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A 1960 Mercury Colony Park hardtop wagon that its seller says has been off the road since 1983 is live on eBay Motors, sitting at an opening bid of $1,200 with no bids at the time of writing. The auction ends the evening of Sunday, November 15, and the listing shows no reserve notice. It is a private-seller car in Richburg, South Carolina, and the seller is upfront about what it is: a rare woodie wagon that needs everything.
A Mercury wagon with Edsel roots
The Colony Park was Mercury's top woodgrain wagon, and 1960 was a one-year moment for the nameplate. Mercury built 7,411 Colony Parks that model year, according to Wikipedia's production figure, which matches the seller's count. The car was the last of the big, Mercury-specific wagons: for 1961, Mercury moved to Ford-based bodywork and a smaller footprint. It also began life with a different future in mind, since the platform was originally meant to be shared with the Edsel Corsair and Citation before those lines were cancelled.
This one is the six-passenger hardtop version, with the pillarless roofline and fiberglass faux-woodgrain trim that set it apart from the plainer Commuter. The seller lists a 430-cubic-inch MEL V8 with Cruise-O-Matic, power steering, power brakes, a standard radio and the electric tailgate glass. The 430 was shared with Lincoln and the Thunderbird, so it was serious hardware for a family hauler. For more Mercury wagon history on Motorious, see our look at a low-mile 1975 Colony Park.
What the seller says, and what the photos show
The listing's item specifics carry a seller note that the car "has been off the road since 1983," and the description says it was built in Wayne, Michigan on January 4, 1960. The seller says the body is complete aside from rusty areas, with any missing trim stored inside the car. The 1983 plates are commercial, and the seller believes the car hauled loads late in life; it reportedly still wears an Asheboro, North Carolina plate on the front and a 1983 North Carolina plate on the rear, and stayed in the Asheboro area until May of this year.
The condition is plain. The car does not run, has no carburetor, and no keys turned up with the clean South Carolina title that the seller says is in his name. The floors and quarter panels have rust and need fabrication. The seller reports that the frame is clean with no rot and that the hard-to-find quarter glass and rear door glass are blemish-free, though the windshield is cracked. The photos back up the surface story: the hood and fenders are streaked in orange rust over remnants of white paint, the grille and bumpers are intact, the roof, glass and side trim are in place, and the wagon sits in a field among other old cars. The seller also notes that the last photos in the gallery show other cars to illustrate what a restored one looks like, not this car.
Documented facts versus seller claims
From the listing itself, the 67,153-mile reading, the clean-title designation and the off-the-road-since-1983 note are all what the seller has entered. The mileage is not verified, and a five-digit odometer on a car this old could easily have turned over, so treat it as unconfirmed. The plate details, the frame condition, the glass condition and the commercial-use theory are the seller's own statements. The listing does not say where the car spent its decades off the road, which is why this is a long-parked project rather than a documented time capsule. Prospective bidders are welcome to inspect in person, and the seller offers to help arrange shipping.
Why it is worth a look
Early-1960s wagons with woodgrain flanks have a following, and a Colony Park from the final year of Mercury's own big-wagon body is not something that turns up often, even in this shape. Whether it ends up as a full restoration, a custom cruiser or a rare source of trim and glass, the 1960 Colony Park is a good reminder of how much personality the American wagon once had. If woodies are your thing, our 1934 Chevrolet DB woodie and the Steelewood collection are worth your time, and we have also covered a 1939 Mercury coupe pulled from a garage.
See the full photo gallery and bid on the 1960 Mercury Colony Park on eBay Motors.
