.

    Ours also had the 429. The few times I remember calculating fuel mileage, it could get up into the mid-teens on the highway. But, yeah, around town? Certainly in the 10-13 range.

    These things were quite heavy. For example, I took the front fender edge cap off of a parts car to replace a gouged one on our car. It was made of pot metal and was stunningly heavy for serving no other purpose than simply being a piece of trim. Repeat that same inattention to weight throughout the chassis and it is easy to see how they were pushing 5000 lbs.

    Then again, these cars were designed and built before the 1973 oil crisis which caused all manufacturers to start reducing weight in the effort to improve efficiency. Gas was cheap — who in 1971 cared if it only got 13mpg?

    This is how we ended up with our ’72. Dad bought it in ’74 when the original owner got tired of paying so much for gas after the prices shot up. The owner traded it in on a Pinto.

    And they rusted badly, too. The frame on ours had to be patched and welded several times just to keep it road worthy.

    A simply beautiful car that certainly had to have stolen sales from the Lincoln Mark III and Mark IV. Very similar styling, trim, and power.

    My brother and I both look back on these fondly.

    Like 0
  13. Avatar SunbeamerStu

    Learned how to drive using one of these beasts. Like piloting a boat. Made parallel parking interesting, but a good learning experience.

    Bench seats were cloth, but the oddest cloth you ever felt. Smooth and very artificial-feeling. Like panty-hose material. Take a corner fast and you were practically in the passenger seat.

    Not that I go around wearing a lot of panty hose….

    Went out and bought a VW Rabbit. Fun! Always small cars for me after that.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Greg

      Agree on the fabric — especially the fabric on the edges. Very strange choice of material. Once it got wet, it would stain and we could never figure out how to remove the stains.

      The subject car has the same issue. See the photos with the doors open looking at the interior — the edge material is all water-stained and spotted.

      The main seating areas had a very intricate pattern woven into it. It seemed so luxurious at the time!

      Like 0
    • Avatar Frederick Frank

      It’s funny My Dad had a 74 Marquis Brougham when 460 4v Great car for long hiway trips Def not a good city car Like you my first car was a 4dr Rabbit Relatively crude but fun as all Hell to drive Head and shoulders above the competition i couldnt (including the MPG champ Nissans and Hondas offered then) even fit in Can’t believe Fiat still sells those claustrophobic little cars here

      Like 0
  14. Avatar Glen

    If I’m reading this right, the article states it is presently with a 2 barrel on an adapter plate. The airfilter cover says 2V , but he says ( twice) it is a 4 barrel. I’ve never heard of changing from a 4V to a 2V. It’s new to me. None- the- less, I like it, preferably with a 4V.

    Like 0
  15. Avatar james burton

    the guy prob. thinks the egr plate under the carb is an adp. plate. they usely burnt a hole thru

    Like 0
  16. Avatar Nova Scotian

    While it is eye catching body style….only because you don’t see people driving these around anymore…there is a reason. Huge weight, huge gas engine, 2 huge doors, equal limited use. Yea it’s a looker, but what to do with it? It would be dinged to death in a parking lot. It would clean out your bank account to pour gas through it. For what? People are more sensible these days. I highly doubt you’ll see this land yacht lumbering down the freeway anytime soon….just my opinion.

    Like 0
  17. Avatar Metalted

    With all the full size 4 door pick ups, and suv. Today being drivin daily.
    Wouldn’t be to different driving this sweet big body.,
    👍

    Like 2

Leave a Reply to Greg Cancel reply

RULES: No profanity, politics, or personal attacks.

Become a member to add images to your comments.

*

Get new comment updates via email. Or subscribe without commenting.