Stored Since 1983: 1968 Mercury Monterey Convertible
You just never know how many cars are hidden away in garages, I can’t even guess how many. A million? It’s got to be at least a million given the world’s population and how many cars were made over the last 120+ years. They just keep coming and some of them are pretty special, like this loaded 1968 Mercury Monterey Convertible. This car is on Craigslist in Escalon, California with a $9,500 asking price. Thanks to Ed H. for sending in this California gold find!
The seller says that “This car has been in storage since 1983. It was given to me by my in-laws and I’m told it was running just fine before being put into storage. The car is currently on blocks stored in a garage in the town of Escalon and would have to be trailered.” It looks great from the photos but there aren’t any photos showing the grille, the rear, the trunk, the back seat, etc. But they did include an engine photo! They said that the “Outside paint is fine, there is a dent in the driver side door.”
The 1968 Mercury Monterey was the last year of the sixth-generation cars and being only a four-year run they sure changed a lot over those four years. I prefer the 1965 cars but by the time they got to 1968 they were being used by Steve McGarrett in Hawaii Five-O. I don’t know what that has to do with anything and it wasn’t a Monterey, but I had to get a plug in for one of my favorite shows. Next slide…
An interior photo! And it looks great in there, too. Aside from power windows, which the seller doesn’t even mention, this car has “Air Conditioning AM Radio Power Steering Power Brakes Leather Interior Seat Belts” and they say that the car “looks to be in real good condition especially the interior.” I think we’re all automatically assuming that every single thing will have to be gone through once it arrives and gets pushed into your driveway.
This is Mercury’s 390 cubic-inch V8 which would have had between 265 and 280 hp, a very nice amount of power compared to anything that I own. If it isn’t blue plug wires it’s those #%!! red hoses! All of the hoses, belts, fluids, etc. will get changed on this one anyway so hopefully the next owner won’t put red hoses on again. It hasn’t run in years but I’m guessing that most Barn Finds readers could have it purring again in no time. What are your thoughts on buying a car with only a handful of photos? Have any of you bought a car without seeing the whole thing and then were either very disappointed by portions that were cleverly or “accidentally” left out of the photos or pleasantly surprised? I have been both pleasantly surprised and very disappointed, but many more times on the very disappointed side even with photos and inspections.
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Comments
I am sorry, I will not pay close to five digits for a car that is being sold by somebody that knows nothing about said car and that has to be trailered, but it is not listed why.
It has to be trailered because it hasn’t run in 35 years.
Looks like a 1967 to me. Has a 1967 steering wheel, which I’ve always hated on all 1967 Ford products, and car has no rear side markers which became standard on 1968 models
I agree. It’s a 1967. Why no picture of the damaged door and maybe one of the front end of the car. Some sellers are morons.
“I’m told it was running just fine before being put into storage.” That claim alone should add 10K to the price.
This has all of the signs that the car is being flipped, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if the seller is honest. I’d want to make sure the car is in the sellers name, if the car didn’t have a non-op filed with the DMV it would have been dropped from their system decades ago. Figure getting it registered will cost close to $1,000 before all of the fees are paid. A car given to someone by a relative is a common ploy flippers use to explain away a title that is not in their name, if that’s the case once you pay for the car, you are on your own. Good luck if you run into problems with the DMV.
I don’t see the AC compressor in the picture of the engine, the interior looks like vinyl, there are no pictures of the damaged door and the car hasn’t been started in 35 years. There could be a lot of undisclosed problems. This isn’t the most desirable car in the world, it’s hard to see much value in the asking price, even if it’s rust free, even $3,000-4,000 might be a stretch.
Steve R
I’d agree, except the seller stated it was his in-law’s car. They may have told him it was a hidden treasure worth a lot more than someone would actually pay for it (especially with all the work it’s going to take to drive it again). I’m with you on the price.
Two years ago someone knocked on my parents door and asked if her 1984 Honda Accord l, which had 27,000 miles was for sale. Unfortunately my parents said yes, a few weeks later it turned up on eBay saying the seller was listing it for his grandmother, who bought the car new. The ad then went on to list a series of other lies.
I’ve seen this several times, often will negative consequences for the buyer. Saying the car belonged to the in laws, grandparents or even a friend is often used to explain away the reason the title isn’t in the sellers name. Unless they are willing to go to the DMV with you, it should be considered a lie. If a buyer runs into problems, who are you going to turn to? The DMV doesn’t care, or accept, “I bought the car from the son in law” if there are issues, the buyer is on the hook for back registration, unpaid parking tickets or worse. The sellers name doesn’t appear on the title, California only accepts the previous owners signature, even if you get a bill of sale or receipt, good luck getting them to help, or pay for any unexpected costs.
Steve R
In answer to your question about buying a car like this, I should think a phone call would go far. Ask plenty of questions like Steve suggests, get photos of the front rear, establish ownership and so on.
I’m inclined to believe this car is not being flipped. It seems all the amateur wheeler dealers leave their newly found prize on a trailer (with the mandatory farm/industrial building in the background), never remove the accumulated junk from inside, and certainly don’t stuff it in a narrow shed!
I agree with prior comments. Probably can get a lot of info from a phone call. I bought a Mustang convertible out of state after a 15 minute phone call and 6 pictures. I went to the bank deposited the money in the sellers account and was Very pleasantly surprised when it was delivered to me.
I think this seller needs a lesson in the car’s actual value Once they realize they aren’t getting 9500 a reasonable deal could be made.
First of all, vin # 7Z45H540265 It’s definitely a ’67 with a 7 as the first digit of the vin. Z means the car was built in St. Louis, Mo. 45 means it’s a Monterey 2 dr conv. H is the engine code and is a 390 2V 540265 is the number of the cars that were built. In 1968 ALL vehicles had side marker lights, this car does not. It clearly amazes me how people can try to sell a car that they don’t even know the year it was built. It’s stated right on the title or pink slip. I think the owner is about $4000-$5000 too high on this cars price too.. It will need atleast $3000 worth of restoring to get it road worthy with 4 new tires, brakes redone, fuel system cleaning/replaced, brake lines checked and/or replaced, all rubber products like hoses and belts replaced and that’s if you do most of it yourself. Owner doesn’t give it’s mileage either so it could need a complete engine/trans rebuild as well adding $2000 more to the mix. Mice damage might be an issue too. Mice love chewing on anything copper and love to nest behind dashes and can destroy wiring in no time at all. The list can go on and on and adds big dollars to the resto price. Many repairs are hidden in these cars that sit for any long periods of time. One just sold at Barrett-Jackson for $17,500 with a complete frame-off and that was the higher-end Park Lane (https://azure.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1967-MERCURY-PARKLANE-CONVERTIBLE-60577). So I would give him less than half of what he is asking, after a thorough inspection in person of course..
Why not just pull the darn thing out and take a bunch of photos. Yeesh. Would certainly generate much more interest.
That being said, there’s not a lot of this body style around and from what you can see it looks pretty solid.
Never even knew these came in a convertible. 67 model year looks pretty good especially from the back.
Alas, I was passing through Escalon on Thursday, and I could have looked at it and reported. Unless the car was properly unregistered in CA when it was put into storage, putting it back on the road will be difficult and/or expensive.
“Properly unregistered”? Huh??
Small pet peeve here…why is it that so many people can’t tell the difference between vinyl and leather? Leather was not available on the Monterey. And, don’t even get men started on “radio delete” lol
Never replied to a Craigslist ad with no phone number successfully. For some reason they do not want calls Maybe they are a friendly dolphin named…….. Flipper.