The Competition

While they(whomever they may be) suggest that you should surround yourself with five of your peers, or people you aspire to emulate, in our case we're still unsure if that is or isn't an option.

Reason being it's unclear as to whether there are four or possibly five other Mercury Marmon-Herrington AWD Conversion's known to exist. Therefore, we are either No.5 or No.6 in the mix.

Now, I will say that as far as "competition" goes, in no way are we thinking we're is the same ballpark with these other four examples. Not only are they of the Woodie Station Wagon variety, but each of them have been "over the top" restored. That combination alone sets them in a world of their own.
However that's not to say we're unable to hold a seat of our own at the Grownup's table. No Sir. We do just fine on our own. Well, let's just say at some point in the future we will anyway. We're destined for greatness, it's simply a matter of time.
Our first example is one that many in the Woodie World consider to be THE BEST Woodie on the planet. Be it Mercury or otherwise, nothing else compares to this "one of one, rarest of the rare" slice of Heaven. And how anyone can say otherwise is beyond imagination.
As far as its value goes, it's basically pricele$$. There really isn't any way to assign a value to something that hasn't sold in recent memory. Nor will it ever be for sale. To add to it, there isn't anything else available that would be in any shape or form considered to be in the same category. Therefore pricele$$ is about as close of a guesstimate as we'll be able to muster up. And to make it even better, he drives it. Quite often as a matter fact.
Which brings us to Mercury Marmon- Herrington No. 2. Now this fine specimen is much easier to assign a value to. Reason being is it sold back in January of 2021 for a record breaking price of $346,000! Yes, you read that right. Without a doubt this has to be considered at the very least to be the second best example of a 1940's Mercury Marmon-Herrington AWD Station Wagon known to exist.

Don't quote us but it is our belief that it was restored by Nick Alexander's crew. Top to bottom and side to side, every wooden panel, every nut & bolt, every square inch brought back to day one perfection. And then some.
Next up on our list of Wooden Wonders is this fine 1947 Mercury Marmon-Herrington AWD Conversion.

While not much is known about this rare beast, we do know it sits among some extremely fine machines in a relatively well known Collection. Matter of fact the Collection also holds an extremely nice Ford Marmon-Herrington AWD Conversion as well.
Which brings us to No. 4 on this list of amazingness. Honestly, we've only added it in this position for one reason. We simply aren't fans of the tires. For us they kill the whole "off-road ready, 4X4 equipped" vibe. Not to in any way take points away from the restoration. It's top notch over the top in every other aspect but whomever was in charge of choosing the tires really blew it on this one.

It's known to have sold for just a bit over $207,000 so obviously the tires weren't an issue for the new owner. What's an extra thousand dollars at that stage of the game.
Which brings us once again to the "Unknown Zone". In the midst of our Marmon-Herrington AWD Conversion research we've uncovered yet another possible Brother from another Mother in this yellow example you see here.

Not much is known other than it's reported to have been part of the Boyd Collection. Said to have a "newer" 255cu in engine and a 3 speed transmission(the Marmon-Herrington AWD conversions are known for having 1.5 Ton four speed transmissions), we're still on the fence as to whether this is/was an original or perhaps assembled from parts & pieces. But for now let's give it the benefit of the doubt and consider it to be a legit Marmon-Herrington AWD Conversion.
So there ya have it. That's basically five of our closest "friends", distant cousins if you will, people Mercury's we aspire to be. While they may look a bit different on the outside, one thing's for certain. The chassis, the heart of these beasts, is all the same. They all received their Marmon-Herrington AWD Conversions at close to the same time and in the exact same facility. Just as ours did at nearly the same time. Let that sink in for a second. Mind blown to say the least.

While they may have different Dad's, they're in essence all Brothers from the same Mother. All "born" under the same roof at very close to the same time. Somehow they survived 78 years of neglect and abuse to once again shine as if they were new.
And then there's us. Yeah, don't forget about us. While we might not currently be in the same league "eye candy" wise, we still hold the very same bones. The same structure. The same skeleton. The same Marmon-Herrington DNA. Which in our eyes means we still hold the same potential. The same shot at fame. To once again stand proudly among the rest, as few as there are. Without a doubt an extremely exclusive club. Secret handshake required to enter the Clubhouse.

This also brings us to decision time. Which path do we take from here. We know the current "cut-off" pickup version simply ain't gonna cut it(pun intended). Not a chance. So a "rebody" is mandatory. This is the tricky part. Do we stray from originality and go with the tried and true Woodie Wagon version, thereby making us "one of the Fab Five Six" as it were. Come to think of it, in actuality that makes us "one of three" due to the fact there's only two other 1948 Mercury Marmon-Herrington AWD Conversion's known to exist.
Or do we go with originality, staying true to its roots and rebody this rig as a Fordor Sedan. Choosing to blaze our own trail rather than being simply another sheep in the flock. On one hand, while it might not have the same "bling" factor as all that beautiful wood, it would hold its own as a "one of one, last year of production(as 1948 was the last year that Marmon-Herrington offered their AWD Conversions on either Ford or Mercury passenger cars), super special Sedan. Especially if it were to be redone in a shiny black version. From Chicago Mafia to high end Montana Mining Co., and who knows where else in between, it could hold one's imagination in many different versions. Add a period correct logo to the doors and the illusion is complete.
That choice is upcoming and believe me, we're just as eager to make that decision as well. As mentioned above this is looking more and more like a partnership in the making. A collective collaboration of sorts, all parties involved having the same goal in mind. To bring this far too long neglected piece of high end Mercury history back to its former glory. Stay tuned, it's gonna be a stiff, bumpy, not all that fast, yet wildly exciting ride.