Mercury Monterey (6th gen) 1965-1968

[Revo]

Mercury Monterey #1

[Ferrer]

Mercury Monterey #2

[Man of Steel]

The Mercury Monterey is a series of full-size cars that were manufactured and marketed by the Mercury division of Ford from 1952 to 1974. Deriving its name from Monterey Bay, the Mercury Monterey served as the upscale version of the Mercury Custom which replaced the Mercury Eight, the debut model line of the Mercury division. During its production, the Monterey would be offered in multiple body styles, ranging from coupes, convertibles, sedans, hardtops, and station wagons.

Over its 22 years of production, the Monterey served as the flagship, mid-range, and entry-level offering of the full-size Mercury product range. The only Mercury nameplate to be in continuous production throughout the 1960s, the Monterey was positioned above the Medalist, Custom, and Meteor; later, it was positioned below the Turnpike Cruiser, Montclair, Park Lane, and finally the Marquis.

Following the 1974 model year, Mercury discontinued the Monterey, consolidating its full-size range down to the Marquis and Colony Park station wagon. For 2004, the Monterey nameplate was revived, becoming the counterpart of the Ford Freestar minivan; it was produced through the 2007 model year.

Sixth generation (1965-1968)
For the 1965 year, Mercury redesigned its full-size line, with the Monterey again serving its base-trim sedan. Growing in size to a 123-inch wheelbase (4 inches longer than Ford), the Monterey adopted an all-new chassis and redesigned rear suspension, abandoning leaf springs for a coil-sprung live rear-axle.

While again derived directly from the Ford Galaxie, the exterior of Mercury sedans adopted multiple design elements from the popular Lincoln Continental, branding the entire Mercury model line designed "in the Lincoln Continental tradition". In place of the vertically stacked headlights of Ford, the Monterey adopted four horizontal headlamps; the grille was styled similar to the Continental, adopting straight-lined front fenders. The rear fascia was also styled similar to the Continental (adding two taillamp lenses to the bumper); all vestiges of the tailfins were removed. The Monterey was now offered in six body styles, offering two-door and four-door sedans, a four-door sedan with a "Breezeway" rear window, two-door and four-door hardtops, and a two-door convertible. The Breezeway roof was now limited to 4-door sedans; as an alternative, hardtops were fitted with passive "flow-through" ventilation. In 1965 the Mercury Commuter station wagon returned to the Monterey line as a lower priced alternative to the Colony Park station wagon that was now part of the Park Lane model line.

The powertrain was carried over from 1964; a 250 hp 390 V8 was standard, with optional 300 hp "Super" and 330 hp "Interceptor" versions. A 425 hp 427 V8 was also offered as an option.

For 1966, the Monterey underwent some minor styling revisions. The taillights were redesigned (removing the lower lenses from the bumper), adding chrome trim bands; the side front fender vents were redesigned. Two-door hardtops received a new roofline with thinner C-pillars. The engine lineup underwent multiple changes, as the 390 was increased to 265 hp (275 with automatic); the Super and Interceptor versions were dropped, replaced by a 330 hp 410 cubic-inch V8 (exclusive to Mercury).[50] The 427 V8 (largely a racing engine) was dropped, with Mercury introducing a 345 hp 428 cubic-inch V8 as its most powerful engine option.

For 1967, the roofline of four-door sedans underwent a minor revision, adopting a more formal C-pillar profile; the reverse-slant Breezeway roof was discontinued (an optional retractable rear window remained available, using the standard roofline). For a third time, the taillamps were redesigned, spanning from the top of the fender to the bottom of the bumper. Largely overshadowed by the smaller Cougar, the S-55 became an option package for full-size Mercury two-doors.

For 1968, the front fascia underwent a minor restyle, again modeled after the Lincoln Continental; along with larger parking lamp lenses, the front fender vents were deleted. The 410 V8 was dropped, with a 280 hp version of the 390 introduced; the 428 was detuned to 340 hp.

Source: Wikipedia