Mercury Colony Park Wagon Long Roof Shooting Brake Wood Grain Sides on 2040-cars

I have always liked wagons and purchased this one a few years back. I remember back in the day these were the cars that were used to pull race cars to meets. I still enjoy watching old movies like The Thomas Crown affair and The Get Away and seeing these old wagons cruising along. I searched for years before coming upon this one and I really never thought I would be selling it. However, my addiction to vintage VWs and family obligations simply don't afford me any more room or time. So here goes...

I purchased the car from the second owner here in Florida. He acquired the car from the original owner who kept the car inside of his warehouse. As far as I can tell, it is mostly original except for one re-spray in it's original color and a few things that I did after I purchased it. For example, the rear cargo area was pretty beat up when I got it so I reupholstered the rear panels and refinished the cargo area and also replaced the headliner. I then installed new shocks, springs, brakes, white wall tires, and performed a full tune up. The mileage on the car is original, the drivetrain is original, the carpet, seats and door panels are all original.

MECHANICAL - The car drives very well and has lots of power with it's original 390 and automatic transmission. The choke system on the carb works with heat from the manifold that comes up through some steel tubes. Those tubes were missing when I bought the car so I made some and the choke works as expected. However, I am not a fan of this system and would recommend changing to an electric choke. White wall tires, springs, shocks and brakes are all new.

BODY- The paint is old and faded, but I have waxed it in the past and it looks fairly decent then. However, the paint on the hood is badly "checked". The body of the car has some rust, but nothing structural (see photographs). There is rust on the bottom of both rear doors, the tailgate, the left rear window and the cargo belly area. This is something that should be taken care of soon before it gets worse, even if the car isn't repainted. Someone "fixed" a dent in the lower part of the rear left fender and the repair leaves a lot to be desired. The Nidoc (wood grain) is original and faded. I tried using a bunch of different products to try and make it look better and the best results were with Liquid Gold furniture polish. The first two photographs show the car after applying this product to the wood grain and the results are night and day. However, it eventually does wear off. But here in the wonderful South Florida heat and humidity it holds up for about two weeks. All the chrome looks nice, but is not perfect and has it's share of dings and scratches. The rubber door and window seals are old and should be replaced.

INTERIOR - The interior looks good overall and is original except for the rear cargo area which I refinished. There are no rips or tears in the seats. The door panels look nice, but there are some areas that are a bit faded and some of the trim shows wear. The front power seat works well. The rear seat folds down and locks in the upright position as designed. I made a carpeted mat for the cargo area that can extend out to cover the whole area when the seats are folded down. The carpeting is faded and worn in places, but original. All of the windows roll up and down as intended and all doors open and close properly. The dash is nice and clean, and everything works except the clock. The dash pad top is severely cracked from the sun. The glove box contains the original owner's manual and some old maps. Some of the plastic coverings and buttons on the buckles of the seat belts are broken and/or missing. The rear view mirror recently came unglued but will be installed prior to delivery.

OTHER - The rear tail gate is what Ford called the "magic door", as it can be either folded down tailgate style or swung open. A switch on the dash controls opening and closing of the power rear window.

I have a box of extra parts for it which include mechanical parts, reflectors, name plates, and even an original "tear-drop" antenna which I had planned on installing after painting.

I have provided numerous photographs in order to allow prospective buyers to make their own assessment as to the overall condition of the car. I highly recommend seeing the car in person due to the subjective nature of condition assessments of vehicle, particularly vintage and antique cars.

Now on a more personal note: If you like the car, please feel free to bid. The worst thing that can happen is that you don't win. The best thing that can happen is that you do win and then you will have one very cool wagon. With that said, I humbly ask that if you intend to buy this car and do what those folks at Gas Monkey Garage did to that Chevy wagon, please don't tell me. I have had more heart breaks than I can bare and just can't stand any more.

Oh, and one more thing....

I am on eBay a lot. Probably too much actually. I buy. I sell. But I also see all sorts of strange things on here, like cars that don't sell for $10k and then get relisted for $20k. Other times I see cars that "sell", and then some time later the same car pops up again. Then, it "sells" again, but then pops up again, and again, and again, and again. I see this plenty and I really don't understand why. I have sold items on eBay where the buyer has not kept up with his end of the bargain and ended up having to relist the item, but not 10 times. My point is this: I am listing the car for sale because I want to sell it, not because I have to. The reason I don't have to is because I live in what I believe to be the greatest country on earth, where I don't have to do anything. I don't like playing games with this sort of thing, so if the car doesn't sell within the allotted time, you very likely won't see it here again.