Mercury Econoline Van

So, I am brand new to this particular site, but I have been interested in finding a 1960's van to make my own. Well, today I was at a birthday party, and in the garage happened to be a 1964-65 MERCURY Econoline window van. I need some help/advice from one of you experts, as I really want this van. I do not know all the details yet, but I will find out. I do know it has been sitting for at least ten years. The beauty of it is, that although it has some minor dings and dents, it is an Arizona vehicle, and has ZERO rust. Yes, it does need to be restored, but it a perfect place to start. I would assume this is a very rare van. Could I get some more insight from someone who knows more about these? I would appreciate it.....

I am not an expert by any means but have learned from those on this site. The Mercury Econolines were built in Canada. Minor dings and dents are an easy fix, rust is not. So, if you can get this zero rust van at a decent price, go for it!!! I love the window vans as well. There are guys on here who can tell you a lot more and I'm sure they'll jump in soon. Duane from Tennessee can probably tell you much more about these and probably will. There are several really knowledgable Ford guys who can fill you in. Yes, they are rare, especially without rust.

Welcome aboard vonbutch and I hope you are able to purchase this van and post pics so we can all drool over it!    

Thanks man. I was given a "buy it now" price of $2500. Seems reasonable, but not sure...

If the VIN tag starts with an M then its a genuine Mercury. If it's an E then someone installed Merc emblems on it. It's odd that a Canadian van would be an Arizona van,so to speak. Even if it's a fake Merc if its rust free it may be a good buy. Its hard to tell without the full VIN plate info and some pics. Price doesn't sound too far outta line though.

Thanks Tim. I will be in contact with the owner and get the full details this week...

Like Tim said. Start with the VIN tag. Get all the info from it. We can tell a lot about it from that. Does it have an interior? Window vans could be bought as an empty box or a full interior. If it has rear seats, side panels, headliner, window trim, and a floor mat it ads a ton to the value. Engine, trans, rear axle all effect value too. A good title is worth some too.

Duane in Tennessee.

From what I gathered, the title may be lost, which sucks. Til I get all the tag info, I won't get too excited just yet. Thanks Duane.

If it is a true Mercury, it should have a Canadian door tag, which has "Ford Motor Company of Canada Limited" right in the middle of all the door tag data. Post a picture of the tag here and you will get all the information we can give you about that Econoline.

>>If the VIN tag starts with an M then its a genuine Mercury.
I haven't seen any Econoline VINs start with "M." Canadian VINs start with a "5" which means 6-cylinder engine.

Maybe I was thinking of the M100 trucks, i dunno. I seem to remember 2 versions of Merc VIN tags, I could be wrong. Won't be the first or the last time I assure you. Weren't some Mercs actually built in the US? Or was it Canadian built Fords? One or the other. The older I get the less I remember about all the details.

Barnabas wrote:If it is a true Mercury, it should have a Canadian door tag, which has "Ford Motor Company of Canada Limited" right in the middle of all the door tag data.  Post a picture of the tag here and you will get all the information we can give you about that Econoline.

>>If the VIN tag starts with an M then its a genuine Mercury.
I haven't seen any Econoline VINs start with "M."  Canadian VINs start with a "5" which means 6-cylinder engine.  

  Ok I did a little searching(thx Adam Glassford) and while some Canadian VIN's do start with 5,not all of them do. Adam posted 2 of his tags on my facebook page and one is in script and the other in print form. The series on one says E100 while the other says M11 so some Mercs were indeed coded with the M instead of an E, although the VIN doesnt start out that way. I knew something about the tag had an M on it but its been ages since I've even had a discussion about Canadian tags and I've only seen a handful in  my lifetime. Hope that helps some.
PS- Heres one of the VIN's that doesn't start with 5....98242A--5921190L

Get to go get a closer look at the van and talk to the owner tomorrow morning. Will take some pics and get the vin tag so you guys can help me out. Thanks to all...

OK, so I went and looked at the van this morning and talked to the owner. His brother bought in Canada, and drove it down to southern Cal. This guy brought it to Phoenix, and drove it for about a year before he put it away. So it ran when it was parked, which doesn't always matter. Somebody had shelled it out to use it as a delivery truck, so no interior other that reupholstered front seat. It was repainted at one time, but there is no rust. Dings and dents, but that's OK. It was reallt wedged in alongside another car, so I couldnt' get the drivers door open far enough to see the door tag. However, there was a registration slip in the glove box. Any help would be appreciated, and also what you think the value is as it sits. Thank you, VonButch.

VIN 5921190L236545A

Do you have the vin number off of the registration? Did you get any photos by any chance? Hard to tell the value without at least some info or pics...If he's asking for $2500 for a rust free Mercury Econoline with a few minor dings and dents, that's not unreasonable but it would be a huge help if you had a few pics. It depends on how you feel about it. If you feel comfortable after having actually seen it up close and personal, as long as it's rust free and everthing is there, maybe see if he would take 2,000 for it.

Hard to say a specific price without seeing it...Just my opinion. (not worth much except to me!)

I did get some pics, but it was hard because there wasn't much room. Not sure if I can post them since I am so new to this site....

I just pm'd you my email address if you'd like me to post the pics for you, just send them to my email and I will gladly post them. That way the guys can get a glimpse and maybe give a better idea of it's value.

By the way, pm is private message. When you receive one, just click on the New Messages tab at the top of the page and then you can read it. To pm someone, you just click on the down arrow next to their avatar and choose private message, then just type in the message and hit send.

Here are his pics:












If it were me, JMO, I'd jump all over this one. I think it's a DEAL at that price!!! Certainly looks to be a NICE barn find. If the undercarriage looked solid, I think it's a Winner for sure. If you don't want it, I'd love to have it and I'm sure there's a lot of us who would...

Being a Heavy Duty model just sweetens the pot. If that repaint isn't hiding a bunch of bondo and rust it's a good buy, especially being a Merc!

First off, thank you Vanny for getting those pics posted, much appreciated. So, Tim (EconoUSAparts), why does being a Heavy Duty model make it a little better? I've done alot of cars and bikes over the years, but haven't had any experience with these vans, so pardon the most likely obvious question....

9" rear, heavy springs ect!!!! Nail it!Pull the trigger man!  

jimthefred wrote:9" rear, heavy springs ect!!!! Nail it!Pull the trigger man!  

Also better brakes, thicker frame rails and supports, more GVW. We had a list here somewhere.

Its not in your garage yet....woohoo, great find!

This strengthens the belief that sometimes we don't find a van, the van finds us!

Thank you all for your input and infinite wisdom. Seems like I got a good find here. Say, what kind of front suspension does it have? I should've looked, but I didn't a whole lotta time. The body was my main concern. For some reason I thought leaf as well, since I thought the gasser crowd loved those front axles...

They have leaf springs in the front. I think you found a winner there! I hope you end up with it. If you do, please post pics once you wash the dust off so we can get a good look! I'm jealous! The cab looks really nice and no one has cut it up or anything...GREAT Find!