Mercury : Monterey Station Wagon Spectacular Original "Survivor"

     As a car. truck and tractor collector for over 45 years. nbsp;I feel that I am very fortunate to be living in Montana which is one of the driest parts of our country. This semi-arid climate is relative easy on vehicles. especially if they have been kept inside and out of the sun and weather as this vehicle has.  Die-cast zinc or "pot metal" trim parts do not pit or corrode nearly as bad as they do in the wetter climates. The unpainted sheet metal parts up under the dash of vehicles in most parts of the country get a red rust coating on them but not normally here in Montana.  I have a local friend who is an auctioneer and he claims that even when it rains here. the wind blows the vehicles dry shortly after the rain stops. So here is your chance to own a "blow dried" vehicle. If you have never treated yourself to a nearly rust free and basically un-corroded vehicle so far in your life. here is your chance to do so now.   

     This listing is for an exquisite and totally un-restored low mile original "survivor" 1970 Mercury Monterey station wagon. I bought this car 3 years ago in Amadon North Dakota which is in the relatively dry western part of the state. It was for sale by the local sheriff whose father bought it new from the Dvorak Motor Company in Dickinson North Dakota. This car was purchased on April 21. 1970 according to the plastic Ford Power Train Warranty Card that is included with the original owner's manual and other documentation shown in one of the photos of this listing.     

     This car is equipped with the original Ford 390 2 barrel V8 engine. nbsp;the Ford C6 Cruise-O-Matic three speed automatic transmission. power steering. power front disc brakes. remote outside driver's side rear view mirror. original Ford push button AM radio. power rear gate window and full wheel covers.  

     Please do not be frustrated because I listed this gem with a reserve. I do that so that I don't have to spend 10 days worrying about giving my car away or have someone shill bid on it or buy it back for me at the end of the auction as some sellers do. I listed a very solid 1967 Pontiac LeMans convertible that was missing an engine and transmission here on eBay about 5 years ago. I figured any A-body GM convertible of that vintage would not need a reserve. My car sold for $2. 00 to a collector in New York who wanted the body to fix his rusty 1967 GTO convertible. He was absolutely elated to win that auction and told me that he placed a $7. 00 proxy bid on my car in an attempt to make sure he would win it. It really hurt to find out that I left over $5. 00 on the table on that deal so that is part of the reason I generally use a reserve on my vehicle listings here.

     I figure I that I don't need a reserve on any Chevelle or Corvette I might list here but I learned through experience that I need a reserve on most other vehicles I might list here.  If this car does not meet my reserve and you are serious about owning it. please call me so we can work out a deal after this listing ends. I can then make a "second chance offer" for you so that you can own this very special automobile. My phone number is 406-799-1847 so please feel free to call me with any questions you might have.

     Now for some of the known history of this beautiful automobile.  As you can see in one of the last photos of this listing. this car still has the original permanent plastic warranty plate with it. The original 1970 Mercury owner's manual is included as is the plastic pouch it came in. The 1970 consumer information booklet is included as is the 1970 Warranty Facts booklet.  As you can also see in that photo. there is a folded poster from Ford that one can unfold and put in the window to signal for help or for gasoline.

     This car is equipped with the original Ford 390 2 barrel V8 engine. nbsp;the Ford C6 Cruise-O-Matic three speed automatic transmission. power steering. power front disc brakes. remote outside driver's side rear view mirror. original Ford push button AM radio. power rear gate window. chrome plated roof luggage rack and full wheel covers. All 5 of the tires (including the spare) are matching Sears 225-15 steel belted radials that are in like new condition but I have no idea what vintage they may be.

     I forgot to mention that this vehicle is the rather unusual 8 passenger wagon that has a pair of rear inward facing jump seats inside the rear gate. I have added a pair of photos that show these seats in the up position as well as the stowed position.

     The engine in this car runs fine with no smoke or noise but it may need an ignition tune up and carburetor rebuild if you plan to drive it a lot.  The transmission appears to work find and shift properly. There does not appear to be any fluid leaks under this car.  I suspect the shock absorbers may be the original issue and may need to be replaced.     

     The brake light on the dash comes on whenever this car is started so that indicates that either the front or the rear brake system has failed and will need to be repaired.  I had planned to try and bleed the brakes but I forgot to so far.  I have not cleaned or detailed the engine compartment at all and will leave that option to the new owner.  

     I can find no rusted out spots anywhere in the body of this gem but there is a small blister starting to form in front of the right rear wheel opening.  I have shown that damage in the last photo of this listing. It is not a big deal but I have to show and describe it anyway.  The grille is excellent except for one minor tweak that I should have taken the time to straighten out before I took these photos.

     I can find no evidence of any part of this wonderful old car every having been repainted or even touched up at all.  The white paint of the roof is fine but the medium brown metallic paint on the hood has several dark spots about the size of a dime in it.  I have no idea what may have caused them.  Perhaps they will rub out but I have not tried that yet. Both sides of this car have lots of very tiny nicks in the paint. They are not very noticeable but I have to mention them anyway. I have no idea what they are from and will leave dealing with them to be an option for the new owner.  I would not worry about them myself.

     The best part of this entire automobile has to be the very clean and nearly perfect totally original interior. I can honestly say that I have never seen another car of this vintage with a complete interior in as nice of original condition as the one in this car is.  I can find no defects in the headliner or rear door panels. The bottoms of the front door panels have a few minor scratches at the bottom from people's feet touching there as they get in and out of this car. The dash pad and instruments are in perfect condition as is the original plastic steering wheel that has absolutely no cracks in it anywhere.  

     At this point. I must mention one of the ways I judge the condition of a car of this vintage. I have a network of friends who know I like nice original cars like this from the beginning of the industry through the mid 1970's or so. When they call me telling me about a nice Oldsmobile. Buick. Lincoln. Cadillac or whatever. the first question I usually ask them is if the plastic steering wheel is cracked or not.  If it has no cracks in it. I know the car has been kept inside most of the time and has most likely been very well cared for. If the steering wheel has any cracks in it. I know the car has been out in the sun for several years. The heat from the sun evaporates the solvents in the plastic making it crack and then shrink on the steel core of the steering wheel. This shrinking plastic will eventyally crack on the steel rim.     

     The seats in this gem are truly exceptional and it is hard to find words that will do justice to these original butter scotch colored vinyl seats. They have absolutely no rips. tears. cracks. scrapes. cigarette burns. ink marks or any other damage at all. The only thing I can notice about them is the slight diagonal crease on the bottom of the driver's seat. This is due to use and is caused by the foam underneath taking a set of sorts.  You can see this very minor issue in one of the photos of this listing.  

     The worst thing about the interior of this car has to be the carpets in the front seat. There is some relatively minor wear showing on the left side of the driver's feet where he drug his feet getting into and out of this car many times. I have included a photos that shows this very minor and common wear.  This carpet is of a loose weave and gets a bit fuzzy as it wears and that is the case here.  I think one might take barber's clippers and trim off the fuzz in that area and make these carpets look almost new again. This car still has 4 very nice original vinyl Mercury accessory floor mats that are of the same color as the carpet. There are two of one of the rear mats instead of a matched pair so the mat on one side does not fit quite like it should.  

     The optional power rear window regulator on this beauty did not work when I bought it. You could hear the motor run but all that happened was a clicking sound over and over again.  I assumed that the plastic worm gear was stripped so I called my friend in Helena that knows Fords of this vintage inside and out. He told me that Ford had a repair kit available to fix this problem for $50. I was very skeptical about Ford still selling such parts for a 35 year old car but I immediately went the local Ford dealer and ordered that kit. That kit has the parts I need to repair this regulator but I have not done it yet. I plan to finish this slightly challenging task as soon as it warms up a bit here.

     This is truly a superb original car that I have attempted to honestly and completely describe to the best of my ability. That is tough to do with only 24 photos.  The only thing that I know of that is missing from this fine vehicle is some of the new car smell. This car does however still have a bit of the new car smell in it when you first get into it.  This is a rare opportunity to acquire a truly special and very interesting car so please give this some very serious thought.

     I have secure indoor storage here if you want to leave this car here for a few months until you make a trip to this very beautiful part of Montana this spring.  Thanks a lot. Bob Woodburn - phone 406-799-1847 in Bozeman Montana  

here

Also published at eBay.ca

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