Attendees at this year’s 2020 Detroit Autorama were in for a real treat when Randy brought out his 1964 Mercury Parklane Convertible engineered for Walt Disney designed Magic Skyway ride debuting during the infamous 1964 New York World Fair. This one of a kind special 25th Anniversary Edition was built with a 380 CI V8 engine with automatic transmission.
It was our pleasure to spend a few minutes with proud owner Randy, as we listened to the fascinating story behind this luxurious classic beauty. Relive the nostalgia of this memorable moment in time with us as Randy shares its unique history.
Interview Transcription:
Rick: This is Rick Drewry with Classic Auto Insurance and we are at Detroit Autorama, 2020. I am lucky enough to be standing here with Randy who has a great story to tell us about a couple of Mercury’s behind us. Randy, tell me what’s going on here.
Randy: Rick, this is a 1964 Mercury Parklane Convertible that was specced out for the 1964 New York World’s Fair on the Magic Skyway Ride. This car, they figured, when it got there, had 40,000 people sit in on the ride on the Magic Skyway in 1964. The car is a professionally finished, Ford Motor specced it the way they wanted it for show quality. The doors are leaded, all the seams are leaded and that’s why it has no mirrors on the outside, it was for the Magic Skyway Rides specifically.
Randy: Now, we have pictures of Henry Ford, Walt Disney and Bob, that was the President of the New York World’s Fair, sitting in a ’64 Mercury. I can’t tell you it’s this car. This car is number 001 built for that. This car was pulled off a line, so it’s a standard ’64 Mercury specced out special. When it came back from The World’s Fair my father bought it from the Ford Motor Company B lot, which is for salaried personnel to buy a used car. They gave him a three year warranty, he drove it 90,000 miles through 1970. We parked it in a shed on our farm down in Carlton where it sat for 40 years. We pulled it out in 2010 and started the restoration on it.
Randy: Every piece of chrome, every piece of aluminum, is original of a car. It is total stock. It still has the single master cylinder and all the things that are stock on the car. Yes, I drove it 120 miles an hour on senior Skip Day down the turnpike to Cedar Point. Now, it’s a beautiful car. It’s fancy, all the pictures around the car and the pictures that you will see are the history of the car. Now, the car next to it, which I’m just going to mention, when we were doing it in 2010, we were looking for a car that might be a donor car, any parts we might need, and my brother-in-law and my sister saw the car next to it in Arizona. They bought it. They decided it was too nice to strip, so they wanted to restore it. Now I will let Joe, my brother-in-law, tell you about that car.
Rick: Very cool. All right, come on up here, Joe.
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