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| 1964 MERCURY PARKLANE CONVERTIBLE AMT ORIGINAL ISSUE "427 R-CODE" SPECIAL ORDER PRO BUILT AT GONZO'S |
| CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE |
| Here we have an AMT original issue 1964 Mercury Parklane convertible, kit #6314. This 1/25th scale kit has never been reissued. It originally came with a 390ci. engine. I built this one with the factory special order 427ci. R-CODE engine. In the real car this was a solid lifter, medium rise manifold engine with 2 Holley 4bbl carbs and a very high lobe cam. It was rated at a conservative 425 hp. It was normal in those days to fudge the figures for insurance purposes. It actually dynoed out at close to 500 hp. Unlike Ford, Mercury never badged their cars with engine numbers. The only way to tell that it was an R-CODE was to check for 15" rims, as the other Mercurys had 14" rims in 64. Also the more expensive models had the spinner in the center of the hubcap, while the cheaper models, Montclair etc., came with dog dish caps in the R-CODE cars. You could not get air conditioning, power steering, power brakes,or automatic, in these. They wanted all the power to the rear wheels. What they did come with were the 15's, toploader 4spd, bigger brakes, stiff suspension, and more. I painted this one in factory Carnival Red. It is totally detailed and foiled. Plumbed and wired, with the 4spd. These weighed in at a hefty 4500 lbs. These monsters routinely got pushed into the midsize muscle car bracket at the strip, they where that nasty. I actually raced against one in 1968 at Twin Cities Dragway. I was driving a 390hp ram air 442 blueprinted with a close ratio Hurst. I was making better than 420hp in a much lighter car. The Montclair R-CODE I raced literally beat the living crap out of me. I hole shot him and smiled, then about half way through this sucker went by me like a rocket. I stopped smiling. |