1970 Mercury Montery Station Wagon Ford Galaxie LTD 1969 1971 1972

Price: - Item location: Bozeman, Montana, United States
Description:

1970 Mercury Monterey Suberb Original "survivor" Minimal Body Rust

As a car, truck and tractor collector for over 50 years,I feel that I am very fortunate to be living in Montana which is one of thedriest parts of our country. The semi-arid climate here is relatively 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, spider web or corrode like 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 right now. This listing is for an exquisite original and totally un-restored low mile original "survivor" 1970 Mercury Monterey station wagon. I bought this car back in 2011 inAmadonNorth 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 purchasedon 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,the Ford C6Cruise-O-Matic three speed automatic transmission, power steering, power front disc brakes, remote outside driver's side rearview mirror, original Fordpush-button AM radio, power rear gate window, chrome plated roof rack 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 havesomeone shill bid on it or buy it back for meat the end of the auction as so many 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 $2,200 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 $7,600 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 $5,000 on the table on that deal so that is part of the reason I generally use a reserve on my vehicle listings here.
Ifigured I that Idon'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 aboutowning it, please contact me so we can work out a deal after this listing ends. I can thenmakea "second chance offer" for you so that you can own this very special automobile.
Now for some more information regarding this beautiful 48 year old automobile.As you can see in one of the last photos of this listing, this car still has the originalpermanent 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 isa 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,the Ford C6Cruise-O-Matic three speed automatic transmission, power steering, power front disc brakes, remote outside driver's side rearview mirror, original Fordpush-button AM radio, power rear gate window, chrome plated roof luggage rackand full wheel covers. All 5 of thetires (including the spare)are matchingSears 225-15 steel belted radials that have great tread left but are old enough to be cracking on the sidewalls, especially the inside sidewalls. They are OK for around town use but need to be replaced before this gem is driven on the highway.I forgot to mention that this vehicle is the rather unusual 8 passenger wagon that has a pair of rear inward-facing jumpseats 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 fine and shifts properly. There does not appear to be any fluid leaks under this car.I suspect the shockabsorbers may be the original issue and may need to be replaced. The brake light on the dash came on whenever the ignition switch was on. I determined that the rear brakes were the problem so I replaced the rear wheel cylinders and brake shows a few years ago. I have not cleaned or detailed the engine compartment at all and will leave that option to the new owner. There is a slight dent at the center of the front of the hood. This is about 4" in size and is due to some person pushing down hard on the hood when they slammed it shut. A good paintless dent repair expert may be able to fix this mino problem in a few minutes.Ican find no rusted out spots anywhere in the body of this gem but there is are small blisters starting to form in front of both the left and the right rear wheel openings.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 in excellent condition but I did repaint the red background on the center medallion.
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 on 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. They are not very noticeable but Ihave 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.Both sides of this car have lots of very tiny nicksin the paint due to "door dings" from careless drivers and their passengers. 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 instrumentsare in perfect condition as is the original plastic steering wheel.
At this point, I must mention one of the ways Ijudge 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 likelybeen very well cared for. If the steering wheelhas any cracks in it, I know the car has been out in the sun for severalyears. The heat from the sun evaporates the solvents in the plastic making it crack and then shrinkon the steel core of the steering wheel. The seats in this gem are truly exceptional and it is hard to find words that will do justice to these original butterscotch colored vinyl seats. They have absolutely norips, tears, cracks, scrapes, cigarette burns, ink marks or any other damage at all. The only thing I can notice about them is a couple of 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 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 minorwear 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 photo that shows this very minor and common wear.Thiscarpet is 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 vinylMercury accessory floor mats that are of the same color as the carpet. There are two of one of the rear matsinstead 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 Montana 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 41-year-old car but Iimmediately went the local Ford dealer and ordered that kit. I took the power window regulator out and took it apart. All that was wrong was the group of 3 pieces of round urethane rod that run between the inside of the worm wheel and the regulator shaft. These soft pieces serve to cushion the mechanism when it comes to a hard stop. I replaced those 3 sort urethane rods and now the regulator works like a champ. I must warn you that the pinion gear on the rear window has one less tooth that the pinion gears on the 4 power side window regulators.
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 ofthe new car smell. This car does howeverstill have a bit of the new car smell in itwhenyou first get into it.This is a rare opportunity to acquire a truly special and very interesting piece of automotive history so please give this some very serious thought. Thanks a lot, Bob Woodburn - phone 406-799-1847 in Bozeman Montana
Vehicle Details:
  • Make: Mercury
  • Model: Monterey
  • SubModel: Montery
  • Type: Wagon
  • Trim: Suberb Original "survivor" Minimal Body Rust
  • Year: 1970
  • Mileage: 62,230
  • VIN: inotsurerightnow
  • Color: Brown
  • Engine size: 390 2 Barrel Carburetor
  • Number of cylinders: 8
  • Power options: Power Rear Window, Ford's Famous 2 Way Tailgate
  • Fuel: Gasoline
  • Transmission: Automatic
  • Drive type: RWD
  • Interior color: Brown
  • Drive side: Left-hand drive
  • Options: Roof Rack
  • Vehicle Title: Clear
  • Want to buy? Contact seller!