1973 Mercury Montego GT

65post · Poncho Master!

1973 Mercury Montego GT

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

You don't see many of those around. I bet that hood is a hard piece to find.

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

You may recall a couple of summers ago I posted photos of this car. It was a good complete car but has been spruced up quite a bit now. The car is in a small town called Lafontaine Onatrio, a French speaking hamlet near Midland and Penetanguishine. I've seen it and it is very good it was a 351 2bbl. One family car as I recall.

rebelrouser · Poncho Master!

When they were new,my dad just missed out on a Yellow GT 429 4 spd car so he settled on a red one with a 351C auto instead.Neat cars though.

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

Click Here to see the car when I first spotted it.

427carl · A Poncho Legend!

LeeRoy · Guru

65post wrote:
MONTEGO

With that camera angle it looks like it won't fit in that garage! LOL.

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

Are you sure that's the same car Ray? The one listed for sale still has the original plates from 1973 on it.

CdnGMfan · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

By then the CJ-351 was the hot ticket and was the only engine you could get a 4-speed on with that generation. The 429 actually was rated at 212 net horsepower while the CJ-351 was rated at 248 net (266 in Cougars / Mustangs). Of course the 429 would have them all beat on torque figures and could be built into a performer, but as delivered the CJ-351 was the king.

For 1972 the FoMoCo intermediates switched to a full frame with 4-wheel coil springs, away from the previous unibody with rear leaf springs and those intrusive shock towers under the hood.

That Sportsroof body style was never common on those cars but I always thought they were attractive. The "front porch" front bumper on the 1973+ looked ugly, but everyone was on the same page in those years. David Pearson drove the Purolater Mercury, a 73 Montego GT in NASCAR back in 74-75. Given that the Hemis had restrictor plates (426 Mopar & Boss 429), engines like the 351 Cleveland and Mopar 340 started to be very competative in NASCAR. Richard Petty switched from a Hemi to a 340 for his famous 73 Charger.

I think GM was tops back then. Too bad the SD-455 was cancelled from the GTO, Grand Am & Grand Prix. Oldsmobile still had a W-30 455 and Buick the Stage 1 455, plus Chevrolet was still making a 454 M21 combination for Chevelle coupes. 10 mpg is not too thrilling though, nor is an insurance surcharge despite the lukewarm 1973 state of tune. Here I can see the angle for making the hot 351 - insurance!

NOS · Poncho Master!

Its a AC car. What more can you ask for ??

Dale @ NOS a poncho supporter

eeluddy · Uber Guru

NOS wrote:
Its a AC car. What more can you ask for ??

Dale @ NOS a poncho supporter

It's a cool car from my era. There was a black one in Woodstock with a built 351. What more could I ask? How bout one 3 yrs older with a 429 top loader 4 speed with the full deluxe interior trim for me please!

(1970 Cyclone 429 Ram Air GT)

CdnGMfan · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

I remember from grade school (here we go...) a teacher, coincidently Mrs. Milne, owned a clean 1970 Montego GT, black with white bucket seat interior, a 300-horse 351 Cleveland, Curse-O-Matic wink , plus hidden headlights. This was back around 1972. In 1974 the car was traded for a new 1974 Plymouth Road Runner with the new high-performance 360, black with red stripes, Polyglas GT tires on Rally Road Wheels.

In 1970 while on a road trip out to Vancouver Island I saw a brand new, I mean brand spanking new 1970 Cyclone Spoiler with a 429, T-handle 4-speed in Competition Blue. It was on its way home from the dealer; you could smell the fresh paint burning off the exhaust manifolds. I also saw a brand new Boss 302 in Stanley Park on that trip. Jeez, I also remember the Big Bad Orange Javelin with big n little Cragar SS wheels on it and a roof-mounted Breedlove spoiler, plus the first Shelby GT500 Mustang (1970 vintage) I had ever seen. I even remember visiting a WWII buddy of my fathers in Edmonton. He only had one arm so he drove a car with power everything. It was a new Eldorado. His wife had a Daytona Blue 1964 Chevelle Malibu SS coupe. All this from a cross-country trip 44 years ago.

Goater · Member

How about a 1974 Q code 351 Montego MX same hood (don't know what year but there was a ram air option for the hood )

-- Edited by Goater on Friday 10th of October 2014 10:14:49 PM

-- Edited by Goater on Friday 10th of October 2014 10:16:25 PM

CdnGMfan · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Goater wrote:
How about a 1974 Q code 351 Montego MX same hood (don't know what year but there was a ram air option for the hood )

-- Edited by Goater on Friday 10th of October 2014 10:14:49 PM

-- Edited by Goater on Friday 10th of October 2014 10:16:25 PM

The Torino lost the hood scoop after 1972, and of those only about 30 had the optional functioning ram-air. The Montego kept the scooped hood through the GT of 1973, plus a totally obscure Sports Appearance option in 1974.

74 Montego w Sports Appearance.jpg

Also shown is the Woods Brothers 73 Mercury.

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

Jeepers! With all this Ford talk I'm bettin' some of you folks would really like our sister forum Canadian Ford.

This forum is still an infant and needs members.

www.canadianford.ca

eeluddy · Uber Guru

I'm all in Todd! Spent much of my youth Driving old Meteors and Fords as well as Poncho's

Pritch · Guru

It's all good, guys. Thanks for the link, Todd. I just checked out the "sister" forum. Of the 17 vehicles I've ever owned, only my '64 CS and '93 Miata have not been Fords. I'm still driving my first new factory ordered Merc, a '76 Cougar XR7, loaded.

-- Edited by Pritch on Saturday 11th of October 2014 10:00:50 PM

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

That's a nice looking car, I have to ask about the running boards though. My aunt had a similar one in a bronze colour brown vinyl roof that I loved to drive.

Pritch · Guru

Well, Ray. What can I say? The running boards were a 70's thing. I guess I don't like change. smile

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

I thought they had a practical use, perhaps stone chip protection since you obviously have plenty of gravel roads where you live.

Pritch · Guru

You are quite correct about the gravel and stone chips. Running boards did save my rockers. Everything on my Cougar is original, including the paint.

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

People used to go on about how Ford's rusted but I recall the mid 70's big Fords like the Cougars and T-Birds really held up well in our climate. I remember seeing many many of these cars still in decent shape well into the 90's.