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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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?
Source: barnfinds.com
