AJ’s Car of the Day: 1963 1/2 Mercury Marauder Hardtop

AJ’s Car of the Day: 1963 1/2 Mercury Marauder Hardtop

Car: Mercury Marauder Hardtop

Year: 1963 1/2

What makes it special: The Marauder was a nameplate used by three different full-sized models produced by Mercury. It got its name because it featured the most powerful engines available in a Mercury model, and was purposely marketed as the highest-performance version of a full-sized car.

What made it famous: The Marauder name was originally a trim package for Mercury full-sized cars, including the Monterey, Montclair, S-55, and the Park Lane. The Marauder debuted as a 1963 1/2 Sports model, and was a two-door hardtop. It was powered by Ford FE-Series V8 powerplants. Standard was a 390 cu in Marauder V8, and the 406 cu in V8 was replaced by a 427 cu in Super-Marauder V8 for the 1964 model year. Transmission offerings were a 3-speed and 4-speed manual and a 3-speed Multi-Drive Merc-O-Matic.

Why I would want one: I love the large engine, full-sized Mercury’s. They were used very often in Stock Car racing back in the day.

Fun fact: The Marauder nameplate made is return in 2003 as a high-performance Mercury Grand Marquis.