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Nice Price Or Crack Pipe: 1978 Mercury Grand Marquis For $15,000?
Detroit, 6:47 PM
Thu Nov 26
12 posts in the last 24 hours
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Nice Price Or Crack Pipe: 1978 Mercury Grand Marquis For $15,000? |
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11/18/08
Either way, nice place to smoke some rock.
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Still, given the sheer originality and low milage, $15k isn't outrageous, just a little high.
11/18/08
Many of these vehicles you throw up here Murilee are like a diamond-encrusted dog shit necklace. You think to yourself; 'wow, diamond encrusted! My girlfriend will dig that.' While in the back of your mind you tell yourself; 'dude, that's dog shit, don't touch that.'
Somebody, somewhere will get a hardon over this car, but they're not trolling here at the Jaolp.
11/18/08
This reminds me of people who try to sell old junk off as antiques, and don't understand that it takes more than age to make something classic. This isn't, but it is interesting. Its not without value, it just isn't worth 15K.
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11/18/08
The body is straight, and there may be some rust on the chassis as a result of being in CO, but even if you had to replace all the gaskets and rubber work, I doubt it would cost that much, as parts must be readily available for them, if only due to the longevity of the platform and sheer number of them made.
And while I would not go so far as to call the car beautiful, TommiTee is right, there were significantly worse cars in that era. 4-door Mercury Cougar, anyone?
While it is not a car I would ever want to buy or drive, it wouldn't be a car that I would shake my head at. So, in that spirit, Nice Price.
11/18/08
11/18/08
I have actually come to like Bangle's more recent work; as time progresses, and he and his style matures, it becomes remarkably better. You have only to compare Bangle's original X-coupe to the new 7-series to see that his work has matured greatly.
I wish that this thing had a bit more in the way of curves (I like curves), but the flat-planes and the distinct character lines have aged well.
With a few coats of House of Kolor Orion Silver paint, a slightly less cheesy set of wheels (god I hate wire wheels in most cases), and a little work under the hood, it might just be a reasonably nice looking car.
You are still faced with getting past the the China Town mob boss/Purple-coated pimp image that haunts cars of this era, though. That might prove a bit more difficult than the paint work.
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11/18/08
Gold, err, aluminum, no, 4500lb steel mine.
11/18/08
While I, personally, would never spend that much on a malaise Marquis, if you just need to have a brand new 1978 Grand Marquis, this is probably your best option.
If someone has an unhealthy obsession with malaise era Mercurys, (and I'm sure there is someone out there), and has $15k to throw at it, I can see that person considering this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
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With so few miles on it, it's probably undriveable without replacing every gasket and fluid on it. You'd be stuck with a big, shiny, hideous Carter-era aircraft carrier in your garage that is completely useless.
11/18/08
He used my granny's Buick as an example of what leaky gaskets and rubber rot looked like.
Crackpipe.
11/18/08
11/18/08
My granny's 1990 Buick has no working speedo, odo (stopped 2 years ago at 70k), and leaky A/C. But dammit if that 3800 motor isn't still humming along, and the chassis and interior are in near-perfect condition. Parts are getting harder to find, though.
11/18/08
I loved that 3800-- a bit down on power (140ish hp), but buckets of torque, and could do solid burnouts all day, or until the transmission was bled dry (YMMV).
11/18/08