Auto enthusiasts proclaim “That’s one bad Mercury Monarch!” about as often as you hear “Excuse me, would you care to join the Pope for tea?” This 1977 Mercury Monarch in Ripon, Wisconsin is truly bad… in a good way. If there’s another 351W-powered, four-speed Mercury Monarch prepped for autocross out there, the new owner of this one is highly unlikely to witness it in their earthly lifetime. Listed for auction here on eBay, this tidy-looking Mercury has attracted bids beyond $1800, a figure unlikely to buy its drive train.
The seller describes this green machine as rust free and recently completed, and the two-tone paint appears to have preserved the factory hue except for the roof and trunk lid.
It may have been tempting to black out the interior with dye and plastic paint, but thankfully this full-on green theme pays proper homage to the ’70s that spawned this fearsome coupe. The factory did install 351 cid “Windsor” engines in some Monarchs, but the giant black plate suggests that (at least) the four-speed manual transmission came later in this car’s life.
The “fresh” 351w sports a four-barrel carburetor, solid lifter cam, “hi-po exhaust manifolds,” and close ratio four-speed “top-loader” transmission. Suspension upgrades include polyurethane bushings, front and rear sway bars, a two-inch drop, recessed bumpers, and fat 235-60R15 and 295-50R15 BF Goodrich tires front and rear, respectively. The seller describes this unlikely autocross contender as “turn key.” Other than the two-tone paint I wouldn’t change a thing, though I’d be tempted to fit some stock-looking hub caps (if I could stand it) to maximize the sleeper effect. If you could direct this merciless Monarch for an evening, how would you subject your will on the unsuspecting peasants of your realm?
Keep the exhaust quiet and you will have lots of fun in this at the stoplights.
Stick a set of remotely operated exhaust dumps for canyon carving.
Nice work! Someone needs to find another hot rod based on an undesirable 70s Mercury. Three-peat in play.
Floats like a butterfly, stings like a…… well it still floats like a butterfly.
Dropped two inches, front and rear sway bars, polyurethane bushings, fatter tires, all from the ad.
Not exactly a 6 cylinder three speed auto with standard Ford suspension
Looks like it’s Gator McKluski’s back up car, very cool
Lose the white letter tires; paint it back to it’s original emerald green; put period-correct whitewalls & Grenade/Monarch wheel covers on it and make sure it has a “as built” stance to throw off the competition when the light turns green. This could be a howler that gets talked about at every bar!
If it isn’t rusty it could make a decent cruiser. The 3.00 gears and close ratio 4 speed won’t make it a terror on the streets. The shifter, with the reverse lockout, will make it a hassle for typical street driving.. The seller threw in the autocross reference to make people sssume it handles well. There is a reserve, hopefully it isn’t set too high.
Steve R
1 year too new for Commiefornia smog laws, but great potential for some cheap hooning. I’ve never liked these much, but now I can see the possibilities. Good thing I don’t have any money.
2 years too new.
Unusual for sure. Disliked the Granola/ monarchs, worked on many. Not many left in the rust belt. Whatta sleeper! wonder what the reserve is.
Good luck to the new owner!!
The car looks great to me as is, I appreciate the lighter top as it will help keep this beast a bit cooler in the summertime (with the heat from the firewall, who needs to cook under the roof too?) BTW, I would leave the tires as is. White letter tires were perfectly acceptable on cars of the era. :)
By the VIN, it’s originally a 302 car.
My cousin had a Grenada with a 4sd. Jacked-up, fat Cragars, white letter tires, just the way I’d do this one
That’s the way you do it, modern day budget street machine. Like it as is, even the color.
Nice car, this would be a blast to drive. The paint effect reminds me of an early ’70s Mercury Marauder, they had a similar trunk/deck matte finish.
It would be fine if there was some complement between the two colors.
Than silver/ champagne color with emerald green is an eye sore.
Looks like the green was repainted over some burnt out metallic beige and the hood, roof and trunk left alone.
Nice car otherwise.
The 4 speed turns me off! This semi luxury car should have the automatic back in it! I know that it’s my opinion but I like cars that are factory correct!
Love that homemade dual snorkel air filter!
4-speed? The only 4-speed looking thing I see is the T-handle shifter, with no boot around it. Could the red button be a line-lock? WHY do I say all this? Zoom in on the pedals…. I see a wide brake pedal, a park brake pedal, hood release and park release handles….. WHERE is the clutch pedal?
The picture from the passenger side shows 3 pedals.
Okay, good to hey. I haven’t seen that pic. Thanks
The shifter is a vintage Hurst Super Shifter 3, the red handle is the reverse lockout.
Steve R
I see the clitch pedal. Does appear to be hanging low compared to the brake pedal though.
I can almost smell the moonshine. I dig it!
Very, very cool. And nice to see some love for this car on here. I had a 76 Granada 2 door and we did it up about the same way, save for the manual trans. It takes some work and some vision, but these can be made cool (especially in non-smog states like New Jersey where you can do some performance mods).
Bidding has passed the $4,200 mark at this point.