1969 Mercury Montego

The Mercury Montego was built from 1968 through 1976 and from 2004 to 2007. The first generation was built from 1968 to 1969 as the counterpart of the Ford Fairlane and as part of the intermediate Mercury Comet product line, consolidating the Comet Caliente and the Comet Capri into a single model. It was offered as a four-door sedan, two-door hardtop, convertible, and station wagon. Trim levels included the base and MX, with the 'base' serving as a replacement for the Comet Capri and the MX replacing the Comet Caliente.

The 'base' Montego was offered as a sedan priced at $2,540 and a hardtop coupe listed at $2,560. The MX series added a convertible and station wagon body styles, additional chrome trim and moldings, and wood-tone appliques on the lower dash panel. Prices ranged from $2,700 to $3,000. The base engine was an overhead valve six-cylinder unit displacing 250 cubic inches and breathing through an Autolite one-barrel carburetor, helping to produce 155 horsepower at 4,000 RPM. The standard transmission was a three-speed manual. A four-speed manual and a SelectShift automatic were optional. Engine options included a 302 CID, 351 CID, 390 CID, 427 CID, 428 CID, and 429 CID in various states of tune with power ranging from 220 hp to nearly 400 hp.

3,621 examples of the Montego MX station wagon received woodgrain side trim, and 1,590 four-door sedans and 1,226 two-door hardtops were fitted with the Brougham option. The Brougham option added comfort stream ventilation, remote-control mirror, luxury-level cloth and vinyl interior, rear roof pillar Brougham identification, vinyl-covered door pull handles, rim-blow steering wheel, and Brougham dash panel nameplate.

by Dan Vaughan

MX Sedan
Chassis number: 9H10M555716

This 1969 Mercury Montego MX four-door sedan is powered by a 351W-4BBL with 37,100 miles on the odometer. The original owner purchased this car for his wife in March of 1969 and they took a cross-country trip from their New York home to the Oregon coast. Unfortunately, she passed away in1 973. The car was parked with 32,000 miles and was not driven again. The original owner passed away in 2009 and the car passed to his estate (his sons).

The car remained in storage until purchased from his estate by a collector in 2011. It was brought back into service (new brakes, exhaust, tires, tune-up, fluid changes) and purchased by the current caretaker in July 2020.

Notable options include:

- 351W -4BBL (290 horsepower / 385 foot-pounds of torque, 10.7:1 compression)

- Power windows, power steering, power brakes

- Air conditioning

- AM/FM stereo with rear speakers

- Intermittent wipers and tinted glass

- Deluxe seat belts with belt warning light

Produced during the 1960's, the Montego was an intermediate vehicle manufactured by the Ford Motor company from 1960 until 1976.

A British version of the Mercury Montego was the Austin Montego. Available only in Canada, the Meteor Montego was the top trim level model of the Ford Meteor.

The model name was an inspiration from the exotic Montego Bay, the second city in size and importance in Jamaica. Montego Bay is also the island's tourism capital, and the name has been originally used for this Mercury vehicle since 1967.

Replacing the intermediate Comet in 1968 with the same body-type, it was upsized from the Mercury Cougar. The main differences between the Montego and Comet were the curb moldings, the cigar lighter and a glove box lock.

The MX version of Montego had both full length upper and lower body trim, and chrome wheel well trim. It also came with a vinyl top, metal upper door frames, wood inserts in the lower body molding, carpeting and wood grain trimmed door panels.

Basically considered to be a twin of the Ford Torino, the Cyclone was a variation of the Montego through 1971. The Cyclone came with a mid tire level body tape stripe and shared the same production numbers as the GT version.

In 2005, Mercury used the name for their version of the Ford Five Hundred which eventually replaced the Mercury Sable.

The new and improved Montego includes an optional all-wheel drive system, and has an MSRP of $25,000.

by Jessican Donaldson