Colony Park was Mercury’s answer to the Ford Country Squire station wagon. Offered from 1957 to 1991, it was the most luxurious people mover you could get from the company sans the Lincoln which didn’t build wagons. It was distinguished by its “woodie” appearance with fake woodgrain on the sides. This ’68 edition may have been off the road for a time based on the seller’s description. The woodgrain stuff is pretty faded at this point, but the paint and interior look to have held up nicely. Located in Oakland, California, this vintage transporter is available here on craigslist for $8,900. Thanks to barn finder “numskal” for this referral.
Wagons like the Colony Park were big sellers in the mid-to-late parts of the 20th Century. But they began to fall out of favor as the SUV emerged in the ‘80s and ‘90s, which is when Ford retired big rear-wheel-drive products like the Country Squire and Colony Park. For a time, you could buy the Mercury Commuter which was a version of the CP without the side paneling. But it wasn’t a big seller among Mercury’s more affluent buyers, so it soon disappeared. Across the way, the Colony Park competed with the likes of the Chrysler Town & Country and Buick Estate Wagon.
The seller’s survivor was one of 21,179 Colony Parks built in 1968, the last of the fourth generation of the nameplate. So, demand was still high for these big machines. The 390 cubic inch V8 was the popular choice (although the 428 was available) and it was rated at 315 hp, plenty to move around a crate like this. Not much in the way of history is offered on this Merc. It has 92,000 miles, which is said to be original, and it comes with power front disc brakes and a functional dual-opening tailgate.
We’re told the white (or is it light blue?) paint is original, so the woodgrain plus a broken turn signal lens is the negative standouts. You could fix the latter and forget the former to just use it as a second or third vehicle when more hauling capacity is needed. This wagon does not have the optional third seat, so it’s designed to carry six passengers (you might get part of the grade school soccer team squeezed in there if you tried hard). Before that, however, you’ll need to take it in for new tires and a tune-up.
I never had much interest in big wagons, but now I see a Mercury like this as a terrific representation of a type of vehicle no longer in production (same as big personal luxury coupes). This one looks pretty good. Obviously it needs new woodgrain, maybe the paint would be acceptable; perhaps the whole car just needs some basic attention. Not highly optioned, but for a cruiser it might be fine. The grandkids would think it was a hoot.
Love it. Similar to my uncle’s country squire. He had glass packs and as kids we thought it sounded cool. It did. Late 60’s pile a bunch of us kids in there. Would love to see station wagons come back
Yeah it’s amazing that no manufacturer is listening to the screams of the people. So many people want a real SW but no such Sasquatch exists anymore. I’ve always loved a wagon. The low loading hight compared to an SUV or pickup was my favorite part.
Oh, I have a picture of a Lincoln wagon.
Looks like Ford’s very confusing “Diamond Blue” to me.
Yes, we had a 1968 mercury cummuter wagon. The same color as this one and I do believe it was called diamond blue. But not sure.
I love Ford’s big wagons, they were the best-looking wagons made by the Big Three. I had a 1975 Colony Park for years. It was a 9 passenger, fully equipped with every available option, including a 460, cubic inch engine with a 4 barrel Motorcraft 4300 series carburetor. About the woodgrain paneled sides, I knew it made no sense, but it looked cool and the Colony Park and the Country Squires were a suburban status symbols. Back in the 60s and 70s, if you owned one of those beautiful cruisers, you had made it in life. Ford would change the color of the woodgrain panels to differentiate model years. The woodgrain had clear areas in the grain so the woodgrain would blend with the color of the car, that meant the entire car had to be painted before the panels were installed. So when the panels are replaced, to keep it model year correct, you would have to make sure you had the correct model year replacement panels (Ford calls them transfers). Good luck finding the correct panels for 1968. I wish you luck on that. I had to do national dealer searches to get the right ones, and that was in the late 80s. It took a while but I found all the right ones for model year 75. Everyone I knew loved that wagon. I wish I still had it.
Good comments Bill Maceri. “… made no sense”; correct; but the woodgrain trim sure dressed up these big wagons. And they indeed were suburban status symbols; perhaps today’s FoMoCo equivalent would be a high-end Expedition or a Navigator.
I’lll et finding replacement lenses for the front fender lights will be problematical! GLWTS!!
It seems curious that Ford would sell the Country Squire AND this car. I mean… this “upmarket” Mercury is lower spec than a Country Squire.
In fact, this Merc looks no fancier than a ’67 Ranch Wagon we owned back around 2000, save for the faux wood. That Ranch Wagon also had the 390.
Ford / Ford trucks and Lincoln/Mercury would have been two different dealerships ; Mercury wouldn’t be selling new Fords , so they needed to have a wagon to offer to the Mercury fans
Matchbox made a green Mercury wagon like this. I had one as a kid.
My Dad had one it had a 410 eng
Nice looking wagon. I believe you can still get the 3M Di-noc woodgrain replacement. Not cheap, I’m sure. There can’t be many Colony Park wagons left. We had a number of Ford wagons growing up, the nicest being a ’67 County Squire in turquoise. Beautiful cars.
Big car, big engine, but no AC? At least it has power brakes and steering. Bet it rides great like all the big FoMoCo cars of the time did. But no AC in that big greenhouse would be a killer in our hot Southern climate!