3Z68G516447

VIN:         3Z68G516447                                        St. Louis, MO assembly

Car:          1963 Mercury Marauder S-55

Engine:     406 Super Marauder                              406 6V - 405 Horsepower

Codes:      Body - 63C                                            2-Dr. "S-55" Fastback Hardtop

                Color - B                                                Peacock Turquoise

                Trim - 57                                               Turquoise

                Date - 12A                                             12 January, 1963

                DSO - blank

                Axle - 5                                                 3.50:1

                Trans - 5                                               Standard (4-Speed)

Options:    AM/FM radio, seat belts (owner added power windows, remote side mirror, rear seat belts)

Photos:     1981 to 2021

Articles on this car

This is an engineering car with a scheduled build date earlier than any other Marauder known. No build sheet exists with an actual build date.

1/12/1963     Scheduled build for this car

1/21/1963     Start Marauder pre-production (I was told)

1/28/1963     Marauder Job #1

2/14/1963     Marauder and Marauder S-55, Marauder 427 and Super Marauder 427 public announcement

There are 3 Marauder S-55, 390 4V, automatic, known to exist with a 17A date (1/17/1963). Keep in mind these are scheduled build dates, not actual build dates (perhaps an actual 1/21 build date?). None of these 3 cars came with fender flags.

This car was sold (in the condition seen in the first 3 photos) by Ridgeway Motors in Aiea, HI for $325 on Aug. 14, 1981. The odometer registered 72,497.3 miles at the time but did not work. The engine ran, but the car was undriveable due to carburetion issues and the fact that the transmission was completely out of oil.

Over the following 3 months some repairs were made and temporary measures taken to prepare for a long drive.

In December 1981, before any restoration, it was shipped to California and then driven to Michigan where it remains today.

Mileage is now over 145,000.

These are things beyond the build date that suggest an engineering car. I do not suggest that all of these things came from the factory, only that they may have: No chrome trim on the rear deck to cover the welds; no Mercury man on the front quarters; no fender flags; chrome Galaxie emblem between the rear seat instead of the red/white/blue S-55 emblem which won't fit the holes there; small outer nobs on the radio; period head rests; chrome shift ball and turn lever; 427 "D" cylinder heads (block date 11/27/1962, R head date 11/26/1962, L head date 11/24/1962); one standard rear spring and one HD rear spring. These are the things I found in August 1981. Additionally, the headers and the wheels and covers were gone, the passenger door was a Galaxie door, and the T-10 had AMC (I think) gear ratios instead of the correct ones.

2002 Pure Stock Muscle Car Drags        15.67 @ 89.65 & 15.87 @ 90.13

Listen to it at Carlisle

FM 60-000-000  -  from Ford's 60 millionth vehicle  -  built January 7, 1963