1969 Mercury Marquis

History

The Mercury Marquis was produced from 1967 through 1986. For the first period of its life, it served as the Mercury counterpart to Ford's full-size vehicles. In 1983, the Marquis became a mid-size car, though the highest trim level (the Grand Maruis), continued as the full-size Mercury production line.

At the time of its introduction in 1967, the Marquis was similar to the newly introduced Ford LTD, but was more luxuriously equipped and had a longer chassis. Powering the 1967 Marquis was a 410 cubic-inch big-block V8 rated at 330 horsepower. The following year, a 390 big-block with 315 horsepower was used. During both these introductory years, the Marquis could be purchased with an optional 428 cubic-inch 'Super Marauder' V8 rated at 345 horsepower.

For 1969, the philosophy at Mercury switched from trying to be a more expensive Ford, to a more affordable Lincoln. The 1969 Marquis were available as a 4-door sedan, 2-door hardtop coupe, 4-door hardtop sedan, convertible, and Colonial Park Station Wagon. The front end styling was influenced by the second generation Lincoln Continental Mark III. It featured hidden headlight covers that were blended into the grille. There was an integrated bumper grille, a slightly protruding center section, and a horizontal bar style.

The 121 inch wheelbase platform was shared with the Ford counterparts. Power was from a 429 cubic-inch V8 equipped with a two-barrel carburetor. A four-barrel version of the 429 was available for an additional price. The only transmission available was the Ford C6 3-speed automatic. Power front disc brakes were optional.

The hidden headlight theme would become a trademark for the Lincoln-Mercury's during the 1970s. Special metallic gold colored convertible Marquis examples were used for the final two seasons of the Green Acres TV series. These Marquis served as a replacement for the Continental convertibles that had been used during the 1965-67 seasons.

The interior of the Marquis featured nylon carpeting, burled-walnut vinyl paneling on the doors and the dash, a steering wheel with wood-toned spokes and rim, and four door courtesy lights.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2017