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″]
Showdown: Old Black is the New Black Edition
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You had me at twin hood scoops …
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Sorry, gotta go with the Marauder. At least people will want to look at it. Those Coronets were just not pretty cars AT. ALL.
And nowadays, everyone who has a Coronet has some silly delusion that it's worth $100,000.-
I think they're both quite pretty, but the Merc is classy, even understated, while the Coronet seems to have walked into the bar and slapped its meat on the counter by comparison. Sure, neither's a bad deal, but I'd have the Marauder.
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Agreed. I like Q-ships, and the Marauder hits that mark for me. Like Fuzzy said, the Coronet slapped its meat on the counter with that thick orange stripe. I even liked the re-released Marauder.
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I got a 64 25 anniversary car I love it needs to be restored will sell 336 437 4483
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I had a '69 Coronet 440 6 pack when I was a kid and it had a fiberglass hood with one big intake scoop and 4 hood pins. Looking at the one in the picture, I'd say it's a 383 but that's just a guess.
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Well, the ad doesn't state it, but it implies it may be the original motor, which would have been a 440 for the R/T model. I can't imagine restoring the car like that and putting in a 383. You never know, though.
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Gotta go Merc. Blame Mr. Stroppe and Mr. Jones.
<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3075/3159254158_2210daf0d1.jpg" width="500" height="244" />-
mmm… I'll be in my bunk.
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You're killing me here. I want to compete in this car in the Carrera Panamericana, and have flowers thrown at me by adoring fans.
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I'll second the nomination.
<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3599/3385588749_258f5199b5_o.jpg">
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Can I have them both? I'll pick the Marauder for 3 reasons, a) that's a really cool name, b) you wont get meatheads hollering at you at stoplights "gotta hemi in that?" and c) there is a really neat powder blue one with a white top down the street.
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As a Mopar man, I can't believe I'd still have to go for the Marauder. Reminds me of the black 63 Comet wagon I used to have in the 80's, only so much better.
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That black Mercury, with its arrow-head profile (check out the front bumper cut-line) and the implied tailfin feathers is a steel-and-glass arrow in motion. True automotive art to my eye. A timeless hardtop coupe, it gets my vote.
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Dammit, Charles, you have a way with words and I couldn't agree more.
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You are very kind. My eye is artistically untrained, but certain visual analogues catch my attention. I call them as I see them, and hope I don't sound like an idiot.
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By all means, bud, call them as you see them. As far as being an idiot goes, you're in good company, although I prefer the term Idiot Savant (was in a band by that name once, we sucked).
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That bumper matches the contemporary "Rocket Bird" T-bird styling.
<img src="http://www.torinocobra.com/images/1963FordTbird2352-A.jpg">
” target=”_blank”>http://www.torinocobra.com/1950_1964.htm
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Merc. Fins for the win. I love cars that have a trunk that is almost as big as the front end. Probably why I love this:
<img>” target=”_blank”>http://www.breeders.co.nz/capri/consul%20capri/caprimon.jpg -
Wow, they're both truly impressive cars, a tough choice. The Coronet is a muscular sonofabitch, no two ways about it. Those dog dish hubcaps and hood scoops declare that it will just as soon kick your ass as look at you. However, the Marauder got my vote for its rarity and for the fact that I have a thing for early sixties Jet Age styling. Also, I think it would be great to be able to say things like, "Leave your car here, let's take the Marauder."
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Mercury only because i wouldn't be afraid to drive it on a daily basis. That grill is sweet. Plus, people would stop to ask me what kind of car it was. However awesome, I just wouldn't get as many questions about the 69 Cornet.
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I'll take the one everyone else doesn't want, thanks. With this pairing, even if you don't win, you can't lose.
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I'm going to have to go with Merc, not just because it holds more appeal for me, but because it took me a couple of seconds to suss out exactly what I was looking at. That kind of anonymity is something to be cherished. "Yes officer, I saw the perp. He was driving a, umm… it was black."
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"What was the perpetrator driving?"
"It's long…"
"Go on."
"It, it's black."
"Does it look like a bitch?"
"No."
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Has anyone mentioned that both links go to the Marauder auction?
Also, wasn't the Coronet R/Ts supposed to be double-posters? -
Marauder. Like Charles said, it's a steel-and-glass arrow. And imagine how sinister it'd look lowered on wider wheels . . . Sinister and classy. Something the Coronet will never be.
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I'm gonna buy me a Mercury and cruise it up and down the road…
It's not that I dislike the Coronet, it's just that I love the Marauder more. It's an issue of badassness. Both of the cars are badass, but the Dodge is more in-your-face badass– the stripe, especially, screams "look at how cool and tough I am!" It's a professional wrestler; badass, but only because it's trying really, really hard to be badass. The Mercury, on the other hand, is Clint Eastwood. It's badass because it was born that way, and it doesn't feel the need to advertise its badassness because it doesn't need the validation.-
+1 for the Mercury Blues ref. Well played!
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I love the lines on the Coronet, so it gets my vote. But that Marauder would make a badass sleeper!
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I'm more partial to the Coronet for looks — the Mercurys of that vintage don't do it for me, although Marauder is certainly a better name.
In stock form, a 383-4V has a lot more suds than the 390-4V. The 383 was a good match for the base engine in the GTO, and it's interesting to note that it was the engine that Chrysler engineers themselves almost universally preferred. The 390 is kind of a stone. As a station wagon engine, it works well, but its ports and valves are too restrictive, and it gets asthmatic at higher speeds. (The racing-oriented 390 tri-power and 406 are a different story, but their relationship to the basic 390 is not so close as it might appear at first glance.) It's perfectly adequate for daily driving, and it makes a nice wuffly noise, but I wouldn't try to race anybody with it.
The 440, meanwhile, is a lot tougher than a stock 390 or 428. It's worth noting that in stock form, a 440-4V would work over a Hemi up to about 70 mph. The Hemi was quicker through the quarter and had much higher trap speeds (at least, if it were tuned correctly), but it didn't have the 440's diesel-locomotive torque. -
Coronet: Street thug that can outrun you.
Marauder: Mafia hit man that may not be as fast but is infinitely more sinister. You can run but you cannot hide.
Marauder, FTW! -
It has been said before, the Marauder is by a *long* stretch the "classier" and more refined of the two…
And I wouldn't put it past that ol' Merc to hang with that coronet if you had a good driver behind it. The 390 isn't exactly a pushover, even through it's limitations as a result of it's inherent design flaws (restrictive intake, etc.).
I wouldn't underestimate that Mercury one bit.
(BTW, BrianTheHoon; I agree that the Mercury is more of the "Hit man" car… far more imposing) -
i just sold my 64. got 20 grand. miss it. 50k original miles..see on old ride.com.Platnium Beige
![http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3075/3159254158_2210daf0d1.jpg"](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3075/3159254158_2210daf0d1.jpg"){kind=link}
![http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3599/3385588749_258f5199b5_o.jpg">](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3599/3385588749_258f5199b5_o.jpg">){kind=link}
![http://www.torinocobra.com/images/1963FordTbird2352-A.jpg">](http://www.torinocobra.com/images/1963FordTbird2352-A.jpg">){kind=link}
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