(first posted 3/5/2013) Pete Estes was a very annoying man. Pete, a short, rotund individual my Grandpa Albert’s age, had skipped school the day basic etiquette was taught.
Every once in a while, when I was at my grandparent’s house during my early teens, Pete would come poking down the road in his old red Chevrolet pickup. When you heard the squeal of his brakes, indicating his impending social attack, Grandma Iris would always jump up and announce that she had to do the dishes.
As she scurried into the house, and as Pete’s pickup could be seen coming around the embankment facing the road, Grandpa Albert always muttered something about Pete’s mother; on occasion, he might also mention Pete’s father.
Grandpa Albert–a person whose unvarnished honesty is still rarely appreciated–would watch Pete hop out of his pickup and take two steps before loudly saying, “Pete Estes, what the hell do you want?”
image source: http://thediaryofalakenerd.blogspot.com
Pete would never catch the annoyance in the greeting. Generally, his response was, “I was curious to see if you’ve spent the whole day on the patio, sitting on your keister. Looks like you have. You are the only person I’ve ever met who had a suntan on the tops of his feet. Hell, I think you’re even training your grandson in the tradition.” This was the general start of the conversation, the subject matter then moving on to fishing, the fishing club in town, the old men in the fishing club and more fishing. One thing I definitely remember about Pete was that he always rubbed the stump of his pinky finger on his left hand. I don’t know what had happened to his finger, but he sure missed it.
One day the conversation took this turn: As Grandpa Albert was walking Pete back to his pickup–most likely to make sure he was leaving–Pete veered a few feet off his path and stepped into the garden. He picked a pepper and took a bite. Grandpa Albert never said a word.
Pete mentioned how mad he had been earlier that day. I knew Pete had been widowed years earlier, but I thought he only had the pickup. Then he started talking about his Mercury.
image source: http://visualinsights.blogspot.com
“I went out in the garage today to check on the Mercury. I hadn’t looked at it in a while. You know what some lousy cat did? It built a nest on the roof of my Mercury from the quilts I’d draped over it, and then that stupid cat pooped on the roof of my Mercury! Can you believe that?”
Grandpa Albert looked unfazed. “Really. Cats do that.”
“But this cat pooped on the roof of Elizabeth’s Mercury! I don’t even have a cat! It moved into my garage and defiled my Mercury! You know what I did?”
“No.”
“I got the garden hose out and blasted its stupid fanny off there! You know, I would have shot it, but then that would have been a mess if I had hit it, and really bad if I hit the car instead.”
Pete waddled back to his pickup. After he left, I looked at Grandpa Albert and said, “I am surprised you didn’t call him on the carpet for getting in your garden.”
image source: www.hotsauceandsalsa.com
Grandpa Albert smiled. “He’s been doing that for a while, so I planted some Habanero peppers this year. Pete thought it was a bell pepper, and he wasn’t about to admit to being on fire while standing there. You noticed he only took the one bite. He’ll be on fire again tomorrow morning. I bet he’s learned to leave my garden alone.”
Finding this old Mercury made me think of this story from many moons ago. It also reminded me of how people I knew growing up were so fiercely protective of their Mercurys.
People being so protective of their cars, especially their Mercurys, is quite admirable. It is almost enough to make one wonder what many of these people would have thought about Ford canning the Mercury name in 2010.
Yet in 1963, the Mercury brand was on the precipice of its true heyday, one I firmly believe began in 1965 and lasted until 1974. It was during this time that Mercury was its most autonomous in the styling department, which has been mentioned here and here.
The Marauder was introduced in the middle of the 1963 model year. Part of the 120-inch wheelbase Monterey Custom series, the Marauder was a fastback whose roofline mimicked the also new-for-mid-1963 Ford Galaxie fastback. To provide further distinction to your Marauder you could opt for the S-55 package. From what can be determined, the S-55 package consisted of chrome insignia and unique wheel covers on the outside, plus a console, extra padding and armrests inside. Transmission choices were a no-extra-cost automatic and a four-speed manual–a four-speed Marauder definitely adds a dash of Jalapeno pepper to the batter.
So how many were made? If you are talking about the featured base Marauder, only 7,298 were manufactured, with another 2,319 Marauder S-55s produced. The base price for our featured ’63 Marauder was $3,083, a mere $8 more than a Monterey Custom four-door sedan. It appears the S-55 package added almost $570–no small percentage of the base price–to the sticker of the Marauder.
By 1963, Mercury had abandoned the eccentric styling exemplified by this ’60 model in favor of something a bit more contemporary–or not.
This Mercury still possesses some quasi-tail fins, an element that hadn’t been seen on full-sized Fords since 1961.
The roof, while gorgeous, looks like a skin graft from a ’63 Galaxie; Don’t red bell peppers grow in about the same shapes as green ones?
Mercury did have a way to go to reach the height of its autonomy. If the color didn’t give it away, could you really tell which dash belonged to the ’63 Mercury and which to the ’63 Galaxie? Ford does deserve credit for taking strides to make Mercury less quirky and more mainstream, and the dividends would start paying off in a few more years.
Yet, for 1963, this Mercury isn’t too shabby. Yes, its kinship to a Ford almost slaps you in the face (although it is more pronounced in these pictures than in person). In person, this two-owner Mercury has a lot of 1960s charm about it.
It’s got the effervescent 390 cubic inch V8 and an automatic. Mercury didn’t offer anything smaller in their 1963 full-sizers, and this example, with a four-barrel carburetor, is rated at 300 horsepower. Like a good Habanero, it adds a little extra spice to the Marauder. Even the air conditioner still works like new.
At 3,887 pounds, this Mercury weighs only about 200 pounds more than a 2013 Ford Fusion. Of the two cars, in which would you prefer to spend eight hours riding in the backseat?
While I never knew what model year Pete’s was, this example illustrates why some people were so fiercely protective of their Mercurys. For 1963, the Mercury was a red or yellow bell pepper–a lot like Ford’s green bell pepper, but with enough difference in appearance to stand on its own. It just makes you wonder if the burning that Pete later experienced from his Habanero went away for those people, and if it was part of why Mercury was put down with nary a whimper.
I love seeing Fords from this the Sixties, especially those models I didn’t know existed.
Its like going through old boxes in the attic and finding old photos of your grandparents.
Lose the hick chrome skirts.
Some Mercury wheel covers would be nice too.
Agreed.
These’re ’63 Ford hub caps. 500 XL to be exact.
Yeah the chrome skirts have to go, they really mess up the lines. Even if they were painted they just don’t work on a Marauder.
If the trim didn’t follow the rear cutout, a proper painted skirt that carried the trim straight across would be sleek.
The Mercury skirts were the same part as the Ford skirt.
That explains the lack of any body lines going through it.
I totally get what you’re saying about carrying the line through it, but I think it would visually conflict with the wheel lip shape right above it in my opinion.
I’m not against fender skirts, but I think this car would simpley look better without them.
These were aftermarket. No Ford or Merc of this era had factory ones.
My take on them is, if they are factory, they look fine. If the car wasn’t designed for them, don’t add them. Aftermarket skirts are an abomination under God.
I must respectfully disagree about Fords not having skirts then.
Ford did indeed have factory stainless steel skirts in at least 1962.
I had a ’62 500-XL rag-top with these same skirts, and have seen many many other ’62s with them as well.
The worst automotive abomonation under goD are US cars made after ’72-ish!
They are actually an accessory, as opposed to an option. None were ever shown in the actual showroom brochure. The first year for skirts on a Ford IMHO was 1975, when they were standard on LTD Landaus and portrayed in factory literature.
In no way would I consider these aftermarket. You yourself are showing them in a Ford accessory brochure and are offered by the factory just as much as the back-up lights and the full-disk wheel covers shown.
They just weren’t [I]standard equipment[/I] is all, like the ’75 LTD you mentioned or like a ’63 Cadillac for instance.
Both Ford and Merc had them available, and so did the aftermarket.
Back then and still now you can get cheapo aftermarket skirts for just about anything older, even cars that never had them from the factory.
The skirts on this Merc. are Foxcraft aftermarket .
The ones in the brochure are slightly different .
I too think the trim spear obviates the need for skirts .
I have a bit of a soft spot for early 1960’s Fords having owned two ’62s .
-Nate
agree! Plus the 14″ wheels are so small for a full-size auto
As similar as this car is to the 63 Ford, it is nowhere near as similar as the 61 and 62 models. It is plain to see the change in direction after McNamara’s departure.
These were attractive cars. I have always liked these better than the Breezeways, and found it strange that these did not sell better.
Why is it that Ford would invest in different styling below the shoulder line but would share roofs between the Fords and Mercurys? Rooflines are always the dead giveaway that two cars are the same.
The greenhouse along with the doors and hard points are the most expensive to change. Look at ALL OEMs through those years. Same thing.
The only idea I can offer in reply is that GM did the same thing. The greenhouse and roof of a given GM body shell had been visibly shared for quite some time. This is not to say that it was a great idea, but just that when the 800 pound gorilla does something, it must be ok to copy. And, to Ford’s credit, they offered the Mercury as a Breezeway, which certainly did not share a roof with anything else.
I like the big Mercs from this era. Clean and crisp, but with a little jet-age goodness still present, like the ’65 big Mopars. Must be some shared Engel DNA.
Some Niedermeyer Bait below. Guess what transmission this car has. Hint:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-1961-ford-starliner/
A four speed in that? Love it. The only one of its kind, one suspects. But they do show up in some pretty unlikely cars.
Ive seen some very interesting powertrains in restored or alledgedly original cars that werent available from the factory, just coz its there now doesnt mean Ford fitted it.
Just because you wouldn’t think that there would be a 4sp in a car like this doesn’t mean Ford didn’t put it there from the factory. According to the brochure only the Station Wagon was excluded from being ordered with the 4sp. If you wanted the Marauder 427 or the Super Marauder 427 the only way you could get it was with the 4sp. http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Mercury/1964%20Mercury/1964_Mercury_Full_Size_Brochure/1964%20Mercury%20Full%20Size-19.html
With the 427 and four-speed, though, you couldn’t get power steering or power brakes, which probably made most of the 427 Marauders special-order/arm-twisting deals. That wasn’t the kind of car most dealers wanted on their lots in those days.
I understand that the lumpy cam on the 2 427s may have made the vacuum booster less than effective but I don’t understand why they excluded the power steering with those engines.
The 427 revved higher than the ps pump and belt could deal with at the state of the at the time.
I think I can tell you that the 64 Marauder that my wife owned when we met could have been bought with a four speed. Can further tell you that it would have lasted longer without the automatic or any of the hydraulic stuff. Mercomatic, ps, pb were all junk on that car. It was beautiful to drive and I could have spent lots of hours there if we could just have turned the engine off. The 390 w/2bbl was their ideal of economy. That thing sucked gas.
Here’s an inside shot. Love this color scheme. I picture a pretty librarian with white gloves crushing hot rodders at stoplights. 🙂
Bryce, pretty sure this is an original 390 4-sp. I chatted with the owner a bit and he seemed more like a loving caretaker than someone who would fake a car and then flip it. Plus, if you were going to fake a rare option for profit, a ’64 four-door isn’t the car you’d start with.
With photo, duh.
I am suddenly in love. I have never looked at one of these Park Lane interiors. What a combo – luxury trimming and a 4 on the floor. And a breezeway roof. The M-E-R-C-U-R-Y letters across the dash are awesome.
Love the upholstery too!
That’s amazing! That Mercury is definitely a “Man’s Car”.
2 words. Corn Squeezins’
I had a 63 ? meteor 4 dr.. small v8 ….Girls were not impressed
Mercurys are too often overlooked,being seen as a fancy Ford or a poor man’s Lincoln.There’s hardly ever any articles in the classic magazines about them.This ones a stunning looker though I ignored Mercurys as a kid apart from Cyclones and the 67/68 Cougar
Thinking back, CC may be one of the deepest sources out there on old Mercuries. I still really want to find a 60, though. There are few cars with that combo of conservative and outlandish about them.
JP, you may be onto something about the old Mercury’s. I have found another I need to write up; it’s one I simply didn’t realize existed. I’ve been torn between it and the rash of baby blue examples I have in queue.
Maybe it’s my mild affection for them, but I’ve uncovered my fair share of them. I ran across a ’60 at a car show close to 2 years ago, but it was too dark to get any good shots of it for a CC… and then it disappeared.
My parents had a 60 Monarch four door with the flat top. I loved and still love the look of the 60.
Lead sled. The only Marauder I liked was the one a buddy and I saw out near a Radio Shack in 1968. A beautiful gold on gold with gold interior. Really nice.
After that, nope. Chevys were much more graceful, and I don’t believe a Ford product, save a Mustang, exists that I find attractive between the years 1958-1964.
However, anything in red may sway me…
58-64? Wow, there are some great Fords, Lincolns AND Mercurys in that era!
+1
I know a lot of people love the ’49 Ford, and I do too, but personally I think the ’61-’63 full-size models were even better looking – and also the best looking post-war Fords, period. Plus, who doesn’t love the early Falcons?! The first half of the 60’s were one of FoMoCo’s highest high-points, in my book anyways.
Well guys, what can I say? I have blue – as in a Chevy bowtie in my blood, not blue, as in Ford’s blue oval.
However, there were some Fords I found attractive in that era, but just not as familiar with them. I suppose it all depends on the car at the time!
I’m good at making blanket statements…
Okay you got me there. Yeah I’d probably rather spend 8 hours in this back seat than in the back seat of a Fusion (or my Mazda6), but now ask me how often I actually have someone riding in the back seat at all, let alone for 8 hours.
And ask me which one I’d rather drive for 8 hours or spend 8 hours in the front seat of (hint: about 95% of Detroit cars through the 90s left me with a sore back because the seats were too soft to tolerate for more than about a half hour).
True confession: As a kid, I had quite a crush on the big ’64 Mercs. And I was endlessly torn between the Breezeway and the Marauder as the one to have. Spent a lot of time on that problem, and never did quite solve it. I think the Mercury dealer in Iowa City was glad when the ’65s came, and I stopped hanging around so much.
No argument – Breezeway wins, hands-down. That would be my choice if I would ever care enough to restore or buy one.
After all, I’m all about open windows!
After I got out of the Army in June of 68, I bought a 65 Marauder from my uncle. It was Dark Green with a white interior. The strange Thing about it was the 3 on the tree transmission. The linkage had a habit of jamming when shifting from 3rd to 2nd gear. This meant pulling over, opening the hood and untangling the linkage. This was my only real gripe about the car. It was as a real looker. I continued my affair with Mercery when I ordered a 73 Montego GT 429 from the factory. But that’s another story.
Great story telling, as usual.
I share your crush on the 64 Merc. Just not enough to restore one.
I agree that Merc’s zenith was the 1964 to 74-ish. Lots of unqiue styling for the big cars and Comet, and the Cougar gave it a strong identity.
The gas crisises, badge job Bobcats and GM’s successful 1977 B/C bodied Buick/Olds knocked them down. They had a breif resurgance in mid 80’s, with Grand Marquis rebound, and the Sable. But, by the 90s, they were competing only with Ford brand.
Isn’t this the last CC Clue Car?
Great story.
It may be my own peculiariity, but I think the cat is better looking.
Count me in as one that was none too happy that Ford discontinued the Mercury brand. Technically while the Mercury brand went away for 2010 the last Mercury models were 2011 Grand Marquis. The fleet and retail orders had been opened for the 2011 models before they decided to drop Mercury and quite a few had been ordered, so the last Mercury rolled off the line Jan 2nd, 2011 and there were a fair number of 2011s made between Aug 2010 and then end.
Back to today’s subject car, I’d love to have one of the first gen Marauders to go with my 3rd gen. Black with red interior and a 4sp please.
However if I was going to have to spend 8hrs in the back, or front, seat of a first or second gen Marauder or a Milan I’d take the Milan any day of the week. Now I’ll take the driver’s seat of a 3rd gen Marauder over any of them though.
Unfortunately till this day people seem to be quite protective of their Mercurys and seem to be hanging on to their last new one. Try as I might in over 2 months of searching I’d not seen an acceptable Milan for sale so I finally had to break down, and get the wife a Fusion.
Personally, I would much rather have my kids in the back seat of a Fusion than a 50 year old Mercury that has drum brakes, bias ply tires and no seat belts.
But to each his own!
I’m thinking comfort, not safety, in this statement. I spent many years working with highway safety and I even had one CC on a ’56 Ford that was traffic safety related.
For comfort I’d take the Fusion except if you are in the middle with 3 people back there.
Cant say Ive ever seen this model of Mercury, Very rare cars in NZ and all here would be private imports, so the brand is hardly missed, Mercury was only a couple of chrome strips on a Ford even the much vaunted Mercury Flathead V8 was fitted to ALL Fords post war here then after about 1950 none came in. Of course having said that I’ll paobably see one at Wheels on Windsor Sunday
Agree with most everything you said, but I really think the 1957-58 Turnpike Cruiser has robe included as part of Mercury’s heyday. It introduced the Breezeway rear window. The top engine in 1958 was a 430 cube, triple carbed Super Marauder V8 rated at 400 horsepower in an era when the much-vaunted Chrysler 300 letter series cars offered 375 ponies.
Ford was notorious for overstating their HP ratings. Put either a 392 Hemi or a 413 B-Block on the dyno against that boat anchor MEL 430 and we’ll see who’s making what HP.
What? Do you mean that the 58 Mercury isn’t really famous for embarrassing Chrysler 300s on the sand and at drag strips all over the country? My world has been shaken. 🙂
I always figured Pete Estes would have been more of a Pontiac guy…
Exactly.
From the CC Clue, with the baby blue and the fin, i thought the car was something out of the 50s. This 1963 Mercury Marauder was a nice surprise. Agree that Mercury began to have some distinct styling differences again from Ford starting with the ’63.
The ’57-’59s were certainly different, but weird! I actually like the ’60 design, despite some obvious cribbing from GM.
Interesting in those old ads that so many of the passengers were shown sitting sideways or even turned around looking backward. I don’t remember people actually doing that very often in the days before seat belts.
Of course today, with airbags and seat belts, we’re told in stern language in owner’s manuals to sit bolt upright with feet flat in the footwells. No slouching for you and certainly no feet out the window!
Merc at rest…
I love those boomerang tail lights
Cool photo.
Meteor taken circa 2000 in PEI
Crying shame but likely rusted beyond saving.
Famous Hawaiian Mercury restored.
That is, McGarrett”s drive in Hawaii Five-O. We saw some episodes on cable TV recently. What I notice now is the complete lack of delegated authority in the stories; McGarrett, being the hero, does everything, whereas his subordinates merely follow orders.
Agreed.
And these followers are never shown making mistakes ever.
Where-as Adam-12 guys were allowed to make their own dicisions, and when mistakes happened it would show some kind of moral dilema for us to ponder.
A little deaper or heavier than 5-0 maybe.
Couldn’t agree more that Mercury was beginning a heyday in ’63. I owned a great ’64 Park Lane Convert. in Anniversary Silver that never gave me one mechanical problem. That black trim paint on the aluminum mouldings did come off, but….Then the ’65 was a totally new car with great mechanicals and lines, as Motor Trend’s cover story “The Return of the Really Big M” pointed out. Not to mention Jack Lords’ Black ’68 Park Lane sedan, both sexy and elegant. It’s hard to believe the great winged helmeted “God of Speed” is no more. But who ever thought there’d be no more Oldsmobile, Pontiac, or even Plymouth?
By the way, Jason, you sure know how to tell a story!
The 1960 Mercury is “eccentric”? Bite your tongue! It’s clean and beautiful, especially compared to the overchromed wannabe rocketships that preceded it and the bland, dressed-up Fords which followed for 1961-1962.
I agree that Mercury had a peak period in the 60’s and the Cougar was a huge part of that. “Sign of the Cat” tag lasted decades.
I tend to like the styling of the “late tailfin era” cars like this very much. More than the classic examples of the style from the second half of the 50’s, perhaps. Maybe that’s because the Soviet design school used to be stuck with it for a very long time, with some vestiges well into the 70s. Sputnik, Gagarin, Rostislav Alexeyev’s hydrofoil ships, and all the rest of the Space Age stuff.
My all-time favorite from this era, however, is the ’61 Cadillac (such an improvement over the kitschy ’59, IMO).
Although I usually have a preference for 60s style American cars, FLM particularly, I do like that 1960 4 door saloon very much, has the kind of swaggering American glamour about it, but not too much excessive chrome trim and single tone paint
I have 1963 merc marauder need a rear quarter drivers side if anyone knows of any thank you
Thank you for the wonderful story. That such people exist is a treasure, even if it caused Grandma to go into the kitchen to wash the dishes. A relative’s relative has a 1965 Mercury with that powerful engine and few accessories save for the generator and power steering to tax the horsepower. After Grandpa and Grandma died, it became a family treasure for its being a well-kept 20-year-old car that could FLY. Keep up the raconteur skills, Jason. Love them!
I look at that ’63, it’s vestigial fins and see 61 Ford. To my eyes it looks much older than the 63 Fords.
Yep since this post first appeared a black Marauder the same as that brochure car arrived in the suburb I lived in, no idea which engine it has but gets along ok from what Ive seen the fender skirts clash with the styling the local car hasnt got them
I assume this was a different Pete Estes from Elliott “Pete” Estes, former president of GM?
Teaching me manners was the work of a lot longer than a day. Too bad there isn’t a solution like planting habanero peppers for all annoying people.
I owned a ’64 Mercury Monterey and my friend had a ’64 Ford Galaxie. We kind of compared them and noticed that many parts were the same or very slightly changed. I really loved that car and owned it until I graduated from college. I finally sold it because I needed a more dependable car.
I love this Marauder, and I’d go further to say that 1960-64 FoMoCo products were generally prettier than GM or Chrysler products. That’s not to say they were all hits, but I can’t think of anything that compares to a 63 Galaxie or Fairlane (I love those “ball of fire” taillights!), ’64 Comet, ’62 Continental, or ’60 Starliner. If I kept digging, I’d probably come up with a few more models that I’d say are prettier cars than anything else Detroit rolled out in that timeframe – and I’d include this Marauder on that list.
I know a lot of people would argue with me on that, and sadly, the advantage pretty much disappears to my mind around ’65. The boxier, stacked-headlight FoMoCo products of the later-sixties just don’t strike me – in pictures or in person – the way the cars of this era do.
Turning to the Marauder specifically, I can see how people like Pete (and for better or worse, we all probably knew, or know someone like him) got attached to their Mercuries. They were seldom bad cars – not worse than the Ford version in any case – and in the good years they were something different than the other Fords and Chevies on the block. You usually weren’t straying far from the equivalent Ford – granted – but in this example at least, you got something distinctive. It doesn’t have to be more flashy, it doesn’t have to be a big step up in materials or amenities, but if people have to look close to realize it’s something different than the Ford it’s based on, you’ve failed. Too bad Ford was like a distracted parent, only putting the effort into Mercury when faced with an obvious crisis or when struck by some kind of guilt after several years of neglect.