1977 Mercury Grand Marquis - TIME CAPSULE - 420 Original Miles - STUNNING

Here is a rare opportunity to purchase a true time capsule. My late father purchased this car new from Martone Lincoln Mercury in Naperville, IL on May 11, 1977. My father was a lifelong "car guy" owning a auto body shop from 1970 - 1999, and running a NASCAR team in the 1980s. He purchased this car because he was afraid the "big" American cars were going away and being replaced by smaller ones due to the gas crunch in the 1970s. After purchasing the car, our family only drove it to church and to get ice cream on Sundays a few times. The rest of the time it was parked in the house garage under a protective, soft cloth car cover. When our family relocated to North Carolina in 1984 to pursue Dad's NASCAR dream, he put the car on a trailer and brought it to NC where it would never see the light of day again until now. The car has spent the past 35 years under a soft cover car cloth in the middle of Dad's race shop.
The car is truly MINT, and I say that being a very discerning car and antique collector myself (the apple doesn't fall far from the tree).

• Full documentation of the life of this car: Original window sticker. sales order and receipt, owners manual, Ford ownercard with stamped VIN and my father's address information.
• Interior is near perfect. Leather is soft, no marks or tears. Even though the car was rarely driven, the seats had cloth covers on them for protection. Smells like a NEW car... you can't fake that!
• The car runs and shifts very smoothly. New fuel pump, sending unit, and completely rebuilt original carburetor.
• Tires are original. I took the tires off the car and to a local tire shop to have them re-balanced. They said they could not be balanced because they were "too soft" which didn't make sense to me. The car still drives fairly smoothly until you get up to about 50 MPH... new tires would make this car drive like a dream... leaving that decision to the next owner.
• Owning a body shop and living in the suburbs of Chicago, Dad had the car completely undercoated by a nearby rustproofing shop a few weeks after he bought the car. Receipt for this work is included with the other paperwork, it costs $135 at the time.
• This car has NEVER seen a drop of rain in its lifetime. Always garage kept. The few times it has been on the road were bright, sunny days.
• The paint and chrome on the car is near perfect. Hard to know if it was much better the day the car was sold (quality in the 1970s was not the best in the auto industry), but I can't find any obvious flaws to point out.
• The power antenna does not work.You can hear the antenna motor working, but the nylon antenna mast is broken in several places, simply from age. The antenna is in the upright position and does function in terms of receiving radio signals. You can find an NOS antenna for this car on eBay, if the new owner wants that.
• Trunk is huge and in perfect condition.
• Brakes - front disk, rear drums.
• Exterior color is Dove Grey. Interior leather, carpet and trim also grey.

Technically this may (or may not) qualify as a 2-owner car. My dad was listed as the owner from day one until he passed away. At that time my mom had to re-title the car as the new owner. So it's a 1-owner family, but the documentation would show 2 previous owners (my dad then my mom).
Happy to answer any questions. This car has been a big (literally) part of our family for 42 years, now it's time for someone else to give it a new home.