So, I literally just got this beauty home. It’s a single owner all original wagon. I’m wondering if anyone can tell me a little more about these cars. Specifically, was it a normal body option to not come with the wood paneling?
Yup. Perfectly normal. It's just that the non-wood Marquis weren't noticed as much. Most people, if they wanted a 'plain' wagon, just shopped over at their local Ford dealer, You saw a lot more non-wood full-sized Ford wagons than you saw the plain Mercury Marquis'. Mercury, being an upscale brand, got far more interest for the Marquis Colony Park. Note: for the 1983 model year, your model became the GRAND Marquis. The regular 'Marquis' name was placed on the mid-sized Mercury cars.
If it’s the standard engine probably the 302 5.0. It would be neat if it had the 5.8 351. What a great wagon! As Krash mentioned, They were called Marquis wagons and like 1978, the Colony Park wood trim was a “package” that was available on the Marquis wagon. I would almost bet the steel side wagon like yours was not as common as the Colony Park. Also interesting factoid your ‘79 gained 1 extra cubic feet of cargo space. 165 vs 164 for the much bigger ‘78. Congrats on your new wagon a real beauty! More pictures when you get a chance please? Love those ‘79 stalk horns, very kitch. BTW Welcome
I can pull it out of the garage and take pictures today, anything specifically you would like to see?
If you have front, side, rear and any interior pictures would be great. Also don’t forget to post it in the American wagon section as a new garage item. It sure looks like a great wagon. I have a regular ‘77 Marquis wagon, as well as a ‘77 Colony Park. Mercury wagons are really wonderful cars.
Oh nice it’s a 9 passenger. What a stunning car. Love love love it! Ah yeah. One more thing I wanna see is that car in my driveway. Seriously it’s a really great find.
Welcome aboard the wagon train 79marquis. That's a sweet looking wagon you have there. I'm impressed with how clean it is.
That’s correct. All original. If I change anything in the future it will be a fresh coat of paint, maybe some new wheels and dual exhaust. If I want to get real crazy I’ll consider an ls1 swap.