Showdown: Old Black is the New Black Edition

At the risk of being obvious, we’ll go ahead and claim there’s no better color for a car than black. No other shade means serious business like black. Had one of the Stallion Starions from our last Showdown been black, it would’ve been the clear victor. We’re curious how you’ll pull the lever on today’s contestants, but with these options no one’s a loser. When it comes to names for trim levels, “Marauder” is tough to beat. It takes the otherwise vaguely upscale Mercury Monterey out of the country club and into the back alley. This example’s equipped with a 4-barrel 390 and an auto, and has been recently cleaned up. We’re not so overcome with nostalgia to think it’d be all that fast in stock form, but with a few tweaks on that 390 (like a bore/stroke out to 406 and a 3X2 intake) and a 3.73:1 posi rearend would wake it right up. It was just listed on eBay Motors and no one’s yet stepped up for the $2000 openning bid, we’re guessing it’ll go for between $7k and $10k. Man, what a difference 5 years can make in automotive styling. The ’64 Marauder was an example of early 60s rocket-age styling, while this ’69 Coronet exemplifies late-60s muscle: snub-nosed and coke-bottled. The scoops and trunk tape stripe make a strong claim, and being a Track-Pac model with a swapped-in 5 speed, this one’s likely to deliver. Would’ve been nice to know if that motor’s a 383 or 440, though. It’s at $11,000 with the reserve not met. We’re guessing it’ll go for just south of $20k. To make the comparison fair (ish), maybe think about what you could do to the Merc for the price difference? [poll id=”14″]