1978 Mercury Colony Park

....NICE !!!!!

 

x2! That cracked me up!

 

I just need a 2-door version of this and a hatchet. Already have the belly, the laugh, the coat, and the hat.

 

I could have saved you some time and $$ on the window motor repair, but yours is all new now so you'll probably never have to worry about it again.
My question: how does a crazy old car fanatic get girls like that?
Or get girls at all?
Some of the guys here really want to know...:banana:

(BTW, love the car!)

 

Just yesterday I started driving the sedan version of the wagon. I have to say, once you get used to the size, they are terrific to drive. Roomy, comfortable, and not that bad on fuel. In 28 hours I've managed to put about 150 miles on her. She's going to get LOTS of use with me.

 

Yeah, after I did the repair a few folks told me how to fix it. Problem was until I got the new one next to the old I couldn't even tell what was missing, things had disintegrated that much internally.

I dunno how I suckered her in. She is not a huge fan of my car addiction but it keeps me out of bars and I got her her own "toy" a few years ago. Its a 73 VW Thing. So she's slowly developing her own collector car interests.

 

It is always very helpful when your spouse is understanding and even involved. My wife and I met when we were 16 and I always have been in to cars from when I was 13 so she knew what she was getting in to. Her brothers were both building cars. She's been not just my wife but my car buddy. We've done almost all of them together she being the helper/passer of tools/mental support as needed (lots of that ). I did the 70 Chevelle SS for her to replace one I sold that we'd bought in 70 and she loved that car, but she barely drives it. She has always loved the Safari and drives it a lot, even towing our Airstream trailers through the mountains. Many of our car club members have wives with the same passion. Life is very good. Keep your wife involved and you will have a long and happy marriage is my motto.

 

Long time no update. I'm afraid that rather than wrenching on this old girl I've been out driving her instead In particular a little drive of 8 days, 11 states, 2,800 miles, including an 860 mile 15 hour straight run, untold gallons of gas, a single quart of oil and zero trouble but we'll come back to that in a minute.

Project wise I did end up finishing the rest of the new arm rests and installing those. I tried recharging the AC but it had a very obvious leak at the back of the compressor so I need to replace the o-rings.

Earlier in the thread I mentioned the BABE (Big Apple to Big Easy) rally which is a 5 day adventure road rally from NY to New Orleans. It went off in May this year and after driving this thing all around I figured she was ready to go. Of course a week before the rally I come out of the house to find a puddle under the car....ugh. Brake master cylinder had given up.

$17 later (thanks Rock Auto) and I had a new one installed and all good to go.

 

So off and running then on the rally. This was the 8th year of the rally and my 8th year of participation. It was also to be the final running of the rally. Each year I tried to achieve some type of different personal accomplishment and the only one I never checked off the list was a solo run so this year it was to be just me and the Colony Park. This left plenty of space to haul stuff so I packed along all the tailgating supplies so I could cook out in the parking lots each night with the other competitors.

The trip itself was kind of uneventful. Of course I did have to take her on an obligatory run through the Tail of the Dragon



After that I tried to backtrack to the hotel on a "fun" backroad the organizer had told me about. 8 miles of road, took me 2 hours, it was the most rutted, washed out excuse for a gravel fire road through the forest I had ever seen. I really had no intention of going offroading with her but by the time I really realized how bad it was I was well into it so forward we proceed.



I also stopped for my annual photo shoot at an old abandoned store called Jim's Junk. My name is Jim so its always been a funny picture to get with whatever I decided to pilot on the rally each year.

 

The event itself was a great deal of fun with some crazy cars and great people. The event organizer seemed to think the Colony Park was a great desk.



And this beast was definitely beating me for the prize for largest and most gas used. Although it burned oil faster than gas leading to many late night mechanical misadventures to try and slow it's appetite.

 

After the rally end in New Orleans I shot over to Pensacola FL for a day. A good friend of mine moved there a few years back and has been doing well buying and renovating rental properties, he's been trying to get me on board so I wanted to see the area and check out some properties.

From Pensacola I made the aforementioned 15 hour 860 mile drive up to Harrisonburg VA where the rainstorms finally made me call it quits for the night. It is so easy to lay down many many highway miles in this car.

Once back home I figured the old girl deserved a little reward. I had snagged a nice set of Mustang Bullitt wheels with tires for cheap right before the rally. Initially I was pretty opposed to any type of 5 spoke "sporty" wheel as I didn't think it fit her character, but they were cheap and I could use them on another car I have if I didnt like it. I purchased a nice set of wheel adapters to make the mustang pattern work with the Mercury's 5 on 5, they also space the wheels outward a little which was definitely needed.



And yes once I got the old wheels off and saw the condition of the rotors I ordered up new ones, they'll be going on shortly with new pads as well.

The end result was actually much better than I expected. The tires need to be meatier but I'll wait to determine what size to go with after installing the air suspension. You can see she collected quite a few stickers on her travels as well.

 

Since her return from the rally she's just been doing what she does best, going cruising, running to the hardware store for things that dont fit in my Fiat and tailgate support. As much as the wife can't understand my love for her she has realized that everywhere it goes it draws a crowd of admirers. Even at a country music concert tailgate ruled by trucks and Jeeps the Colony Park stole the show. It boggles her mind still but she at least sees I am not alone in my love for this car.

Then in a moment of "very bad ideas" I was tempted by a friend who was scrapping an old ford truck which he used for parts. He offered me the full 7.3 IDI diesel drivetrain with 5 speed for $200 and he'd even deliver. It ran very well. The thought of a diesel 5 speed vintage wagon really tempted me... But I sat back and realized, I've come to love this wagon just the way it is, it runs great, its comfortable, its useful, I don't want to change it. I'm not even sure I want to fix the woodgrain. I really love the weathered wood look it has. I like that greyish color its taken on as it reminds me of the weathered wood on a beach house. Of course I'd like for it to be in better shape but I can't imagine putting dark woodgrain back on it now. It has me thinking over what direction I'll be going aesthetically but for now I'm driving it and loving it.

Oh...one last little note. This was indeed the last year of the BABE rally in the US. The organizers have decided to take a long, if not permanent, break. A new company has stepped in to take over with very similar events but some new twists. One of the owners is a wagon guy (I hear he owns a nice Colony Park) and would love to see a whole group of wagons on any of these events, especially the big one next year, there might even be a trophy for Wagon Class if there's enough longroofs on board. Unlike the existing event which was for "beaters" only, this one has an open class where any car can compete and if there's enough interest a vintage class will be added as well. Check out www.asphaultadventures.com for info and feel free to ask me any questions about it.

 

One final fun story. When making my reservations in New Orleans, where everything seems to be expensive, I decided just to use some hotel rewards points instead of paying the astronomical prices. Well the only hotel on my plan with an open room was the JW Marriott. Not familiar with it I assumed it was just like any other Marriott...um, no. It's one of these high end places where as soon as you pull up a team of valets and porters attack your car and you never lift a finger your entire time there.

I wasn't quite sure what they'd make of the Colony Park but as usual everyone loved it and the older valets were busy showing the young guys my rear jump seats and other long lost "cool" features of the old girl.

 

Hey JT, not sure how I've missed this thread, but it's a fun one! I recognized that Colony Park the second I saw it! So glad it went to a wagon NUT! :2_thumbs_up_-_anima

Below is the thread I posted about going to see it!

http://www.stationwagonforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12710

2011-01-30, 20:58 PM
went to see a Colony Park in OK
Yesterday, I went to see a '78 Colony Park in Oklahoma. I flew into Tulsa and rented a car, and drove a little under two hours north and west to see it. It's a nice wagon, but I don't think it's for me. But it might be for someone here.
















The wagon runs good, has bad brakes...master cylinder most likely. Has a short or something draining the battery, but otherwise is pretty dang good. Needs freshening up with paint and woodgrain, and the headliner need repair.
A super nice guy named Jeff owns it and is asking $1250.00 for it.

I have this in the general discussion section, because I am mainly just telling about a neat wagon I saw, but if this looks like something someone here wants, let me know and I will get in touch with the owner. :2_thumbs_up_-_anima

David

 

Very cool. A buddy of mine who lived in OKC actually ended up buying it, there is a post by him buried in the introduction threads somewhere. He bought it specifically to run in the BABE rally (so you get an idea of the final price since BABE had a $500 limit) but his wife fell in love with it. I've also had opportunity to chat with the previow owner Jeff every once in awhile on facebook as he follows the adventures of the old girl. He was kind enough to let it go cheap to my friend because it would get new adventures and new life rather than being used as a derby car. So when my buddy Chris sold it to me it was with the same caveat, love it, have fun with it, let it live a good life. And it will always be that way if we can help it

Well he's military and was getting ready to be relocated with 8 cars so something had to give. I agreed to buy it and love it and if and when they settle if his wife wants it back then it is hers. Although I'll immediately have to find another one because I'm quite enamored of it. So I flew out to OKC and drove it home to NJ last October.

My cousin who lives not too far away just outside Philadelphia posted a random shot of another one on my facebook wall last month with a for sale sign just sitting on the streets in Philly, it looked pretty good from the photos but I had to resist the urge to go check it out because I know I would have ended up bringing it home.