Post by s33fourgear on Sept 26, 2011 19:39:56 GMT -5
In 1968 my girlfriend's cousin, a school teacher, decided to sell his 1963 Mercury Meteor, which he had bought new. Pretty basic car, two door sedan in Pacific Blue with blue interior. 260 V-8, Stick/Overdrive, AM Radio, Two Speed Wipers/Washers, and that's about it! Dog dish caps, blackwall tires.
But it only had 55,000 well cared for miles and it was like new!The dealer would only give him 350 bucks on a trade in so I said I'd give him 400. We made a deal.
It took me awhile to figure out how to drive the Overdrive correctly but soon I was a pro. It's a neat setup that allows 5 gears. Since my "toy car" was a '57 Ford 2 door Ranch Wagon with a '64 427 4speed I felt no need to "rod" the Meteor. I put on some 15" chrome reverse wheels with bigger tires, dual exhaust with rappy old glasspacks, and a open element air cleaner. Everything else stayed stock as a stove.
Over the next four years the Meteor served me well without a whimper. Still running and driving great in summer of 1971 when my friend wanted to buy it. I sorta wanted a '67 Fairlane so I let it go. Two weeks later he totalled it. Nice.
Well, a lot of old and new Fords have come and gone over the next 40 years, but I always had my eyes out for another 63 Meteor. It had to be a two door, it had to be a V-8, and it had to be a stick. I figured the odds of finding one exactly like the old car were pretty slim.
I looked at a few over the years but never found the right one. A few weeks ago a guy I know sends me the Ebay link and says "Hey, look at this!" Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....
I guess it was just meant to be. Less than a week after the auction ended I was going to be on my way from South Central PA to the Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit. And this S-33 was exactly FIVE MINUTES off of the Ohio Turnpike, it was right on my way!
So I told my 62 Country Squire SW that he'd have to stay home but I would be bringing a new friend home for him to play with. I took off with an empty trailer, picked up the Merc on the way, and went to Woodward with the new toy.
There I met Eliot with his cool 63. I didn't have my new S-33 along at the time but I guess he and his dad saw it on Saturday. They left a note in the car and told me about this website.
So there ya have it. My "new" Meteor. I was a little disappointed when I first saw the car. Just a "little" misrepresented but no big surprise on Ebay. But I still did the deal and it's still a good car. Needs a bunch of dis 'n dat and definitely NOT 23,000 miles as stated but it is absolutely RUST FREE. And I mean not "sorta" rust free but RUST FREE!
It should be stripped and repainted and some other stuff tended to but it's a real nice driver just like it is. That's how it's gonna stay awhile but I will make improvements on it as time goes on.
Some pics: Meteor #1 in 1969 and Meteor #2 now.
But it only had 55,000 well cared for miles and it was like new!The dealer would only give him 350 bucks on a trade in so I said I'd give him 400. We made a deal.
It took me awhile to figure out how to drive the Overdrive correctly but soon I was a pro. It's a neat setup that allows 5 gears. Since my "toy car" was a '57 Ford 2 door Ranch Wagon with a '64 427 4speed I felt no need to "rod" the Meteor. I put on some 15" chrome reverse wheels with bigger tires, dual exhaust with rappy old glasspacks, and a open element air cleaner. Everything else stayed stock as a stove.
Over the next four years the Meteor served me well without a whimper. Still running and driving great in summer of 1971 when my friend wanted to buy it. I sorta wanted a '67 Fairlane so I let it go. Two weeks later he totalled it. Nice.
Well, a lot of old and new Fords have come and gone over the next 40 years, but I always had my eyes out for another 63 Meteor. It had to be a two door, it had to be a V-8, and it had to be a stick. I figured the odds of finding one exactly like the old car were pretty slim.
I looked at a few over the years but never found the right one. A few weeks ago a guy I know sends me the Ebay link and says "Hey, look at this!" Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....
I guess it was just meant to be. Less than a week after the auction ended I was going to be on my way from South Central PA to the Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit. And this S-33 was exactly FIVE MINUTES off of the Ohio Turnpike, it was right on my way!
So I told my 62 Country Squire SW that he'd have to stay home but I would be bringing a new friend home for him to play with. I took off with an empty trailer, picked up the Merc on the way, and went to Woodward with the new toy.
There I met Eliot with his cool 63. I didn't have my new S-33 along at the time but I guess he and his dad saw it on Saturday. They left a note in the car and told me about this website.
So there ya have it. My "new" Meteor. I was a little disappointed when I first saw the car. Just a "little" misrepresented but no big surprise on Ebay. But I still did the deal and it's still a good car. Needs a bunch of dis 'n dat and definitely NOT 23,000 miles as stated but it is absolutely RUST FREE. And I mean not "sorta" rust free but RUST FREE!
It should be stripped and repainted and some other stuff tended to but it's a real nice driver just like it is. That's how it's gonna stay awhile but I will make improvements on it as time goes on.
Some pics: Meteor #1 in 1969 and Meteor #2 now.
