Hey, folks. I'm trying to gather some information on a car I just purchased. I'm not finding much about it. It's a 1963 Mercury Meteor S33 with a 260 V8 and a 4 speed, all factory, original, and complete. It's been sitting for a long time, so I'm going to take my time with it, but I'm trying to determine how rare this car actually is, and what the functional differences between it and a Fairlane are so that I can get it back on the road. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
A Fairlane that year is default to find parts for, your car is going to peg the difficulty meter trying to find parts that are specifically for it. I saw your pictures on the Ford site it looks like a nice car.
Hah, funny. Yeah, I've just been trying to find what I can since there's not much out there. I recognize your avatar! I want to say it's very nice, but It's hard to tell digging around in the dirt and such. I've been seeing stuff saying that they're pretty rare, but I also see that they don't go for "much" in general. Once I get it towed, I'll dig in some more. I always wanted a Fairlane or Galaxy, but I really like this better than either of them.
A Meteor is a very cool car. Just so you know the Meteor is the Mercury version of the "Little Fairlane". Fair Warning... If this is indeed a true true factory 4 speed car, it's very rare for the Fairlane and especially the Meteor. It's so rare..... Is it a really a 3 speed? Is it a retrofit? It very well could be. Mechanically consider it a Fairlane. Trim....body details and especially those cool tailights...All Mercury. Original 4 speed or not, it's really a neat car. Being a unibody car look for rust in floor cowl and torque box.
As said, mechanical parts are the same as Fairlane, same for the gl*** and weather-stripping. Some electrical is different, don't ***ume the Ford stuff is the same. Everything else will be a ***** to find if you even can. If you're trying to restore, this guy: https://www.falconcometinteriors.com/ might be able to help you with the interior. Mercurys just don't have the value the equivalent Ford does in most cases, which is a shame as they offered a better option list and the cars were nicer IMO. Most Mercurys of that era had full gauges rather than the Ford's idiot lights, I always had a soft spot for the Mercs... The Meteor was an orphan right from the start, poor sales killed it after only two years. Your S33 is one of 4900 so it's an uncommon car, but they only sold 50K of them in '63 for all models; the Fairlane sold over 300K... One thing you should know; Ford changed the SBF engine block, bellhousing, and trans bolt pattern in '65, the '62-64 bell/trans WILL NOT bolt up to the '65-up motors...
Well, the VIN checks out, and it's got a 4 speed transmission. Beyond that, I suppose I couldn't say. Either way, I agree, it's really neat. Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
The front suspension on a Meteor is very unique. Look at the front of the strut “rods”, there is a small secondary coil spring. That is the only time FoMoCo used that design. The difference between any model Ford and its Mercury counterpart is.... the Mercury has lock washers!
Hey, folks. I went by and took a couple more pictures. No AC or power steering, but the door plate does appear to indicate a 4 speed from the factory. If I recall, the 5 is the 4 speed. Is that right? I'm towing it home tomorrow, but I snapped these today briefly. Let me know what you think.
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