There appears to have been a large run of preproduction cars 50 years ago today. Over the years I have positively identified 3 other preproduction 1963 Marauders (in addition to mine). All 3 of those cars have Jan. 17 build dates. All 3 are Marauder S-55 with Super Marauder 390 engines. None of these 4 cars was built with the racing flags on the front fenders that are so connected with the 1963-5 Mercury Marauder.