1973 MERCURY MONTEGO GT 429 528 NASCAR RESTO-MOD FORD PRO-TOURING RARE

Description for Mercury Montego 1973

1973 Mercury Montego GT - 23 Year Owned
Buy it now price includes FREE SHIPPING - does not apply to "best offers".

Up for sale is my life-long project car. Well sorted, high performing, and extremely rare. One of 302 to come from the factory with a 429, and one of only 12 known to exist today. The engine block and transmission are numbers matching original to the chassis.
This car was built primarily for open road racing and top speed competitions, but runs on pump gas, and is street legal. I have driven it to and from many events, up to 6 hours away, without issue.It holds the World Record forFastest Street Legal 72-73 Montego GT.Safety modifications are based on the Silver State Classic's rule book for the Grand Sport Division, which allows competitors to run up to a top speed of 165 mph. All modifications have been done within the framework of "factory configuration". It has competed in the Pikes Peak Airstrip Attack, the Colorado Mile, the Central City PIT Rally Hill Climb, the Sandhills Open Road Challenge in Nebraska, and was featured in Optima's Search for the Ultimate Street Car on MavTV. To date, the top speed achieved is 152 mph during the Colorado Mile. With the exception of the paint work, this car is 100% owner built, and the owner has professional experience as both a fabricator, and engine builder.
Chassis:

• PST Urethane suspension bushings throughout
• Adjustable shocks
• PST anti-roll bars
• Eaton lowering springs
• Stop Tech slotted rotors and HP pads in the front
• Stock rear drums with HP pads in the rear
• BlackRock 17" aluminum "Daytona" wheels
• Nitto NT555 255/50R17 W-rated (168mph) tires
• Improved ratio steering box

Body

• Rust removed and repainted in 2014 by Rick's Hot Rods in Colorado Springs
• Paint scheme based on the cars Dick Trickle race in NASCAR back in the day
• All stripes are in the paint, but all lettering and numbers are vinyl, and can be removed

Engine

• 600+HP on pump gas (based on 1/4 mile speed, no dyno numbers available)
• Numbers matching 429 block bored and stroked to 528 cubic inches
• Eagle 4.300" stroke cast steel crankshaft with ESP armor (rated to 700HP)
• Scat 6.800" 4340 I-beam connecting rods
• Icon 4.420" (+.060) forged pistons (11:1)
• AFR aluminum heads
• Crower "Ultra Beast" hyd flat tappet camshaft and lifters
• Lunati alum roller rockers and pushrods
• Edelbrock Torker II aluminum intake
• Holly carburetor with Proform 1050cfm center section and Quickfuel fuel bowls
• HEI distributor/ignition
• Fabricated aluminum valve covers
• 9 quart custom baffled oil pan with Canton windage tray

Transmission

• Numbers matching C6 automatic converted to manual
• Broader Performance full manual reverse valve body with engine braking in all gears
• B&M ratchet/sequentialshifter
• Edge Racing custom low stall converter (~1800 stall)

Rear End

• Factory original 9" rear with 3.25 gears and trac-loc
• trac-loc rebuilt with Ford Racing clutches in 2017

Misc

• Hooker headers, X-pipe, flow-packs, Warlock mufflers (with integrated dumps), and side exit exhaust
• Champion aluminum radiator
• Rear lower control arms welded and boxed
• 22 gallon fuel cell with bladder and foam
• Electric fuel pump with braided feed and return lines
• Trunk compartment sealed off from passenger compartment
• Kirkey Racing seats
• 5 point harnesses
• 6 point roll bar with seat trays
• Removable steering wheel
• Factory gauges bypassed in favor of aftermarket gauges, except oil pressure and speedo
• Aftermarket gauges include, tach, engine temp, volts, and air/fuel ratio
• Heater and A/C removed, but ventilation is still functional

Videos of the car in action:
Sandhills Open Road Challengehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOgSq8tfTxM
PIT Rallyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSS_-dEzs3g&t=5s
Colorado Milehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AasKb5igwbE&t=123s
Pikes Peak Airstrip Attackhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdAbzFBOneU

If you are interested in this car, it is strongly advised you make arrangements to inspect it in person, or have an appraiser local to our area (Colorado Springs, CO) inspect it for you. Any sale is final. No warranty, no refund.
Please ask questions before biddingUSA sale only, lower 48 states onlyTransportation is included in the Buy it Now price (not best offer), and will be arranged by the seller.Must be removed from the seller's property within 30 days, or the sale is void, and deposit is forfeited$1000.00 deposit due via Paypal, balance via cash or wire transfer within 7 days

Additional information:

-In the 23 years I've owned this car, it has been driven approx 6600 miles.
-Engine history

• The original 429 was rebuilt in 1998 and remained in the car until 2013
• A 514 was installed in the car in 2013 and remained until 2016
• In 2016 the original 429 block was used to build the AFR headed 528 that's now in the car
• The current 528 build has less than 1000 miles use, and only two racing events which set new personal best speeds.

-The transmission was refreshed in 2016 with new clutches and seals, and also has less than 1000 miles use.
-The front brakes were upgraded in 2019, and have less than 200 miles use.
-If desired, the original steering wheel and three additional 9" gear sets will be included (2.50's, 2.75's, and 3.00's, all open diffs).
Additional photos below include body work photos, pictures from various events, speeds from the last standing mile event run in 2017, pictures of the Dick Trickle cars that inspired the paint work on this car, and photos of the car without any of the vinyl graphics applied (which are easily removed).