Want to know more about the Mercury "S" cars?

[kirk]

Mercury started the "S" car models in 1961 with the Comet S-22. The S-22 featured bucket seats, a console, and the S-22 badges. No performance upgrades. They built over 14,000 of them, but you see very few today.

In 1962 they expanded the line.
The Comet S-22 was still available and still used the same wheel covers as the standard Comet.
A Meteor S-33 (mid size) had the same bucket seat and console theme, but added special wheel covers.
There was also a new Monterey S-55 in both hardtop and convertible. Again, buckets, console, and the same wheel covers as the S-33. I don't recall for sure, but I think the S-55 came with a bigger engine than the standard Monterey.

All of these models carried over to 1963 and they added a Comet S-22 convertible and fastback, Monterey S-55 4-door, and the Marauder S-55. The S-22 now came with special wheel covers, similar to the S-33/S-55. The S-55 came standard with the 390 4v and automatic in place of the 390 2V 3-speed in the Monterey and Marauder. This was the end for a few years.

In 1966 Mercury introduced the S-55 again. This time the S-55 name stood alone. It came in both fastback and convertible and was meant to be a performance car with a standard 428. It also had standard bucket seats as all "S" cars did.

1967 was a repeat of 1966 but with a lot fewer cars. Just 145 S-55 convertibles were built.

The only other use of of this was the 2003 Marauder S55 concept. Again it used special treatments, a supercharged engine, and the S55 badges (as if most of you don't know).

[Bigdogjim]

Always good to have someone point the way in the darkness!

Thanks Kirk:up:

[ncmm]

thanks for sharing!

[kirk]

Glad you enjoyed. Too bad I don't have any useful information rolling around in my head. Just all of this old news. :)

[whitey]

You are a s-car Wikipedia. Thanks!

[Mr. Man]

Good info Kirk.

So there was only one engine more powerful than the S-55 428 and that was the Super 427?

[kirk]

Good info Kirk.

So there was only one engine more powerful than the S-55 428 and that was the Super 427?

Well, that's a loaded question because there are no qualifiers. So let's have some fun with it and focus on Marauders only. I'm going to list the top ten engines, in terms of HP, in two different groups. I'm going to leave out any concepts and focus only on production engines.

These are the top ten engines that carried the Marauder name. They were not necessarily in Marauder cars.
425 HP - Super Marauder 427 (1963-5)
410 HP - Marauder 427 (1963-4)
405 HP - Super Marauder 406 (1962-3)
400 HP - Super Marauder (430) (1958)
385 HP - Marauder 406 (1962-3)
360 HP - Marauder 430 (1958)
345 HP - Marauder 430 (1959) (480 lb/ft)
345 HP - Super Marauder 428 (1966-7) (462 lb/ft)
340 HP - Super Marauder 428 (1968)
330 HP - Marauder 410 (1966-7) (444 lb/ft)

Now for the top ten engines that came in (standard or optional) Marauder cars.
425 HP - Super Marauder 427 (1963-5)
410 HP - Marauder 427 (1963-4)
405 HP - Super Marauder 406 (1962-3)
385 HP - Marauder 406 (1962-3)
360 HP - 429 4V (1969-70)
302 HP - 4.6 (2003-4) (I put this here because of the difference in gross/net HP)
330 HP - Interceptor Marauder 390 (1963-5)
300 HP - Super Marauder 390 (1963-5)
280 HP - 390 2V (1969-70)
266 HP - Marauder 390 (1964-5)

Does this answer your question?

[Mr. Man]

Thanks Kirk. It's like keeping track of the Chevy 327 iderations. Hope all this info is Stickied somewhere.

[kirk]

Hope all this info is Stickied somewhere.

I think all of this information is contained in the Marauder history sticky. It just isn't laid out in this convenient format.

[SC Cheesehead]

Good stuff, kirk! Thanks for sharing! :up:

[kirk]

Since this started out as an "S" car thread, how bout one more engine list.
The eniges you could get in an S-55.

425 HP - Super Marauder 427 (1963)
410 HP - Marauder 427 (1963)
405 HP - Super Marauder 406 (1962-3)
345 HP - Super Marauder (2003) (had to throw the concept in on this one, it might deserve a higher ranking)
385 HP - Marauder 406 (1962-3)
345 HP - Super Marauder 428 (1966-7)
330 HP - Interceptor 390 (1962)
300 HP - Super Marauder 390 (1962-3) (Monterey 390 in 1962)
250 HP - Marauder 390 (1963)
220 HP - 352 2V (1962)
170 HP - 292 2V (1962)

[jerrym3]

Mercury started the "S" car models in 1961 with the Comet S-22. The S-22 featured bucket seats, a console, and the S-22 badges. No performance upgrades. They built over 14,000 of them, but you see very few today.

In 1962 they expanded the line.
The Comet S-22 was still available and still used the same wheel covers as the standard Comet.
A Meteor S-33 (mid size) had the same bucket seat and console theme, but added special wheel covers.
There was also a new Monterey S-55 in both hardtop and convertible. Again, buckets, console, and the same wheel covers as the S-33. I don't recall for sure, but I think the S-55 came with a bigger engine than the standard Monterey.

All of these models carried over to 1963 and they added a Comet S-22 convertible and fastback, Monterey S-55 4-door, and the Marauder S-55. The S-22 now came with special wheel covers, similar to the S-33/S-55. The S-55 came standard with the 390 4v and automatic in place of the 390 2V 3-speed in the Monterey and Marauder. This was the end for a few years.

In 1966 Mercury introduced the S-55 again. This time the S-55 name stood alone. It came in both fastback and convertible and was meant to be a performance car with a standard 428. It also had standard bucket seats as all "S" cars did.

1967 was a repeat of 1966 but with a lot fewer cars. Just 145 S-55 convertibles were built.

The only other use of of this was the 2003 Marauder S55 concept. Again it used special treatments, a supercharged engine, and the S55 badges (as if most of you don't know).

Kirk once again, my Ford book says that the first S55's had the standard engine, 390/2v, and the S55 Marauder had the 390/4v.

Otherwise, as I've asked before, what is the difference between an S55 and an S55 Marauder?

S55 was originaly Mercury's answer to the Ford 500XL. Appearance, not performance.

The Marauder model upped the ante.

Again, we agree to disagree.

[kirk]

Kirk once again, my Ford book says that the first S55's had the standard engine, 390/2v, and the S55 Marauder had the 390/4v.

Otherwise, as I've asked before, what is the difference between an S55 and an S55 Marauder?

S55 was originaly Mercury's answer to the Ford 500XL. Appearance, not performance.

The Marauder model upped the ante.

Again, we agree to disagree.

I have lots of books with inaccurate information in them. You have to be careful what you read. Can you be more specific about which Ford book it is? Every reference book I have (several) indicates the 390 2V was not available in a Mercury in 1962, just the 4V.

As I said above, all S-55s (that includes Monterey and Marauder) have bucket seats, console with shifter, etc. The main difference between the Marauder S-55 and the S-55 is the year, 1963 and 1966-7 respectively. The Marauder S-55 came standard with a 300 HP 390, and was available with two different 406 or 427 engines. The S-55 came with a 345 HP 428 and had no option.

[UncleLar]

Wow,look at that S Car go :lol:
Okay,who else knows who made a 383 V8 before Mopar's 383 ?

[jerrym3]

I have lots of books with inaccurate information in them. You have to be careful what you read. Can you be more specific about which Ford book it is? Every reference book I have (several) indicates the 390 2V was not available in a Mercury in 1962, just the 4V.

As I said above, all S-55s (that includes Monterey and Marauder) have bucket seats, console with shifter, etc. The main difference between the Marauder S-55 and the S-55 is the year, 1963 and 1966-7 respectively. The Marauder S-55 came standard with a 300 HP 390, and was available with two different 406 or 427 engines. The S-55 came with a 345 HP 428 and had no option.

"The Complete History of Ford Motor Company" by the editors of Consumer Guides. Copyright 1987. 400 pages of Ford history from 1896 to 1987. Great book.

The book's actual hard cover is even Ford blue

Big Ford logo on the "cover's cover". (I don't know what else to call the cover that slips over the original hard cover.)

I hadn't looked back at 1962, but, going back, my book states the following 1962 info:

"The base Montereys and Commuter wagons carried the 223 six. Customs, including S-55s and Colony Park wagons, came with the 170 hp base 292. All could be ordered with the 220 hp 352, 330 hp 390, and, at mid year, the 406."

The 352/220 hp engine was a 2v engine. In 1964, Ford dropped the 352/2v and added a 352 4v/250 hp (regular gas).

And:

"Like the XLs, the S-55s followed contemporary trends with a big center console "mit" shift lever for the standard automatic, thick carpets, vinyl trim, and an optional tachometer".

No mention of a bigger standard S-55 motor except for the dropping of the 223 six in favor of the base 292.

Looks like Merc dropped the 292 and 352 engine in 63 and the 390/2v became the base motor.

Let's boil this all down.

IMHO, the S-55 was basically an appearance package including the base Merc V8 engine. (Same with the Ford 500XL.)

The Marauder S-55 added the 390/4v over the non Marauder S-55 in 1963.

[jerrym3]

I have lots of books with inaccurate information in them. You have to be careful what you read. Can you be more specific about which Ford book it is? Every reference book I have (several) indicates the 390 2V was not available in a Mercury in 1962, just the 4V.

As I said above, all S-55s (that includes Monterey and Marauder) have bucket seats, console with shifter, etc. The main difference between the Marauder S-55 and the S-55 is the year, 1963 and 1966-7 respectively. The Marauder S-55 came standard with a 300 HP 390, and was available with two different 406 or 427 engines. The S-55 came with a 345 HP 428 and had no option.

"The Complete History of Ford Motor Company" by the editors of Consumer Guides. Copyright 1987. 400 pages of Ford history from 1896 to 1987. Great book.

The book's actual hard cover is even Ford blue

Big Ford logo on the "cover's cover". (I don't know what else to call the cover that slips over the original hard cover.)

I hadn't looked back at 1962, but, going back, my book states the following 1962 info:

"The base Montereys and Commuter wagons carried the 223 six. Customs, including S-55s and Colony Park wagons, came with the 170 hp base 292. All could be ordered with the 220 hp 352, 330 hp 390, and, at mid year, the 406."

The 352/220 hp engine was a 2v engine. In 1964, Ford dropped the 352/2v and added a 352 4v/250 hp (regular gas).

And:

"Like the XLs, the S-55s followed contemporary trends with a big center console "mit" shift lever for the standard automatic, thick carpets, vinyl trim, and an optional tachometer".

No mention of a bigger standard S-55 motor except for the dropping of the 223 six in favor of the base 292.

Looks like Merc dropped the 292 and 352 engine in 63 and the 390/2v became the base motor.

Let's boil this all down.

IMHO, the S-55 was initially an appearance/trim package. The only performance enhancement was the inclusion of the base V8 at that time. (Same with the Galaxie 500XL.) The 1963 S-55 Marauder included the larger 390/4v motor.

[kirk]

"The Complete History of Ford Motor Company" by the editors of Consumer Guides. Copyright 1987. 400 pages of Ford history from 1896 to 1987. Great book.

The book's actual hard cover is even Ford blue

Big Ford logo on the "cover's cover". (I don't know what else to call the cover that slips over the original hard cover.)

I hadn't looked back at 1962, but, going back, my book states the following 1962 info:

"The base Montereys and Commuter wagons carried the 223 six. Customs, including S-55s and Colony Park wagons, came with the 170 hp base 292. All could be ordered with the 220 hp 352, 330 hp 390, and, at mid year, the 406."

The 352/220 hp engine was a 2v engine. In 1964, Ford dropped the 352/2v and added a 352 4v/250 hp (regular gas).

And:

"Like the XLs, the S-55s followed contemporary trends with a big center console "mit" shift lever for the standard automatic, thick carpets, vinyl trim, and an optional tachometer".

No mention of a bigger standard S-55 motor except for the dropping of the 223 six in favor of the base 292.

Looks like Merc dropped the 292 and 352 engine in 63 and the 390/2v became the base motor.

Let's boil this all down.

IMHO, the S-55 was initially an appearance/trim package. The only performance enhancement was the inclusion of the base V8 at that time. (Same with the Galaxie 500XL.) The 1963 S-55 Marauder included the larger 390/4v motor.

I see no errors in the book. I also see nothing to disagree with what I said. You are correct about the '63 390 2V base engine.
We agree that the "S" car line started out as an appearence package with no performance upgrade. I stated that in my post.

The only place we might disagree is with the S-55 performance upgrade. I do think an upgrade from 6 to V8 is a performance upgrade, though not a very good one at 170 HP. I'm sure Ford would agree and probably advertised it that way. But it also evolved with the '63 getting the the 390 4V at 300 HP (76% increase), then the '66-7 getting a standard 428. That was certainly up on the performance scale.
But if this is the only point we disagree on then that's pretty minor compaired to the things we do agree on.

The fact that the 1963 Monterey S-55 and Marauder S-55 came with the 4V instead of the 2V 390 is one of many details left out. They can't cover everything.

[TFB]

Well since I like to disagree, I'll say the 330Hp solid cam 390 PI engine will out run the '66-'67 330Hp 410... Starting '66 Ford decreased the intake runner size on the bread and butter heads, whereas the '65-earlier has a larger intake port version similar to the LR 406/427 head... Plus the PI 390 would turn another 700-800 RPMs more than the 410 lump(yes I've owned a 410 and stock it was surely a lump compared to the solid cam 390)...

[kirk]

Well since I like to disagree, I'll say the 330Hp solid cam 390 PI engine will out run the '66-'67 330Hp 410... Starting '66 Ford decreased the intake runner size on the bread and butter heads, whereas the '65-earlier has a larger intake port version similar to the LR 406/427 head... Plus the PI 390 would turn another 700-800 RPMs more than the 410 lump(yes I've owned a 410 and stock it was surely a lump compared to the solid cam 390)...

You may be right. I was just going by the numbers.

Now whatcha gona do? :)

[TFB]

You may be right. I was just going by the numbers.

Now whatcha gona do? :)

Nuttin' was jus sayin'...

Props on the 'S' article, very good info... :beer:


Before I met her, my wife had a '62 S-22 Comet as her first car, unfortunately it had the screamin' 170 and Fords two speed automatic imitation of Chevys Powerglide...

[SC Cheesehead]

Nuttin' was jus sayin'...

Props on the 'S' article, very good info... :beer:


Before I met her, my wife had a '62 S-22 Comet as her first car, unfortunately it had the screamin' 170 and Fords two speed automatic imitation of Chevys Powerglide...

The "venerable" Ford-o-Matic... had one, no fond memories of it. ;)

[jerrym3]

I see no errors in the book. I also see nothing to disagree with what I said. You are correct about the '63 390 2V base engine.
We agree that the "S" car line started out as an appearence package with no performance upgrade. I stated that in my post.

The only place we might disagree is with the S-55 performance upgrade. I do think an upgrade from 6 to V8 is a performance upgrade, though not a very good one at 170 HP. I'm sure Ford would agree and probably advertised it that way. But it also evolved with the '63 getting the the 390 4V at 300 HP (76% increase), then the '66-7 getting a standard 428. That was certainly up on the performance scale.
But if this is the only point we disagree on then that's pretty minor compaired to the things we do agree on.

The fact that the 1963 Monterey S-55 and Marauder S-55 came with the 4V instead of the 2V 390 is one of many details left out. They can't cover everything.

The 390/2v vs 390/4v issue was not left out.

They very clearly stated that the Marauder S-55 had the 4v and the S-55 had the base 390/2v engine.

This all comes from the original post that says the S-55 was a performance model.

If you consider a car including the base V8, instead of all other available hi/po motors, a performance model, then you are correct.

But, that's like saying a 1964 Ford Galaxie 500XL with a 289/2V is a performance model; IMHO, no way.

My Galaxie has a 390/300 4V. Considering what was available in 1964, I don't consider my car a performance model. I consider it an "engine upgrade".