Today’s Ford Gal… I mean, Mercury Maurad.. oh hell, this resto-ride... could be the best of both worlds, unless its price is the worst in the world.

Could you imagine having the world’s nicest shovel? You know, it gleams in the sun, lacks even the smallest of scratches and has a handle that shows no sign of wear? You’d never want to use that bad boy, even if you had to, oh say, bury a former business associate or whack a zombie in his melon.

That was kind of the response yesterday’s 1 received. Sure, it was totally clean and seemingly without major flaw, but isn’t the whole point of a Jeep to take ‘em out and get ‘em dirty? Also apparently missing the point was the Jeep’s dealer-set price as it fell in a sizable 80% Crack Pipe loss, our first such loss for the week.

That Jeep was probably about the most honest type of car you could ever buy. I mean, there wasn’t all that much that it was ever intended to do, and the things that it did it did so very well.

Now, how about a car that’s hiding something?

This looks, for all intents and purposes, like your standard slightly blinged-out sixties rocker. It’s sort of like Neil Young. There’s your chromed Torque Thrust mag wheels, a tilted stance, and fat chrome tips for its dual exhaust. Pretty much what you would expect. Oh yeah, it also has a 2004 Mercury Marauder sitting underneath it.

Boom!

That’s right, the last body-on frame car in the U.S. gave up its body to frame its great grand-pappy all the way here from the swinging sixties. What is it they used to say back then; tune in, turn on, drop a Galaxie on a Marauder?

There’s little evidence externally that the Galaxie is in fact sitting on the 71K-mile chassis of Mercury’s hottest, which is quite an achievement in itself. The first giveaway is when you pop a door and are confronted by the modern dash, which clashes mightily with the accompanying sixties seat upholstery and standard door cards. The question I have for the builder regarding that dash is- you did disconnect the airbags, right?

Opening the long tall sally of a hood reveals even more modernity. There you’ll find the Marauder’s 32-valve 4.6-litre V8. That was good for a little over 300 ponies from the factory and is matched here with a 4R75W automatic. The ad lays claim that all the lights, gauges, cruise control and even the A/C work as they should. I can just imagine all the sweat those details soaked up.

Why would you do all this, however? I mean, unless you came out one morning and found that thieves had stolen your wheels—along with the entire chassis and drivetrain they were attached to—AND you just happened to have a spare Marauder laying around, the body of which was fading from existence due to an alternate time line created by Marty McFly. Otherwise, I simply don’t know how such an idea springs into one’s head.

Still, here it is, in glorious metallic grass green and shining chrome. The work seems exemplary, and its hard to tell exactly where the old stops and the new begins in either the engine compartment or the under the skirt. Speaking of stopping, the car should be vastly better at it now seeing as it rocks big-ass disc brakes front and rear and ABS. It’ll also handle a hell of a lot better than any 1965 Galaxie should, and that 32-valve V8 should ensure it has plenty of go as well.

The ad may claim that there’s $60K sunk into the car, but what do you think is a fair price for it now, as it stands? The asking is $27,900. Do you think that’s a fair price for this two-for-one deal? Or, is this a Resto-Mod with a price that should just give it a rest?

You decide!

Los Angeles , or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to Ben for the hookup!

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