New to Board

[s55mercury66]

I am new here, although I have been lurking since Dec. I have a 1966 Mercury S55 that I have been working on for about 4 years, and have had some other FoMoCo products over the last 35 years. Looking for help and knowledge, and maybe a part or two.

[Lanny]

Welcome,,,,,If I remember correctly, The S-55's were all Big Block cars, right ?
I seem to remember the '66-'67's had 428's in them, is that what you have ?

Can you post some pix, and some more info about it ?









.

[s55mercury66]

Yes, Lanny. It is a 428, with a C6. It's pretty complete, and has very few options beyond A/C and a factory 8-Track. No power steering or brakes. I will post some pics in a few days.

[joe plumber]

Welcome aboard

[s55mercury66]

Thanks, Joe. I just got finished reading the sticky from the V8 (1932-53) part of the board, and truthfully, did not realize until now that the focus of The Ford Barn was on relatively stock Fords (I'm a little slow). So, I will 'fess up that I do have plans for some modifications, but for the most part, they will be internal engine and transmission mods. The only exterior changes will be to leave the "Mercury" and 428 emblems off, and the interior I'm going to leave alone. Wheels are going to be 15" Magnum 500's, with center caps from a '67 Cougar. Ride height will be stock. Paint will be either the Ice Blue it came with, or a very dark blue. I will post some pics of it as it comes along, if anyone is interested. The car has spent it's entire life in Wyoming, and the rusted areas are confined to the lower quarter panels. Being from Ohio myself, (and a bodyman for 20 years there) after 13+ years here in Wyoming, I am still amazed at the lack of rust in older vehicles here.

[tdlmomowers]

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I had a 66 Monterey, 390. I would love to have it back today.

[Y-Blockhead]

Speaking for myself but I wouldn't worry to much about it, especially in the Late V-8 Forum. The older car Forums seem to get a little uppity about not being stock sometimes when the 'Forum Police' sound off.

I don't think anyone here has a "totally stock" car.

Welcome aboard.

[s55mercury66]

Thanks for the welcome, guys, and for all the information that is shared here. These forums make finding obscure information much easier than it was 20-30 years ago.

[s55mercury66]

Here are some pics from 2009 in "as found" condition. Window sticker, warranty tag, factory 8-Track and a couple more.

[raceron1120]

Welcome aboard and nice Merc!

Man, I sold a lot of parts for those mid & late 60s Mercurys and Fords, wish I had 1/2 of the stuff I sold for 'em when working dealerships.

By the way I'd pay ya sticker price for it, and wouldn't haggle a bit...

Ron

[tdlmomowers]

The 66 full size Merc has to be one of the prettiest cars ever built. Did any of these come with a 4 speed? I know the Ford was available with a standard transmission. Do you have the gauge cluster? Keep us all informed as you continue to work on it.

[s55mercury66]

Thanks, Ron. By the way, that's a nice Vicky in your avatar. tdlmomowers, 4-speeds were available, but not many were built. I used to know how many, but don't any more. The gauge cluster is out because the wiring harness caught fire right behind it. That was a little scary. I think the ignition switch fell apart and grounded out, starting the fire. If anyone out there has a wiring harness, I could really use it. I have 2 from '65-'66 Galaxies, but they dont have all the gauges like Mercurys do. The '65 Galaxie donated a clutch pedal and complete linkage too, so I may go the 4-speed route. Comparing the S55 to it's 7 Litre Galaxie cousin, two things stood out right away. All of the 7 Litre cars came with front disc brakes, and an open element air cleaner. The S55 came standard with drums, and a single snorkel air cleaner. That little snorkel is just barely 2 inches across, and has no provision for warm air. Also, for anyone looking for 31 spline rear ends, all the ones I have seen for 1966 Full-Size cars have the left axle flange painted red, and the right one is painted green.

[tdlmomowers]

I don't think a harness would be to hard to repair or make up a new one. I repaired the one on my 69 Torino GT. It wasn't burnt up, but had been badly cobbled and hacked up. I replaced the fuse box with one that uses the newer style fuses. I got everything to work, including the seat belt warning light. I added some extra circuits for accessories that I will add later. I added lights under the dash that come on with the dome light, and installed gauges in the dash instead of hanging them below, to replace the idiot lights for temp. and oil press. Do you have a good wiring diagram that you can work from? Maybe with a little luck, you could adapt the Ford harness and add the gauge circuits without too much trouble. I was an electrical truck mechanic for 32 years, so maybe it just came easy to me. I know some folks are scared to death of electrical work, I know I wouldn't know anything about the wiring on a modern car. Good Luck, that will be one sharp Merc. when you get it done.

[s55mercury66]

Its been a little while, but I still have the car, and have found time to do a little work to it. I rebuilt the carb nearly ten years ago, and finally got around to a little fine tuning on it. I will assume a previous rebulider swapped the jets around, and put 46s in the secondary side, and 67s in the primary side. Yep, I wish I had done a little more research and paid a little more attention back then

[s55mercury66]

I also disassembled the interior, lubed all the window regulators, cleaned and lubed the shifter, and reassembled it with the original carpet. It is faded, but otherwise pretty good. The drivers seat had some stitching come loose in the panel you sit on, so I had a local replace it. I really like the interior, acres of room. I have replaced all the wheel cyls, hoses and shoes, and have a dual master cylinder I am up in the air about installing.

[s55mercury66]

I still have some wiring issues to address, and a suspension system that could use all the rubber replaced, at a minimum. PS, can anyone tell me how to edit my sig line?

[mercman from oz]

Welcome s55mercury66 your latest project is a great find. Here is a picture of a 1966 Mercury S55 Hardtop that is a recent import into Australia. These big old Mercs are great looking cars.

[s55mercury66]

Thank you, mercman. I have found pics of that car on the internet not long ago.

[50fordcoupeman]

Think you will be welcomed here! Variety of cars here is awesome. My avatar car is stock on the outside but not so much under neath.............