Asleep at the switch in 2003...

[69MontereyVert]

...meaning me. I don't know where I was or why I wasn't paying attention to the introduction of the coolest car to come out of Lincoln Mercury since the '68 Cougar GT-E, but if I had been paying attention, I certainly would have snapped up the new Marauder hot off the assembly line. Probably I was close-minded with disgust at Lincoln Mercury for the news that they were about to bring back the Monterey as a minivan.

I got my wake-up call last Friday. On my way to work I saw a black Marauder being driven around town by a 60ish-year-old lady. First thing I noticed was the aggressive stance, then the polished tailpipes. Without thinking I instantly new it must be a Marauder. Something about Lincoln Mercury's marketing must have made it's way into my brain back in '03 that triggered the instant recognition.

Having owned a '71 Lincoln Contintental 460-4V, a '69 Cougar XR7 351W-2V, and currently owning a '69 Monterey 390-2v Convertible and a '91 Mustang LX 5.0 HO EFI Convertible, the instant I saw the Marauder I knew I would have to get one to be my daily driver.

I always thought I would get a Marquis or a Crown Vic as my next daily driver - now I've got a Marauder in my sites.

From only 2 days of webbing around, it seems like they are in short supply - in 1969 Mercury made about 1150 Monterey convertibles - about the same number of black Marauders made in 2004.

Which brings me to the questions that will surely occupy what no doubt will be a joyous search for a low mileage (< 30K) Black/Black Marauder:
a. 2003 or 2004? ('03 300A has better options it seems, '04 has an upgraded transmission).
b. Was black leather interior an option? That's what I will want, but all the pics I've found show charcoal grey.
c. Would it be considered sacrilige to *****-can the tranny and install a Tremec World-Class T5/T56 or something like that?

Has anyone ever done an Auto to Manual tranny conversion on a Marauder? I'd hate to ruin the console, and ruin the value of the car by hacking it up, but I'd be curious to see pics if anyone has done it.

The only mod I think I would do on a bone-stock Marauder would be to put in FRPP 4.10:1 gears. Police Interceptor 3.55:1 my a**!

[Ms. Denmark]

Welcome! Went to school in SJ and lived there for many years. Prolly would look for an '04. There are plenty of gear related threads. 4:10s are popular. I'd also get a tune and CAI. The interiors come in dark charcoal (essentially black and the most common) or light flint (more rare). Get one in any color.......you won't regret it!

[4play]

I would look at the condition of the 03 vs 04 if the 03 has less mailage than the 04 I would probably go for the 03 aslong as it's not an early 03, if it has traction control and no in dash clock the axles should be good. 04's are nice because I believe you can run regular fuel in them due to the dual Knock sensors, the 03's you must run premium. the 04's are like a tenth of a second quicker at the 1/4 mile. and in 04 your bound to find a few more options in alot of them like heated seat and a moon roof.

[justbob]

Yes, there has been a couple standard shift conversions, some very successful, atleast one not so much. Interior choices are dark charcoal or light something or other. The trans is no big deal at all between the years for the most part. Black is the fastest color.

[BAD MERC]

Welcome aboard - excellent questions. I have a 2004 which is more rare (3214 made) and due to that, you can buy collector-car insurance. A few less options but that is up to personal preference. Personally, I have never needed a spare tire so I don't care how big it is. The two interiors were dark charcoal and light flint (seats and everything from the pillars up) I wanted a sunroof so my options were EXTREMELY limited. Took me 11 months to pin down mine. If somebody makes a manual shift conversion that looks and performs OE, I would spring for that. Silver is the fastest color, I can PROVE it forensically.

[TAKEDOWN]

Welcome to the site and in my opinion you'll be hapPy with any year, good choice on color. I wanted an 04, but ended with an 03 with no regrets, Sir. Now GO THAT THAT MARAUDER!!

[gdsqdcr]

Monterey


It took me about 4 months to find me 04. I found it in San Jose! It is great and you will not regret one second with the car. Take your time and find what you are looking for. My 04 only had 24k miles on her when I bough it.

As for the manual conversion, I am looking to so the same ... Sacreligious or not ....

Anthony

[Go2GuyFL]

Follow the link to this thread http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=61423&highlight=nice+pair where we did a side-by-side dyno comparisons of an early '03 Black (in the four-hundreds) and a very late '04 Silver Birch (end of the nine hundreds) with exactly the same mods, tires, and tune by Reinhart Performance in Orange Park, FL.

[Big Black Beast]

I knew about them and saw a couple but they were too expensive or me. I saw a couple for sale in the ads, but they were too expensive (still 17, 20 k). Didn't see another one for sale for like 5 years. A week after going to look at an '85 Crown Vic 2-door that I didn't buy (beat to S**t), I saw a craigslist ad and just went "to look at it". Two blocks into the test drive, my mind was already made up.

[-Matt-]

Follow the link to this thread http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=61423&highlight=nice+pair where we did a side-by-side dyno comparisons of an early '03 Black (in the four-hundreds) and a very late '04 Silver Birch (end of the nine hundreds) with exactly the same mods, tires, and tune by Reinhart Performance in Orange Park, FL.


This proves blacks are faster

[MrBluGruv]

There are like two standard swaps that I know of by members here, and one by PHP. I'm pretty sure they all used T-56 trannies. The PHP one kept breaking, turns out this car doesn't handle hard launches with a standard for some reason. I do believe the other two are still running though. One was done by Dennis Reinhardt, the other by a gentleman with a friend who has a shop. From what I read in his thread, one of the trickiest things to deal with is the computer not seeing the transmission there (it expects that automatic) and throwing a hissy-fit about it. That, and the pedal assembly. Both the swaps I saw were actualy able to keep the stock center console, although maybe a little bit of shaving was needed to accomodate the width of the linkage travel.

Do a search on it, there are two or three threads with some REAL handy info on the subject here. Most will tell you it's stupid because it can't handle long-term abuse, but most also only see the Marauder as fast if it can post low ETs in the quarter mile and that's it.

[a_d_a_m]

Welcome to the site and as someone earlier said...either way, you'll like the car. So buy the nicest car you can and don't worry about the year.

[RoyLPita]

Welcome aboard. Enjoy the site.

[Sully008]

a. 2003 or 2004? ('03 300A has better options it seems, '04 has an upgraded transmission).
b. Was black leather interior an option? That's what I will want, but all the pics I've found show charcoal grey.
c. Would it be considered sacrilige to *****-can the tranny and install a Tremec World-Class T5/T56 or something like that?

Has anyone ever done an Auto to Manual tranny conversion on a Marauder? I'd hate to ruin the console, and ruin the value of the car by hacking it up, but I'd be curious to see pics if anyone has done it.

The only mod I think I would do on a bone-stock Marauder would be to put in FRPP 4.10:1 gears. Police Interceptor 3.55:1 my a**!

Welcome to the site!

A. Read the sticky on differences between 300a and 300b. It'll give you all the info you need to help (or hinder) your decision.:D

B. Black was not an option. Dark Charcoal (basically black) or Light Flint were your choices.

C. Forum member "master" is one person that has successfully swapped in a manual transmission. Search for his posts.

D. Well, if you put in 4.10s you'll need a tune, then you might as well add an intake, then sway bars, etc... Then eventually you'll get a supercharger and wonder, what happened??:dunno::D