In January of 2022, I trolled through Facebook only to find a beautiful Mercury Meteor Custom from Pensacola. It had a 260V8 with a Merc-O-Matic 2-speed transmission. I decided to buy the car to use as a daily driver. We knew of a few issues: the windshield wiper motor had been removed (found in the trunk and it is not working); A/C had been disconnected and hoses cut; typical brake work required; rust on the rear driver door (which was not opening); rust around the tail light assembly; and the trunk would not open.

The first weekend we had the car, the rear seats came out. I crawled into the trunk and unbolted the lock to see how bad the trunk was. The floor pan was in pretty good shape, thankfully. There were two quarter sized holes in the floor pan but the rail had rusted almost completely through the whole way around. Since I couldn’t drive it daily until I got the wiper motor and brakes fixed, I decided to delve into her further to ensure safety concerns.

Like with any project, the unknown issues started coming my way. I removed the carpet in the front only to reveal a driver front floor pan and rear floor pan was needed. Honestly, it’s kinda weird to see the road under my feet. I don’t have to imagine what the Flintstones felt like.

Around this time, my father sent me a link to an article from a few years back about the Meteor. There is a couple in Mobile that had one in the past and currently own one. They have been a huge help, as far as finding parts and information.

The whole car was covered in oxidation. After attending a club meeting a few months ago where a member went through a basic detailing process, I began tackling my car with some of his tricks. I grabbed some plumbers putty and started on the front. It worked but man did it take several hours just for small results.

I upped the ante and went to Harbor Freight where I purchased Meguiar’s deep cut car polish and a buffer. I Started on the front passenger hood working my way down the passenger side, and the results were astonishing in just a little time. I was able to see reflections and she looked amazing. Since it worked so well, I kept on going. By the end of the day, I had the passenger side and most

She is looking better than imagined and I’m extremely excited to continue the work. Updates to come and smiles to be had. Next steps are going to be working on some of the rust to prevent more surprises in the future.