1968 Mercury Park Lane

Description

This 1968 Mercury Park Lane convertible looks a lot more expensive than it is, and that's completely intentional. Drawing styling cues from the suicide door Lincolns, the Park Lane was a wonderful combination of Lincoln-like luxury and good old fashioned horsepower.

There's a lot of sheetmetal to cover on this full-sized convertible, but it's remarkably straight, which is a testament to the work done during the restoration a few years ago. There are no patch panels or aftermarket replacement components for the bodywork on this ragtop, so all the original steel remains intact. Given the quality of the work, there's little doubt that this was always a clean, southern car never subject to the rigors of the daily grind, and today it's high style that makes a statement. There's a brilliant shine on the paint and plenty of chrome to make this heavy cruiser look impressive and capture the essence of vintage luxury, all of it in great shape, from the three-dimensional front bumper to the pointed rear taillight surrounds that look suspiciously like they were designed in a GM studio.

The spacious black interior offers room for six on a pair of beautifully upholstered bench seats. The black vinyl is in excellent condition and it probably wears like iron, so it'll continue to look that good for years to come, sun or no sun. Plenty of faux woodgrain tells you all about Mercury's target audience, but the instrument panel with its oversized central speedo looks racy and puts all the controls within easy reach. Factory air is a nice (and rare) option in a convertible of this vintage, along with power windows, power antenna, and a power front seat. The original AM radio remains in the dash, but a new AM/FM/cassette stereo head unit lives in its own special enclosure underneath, so no original dashboards were harmed during the restoration. The trunk is positively mammoth, and even with the top down it has enough room for a baseball team's worth of gear, and includes a full-sized spare and remote CD changer. The white power convertible top is a little faded, but still folds easily and shows no rips or tears and a rear window that's in excellent condition.

The big Merc cruises with a 390 cubic inch V8 that provides the kind of effortless thrust you demand in your luxury ragtop. It looks pretty original under there, with corporate blue paint on the engine itself and original decals up top. Lots of recent maintenance items, including a fresh master cylinder, means that this car is ready to cruise immediately, and it starts and runs beautifully. It's backed by a 3-speed Merc-O-Matic automatic transmission and a set of 2.75 gears in the 9-inch out back so it just loafs along effortlessly on the highway. The floors look great, particularly for an open car, and the single exhaust system has just the right blend of muted power to suit the big convertible. Original steel wheels are fitted with wire hubcaps and a set of 215/75/15 Hankook whitewall radials that really are the only choice on a car like this.