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I went to the Curbside Classics website and I often see people giving these cars a bad reputation, I always wondered if they were good cars back in their day or not.
I had a 1971 Mercury Montego. They were pretty bad cars, probably below average even for that dismal automotive era.
i had a 71 montego for a while, until it was rear ended. i liked the car though, but i would have preferred a two door version. as to the OP, i would love to have a montego from the era you posted about, preferably a 72-74 with the 351c engine and a two door body.
Had a 72 Montego, tough car. Went cross country a couple of times. One time, had a fender bender with a fire truck, $1000 worth of damage to the fire engine, scratched the paint on my car. LOL.
On May 11th 1974 my Dad bought a 74 2dr Mercury Montego MX Brougham. I still have it. My Mom was so proud of it that she drove it every day for the next 22 years! Went 110,000 miles by 94 and then got a new paint job, redone interior, and rebuilt engine. Like that it was brand new again. I do wish my Dad had kept the car he traded in on the Montego though. It was a 1965 Impala SS that he got $700 for in trade. Those are worth LOTS more than the Montego. Since the Montego was garage kept, it didn't rust at all until around 2004 when some started by the wheel wells. It only has 32,000 miles on the rebuild. I do remember they had several problems with the AC early on. Except for that, it was stone cold reliable. Still is! My Dad had actually gone to look at the then new Torino Elite's, but then as now when a car is new and hot (as the Elite's were at that time) the dealers don't deal. So he got mad and drove 2 miles to the Mercury dealership (CO Morgan Lincoln Mercury). They were only too happy to deal. $5200 car and they got it for $3100 (well there was the $700 trade in). I'll never get rid of it, although I am driving other cars and it has sat for the last 5 years. I do run it fairly often though. Always starts without any issues. I have the Marti report on it.
Cool! Would you please post a few pictures? I wish I still had the one my parents had. It was an MX Brougham, gold (looked dark brown but they called it gold) with a tan vinyl interior, tan vinyl top, 4 doors, 302 2bbl w/ ac.
I did prefer the 1972-73 styling over the 1974-76, I wish they hadn't changed the taillights on the 1974-76 models, I thought they looked great on the bumpers (for the Torino), I always liked the looks of those cars and thought they were better looking than the GM Colonnade's (except for the Monte Carlo, Cutlass Supreme 2 door and Grand Prix) that came out during the same time frame
I can see why the 1972-73 Torino's were huge sellers back in the day.
i had a 71 montego for a while, until it was rear ended. i liked the car though, but i would have preferred a two door version. as to the OP, i would love to have a montego from the era you posted about, preferably a 72-74 with the 351c engine and a two door body.
I wish the Montego's of the 1972-74 time frame weren't so hard to find, I occasionally see a well maintained 1973 Montego 2 door driving around town and often wish you could see those cars more often.
My brother used to drive a 73 Gran Torino four door. I loved driving that car. Wasn't much to look at style-wise, but she was reliable, peppy and just a bunch of fun!
My buddy had a 72' Torino 2 door. That car was pretty sharp looking lifted in the back with Cragers and 60's. He removed the chrome and painted the car flat black. Sweet!
Granted both of these experiences were back in the 1979 timeframe. I would gladly drive either car today.
I think it was 74' when they went to the Starsky & Hutch look. No thanks!
I would rather have the Gran Torino from the Clint Eastwood movie of the same name over the Starsky & Hutch look any day.
Cool! Would you please post a few pictures? I wish I still had the one my parents had. It was an MX Brougham, gold (looked dark brown but they called it gold) with a tan vinyl interior, tan vinyl top, 4 doors, 302 2bbl w/ ac.
Every time I have tried to post pics here they never go thru. Mine is white with a white/gold all vinyl interior. Has the 351W and auto. The options it has are 351,fmx auto, HR 78 we Radial tires, convenience group, AC, clock, power steering, power brakes, embassy roof, am/FM stereo, bumper protection group, appearance protection group, luxury wheel covers, body side molding, cruise control, tilt wheel, and dual remote control sport mirrors. According to Kevin Marty out of 20,511 built 2764 were white, 102 were white with white/gold interior, 11740 were 351/auto's, 2124 were ordered by the Dallas DSO, and 2336 had white vinyl roof.
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