Mercury Park Lane Marauder 1964

by

Model number: LDC92568GR

Review of the model:

We all have our favorites regarding the époques of cars. Mine are sports cars mainly European from the 1950-60´s and when we talk of American Motor history, my focus lay in the “Wider, lower, bigger fins” etc. from the 1950-60´s (1959 is the best of the best) and don’t get me wrong I do like the “Muscle cars” from the late 1960 and early 1970. But my favorite big engine cars lay about 1960-1965. And here comes the featured model car: Mercury Park Lane Marauder 1964 from Road Signature.

The Marauder 64 still has the big body that the earlier pre-muscle cars had from the years before. This is a “Man’s car” Big, brutal and fast, but still fine enough, to take the Wife in the theater or to a Saturday dinner party. It’s a sleek low body design with one of the finest roof lines on this fastback. Take a look inside the cabin and you will discover a richly, sporty interior with lots of glamour, in form of black leather and wood inlay, which invite to a night ride! - Sure the 1964 Mercury Park Lane Marauder is a classy car.

I think it’s more than a few years ago Road Signature released this model in scale 1:18 and my experience here in Europe is now, that this model becomes rarer and rarer in the shops. I was lucky to find my model secondhand, still in the box!

The models from this manufacture have a great variety of American Classic cars, but some have low detailing and are in need of re-releases. But on the other hand, Road Signature gives a lot of “bang for the bucks” – after all; they are some of the best 1:18 model cars in the low budget segment!

This very model is one of the better, and has no major flaws in the casting. All of the bigger metal parts fit nice together and the chrome panels are well assembled on the model. If we start inside in the cabin, you find well made, front bucket seats and bench seat in the rear. The inner linings have well made “wood” inlays with fine chrome parts. The instrument panel is acceptable and the steering wheel is realistic to scale (often a problem on budget models). Models from Road Signature often only come in convertibles and that is partly okay with me, but I’m a hardtop fan, and I like the roof on a car! When we look inside the car, the first things we see that are missing, is the roof lining and carpet on the floor. But again, when we compare the level of details, to the price of the model it is a fair deal.

When we go around the car and look on the exterior, the first thing that strikes you, are the well made paint job! I use a special watch/jewel cloth and swaps to polish the chrome parts. The painted areas and the windows are dry polished with a cloth made for cleaning glasses. After a good hour of “caretaking” the model shines like it was ready to attend a real car show! – A process I will recommend to all model cars in our collections, in minimum pr. 6 month. The crème hardtop is matt colored and the chrome trim around the roof stand out like on higher priced models – well done Road Signature!

The trunk lid can’t be opened. It’s a shame, because it gives the opportunity to show the spare tire and jack etc. The rear bumper is well integrated in the rear end of the model, and the six small rear lights is real red plastic. Only the two inner lamps were missing the white reverse lights (they are now added  by white paint). One of the most striking features is the hub caps on this model. They are cast superb and give the car an impression of speed, even when your hold for red light!

Small emblems like the Park Lane on the rear fenders, as well as the checker flag and Marauder name on the front fenders, is tampon stamped in fine details. The Marauder 64 has a big hood ornament in chrome and gives the car a touch of class, even this little feature is not missed from Road Signature.

So are there not any things to improve on this model? – would one ask….
Road Signature models, as said earlier; comes in different levels of refinements. Earlier releases are often not well made in their interior and the paint work on seats,  instrument panel and steering wheel can be like toy cars. But later releases are fine made compare to the price range.
This very model of the Mercury Park Lane Marauder 1964, only need a little touch up!

Most model cars from this manufacturer need a redone in the motor room. I added distributor cables running down to the sparkplugs.
And when we have the model unassembled I fixed the inner linings of the roof (white paint) as well.

Often when you open the doors on budget level model, the backside of the door have the same color as the interior trim panel (due to the plastic part) In this case black, but if we paint the door part in silver, it looks realistic like the real car.

I gave the front grill a makeover with black paint in the holes of the grill. Parking lights on the front bumper was painted white. The hub caps on the real car have black shadows in between the “turbine blades” – it was easy to do on this model. And lastly the inner center parts, on the hub caps, were painted red as on the real car. The fine hood ornament on the model is well made in chrome, but missed the red background of the casted logo head, with three stars underneath. Here also an easy job with a help of a small brush and a swap. The rear end of the car is fine, only the exhausts was drilled out and painted with Molotov Liquid chrome pen.

The company of Road Signature, has produced a well made model car and I am glad it’s a hardtop. My small “improvements” to this model is a matter of taste, but I feel the model is more realistic presented now and it stands in my collection among my favorites – I can highly recommend this model to others, if you still can find one in a store near you.
 

I will give this model 3 out of 6 stars  ******

Below here are pictures of the model, historical description, old brochures, technical data and some movie clip for the real car. So please enjoy!

History:

1964 MERCURY Park Lane Marauder.

In 1963 Ford had just released its new NASCAR engine, the 427 and made it available for installation in the Galaxie and the corresponding high performance full size Mercury. The Galaxie and Marauder are easily spotted by their fastback window. On the Mercury it really stands out when contrasted to the reverse slant breezeway back window seen on the regular full-size Mercurys. The Marauder returned for 1964, but was now available as an option on all the Mercury full size body styles. The hottest version of the 390 was reserved for top of the line Park Lane.

The fastback window is the easiest way to identify a Marauder regardless of the platform it appears on. The Marauder name was applied to both two door and four door versions of the Monterey, Montclair, and the highest trim level Park Lane. The top Mercury made in 1964 was the Park Lane which was intended to fill the gap separating regular Mercury and Lincoln. This provided a smooth cost incline from bottom Ford to top price Lincoln.

Hence, the ultimate Marauder package for 1964 would be a two door Park Lane. The hottest engine was the 427 dual quad 425 HP engine. The two and four door Marauder 390s comprise the majority of the cars produced. The solid lifter 427 was ordered in very small numbers by hard core racers. According to the Mecum site, a 427 dual quad Park Lane Marauder they had for sale in 2009 was one of only 42 dual quad 427s made that year. Nine of them were installed in 2 door Park Lane Marauders. Three are still known to exist.

The Marauder in two door body style was fairly racy looking for such a big car. It had a chrome checkered flag on the front fenders and the fastback window. The interior used real gauges for speed, temp, fuel, alternator and oil pressure. Below is a picture from the Mercury brochure showing the dash board finished in the same red trim as our feature car. The center of the 1964 steering wheel has the Mercury 25th anniversary spelled out in Roman numerals. Mercury came up with a gimmick tie in by providing a first year Mercury car to allow testers to evaluate it alongside the current 25th anniversary car. MOTOR TREND admitted that the new 1964 car was better in every way despite fond memories of that earlier car.

The ultimate Marauder: It is the top line Park Lane and a two door, with a 427cu.inch. 425 HP. However, the Park Lane gave you the 300 HP version of the 390 engine standard, while the lesser Monterey and Montclair Marauder packages gave you the 250 HP version of the 390 standard. According to the Mercury Marauder Club website, 2,721 two door Park Lane Marauders were manufactured in 1964, it was not a high volume car.

The 1964 GTO sold 32,450 units after it exploded onto the scene in fall of 1963. Instead of a big engine in a full size car, the GTO big engine in a lighter intermediate created the first super car, later called 'muscle cars'. The GTO didn't join the top engines to the most expensive body-style. Pontiac performance was now affordable to many more people in the medium priced Tempest body-style. The full size performers like the Impala SS, Grand Prix, Galaxie, Fury and Marauder lost sales to the GTO and its copycats that sprung up as the mid sixties unfolded.

After 1965 the Marauder name was dropped, but the same basic car returned in 1966 named S-55 and packing a 428 engine. The S-55 had been around since 1962, but was phased out for the 1964 and 1965 model years when the Marauder name was the preferred performance moniker.

MOTOR TREND tested a four door 1964 Mercury Montclair Marauder in their Oct 1963 issue. This car came with the 2 barrel 390 and single exhaust. The test car wasn't the base 250 HP model, but the 266 HP version which came standard with an automatic transmission. Weighing in at 4,390 pounds curb, the car was a full 4,800 pounds laden with testers and equipment. The Marauder managed 0-60 in 12.8 seconds, 17.6 at 71.5 MPH in the quarter and a top end of 107 MPH. Compare that to the GTO and you can see why the sales of the Marauder were modest.

The 1964 Park Lane standard engine packed way more punch. It used a 390 four barrel with dual exhaust rated at 300 HP. A non Marauder Park Lane four door CAR LIFE test run in June 1964 produced better times than the MOTOR TREND car. Both test cars had the 8x14 tires, 3.00:1 axle and three speed automatics. At 4,360 pounds curb weight the Park Lane was 30 pounds lighter than the MOTOR TREND car and wound up hauling 4,660 pounds for the test, which is 140 lighter than the MT test weight. The CAR LIFE test netted 0-60 in 9.3 and the quarter in 16.9 at 83 MPH. The extra horsepower bumped top speed up 9 more MPH to 116 MPH.

Ironically this test occurred in the CAR LIFE issue that features a GTO on the cover. The test GTO stormed to 60 in 6.6 seconds cut a quarter in 14.8 at 99 and topped out at 135 MPH. The test weight was 3,800, it had a four speed, 3.23 axle and 48 more rated horsepower out of an engine sporting one less cubic inch. That tells the story of why sixties intermediate sized muscle cars overshadowed the full size performance cars. The 390 Marauders were quick cars, but the GTO was crazy fast for the times.

Even the GTO would have to watch out for the ultimate Marauder: the 427 with two four barrel carburetors. This engine generates 425 HP. The 1963 1/2 S-55 Marauder 427 4 speed as tested by Tom McCahill in MECHANIX ILLUSTRATED May 1963 was good for at least 150 MPH top speed even with a 4.11 rear axle instead of the 3.00 found on the 390 Marauders. The axle ratio is marginally affected by the 15 inch wheels on this test car, but it's still incredible how fast this car could go with such a steep axle. 0 to 60 came up in 7.1 seconds in spite of major tire spin caused by the open rear end.

                                                                                                                                                    Technical specification:

Model years:   1964–1968

Assembly 

Hazelwood, Missouri (St. Louis Assembly Plant) Pico Rivera, California (Los AngelesAssembly), Hapeville, Georgia (Atlanta Assembly).

Body and chassis

Body style:      2-door Hardtop, 2-door convertible, 4-door Hardtop

Layout:           FR layout

Powertrain

Engine:            410 cu in (6.7 l) V8, 428 cu in (7.0 l) V8

Dimensions

Wheelbase:      120.0–123.0 in (3,048–3,124 mm)

Length:            215.0–218.5 in (5,461–5,550 mm)

Width:             81.1 in (2,060 mm)

Curb weight:    4,171–4,211 lb (1,892–1,910 kg)

 

1964 Mercury Park Lane 2-Door Marauder Hardtop Super 427 V-8 4-speed

• Mercury Park Lane 2-Door Marauder Hardtop Marauder Super 427 V-8 4-speed, model year 1964, version for North America U.S. (up to October)

• 2-door coupe body type

• RWD (rear- wheel drive), manual 4-speed gearbox

• petrol (gasoline) engine with displacement: 6384 cm3 / 389.6 cui, advertised power: 317 kW / 425 hp / 431 PS ( SAE gross ), torque: 651 Nm / 480 lb-ft

• characteristic dimensions: outside length: 5461 mm / 215 in, width: 2032 mm / 80 in, wheelbase: 3048 mm / 120 in

• reference weights: estimated curb weight: 1920 kg / 4230 lbs

• how fast is this car ? top speed: 220 km/h (137 mph) (theoretical);

• accelerations: 0- 60 mph 6.2 s; 0- 100 km/h 6.5 s; 1/4 mile drag time (402 m) 14.9 s

• fuel consumption and mileage: average estimated by a-c: 23.3 l/100km / 12.1 mpg (imp.) / 10.1 mpg (U.S.) / 4.3 km/l

Dimensions & capacities

Length: 5461 mm / 215 in
Width: 2032 mm / 80 in
Width with mirrors:
Width folded back mirrors:
Height: 1415 mm / 55.7 in

Wheelbase: 3048 mm / 120 in
Front track: 1549 mm / 61 in
Rear track: 1524 mm / 60 in

Ground clearance: 140 mm / 5.5 in


Turning circle btw. walls: 13.9 m / 45.6 ft
Turning circle btw. curbs: 12.68 m / 41.6 ft

Identification data

Mercury Park Lane 2-Door Marauder Hardtop Marauder Super 427 V-8 4-speed
as offered for the year 1964 until October in North America U.S.
Production/sales period of cars with this particular specs: October 1963 - October 1964
Model years: 1964

Country of origin: USA


Make: Mercury
Model: Full-Size 6th generation
1961-1964
Sub model: Park Lane Marauder Fastback Coupe
1964-1964
Optional equipment:
EEC segmentation: F (luxury cars)
Sub segment: S-C-L (luxury coupes)
Class: full-size luxury / luxury car
Body style: hardtop fastback coupe
Doors: 2
Traction: RWD (rear- wheel drive)

Powertrain

Engine manufacturer: Ford FE-series V-8 390
Engine type: spark-ignition 4-stroke
Fuel type: petrol (gasoline)
Fuel system: 2 carburetors
Charge system: naturally aspirated
Valves per cylinder: 2
Valves timing:
Additional features: 2x 4-barrel
V-90deg, OHV

Cylinders alignment: V 8
Displacement: 6384 cm3 / 389.6 cui
Bore: 102.87 mm / 4.05 in
Stroke: 96.01 mm / 3.78 in
Compression ratio: 11.2 : 1
Horsepower net:

Torque net:

Horsepower gross: 317 kW / 431 PS / 425 hp (SAE gross)
/ 6000
Torque gross: 651 Nm / 480 ft-lb
/ 3800
Redline rpm:

Car power to weight ratio net: 124 watt/kg / 56 watt/lb (estimated by a-c)
Car weight to power ratio net: 8.1 kg/kW / 5.9 kg/PS / 13.3 lbs/hp (estimated by a-c)

Fuel capacity: 76 liter / 20.1 U.S. gal / 16.7 imp. gal
Engine lubricant oil capacity: 5.7 liter / 6 U.S. qt / 5 imp. qt
with filter change
Engine coolant capacity: 19.4 liter / 20.5 U.S. qt / 17.1 imp. qt
Battery capacity (Ah): 55

Weights


Curb weight estimated: 1920 kg / 4230 lbs



Fuel consumption simulation based on the European type of traffic

extra-urban / city / highway / average combined:
l/100km: 18.2-21.8 / 26.4-31.7 / 21.2-25.4 / 23.3
mpg (imp.): 12.9-15.5 / 8.9-10.7 / 11.1-13.3 / 12.1
mpg (U.S.): 10.8-12.9 / 7.4-8.9 / 9.2-11.1 / 10.1
km/l: 4.6-5.5 / 3.2-3.8 / 3.9-4.7 / 4.3

Top speed:

(theory. without speed governor) 220 km/h / 137 mph

Production of the 1964 Park Lane Marauder:

2-door hardtop: 1,052
4-door hardtop: 4,505
Type Size Horsepower Years
ohv V-8 390 250/300/330 1963-1964
ohv V-8 406 385/405 1963
ohv V-8 427 410/425 1964

Old brochures of Mercury 1964

Video of the real car from Youtube

If you have any question or comment your are free to contact me at: aeronautic@stofanet.dk

Dealers are welcome to get their models reviewed too.

Aeronautic Nov. 2017

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