Hi from St. Louis

[Swamp Eagle]

Hello MM drivers and fans.

I ust found this site less than 24 hours ago. A gearhead well into my 14 year Air Force career. Became a civilian in 2000 and immediately, my wife gives birth to twin daughters. Needless to say, 20 years got away from me since I last turned a wrench on a hotrod. That is just a little too long. 42 now and the time is right. I don't own one (yet.) but I have been in love with hopped up sedans and sleepers. Not that the Marauder is a sleeper. LOL.

I must have spent 3 hours on the site last night reading all the good stuff in the threads. I've run my fair share of websites and messageboards. The devotion of MM owners and its popularity are apparent judged on the activity of the threads vs. the fact there were only 11,000 of these things ever produced! With good reason. I don't even have one and I've been in love with it since I first laid eyes on one about 5 years ago. I never even knew they existed. Back in my younger days, 20+ years ago, I came across a car that was for sale by an American airman. It was blue, and had 5.0 badges on the fenders. It wasn't a Mustang but it was close. I was confused and curious. Who makes this? Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was a Mercury. A short conversation later, and I drove off in a 1982 Mercury Capri 5.0 with factory hood scoop and sunroof. I loved that car. A few years later, marriage and our first child caused me to sell it. Priorities! I wish I could have managed to keep her. She haunts my dreams from time to time.

I didn't intend to ramble on. I am no stranger to Mercury hotrods. I'm on the hunt for the right car and I don't mind a project. In fact, that is probably the direction I prefer. In the meantime, I'm a software engineer and run a small CNC router. If there is anything I can do for you, just yell.

Take care,
Matt

[Bluerauder]

Welcome to the MM.Net :welcome1: Now go out and find yourself a nice '03-'04 Marauder and get your hotel rooms booked for Carlisle "All Fords" 2011 and Marauderville IX (MV9).

[Mr. Man]

:welcome: There are a couple of owners out your way and they usually get together in the warmer weather so watch for a posting.

[MOTOWN]

welcome to the site bud

[SpartaPerformance]

Welcome to site!!!

[Swamp Eagle]

Welcome to the MM.Net :welcome1: Now go out and find yourself a nice '03-'04 Marauder and get your hotel rooms booked for Carlisle "All Fords" 2011 and Marauderville IX (MV9).

Hotel room? I live about 40 minutes from Carlisle. LOL. I could just drive down each day. LOL. Wait, I'll bet you aren't talking about Carlisle IL, are ya? Ha

I currently fund my hobbies with my CNC router cutting R/C parts. Well, that is all getting funneled and held for what will be the consolidation of my hobbies. Ultimately, I will be a single hobby guy. A hotrod. Ha I've been toying with the idea of milling 3D plugs and making light covers or console parts from resins, fiberglass, or CF fabric. Still kicking that one around. Need a car to practice it on! or at least a part! I've never laid up glass or CF before,p. Lots of experimentation first!

Quick question, for those that were not original owners of their MM's. Did you just save up a boatload of cash and buy it or finance it through a bank/dealership? I gotta think 03-04 is getting a tad old for a bank loan. My plan is NOT to use it for a DD. My goal is a little longer term (couple of years) and entails careful decisions.

Thanks again for the warm welcome.

Matt

[fastblackmerc]

Welcome to the site!

[BODYMAN]

This is spectacular another member in STL man back in 03 there were only 5 of us heck 2 yrs ago only 6 now we got about 12 welcome!!!!!!!!!! we have several meets each yr..

[BUCKWHEAT]

:welcome: There are a couple of owners out your way and they usually get together in the warmer weather so watch for a posting.



Ok, Matt is a good excuse, besides the snow we are now getting, to plan a get-together.

Here are some St Louis area members:

petey
kmastl
Smalldogg/03mm
BODYMAN
YO VIC
STL03 M
Hacklemerc
eric jones
Space Man Spiff
1st Merc
whd507
visionmercury
BALLZ 80
Ozark Marauder

That's 15 of us. Who did I miss?

Where shall we meet? Fenton this time?

[Swamp Eagle]

Yeah, this snow is crazy. My birthday was yesterday and it snowed good then, too. In my 42 years, I have never seen a 'white birthday' before.

Awesome, drop me a line. I guess you guys will get together for anything, if you'll use a guy with no car as an excuse. I'm game! I'm even more game if you guys have a spare MM lying around! LOL! Seriously, I know I said it might be a while but I can make things happen if something 'falls in my lap'.

For what it's worth, I'm still looking for the right Mercury Capri 5.0 too. That is one that doesn't have that hideous bubble-back hatch on it and a manual tranny. Haha!

Thanks again for the great welcome.

Take care,
Matt

[BUCKWHEAT]

Yeah, this snow is crazy. My birthday was yesterday and it snowed good then, too. In my 42 years, I have never seen a 'white birthday' before.

Awesome, drop me a line. I guess you guys will get together for anything, if you'll use a guy with no car as an excuse. I'm game! I'm even more game if you guys have a spare MM lying around! LOL! Seriously, I know I said it might be a while but I can make things happen if something 'falls in my lap'.

For what it's worth, I'm still looking for the right Mercury Capri 5.0 too. That is one that doesn't have that hideous bubble-back hatch on it and a manual tranny. Haha!

Thanks again for the great welcome.

Take care,
Matt

Bodyman may have an extra car for you. It may be one of those odd colors tho. Good luck with the Capri. Hard to find. I always thought they were cool..real fender flares, not boring mustang fender lip rolls.

[TAKEDOWN]

Welcome to your NEW addiction and haPpY huntings on you future MARAUDER! Check out the MARAUDER for sale listings, majority of members take very, very, very g00d care of their cars!

[BODYMAN]

Bodyman may have an extra car for you. It may be one of those odd colors tho. Good luck with the Capri. Hard to find. I always thought they were cool..real fender flares, not boring mustang fender lip rolls.

ODD colors??? U mean Black you know which one Iam keeping John;)

[Ms. Denmark]

Hotel room? I live about 40 minutes from Carlisle. LOL. I could just drive down each day. LOL. Wait, I'll bet you aren't talking about Carlisle IL, are ya? Ha

Thanks again for the warm welcome.

Matt Get yourself a Marauder and plan to get out to Carlisle, PA for All Ford Nationals in June where you can show it off with the rest of the gang. :welcome1: and good luck with your car hunting!

[Swamp Eagle]

Get yourself a Marauder and plan to get out to Carlisle, PA for All Ford Nationals in June where you can show it off with the rest of the gang. :welcome1: and good luck with your car hunting!

Thanks for the wish of luck. I hope it pays off. Like I said, I can make moves if something shows up close or it's too good to pass up. Again, I don't mind a project either. I started planning this project with the intent to do some work. That's part of it.

Thanks again,
Matt

[knine]

It was blue, and had 5.0 badges on the fenders. It wasn't a Mustang but it was close. I was confused and curious. Who makes this? Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was a Mercury.
I like this guy already :rolleyes:

Hey Matt, there are BLUE Marauders !!!!!!! :welcome:

[BUCKWHEAT]

ODD colors??? U mean Black you know which one Iam keeping John;)

And here I thought you had come to your senses!

[knine]

Yeah, this snow is crazy. My birthday was yesterday and it snowed good then, too. In my 42 years, I have never seen a 'white birthday' before.
Must be that global warming.

[guspech750]

Welcome to the site Matt. I hope you find a great Marauder. When I found mine. I really wasnt planning on buying one at the time. 2 years ago on a Friday night I saw Carmax had 2 Marauders. Well one of them happen to be 1/2 hour from my house. So I went to sleep and just happen to wake up early Saturday morning and tought I would check out Carmax again. Well one Marauder was sold but the one near by was still available. Quickly got dressed and quickly dragged the family to Carmax because I just wanted to check it out and drive it. As soon as I saw it on the showroom floor. I told them Id take it. Took it for a quick drive and as we got back others were waiting to drive it. But that never happened as I bought it!! So 2 years of big smiles everyday I drive it. Sun, rain, snow, and ice. I love it!!! I have done a few mods. Gears, intake and a tune. With more to come. Good luck Matt!!

Joe

[Swamp Eagle]

I like this guy already :rolleyes:

Hey Matt, there are BLUE Marauders !!!!!!! :welcome:

I know, DPB, and I love it! However, with only 11,000 ever created, I will take any color! If the opportunity for DPB presented itself, I would probably snatch it on the spot. LOL!

I'm originally from Kentucky so my love of the color blue is in my genetics. Go Cats!

So when can I get a peek of some of the 'local' cars? I work in Clayton.

Take care guys,
Matt

[BODYMAN]

I know, DPB, and I love it! However, with only 11,000 ever created, I will take any color! If the opportunity for DPB presented itself, I would probably snatch it on the spot. LOL!

I'm originally from Kentucky so my love of the color blue is in my genetics. Go Cats!

So when can I get a peek of some of the 'local' cars? I work in Clayton.

Take care guys,
Matt

Matt, we got a huge meet coming up in Lousville first part of April.. FYI

[BODYMAN]

And here I thought you had come to your senses!

I finally did John its called SB:D

[Swamp Eagle]

You guys are funny. Now I want an MM even more. Then I can be a REAL member of this crowd. Haha

Take care,
Matt

[DOOM]

Do you guys realize he in St. Louis!
I think carlise would be a bit of a stretch!
Kentucky may be more realistic.

:welcome: to the site.

[knine]

If the opportunity for DPB presented itself, I would probably snatch it on the spot. LOL!



O.K., let's test that theory http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=291620927&dealer_id=100006794&car_year=2003&lastBeginningStartYear=1981&end_year=2012&model=MARAUDER&showZipError=y&pager.offset=25&search_lang=en&start_year=2003&page_location=findacar%3A%3Ais psearchform&search_type=both&body_code=0&first_record=26&distance=0&default_sort=newsortbyprice_DE SC&address=60421&rdm=1301269571084&marketZipError=false&sort_type=priceDESC&awsp=false&make=MERC&seller_type=b&num_records=25&cardist=850&standard=false

[DOOM]

Cool find! Blue with light flint! :up:

[Hacklemerc]

Welcome to the site!! So when are we going to have a get together here in STL? I think Eric Jones is now up around Chicago tho...

[BODYMAN]

Welcome to the site!! So when are we going to have a get together here in STL? I think Eric Jones is now up around Chicago tho...

Metioned in to Buckwheat a few weeks ago then the weather turned to poop.
Iam more then ready.. How have you been Aarron? Hopefully weather turns soon so we can all meetup.

[PonyUP]

Quick question, for those that were not original owners of their MM's. Did you just save up a boatload of cash and buy it or finance it through a bank/dealership? I gotta think 03-04 is getting a tad old for a bank loan. My plan is NOT to use it for a DD. My goal is a little longer term (couple of years) and entails careful decisions.

Thanks again for the warm welcome.

Matt

Welcome to the site. I was a mustang owner, well still am, but it only took a year for me to get my Marauder. Here is how I got mine. Now this will only work if you have good job security for the next few years, and it isn't for everybody, but it worked for me. You're right, most banks won't approve an auto loan for a car over five years old. I took a 401k loan at 4% interest, of course you're paying the interest back to yourself so it's a win/win, and since I mostly invest outside of my 401k, it was no swear of my back. Here is the rough part though, if you leave your job, or run the risk of possibly being laid off or furloughed, then this is not the right avenue for you. I don't have those risks so it worked well for me, and after a year nearly, I paid off the loan anyway.

This will not work for everyone, just wanted to share my success story.

[guspech750]

Just last week I saw two Marauders on Carmax web site. So there are MM's on dealers lots if you need to finance one. Ponyups idea is good too.

Sent from my iPhone
Go White Sox!!!

[visionmercury]

hey welcome to the site man, enjoy . hope to see u around the stl

[BUCKWHEAT]

I know, DPB, and I love it! However, with only 11,000 ever created, I will take any color! If the opportunity for DPB presented itself, I would probably snatch it on the spot. LOL!

I'm originally from Kentucky so my love of the color blue is in my genetics. Go Cats!

So when can I get a peek of some of the 'local' cars? I work in Clayton.

Take care guys,
Matt


How about noon at 101 So Hanley in Clayton tomorrow. Give me a call at 314-746-4009.
.john

[Swamp Eagle]

O.K., let's test that theory http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=291620927&dealer_id=100006794&car_year=2003&lastBeginningStartYear=1981&end_year=2012&model=MARAUDER&showZipError=y&pager.offset=25&search_lang=en&start_year=2003&page_location=findacar%3A%3Ais psearchform&search_type=both&body_code=0&first_record=26&distance=0&default_sort=newsortbyprice_DE SC&address=60421&rdm=1301269571084&marketZipError=false&sort_type=priceDESC&awsp=false&make=MERC&seller_type=b&num_records=25&cardist=850&standard=false

Oh Knine, you suck!

Anybody live down that way that could take a look at it for me? Oh wow!

That price is right in my wheel house too. Ugh!

Nice find!

Matt

[Swamp Eagle]

How about noon at 101 So Hanley in Clayton tomorrow. Give me a call at 314-746-4009.
.john

John,

Thanks but I carpool. I have no way of getting to you today. Ugh! Snow tomorrow. I work near Clayton Rd. and Brentwood Blvd. I have no probablem getting over this way on a weekend either.

Knine,

I shot a mail to that dealership on the blue one! I'll keep you posted.

Take care,
Matt

[BUCKWHEAT]

Matt, whenever the weather is good & you are free, I can drive the car to you at clayton & brentwood, all of 5 minutes. On weekends I'm usually at home in affordable St Charles. PMed my phone contacts to you.

[Smalldogg/03mm]

Welcome; MAtt I'm also from " Show Me" state.. I b glad when some of our, hold on let me say this right, " older, I'm mean slightly older guys post up us a meet here!!!!!! I talk to bodyman a week ago about some other things and he said he will post something... The weather is about to change.. LETS HAVE SOME FUN....!!!!!!!

[knine]

Oh Knine, you suck!



Knine,
I shot a mail to that dealership on the blue one! I'll keep you posted.

Take care,
Matt
Buwahahahahahahahahahahahaha

[knine]

Well??????????????

[1stMerc]

Welcome aboard Matt. Hope you can get the Blue. We need one in our merry band of MM's.

[wickedmerc]

O.K., let's test that theory http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=291620927&dealer_id=100006794&car_year=2003&lastBeginningStartYear=1981&end_year=2012&model=MARAUDER&showZipError=y&pager.offset=25&search_lang=en&start_year=2003&page_location=findacar%3A%3Ais psearchform&search_type=both&body_code=0&first_record=26&distance=0&default_sort=newsortbyprice_DE SC&address=60421&rdm=1301269571084&marketZipError=false&sort_type=priceDESC&awsp=false&make=MERC&seller_type=b&num_records=25&cardist=850&standard=false

I just saw that same car on cars.com listed for $12,480. Don't prices usually fall if they don't sell fast enough?? :dunno:

Found another 1. Matt, if you're interested, I could go put eyes on it for ya (not too far from me). I'm no mechanic but I could get a closer look than those 7ft pics. Let me know. -Doug
http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?tracktype=usedcc&csDlId=&csDgId=&listingId=63331265&listingRecNum=22&criteria=sf1Dir%3DDESC%26mkId% 3D20074%26stkTyp%3DU%26mdId%3D 21449%26rd%3D100000%26crSrtFld s%3DstkTypId-feedSegId-mkId-mdId%26zc%3D07747%26rn%3D0%26P Mmt%3D1-1-0%26stkTypId%3D28881%26sf2Dir% 3DASC%26sf1Nm%3Dprice%26sf2Nm% 3Dmiles%26rpp%3D50%26feedSegId %3D28705&aff=national