1978 Mercury Zephyr

Merle Haggard’s home town of Bakersfield, CA is where this beauty can be found. I can’t imagine Mr. Haggard driving a light blue 1978 Mercury Zephyr, but who knows. This one is here on craigslist with an asking price of $5,000. Not a small chunk-o-change, but this non-haggard car looks like it’s in showroom condition.

This whole era was somewhat maligned for its combination of regulations and build-quality. I was just coming into my driving age around the late-70s so I’m a fan of vehicles from that time. Who’s with me on that?! (crickets)


There is no denying that this car is in fantastic shape. Like Mr. Haggard, even the color of this car is non-pretentious, it’s simply known as “Medium Blue”. Merle would be proud. 1978 was the first year for Mercury bringing back the Zephyr name, here as a fancy twin to the Ford Fairmont and a replacement for the Mercury Comet, believe it or not. Of course, the Comet was a fancy twin for the Ford Maverick. What a change.


Unfortunately, there are no interior or engine photos of this car, but the seller says that this car has 61,000 miles and has a “6 cylinder engine with automatic transmission a/c and heater work tagged and smogged ready to go”. This car would have about 85 hp, which is a bit less than some owners’ cars have. The interior doesn’t look plaid to me, judging by the photos in the ad, which is a shame. Plaid interiors are always so much more interesting than solid colors are, as are plaid pants, which you most likely would have had on if you got one of these new in 1978. I’m guessing that it would look like this inside of this blue beauty.
If a person was looking for an unusual, nice, inexpensive newer-yet-older car for goofing around with on weekends, this one would surely stand out in the crowd. When the late-70s cars came out, like this nice non-haggard Zephyr, did you ask yourself, Are The Good Times Really Over For Good?

Source: barnfinds.com

Lead Sled: 1950 Mercury Custom

Update 5/17/16 – The owner just mentioned in the comments that they will throw in a flathead V8 if someone buys the car soon!

From 5/9/16 – This one takes me back! When I was a kid, a ’50 Merc was the car to have if you wanted to build a custom cruiser. In fact, there were a few in my small hometown that looked exactly like this one. Sure, the paint color may have been different, but the shaved trim, louvered hood, and 350 V8 were all the same. It makes sense though because the owner of this one claims that it was built in the ’80s. They have owned the car since 1997 and it needs some refreshing, but looks pretty good in the photos. Guess it should though since they are asking $30k here on craigslist. That may seem high, but I doubt you could replicate it for less.



Custom “Dice Man” valve covers and lots of chrome really dress up the engine. The A/C system would be a welcome feature to have during those hot summer car shows and cruise-ins. It’s funny how tastes change over time. This thing may not be “in style” today, but it was killer when it was built. The Moon hubcaps and turned down spotlights are period prefect. It just needs some lake pipes and furry dice to complete the look.


Oh wait, there’s the furry dice! This puppy even a custom dice shifter and bus driver handle. I’m not sure why, but people born during a certain period really like those silly dice. My own father loved them so much that he bought a pair for my ’50 Chevy when I was in high school. They went on the rear-view mirror for about a day until I realized that they just made it harder to see out of the already low windshield. There must be some good drive-in memories attached to those furry things?


Ah, and my favorite part! What happens when you wire up a spark plug to the tailpipe? Flamethrower baby! This is a sight I have not seen for a long time. I always wanted to rig my car up to do this, but I was afraid that the rich running carb would cause the whole car to catch fire. I wanted to add one of those bars that would scrap and throw sparks when I dropped the rear air suspension. Oh, the indiscretions of youth! This car proves that the fun doesn’t have the end just because you are getting older. It does prove that your bank account had better keep up though.

Source: barnfinds.com

1956 Mercury Custom Sedan

This 1956 Mercury Custom Sedan sat in North Dakota “for many years”, according to the owner. It’s now listed on eBay with a price of $1,800 and is found in Hightstown, New Jersey.

The body looks great on this car. I guess “great” is a strong word, but it looks solid and relatively rust-free, other than surface rust. The seller does mention that all of the door handles are missing, which seems odd. And, there are some other trim pieces missing, too. Just think how good this car could look!


Of course, the 800-pound gorilla in the room is that this car has two doors more than most people want in a collector car. If this Mercury were a two-door I’m guessing that the $1,800 price would seem pretty reasonable. Maybe the fact that it’s a four-door sedan (not even a hardtop) will hold it back a bit on the price. Or, maybe it won’t sell at all because it has four doors and it needs work. Lots of buyers wouldn’t consider putting money into restoring a four-door car.


There has to be some mouse damage here since it was in NoDak for so many years. I guess mice are everywhere but it seems like farm country vehicles get hit particularly hard by those dastardly critters. The floors are going to need some welding work but the interior doesn’t look horrible, other than needing to have the seats fixed, new windlace, maybe having the steering wheel restored, welding new floor pans in… How’s that for a sales pitch!


The seller thinks that this is either a 272 or 292 Y-Block V8 and it isn’t stuck, but of course will need a total rebuild, as will everything else on the car. It also has a 3-speed manual with a shifter on the column which is nice for those of us who prefer to shift for ourselves whenever possible. The big question here is if this car is worth the price due to it having four doors? This car will need a lot of work and a fair amount of money spent on getting it either in drivable condition or totally restored. Is it worth the time and money or would you hold out for a two-door version?

Source: barnfinds.com

Orchid & White: 1957 Mercury Monterey With 39,000 Miles

This survivor is showing a claimed 39,000 original miles, and boy, does it look the part.  In period Sunset Orchid and Classic White livery this 1957 Mercury Monterey could have left 1957 and jumped to 2016 with only a few stops along the way! It’s located in Lakeland, Florida and is up for sale here on eBay, where the buy it now price is $26,500 and lower offers are being entertained.

Wow, look at that chrome (the rear bumper has been rechromed)! I love quasi-survivors like this. I say “quasi” because the car has been repainted once, so technically it’s not a survivor by our commenters’ definition. According to the seller, the car was originally sold in Crossett, Arkanasas and lived in the deep South it’s entire life. Last year it was purchased from the original owner’s son, repainted and slightly mechanically refurbished and now is being put back up for sale.


It looks, at least from a distance, that the paint job was done nicely. I’d like to see some closeups to see if glass and trim were removed or taped around; that’s a good indication of the effort put into the repaint. I also like the fact that this isn’t a Ford or Chevrolet–there are a lot of 1957 models of each of those around and it’s neat to see something different for a change!


The place where this car really shines is the original interior. I can’t believe how good this looks! And that print is SO 1950’s!


The dash is gorgeous as well. That is indeed a clutch pedal you see, unlike 98% of 1957 Mercury’s, this car has a 292 V8 with a three-speed manual transmission. Don’t you love that four-spoke steering wheel?


And here is that 292 V8. I’m going to assume that the air cleaner and valve covers have been repainted, but I’d love to know the reason for the odd looking finish on the firewall; what should it look like, experts? And how would you like to take this one home?

Source: barnfinds.com

1951 Mercury Monterey

Source: classiccarnews

Stored For 40 Years: 1962 Mercury Meteor

This 1962 Mercury Meteor 2-door represents an unusual (and short) chapter in FoMoCo history. The smaller Meteor was only made for two years and were based on the comparable Fairlane. This one is fresh out of 40 years of storage and is located in Shelton, Connecticut. It’s for sale here on eBay with a buy-it-now of $2,750 and open bidding below that. 

As you can see from the front bumper, the car hasn’t led a soft life. That being said, the only rust is supposedly a small hole in the driver’s side floor. There’s some work to be done on the right front fender from a crease, but I don’t think that’s too much to fix considering some of the rust buckets I’ve seen!




The “jet pod” tail lights are a far cry from the comparable Fairlane’s. I like the clean look in the rear and the sweeping trim down the sides of the car. I’ve never seen one of these Meteors in person, although I’ve seen a lot of similar Fairlanes. There were roughly 160k Meteors produced in 1962 compared to 300k Fairlanes in ’62 alone, so I guess that makes sense.




While the interior isn’t perfect, I don’t think it would look too bad once it was cleaned up. It could certainly be a lot worse, and I think the black paint and red interior are a great contrast. According to this reference, this is “Red Crush Vinyl and Black Westport Stripe” on the seats. The seller has pulled the carpet up to expose the floor; I’m hoping it will get replaced with red by the car’s new owner. Since this is a bench seat rather than buckets, we know it’s not the S-33 sporty model, and I think it’s the base model because looking at this brochure it appears the Custom models have a stainless or aluminum panel behind the rear wheels.




As best as I can tell, this is the original 223 cubic inch inline 6-cylinder. The seller tells us that they were able to free up the frozen engine through penetrating oil and working the fan blades by hand. The original rescuer of the car after it’s storage period (not the current seller) purchased new tires, a new fuel tank and sender, 2 brake drums and a master cylinder rebuild kit, none of which are installed but all are included. The seller explains (as does the note on the side window) that the car has no brakes at the moment, so I’d plan on rebuilding that master cylinder soon! Let us know if you’d like to bring this car home; I see it as something both unusual and a pretty solid vehicle to start with. As someone who really doesn’t like rust, I find this car very appealing!

Source: barnfinds.com 

1940 Mercury 09A Convertible Coupe

Click Here to read all about this car as well as to view other pictures.

Source: hemmings.com