Marti reports only go back to '67. The '66 Data was apparently incomplete or partially corrupted so Ford dumped it all (much to the chagrin of us '66 owners).
The R code is pretty definitive. Sometimes you will find a joker who adds a leg to the P on a P-code (330hp solid lifter "police" 390) and get a new title made, but that's unusual. Like all Q (4bbl) and R (8bbl) cars of 63/64, tell tale signs are 4 speed ONLY, HD 3" front brakes, NO power steering, power brakes, or factory A/C available.
Finding the nicest S55 donor car you can find would be the only way to pursue this. You could fix the body with "rebodying", but you would want to get all the trim and interior, and hardware off of a pristine donor. The nicest R code Merc I've ever seen, the '64 from the late Paul Denhert's collection, only brought about $60K (Though Paul paid close to $100K at the peak), so I'm not sure you could make the finances pencil out. It would have to be a labor of love, or a need to save something rare and unique.
If someone takes this project on, I happen to have some restored '63 S55 emblems that would be great....I'd be very fair to someone fooli....uh...BRAVE enough to step up and take it on
TOM
'63 Galaxie500XL 406 3x2
'66 Mustang GT fastback
'65 Comet Caliente Conv
www.myvintageviewpoint.com
12-13-2011, 09:04 PM
Re: super rare R code Mercury on the bay
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