Classic/Antique Car Repair: 1968 Mercury Monterey Convertible, mustang convertibles, mercury monterey

Question
My father has a 1968 Mercury Monterey Convertible with AM/FM factory radio and electric windows and we were wondering how many of these were made in 1968 and if it would even be worth restoring.

Answer
To answer your first question, there were 1515 Monterrey convertibles made in the 1968 model year.  That makes it a rather rare car, but in the old car value system, rarity is NOT a big factor - the cars that sold well when they were new did so because people liked them, and those that are "rare" today are rare because few bought them - you can guess why!  For an example, compare the quantity of Mustangs from the same year.  Roughly 100 times as many Mustang Convertibles were made in the 65-67 era, and they are worth roughly 3 times as much as the Monterrey!  The  power windows and AM-FM were very common by that time, so I suspect most of the convertibles were equipped that way, but I have no reference material that gives that much detail.

Any convertible is a collectable automobile.  BUT:! any car that needs restoration is going to be a money pit, and will probably cost more to restore than it will sell for. People who restore these cars usually do it because they love the car and want to keep it - those are the true old car enthusiasts.

If you simply want to be rid of it, you have a couple of choices, depending on condition.

If it is now in running condition and not too beat up looking,  you should have it professinally detailed (which will cost you about $200) and then run it on eBay, with a low starting bid and no reserve.  It WILL sell, and depending on its appearance and your ability to describe it well with good detailed pictures showing all the good AND bad factors, it will bring anywhere from $3000 to $7000 depending on rust damage, accident damage, and condition of the top and interior.    If it is not in running condition, you can still sell it, but for much less money. In that case, you can still run it on eBay - make it look as good as you can, show all the good and bad factors, and it will bring about $2000.

Dick