1974 Mercury Marquis review from North America

The car always used a quart of oil every 2,000 miles. Around 80,000 miles this increased to a quart every 1,000 miles. When I took it in for an overhaul we found the cylinder walls were pitted. The mechanic said it looked like this damage happened before the car was purchased. The pits were from rust that happened before the engine was installed in the car, June of 1974. We decided to put in a new short block. The car has not used any oil since then.

Some rust appeared around the rear wheel wells where the fender skirts meet the body. This area was reshaped and filled and repainted.

The rear bumper had to be reinstalled after rust got to the bumper impact absorbers. The car was Zebarted in June 1974.

The front transmission seal leaked after the short block was installed. The car is driven on long trips so we had the transmission gone through a couple of years ago, and also replaced the leaky seal.

I am writing this Aug 28, 2001.

All other maintenance, repairs and replacements have been normal.

The exterior and interior (rolled brown vinyl) is in very good condition.

The car is very powerful and rides well. A great trip car. Mileage on average is 14 - 16 miles per gallon on low octane gas.

It is a real classic, brown vinyl roof over a cream white body, a real looker. We get comments where ever we go. Where we can, it cruises beautifully at high speeds where it was designed to operate.

I replace all hoses and belts and antifreeze every 4 years so not to have problems on the road.

Air conditioning still freezes us out and the FM stereo radio sounds great.

The trunk was fully carpeted at the factory and is huge.

We did put new rear springs on recently when new shocks were installed. This holds the back end up when we travel with the trunk full.