Out of the Barn: 1963 Mercury Colony Park
The Colony Park was a full-size station wagon that was built by Mercury between 1957-91. It was distinguished by its simulated wood-grain paneling that harked back to the “woodies” of the 1950s. This ’63 Monterey Custom Colony Park looks to have taken shelter inside an old barn for many years and needs someone to bring it back to life. Located in Columbia, South Carolina, this pre-minivan era of people transport is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $6,500. Thanks, Rod Fisher, for sending this tip our way!
Mercury’s full-size cars for 1963 were the basic Monterey, then the Monterey Custom, and finally the Monterey S-55 if you wanted sporty looks and performance. The Colony Park wagon was confined to the Monterey Custom series with both 6-and-9 passenger seating capacity, adding up to 13,976 copies built that year. Four engines were available in the Monterey in 1963, two versions each of the 390 and 427 cubic inch V8, depending on carburetion. Most of these cars, including this one, were equipped with automatic transmissions.
If this wagon could talk, it would probably have an interesting story. It was parked in a barn and forgotten about for years for reasons we don’t know. The vehicle looks to have been pulled out of storage recently and given at least a once-over in the cleaning department. The mileage is said to be under 46,000, which may or may not be the total picture after 58 years. We’re told the wagon has a limited amount of rust, mostly focused in the tailgate area. Photos of the undercarriage show it looking clean.
The imitation wood paneling on the sides has completely faded out with only the outline of the areas surviving. And there is a big dent in the driver’s side quarter panel by the taillights which could prove challenging to fix. The color of the wagon is said to be yellow but could just as well be white. The black interior is original and survived better than you might expect, except for the front seat bottom, carpeting, and again the rust in the tailgate area. Station wagon resale values are on the rise, but can this one be restored without breaking the bank?
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Comments
Hats off to Russ and BF’s for another “blast from the past”,,, stop me if you’ve heard this one,,,,the old man had a car just like this, only not a Colony Park. Not sure why he had it, he generally hated Fords, we made one( 1) trip to Fla. pulling our camper in it. I learned some valuable new swear words on that trip. I was just a kid, but could tell early on, it was way underpowered for the task, we camped out behind a gas station in Alabama and I learned how to “rod the rocker arms” that were plugged with sludge. I think that was the last wagon he had, and switched to Suburbans with much better results. Like I always say, nobody is going to restore this today, they have to be a lot nicer than this for any interest. You can probably find a drivable one for this. Thanks for the memories
I think the ask is a little ambitious considering the condition. I don’t know if that rear crunched fender can be fixed, it looks pretty bad. I would think a replacement quarter panel would be difficult to find but maybe not impossible. Otherwise this neat wagon has possibilities that someone with the skills to bring it back to life could have a fairly rare wagon to cruise around in. The engine doesn’t seem to be stuck but if it has 146k miles on it, a re-build might be needed. Or maybe swap in a modern power plant. The interior seems to be in surprisingly good condition needing a new carpet, radio and maybe a few other things. There is certainly potential here but maybe for a little less than $6,500.
Seems folks these days will list any Oxide Bucket and the highest price they dare ask.
Parts at best. About 4200 off a good asking price
Out of the Barn: and into the crusher. On second thought, the interior is too nice to destroy this wagon.
$2500.00 or so tops. The quarter will be hard, metal may come back by pulling it on a frame rack but it may need the back half replaced. There is a lot more rust present than is shown, guaranteed
The woodgrain is not faded, it’s gone.
There should be fiberglass boards on the side, covered in woodgrain decals,
outlining the actual woodgrain decals. The boards would be light wood and the panels would have been dark.
They would be challenging to find a set. A full set of boards and repro decals could exceed the cost of the car.
Optimistic asking and a massive project indeed, but boy would this longroof be impressive when finished! Hats off to the person who brings this one back to life – MUCH love for 60s fullsize longroofs 👍
I had an Impala with a crunched rear tailight area in this area,but impala body parts are easier to come by than this one will be. Impressive interior but that bodywork will be a booger. Good find.
I am certainly wagon crazy and this one is no exception to the list of cool wagons.
Kudos to the seller for at least a third assed attempt at hitting it with a a sponge and for providing a fair selection of pix.
I do agree the ask is a bit agretious but as the saying goes “it doesn’t hurt to ask”.