im not if the engine and trans are original. i looked online and saw that in 63 there were roughly 4000 meteor sedans plus 2700 2 door custom sedans and an additional 7500 custom hardtops. i blieve this to be a 2 door hardtop. i dont need another car but just sort of curious. thanks - jason
Thats a 2 door sedan. I have been around fords for a while and never seen one. It is the equilivant to a fairlane ,same year, but very rare,IMO
This car appears to be a 2 door post. The standard transmission for the Mercury Meteor was a 3-speed manual with overdrive that was available as an option. Other optional transmissions available were Merc-O-Matic and Multi-Drive automatic transmissions. HRP
According to the serial number (and lack of wheel well and rocker trim) the car is a plain 2 Door Sedan (31) and came originally equipped with a 260 V8 (F). Unless there was a change late in the model year 4 speeds were not available. The way to tell how it was originally equipped is look at the Warrantee Plate on the drivers door. The transmission code for a 3-speed is '1', 3-speed OD '2', and automatic '3'. If the car was equipped with a 4 speed from the factory it would probably be a '4' and in that case it would most certainly be rare.
That is a post car and do whomever a favor and delete the vin. Posting someone's vin is just not a nice thing to do.
the vin was in a public posting on a webpage so i was not snooping around his car and printing vin numbers. its for sale locally and that is where i got the info and image. people put vins on CL ads all the time - may i ask what the issue is? not being sarcastic. i certainly wasn't trying to deceive anyone. the info was out there posted by the owner i just posted it to get clarification on a car i may consider to purchase. thanks for all the help
Regarding publishing the serial number on a HAMB friendly vehicle, it is really not a problem as long as it has a title on record. Meaning the vehicle is currently or recently registered or has a recently transferred title. This is because now most title records are kept in permanent file, but that has not always been the case. It used to be that a vehicle not registered after a period of time would be purged from the record. Having a legit serial number without any title record allows that serial number to be stolen and assigned to an illegitimate vehicle.
he does have a title but for sake of fairness i removed VIN from thread. engine is not original but owner is going to research the door tag to see what was factory trans. thanks for all the help
I posted this just the other day. Guys with cars that have unusuable VINs for whatever reason - car is on record as stolen, as salvaged, as scrapped - go so far as to run scams to steal clean numbers off other folks cars if they look like they're not in a system and the car won't see the road for a while. They stamp your clean number on their car and somehow get by with it, and when you go to register yours, you're screwed. So you don't post the full VIN - the last five-six digits are irrelevant to decoding purposes on 99% of them, anyways. If your car is currently registered and you have a title in your name, that's different, the number will show as in use if they try to use it.
Meteors are rare and V8 stick shift ones are even more rare. Rare in 1962 super rare now. If you like it and can use it, and if it's in decent shape buy it. I would. You can have a unique cruiser with a peppy motor and excellent mileage. A 289 stick shift car should be good for 22 - 25 MPG in stock condition. Believe it or not that thing weighs the same as a Honda Civic or less. That is the secret to its combination of performance and mileage. More room than a Honda too, and way cooler. Most of the underpinnings are straight 60s Ford, shared with Falcon, Fairlane, Mustang, etc over a period of 10 years or more. So keeping it on the road is not a problem. Only the unique 63 Meteor trim pieces may be hard to find. So be sure it has all its trim and be sure to ask the seller if he has any spare parts, owner's manual, spare keys, repair manual etc.
While 4 speeds were available in 63 including the Fairlane, no factory Ford literature or publications I have seen ever list one as available in the Meteor, the only manual transmission option listed is the overdrive. Interesting to note, however, a 4 speed was available in the Comet and Monterey and neither available with overdrive. Go figure . . . But again, if it were a factory 4 speed it would show on the Warrantee plate, the only way to settle it for sure.
The meteors were made for two years 62 and 63. My brother has a 63 2dr hardtop that is a factory 260 V8 4spd car. Not much the same on them from 62-63 and not as much interchangeable stuff as you would think from a fairlane.
spoke to the owner again who said that the door tag is missing thus no way to verify if it is a factory deal. for what he is asking price wise its most likely not a factory deal as seems like if it was it would be worth considerably more. not to say its not a very cool car but i do know it needs some sheetmetal and the engine is def not stock. may still be a real fun car to drive and semi-restore. prob go look at it today. is there anything lse besides obv welds and cuts in the sheetmetal to ID if its a factory 4 speed? thanks for all the help again. - jason
Two dumbs don't make a smart. If you don't post a vin maybe the next guy who doesn't know any better won't post a vin either. Remember part of what we are doing here is educating the masses.
if the engine is not original then youve lost most of the value of the factory 4 speed deal, other than being cool. A restorer wont bae as interested. Go check the car out, look for general condition, rust - in the outer body, floors, trunk, around bottoms of windows, rocker panels. running condition - smoke on start up or while running, ticking in the engine, condition of trans / cluth. check all electricals and accessories to be sure they work. check all fluids, radiator, oil etc to see if anything is. If the condition matches the price, buy it. you can clean up a few issues and resell in the spring, or just drive it. Its a good looking unique car.
pork - i had removed the vin later yesterday. i understand now that the vin can be manipulated and as such i had taken it down yesterday. the owner of the car had posted his vin - i was simply trying to discern what the car was. again i appreciate all the help i get here and was certainly not trying to aid anyone in circumventing the system.
My first car was a 1963 Meteor 260 4 speed all original. I bought it in 1979. I do not have a picture of the door tag but it was most definately an original 4 speed car. White with red interior. I sold it to a collector a couple years later. Brian
you should get in contact with Jay Leno, he buys everything that is rare and for top dollar. always wanted to type that.
Jay Leno never sells anything and very seldom buys anything anymore. Maybe if you had an original untouched Duesenberg he might think about it, then again he already has a dozen Duesenbergs. People keep giving him old cars. I don't think he needs to buy any.
I've been into Meteors for years and had never seen or heard of a 4-speed option. Btw, I've got a 2-door hardtop project for sale (not to hijack this thread, pm me if interested).
went to look last sat and it was def not an original 4 speed. the swap was well done or at least seemed that way but there was very little left of the original drivetrain so i passed. it is a very cool car but needs a lot of attention and i want to focus on finding a 41-48 chevy to put my suspension bits under. if i didnt have the 64 galaxie i would have considered it as he does have most of the original interior panels and parts etc. but it needed much love. it is still avail as far as i know - search that auction forum for ford: other and you can find the link. thanks for the insight as always.
So... is there anyway to get 4 speed production numbers? I just picked up this 63. Looks to be a factory 4 speed car, but very rusty.
Jay Leno recently bought a 1963 Ford Falcon he saw on the bringatrailer.com website: http://bringatrailer.com/2012/07/30/bat-success-story-1963-ford-falcon-goes-to-jay-leno/
1962 was 50 years ago so my memory is getting a little rusty, but I had a friend who bought a 63 Meteor with the 260 and a 4 speed that year. You had to wait till Sept. or Oct. to buy the next year"s model back than. I remember the slight whine of the 4 speed and a little "chirp" when he went from first to second. I had another buddiie with a 63 Falcon Sprint that had the 260 and a 4 speed. Like I said my mind isn't so sharp so don't take this as absolutely accurate . I think it cost about $2,500.00
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