Good morning! This week we’re doing Shitboxes Without Borders, and taking a look at some cheap cars for sale outside the US. I’m only giving myself two limitations: It has to be a car that wasn’t available in the US, and it has to be more than 25 years old so it’s importable. For our first installment, we’re going to take off to the Great White North.
Friday was international in name only; I think the House of Pancakes is more “International” than the Race of Champions our two contenders were built to commemorate. The Camaro suffered from too high of a price tag for being as relatively common as it is, and the much rarer Dodge Daytona won easily. Having the proper transmission for a sporty coupe helped the Dodge’s cause as well.
You know which one I’d take, if you’ve been paying attention over the last four years. I dig Camaros, but there’s no way I’m choosing an automatic Camaro over a stickshift Daytona. I’d prefer it in dark green or Black Cherry instead of red, but you can’t have everything.
As you would expect from a country so nearby and so closely aligned with the US, the Canadian auto market is a lot like ours. There are a few import models that they got that we never did, and a couple of nameplates that didn’t exist south of the 49th parallel, like Fargo, Beaumont, and Acadian. And a few brands known to US car buyers sold models we never got, too, and that’s where our focus is today. You know Mercury and Acura, but if you’ve never been to Canada, I’m betting you’ve never seen either of these. Let’s take a look.
1966 Mercury M-250 – $2,500 Canadian
Engine/drivetrain: 390 cubic inch OHV V8, four-speed manual, RWD
Location: Preeceville, SK
Odometer reading: unknown
Operational status: Runs and drives, needs brake work
Yep, that’s right; for twenty years, Ford sold pickups with Mercury badges in Canada. As far as I can tell, there is not a whole lot of difference between Ford and Mercury trucks apart from trim and badging. This is, therefore, just a Ford F-250 with a different grille and horn button.
Behind that Mercury-specific grille is a 390 cubic inch FE big-block V8, backed by a four-speed manual transmission. It’s all standard Ford stuff, so parts should be no problem at all. The seller says it runs and drives, but it needs minor brake work. The parts are included; you just have to do the work.
This is the only interior shot in the ad, and it looks like the opening shot to a 1990s alt-country song video. Which is cool, but not terribly useful if you’re trying to assess its condition. I would imagine it’s as rough as most old trucks are inside, but it’s also dead-simple to fix up. Of course, you could always just throw a blanket over the seat and call it good.
All old trucks end up with the same aesthetic eventually, and you either love it or you hate it. Personally, I love it. You can’t get this look by trying; it takes years of use. Not abuse, not neglect, just lots of things loaded in and out of the bed, lots of dirt roads, lots of miles. You could clean it up, repaint it, and make it shine again, but then it would take another 60 years to get back to looking like this.
2000 Acura 1.6EL – $4,300 Canadian
Engine/drivetrain: 1.6-liter OHC inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: St. Catharines, ON
Odometer reading: “About” 250,000 kilometers
Operational status: Runs and drives, needs brake master cylinder
The story goes like this: apparently, the four-door Integra was a complete sales flop in Canada, so Honda Canada decided to replace it with a domestically-produced model. Honda Civics were already being built in Ontario, so adding Acura badges and some options to a four-door model was easy, and presto – the Canada-only Acura EL was born. It sold well, and lasted for two generations. This is the final model year of the first generation.
The standard engine in the EL is Honda’s D16Y8 four-cylinder, but the seller mentions that it used to have a K-series engine. I guess it was modified and then un-modified? Or something? Honestly, I have no idea what’s under the hood of this car. The seller says it runs fine, but the brake pedal is soft. Nothing is leaking, so the seller suspects the master cylinder is going bad.
There’s definitely some wear and tear inside, but we’ve all seen a lot worse. The front seats aren’t original, and they’re pretty rough. The EL is more or less the same as our Civic EX, so it has a lot of power stuff. How much of it still works after the modifying and un-modifying and a quarter-million kilometers is anyone’s guess.
The suspension has been modified as well; it’s been lowered like so many Civics on this side of the border. I’m surprised there isn’t a little stuffed animal hanging off that tow hook, or is that fad over? What was that all about, anyway? It was partially repainted by the previous owner, and the seller says there isn’t any rust on it.
Neither one of these is really anything different from what we get here in the US, except for the badges. But if you factor in the conversion rate, they’re pretty cheap for the condition they’re in. You could just get a Ford truck, or a Civic sedan, or you could head north, have a little adventure, and come back with a conversation piece. Which one would you bring home?
I’m a sucker for old work trucks.
FordMercury for me, eh.Don’t know why I decided to fall for that stupid pickemup, but I did. I guess seeing that severely worn Honda seat put me off my feed; it’d just be a boring subcompact whose only attribute is being slightly different from any number of subcompact survivors from that era, still in use.
And sweet Jesus, do I hate heavily tinted windows, and why would a Canuckian feel such a need save to avoid being seen?
Agreed, you’d have to be a real Canucklehead to do that.
What, not a single Merdebins Sans Frontières wisecrack after seeing that headline?
Bit disappointed, folks. Oh well. Off to RTFA.
Riced Hnda? No thanks.
No brainer Monday. Big block, manual truck or a clapped out slushbox Civic with an A. . .
I went for the Acura solely on the fact that my little hometown of St. Catharines made it on The Autopian
The tailgate and the grille are worth two grand, and for another $500 you get a truck. NP, eh?
I’m surprised to hear that the 4 door Integra was a flop in Canada. The first and second gens were everywhere here – my wife and my best friend both had a second gens, which were fantastic cars. The third gen looked a bit ungainly (especially compared to the sleek two door) but I remember seeing a lot of them.
I tried to look up how to write the sound of Homer Simpson drooling, but I couldn’t find it in 8 seconds of googling and gave up. Homer’s drooling is about my reaction to this Mercury. I love this truck. I need this truck. It gets my vote today.
I didn’t even read about the Acura. I’m sure it is a nice car, but it can’t beat a cool old truck. Although, I should say that the Acura’s black wheels are great. Objective fact: Black wheels are cool. Studies have shown that 9 out of 10 people that don’t like black wheels are Communists, and the other 1 in 10 are blind (and probably latent Comunists).
All correct, with the exception that this Acura is not, in fact, a nice car.
I didn’t look at it too closely reading it the first time. I looked at it just now, though, and it looks rough. I still like the wheels, though.
I remeber seeing these in canada way back in the day thinking “huh that’s neat”. They had better taillights than the USDM civics, but moreso the next gen. Otherwise, it’s a civic. And this one’s beat to shit. There isn’t really anything “cool” about it. If you want the look, you’d be better off grabbing a clean USDM civic and swapping a couple panels like folks have been doing for years….this one probably isn’t too far off from getting junked and parted…
The truck is honest about what it is, and it’s cheap. The Acura is less so. The tow hook had me running.
Wanted a Mercury truck ever since I learned they existed, but that’s a loooong drive in a slow truck with hard springs and a very thirsty engine.
$1800 USD for a proper 3/4 ton pickup (8-lug rims, probably a 9″ rear end) is a screamin’ deal, even if one had to spend plenty of time on/in/under it with a welder, patching metal. The Acura: Meh, eh?
That would be a Dana 60 holding up the rear of that Mercury, the 9″ was used only in the 1/2 tons.
Thanks for the correction!
Easy win for the Mercury. I can smell that Acura just by looking at the photos.
I’ve actually seen both of those in Southern California – I used to see an EL on my commute in San Diego with California plates, which intrigued me enough to look into US import regulations and find that these were built to meet US standards despite not being sold here. And I’ve seen a couple of Mercury trucks at Ford shows in L.A.
Am I the only one who wants to paint the Merc white with a big red maple leaf on the hood?
I thought so, eh.
I’m not keen on a disheveled interior – said the guy that drove one to work this morning – but as opposed to merely worn with a distinct layer of life on it, the Civic looks, for some reason, rank.
As opposed to a one-market only model that might or might not have parts support, working on the Ford – er, Mercury – should be pretty straightforward, so that’s my choice today.
Old Blue Ford! Oh yeah, that’s my thing! I would love to show up to the local meetups with both the Mercury AND my ’64 F100 coach-build crewcab in a similar color. Mine originally was that same blue, but after some bodywork, it sports an Earl Sheib-close color. A previous Member’s Rides has details of my truck: https://www.theautopian.com/crew-cabs-campers-a-far-traveling-phev-and-one-shamancycle-members-rides/
Swapping out the front drum brakes to disks should be an easy task, as I did mine.
I like the truck, I actually broke out the tape measure and it’s 2,400 km from me.
What could go wrong? Parking lot brake job. How much gas!
That poor Acura never stood a chance.
I was going to vote for the truck but WOW is that rusty. Add in the leaking brakes, no heat, and cracked windshield and it is a no. Plus I could buy a better condition one for the cost of shipping it from remote SK.
The twice swapped Acura is a hard no.
Truck day today. That Civic in Acura drag has seen a lot in its life. So has the truck. Just that the truck has put up with it better. And nobody south of the Canadian border knows that Ford sold Mercury badged trucks. It would get lots of looks for sure. And being an old Ford truck, it’s dead-nuts simple to fix.
Was close until I started looking close at the Honda. Nope especially at that price. Stance rice boy racer has had his hands on that. To me and I would imagine just about everyone that has had to clean up after one that means scrap value. The mercury truck is neat and enough and has a nice patina maybe just slap one of those patina sauces from Poppy’s, sweet patina, or vgg. Throw and blanket on the seat make sure the brakes and rear end is good and roll.
I had no idea “patina sauces” existed. I’m not sure how I feel about this.
You can make your own. WD-40 boiled linseed oil and various other things people claim works. But it doesn’t last long. Fairly big in the south and other not too rusty places. I was with some older guys ( in their mid 70s) at a small southern towns eating place. Outside was a patina 67 Camero with a younger guy driving. They were yelling he needs to put some paint on it. He yelled at them “just patina sauce” they were extra confused and I had to explain it all to them.
The truck isn’t ruined. At least, not ruined by human hands that left it in an unknown state. I wanted the Acu-vic until I saw “K-swapped, then swapped back.” Nope. No thanks. I would need every assurance it was all done right, both times, and just looking at it doesn’t fill me with confidence.
The truck has only been “ruined” by time and distance. And even then, whether or not it’s “ruined” depends on your stance on patina. I like that patina. I like the truck today.
The operation was not a success.
I like small 4-cylinder luxury cars. You get all the luxury and prestige while still keeping lower operating costs 🙂