Mk2Dans 73 Mercury (yes it is a Ford!).

[mk2Dan]

Here's a few pics and info about one of my current cars.

 

It's a 1973 Mercury Marquis Brougham, 429 Ford V8 (7.0 litre) big block.

 

 

 

I bought this from ebay US in 2013, I've always loved old yanks and regularly browse ebay to see what's going, then one day spotted this. As nice as muscle cars are I fancied something a little different and these old full size land yachts have a lot to offer.

I sent the seller a few questions then the next day I bought it.

It originally came from Georgia state, which would become a problem later, but the seller and car were now in Illinois. I don't know much about it's early life but it appears it was taken off the road in 1995 and laid up until about 2012 when the guy I bought it from got it. He got it running and put it up for sale.

Anyway, once I bought it and had it transported to New York docks the problems started.

As the car was from Georgia originally, the DMV there don't issue titles (the US version of our V5) on vehicles this old. This is a problem because the car needs a title to be exported!

After a while of messaging the seller and making a plan he kindly offered to register the car to himself in Illinois which then gives me a Title to export with. Problem solved!

 

Once it arrived here it was registered and MOT'd by the importer and I drove it home. Or rather tried to.

When I arrived to pick it up the battery had gone flat and the starter wouldn't work, so a starter was borrowed from a Mustang (completely different part but it worked, sort of) the battery charged and we set off for home which was about 100 miles away.

The car did not like this one bit! It ran very rough and kept cutting out, eventually the battery died again and the Mustang starter literally exploded trying to crank the big block engine over.

The car was recovered home, fixed, but something was still not right. It would idle beautifully but when driven every time you took your foot of the gas it would start struggling and cut out. I tried everything but nothing would sort the problem out.

In the mean time I sorted out various other problems like the starter, alternator etc.

I admitted defeat in the end and got a professional to take a look.

This revealed the reason why, I suspect, the car was laid up in the states.

The engine was worn out! There were huge variations in compressions between cylinders, one was doing almost nothing.

 

I decided to get the original engine fully rebuilt, and at the same time remove any of the US emission control stuff, although this car didn't have much of that anyway.

It turned out that it was on the verge of serious failure, the bearings had all worn right down, rings were finished and the timing chain had stretched so much it was almost to the point of jumping the teeth.

 

So now it has a completely rebuilt engine and it finally runs properly and drives great. Well, it did! After a few hundred miles the car began struggling intermittently and then wouldn't start.

It turned out to be the fuel tank was full of silt and rust and once the car was being used again it stirred up all the crap in the tank which blocked the pipes and pump. So a new tank and pump were bought and fitted which finally did cure it.

 

It's a pleasure to drive now and gets a lot of attention! The bodywork is all solid and original, just what I wanted. The paint is a bit thin though so a re paint is on the cards at some stage but for now it can wait. I just want to enjoy using it for now.

[mk2Dan]

A few more pics.

 

Factory fresh engine. It's a huge car with a big engine bay but the oily bits are really crammed in!

 

 

 

These are a pair of vacuum actuators for the headlight doors. They had to be custom made/refurb'd and came from Canada at a cost of nearly £900!

 

[Vista]

That's not a car, it's a tank! ENORMOUS! How many GPM does that drink then?

[mk2Dan]

Interior, is a weird metallic fabric. Lovely in a sort of 70's way!

 

 

 

[mk2Dan]

That's not a car, it's a tank! ENORMOUS! How many GPM does that drink then?

It is massive. It's actually significantly longer than my long wheel base mk2 Transit! It's surprisingly easy to drive though, the power steering is typically yankee, very light.

No idea about the fuel economy, I try not to think about it! Put it this way though, all my other old Fords can be considered to be economy cars by comparison!

[colr6]

Interior looks mint, pity you say about the exterior paint being thin. Would a gas conversion be worth while ?

[mk2Dan]

Interior looks mint, pity you say about the exterior paint being thin. Would a gas conversion be worth while ?

I think the paint has been over polished. It's worn thin all over but on some panel edges and the ridge in the bonnet it's gone down to primer. Sadly there's not much you can do about it short of a respray but that can wait. It still looks lovely unless you look hard up close.

I'm going to get it painted at some point but for now I religiously keep it washed and a good coat of wax on it for protection. The important thing is the metal is all solid and never messed with, almost unheard of on a similar aged car over here.

 

A gas conversion would certainly help matters, especially on this car as the engine is now in perfect fettle. I don't see the point for me though, I just don't use the car enough to make it worthwhile. It's a weekend toy really so the petrol costs aren't too bad.

If I was using it regularly or for work/commuting I'd definitely get an LPG set up on though. The trunk is huge too so ideal for a gas tank.