The Monterey sat at the top of Mercury's 1963 model lineup, available in an array of configurations. All the non-convertible models had a reverse-sloped rear window in between buttresses formed by the chrome trim on the trailing edge of the C-pillars, the center section of which was retractable.
Termed the "Breezeway" by Mercury, this was a feature reminiscent of one found on late Fifties Lincoln Continentals and Mercury Turnpike Cruisers. The power window operating mechanism was snagged from the Colony Park full-size station wagons.
Under the hood was one of several flavors of FE 390 big block V-8. There was your basic Marauder, with a 2-barrel carb and 9.4:1 compression, rated at 250 SAE gross horsepower. Then you had your Marauder Super 390, with a 4-barrel carb and 10.1:1 compression that got you 300 horsepower.
If you really wanted to party, the Marauder Interceptor 390 added solid lifters and a hotter cam and brought 330 horses out to play.
Lastly, for people who wanted to go to the races, the 427 was available in regular Marauder and Marauder Super flavors, rated at 410 and 425 horsepower respectively. The 390 motors could be had with 3- or 4-speed manuals or the Multi-Drive Merc-O-Matic 3-speed auto. The 427's were 4-speed manual only.
Motor Trend tested a '63 Monterey sedan with the base 250-horse Marauder 390 and the column-shifted 3-speed Merc-O-Matic and got a zero-to-sixty time of 11.3 seconds and an 18.5 quarter at 75.5 mph. Considering that the car tipped the scales at over 4300 pounds, that 2-barreled juice lifter 390 had its work cut out for it.
The one in the pictures was photographed in Indianapolis back in July of 2017 using a Nikon Coolpix P7000.
No comments:
Post a Comment