There it is, mystery solved, the curved chrome. It was crusher bound so I towed it home for the ford guys I know....no takers yet though.

Canadian Poncho wrote:

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That would be a cool car to restore. Parts would be a bugger to find though.

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A bit pricey for a donor car...most of the parts are there..........end result would be a great (rare) wagon when done.

https://classiccars.com/listings/view/1121574/1961-mercury-meteor-for-sale-in-cadillac-michigan-49601

If that car was ever done, i have no doubt that it would be the only one in existence. You have got to love these super rare and special models, so beyond the norm and the boring. 

MC wrote:

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 Actually the ad is mislabelled, it's not a Meteor.

Meteor was based on the Ford body, not Mercury, which I think was bigger, and had different body panels.

Here is what the '61 Meteor would look like:

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 It may be the year that is mislabled in the ad.....according to Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteor_(automobile)

The initial 1949 Meteor was introduced on June 25, 1948, at the same time the Ford Deluxe and Custom series were introduced across North America, and shared the new postwar full-sized Ford bodies, chassis, and powertrains but with unique trim. It used a Mercury grille and was powered by a 100 bhp (75 kW), 239 CID flathead V8 similar to that used in 19461953 U.S. Ford passenger cars. Meteor, as well as the Canadian Ford, kept the flathead V8 engine through 1954. The new OHV V8 which US Fords offered beginning in 1954 was not introduced in Canada until the 1955 model year. The following year, Ford of Canada introduced a six-cylinder engine for Canadian Ford and Meteor cars. Meteor models continued to use the Ford body with unique items such as grilles, taillights, and moldings. The 19521954 Meteors used Mercury instrument panels and dashboards. In mid-1954, some Niagara and Rideau models began using Ford instrument panels and dashes. These cars were named Niagara Special and Rideau Special and were priced around C$67 less than regular Niagaras or Rideaus.

In 1954, Meteor changed to its own series names. The entry-level car was called just Meteor, replacing Ford's Mainline series. The mid-level Ford Customline became the Meteor Niagara, while the top trim level Ford Crestline became the Meteor Rideau. A rebadged, Canadian-built version of the Ford Ranchero was added in 1957, and continued to be produced until 1959 as the "Meteor Ranchero."^[1] The Montcalm series was added in mid-1959 as a counterpart to Ford's new Galaxie models.

Meteor was discontinued as a brand name after 1961 for a number of reasons. The Meteor name was selected for a new vehicle introduced in the Mercury line, the intermediate sized Mercury Meteor, beginning in 1962, and the entire Mercury line had already been dropped down in price (moving closer to the niche previously served by the Meteor brand in Canada) due to slow Mercury sales and the discontinuation of the Edsel brand.

Interesting note from Wikipedia article:

Meteor was a marque of automobiles offered by Ford in Canada from 1949 to 1976. The make was retired for the 1962 and 1963 model years, when the name was used for the Mercury Meteor sold in the United States. It succeeded the Mercury 114, a Canadian-market Mercury based on the Ford, the "114" name being taken from the car's wheelbase.

It complemented the Mercury, and gave Canadian Mercury-Lincoln dealers a car to sell in the low-price market, against the Canadian Pontiac. Similarly, Canadian Ford dealers offered the Monarch, a line of cars based on the Mercury models, to compete against the Oldsmobile. This was due to the dealer structure in Canada, where smaller communities might have only a single dealer that was expected to carry a full line of models in both the low- and mid-price classes. From 19491959, Meteor typically ran fourth in overall sales, behind Chevrolet, Ford, and Pontiac.

Greaser wrote:

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MC wrote:

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 Actually the ad is mislabelled, it's not a Meteor.

Meteor was based on the Ford body, not Mercury, which I think was bigger, and had different body panels.

Here is what the '61 Meteor would look like:

---

 It may be the year that is mislabled in the ad.....according to Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteor_(automobile)

The initial 1949 Meteor was introduced on June 25, 1948, at the same time the Ford Deluxe and Custom series were introduced across North America, and shared the new postwar full-sized Ford bodies, chassis, and powertrains but with unique trim. It used a Mercury grille and was powered by a 100 bhp (75 kW), 239 CID flathead V8 similar to that used in 19461953 U.S. Ford passenger cars. Meteor, as well as the Canadian Ford, kept the flathead V8 engine through 1954. The new OHV V8 which US Fords offered beginning in 1954 was not introduced in Canada until the 1955 model year. The following year, Ford of Canada introduced a six-cylinder engine for Canadian Ford and Meteor cars. Meteor models continued to use the Ford body with unique items such as grilles, taillights, and moldings. The 19521954 Meteors used Mercury instrument panels and dashboards. In mid-1954, some Niagara and Rideau models began using Ford instrument panels and dashes. These cars were named Niagara Special and Rideau Special and were priced around C$67 less than regular Niagaras or Rideaus.

In 1954, Meteor changed to its own series names. The entry-level car was called just Meteor, replacing Ford's Mainline series. The mid-level Ford Customline became the Meteor Niagara, while the top trim level Ford Crestline became the Meteor Rideau. A rebadged, Canadian-built version of the Ford Ranchero was added in 1957, and continued to be produced until 1959 as the "Meteor Ranchero."^[1] The Montcalm series was added in mid-1959 as a counterpart to Ford's new Galaxie models.

Meteor was discontinued as a brand name after 1961 for a number of reasons. The Meteor name was selected for a new vehicle introduced in the Mercury line, the intermediate sized Mercury Meteor, beginning in 1962, and the entire Mercury line had already been dropped down in price (moving closer to the niche previously served by the Meteor brand in Canada) due to slow Mercury sales and the discontinuation of the Edsel brand.

 

Interesting note from Wikipedia article:

Meteor was a marque of automobiles offered by Ford in Canada from 1949 to 1976. The make was retired for the 1962 and 1963 model years, when the name was used for the Mercury Meteor sold in the United States. It succeeded the Mercury 114, a Canadian-market Mercury based on the Ford, the "114" name being taken from the car's wheelbase.

It complemented the Mercury, and gave Canadian Mercury-Lincoln dealers a car to sell in the low-price market, against the Canadian Pontiac. Similarly, Canadian Ford dealers offered the Monarch, a line of cars based on the Mercury models, to compete against the Oldsmobile. This was due to the dealer structure in Canada, where smaller communities might have only a single dealer that was expected to carry a full line of models in both the low- and mid-price classes. From 19491959, Meteor typically ran fourth in overall sales, behind Chevrolet, Ford, and Pontiac.

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My above comment was wrong, I just discovered that there was a Mercury Meteor sub-model offered in the US for 1961, but it was very different from the Canadian Meteor. 

It's a little confusing, as the name was shuffled around somewhat during the 1960s.  AFAIK, here is a rough summary of what happened (just doing this from memory, so feel free to correct anything I have wrong):

- Up until the end of the 1961 model year, Meteor in Canada was a unique brand of vehicle that utilized Ford bodies with unique styling cues, such as the one I posted the brochure pic of.  It was intended to give Mercury dealers a lower-priced brand sell.  The reasoning was along similar lines for the creation of unique Canadian Pontiacs using Chevrolet chassis and running gear to give Pontiac/Buick dealers a broader range of pricepoints, similar to Chevrolet/Oldsmobile - Ford had a slightly different philosophy but similar intent to cover a broader market range with its dealers.

- From the ad you posted for a 1961 Mercury Meteor, it appears that Mercury in US added it as a sub-model for 1961 only (?).  I did not know about it until I looked it up today (brochure page below).  It is definitely a Mercury body, and is decidedly different from the Ford-bodied Canadian car.

- To add to the confusion, in Canada, Ford dealers also had the Monarch to sell, which was used a full-size Mercury body with unique trim - to give Ford dealers a more upscale offering to help them compete in the mid-price segment.

- For '62-'63, the name was placed on a US mid-size Mercury branded vehicle, which was replaced by the mid-size Comet for '64 (which was a compact before '64).

- In Canada the Meteor nameplate reappeared for 1964 on a lower-priced version of the full size Mercury, which continued until sometime in the early '70s?

'61 US Mercury Meteor:

The mid size US '62 Mercury Meteor:

'61 Canadian Meteor:

'61 Ford:

'61 Canadian Monarch:

'66 Meteor:

'68...

Hey Carl, yes I believe the S33 was a Canadian only model (not a Ford expert, though - maybe Pritch can chime in here?).

Here's a link to the brochure:

http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/Canada/Ford-Canada/Meteor/1966%20Meteor%20Full%20Line%20-%20Canada/index.html

4SPEED427 wrote:

Man am I glad you posted that picture! When I was a teenager pumping gas I used to fuel up a dark blue S33, a 1966 in navy blue. There is NO doubt in my mind it was an S33 but everywhere I look online all I can find is an S55.... I suppose the S33 is a unique Canadian model? If I remember right the engine was odd too, I think it was a 410?

I test drove a Canadian Meteor Rideau with 352 engine in it, at ripe old age of 15. I remember the engine cubes, because the seller was telling me it was an experimental F**d engine, with commonly known F**d engine being a 351.

MC wrote:

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CdnGMfan wrote:

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I wasn't going to wade into this because I would expose myself as knowing something about Fords. On a GM enthusiast site that is akin to pouring honey on yourself and standing on an ant hill.

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 LOL... I've never let that stop me...

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I wish Johnnee had said that. I'd gladly pour honey on him while he stands on an ant hill...

CdnGMfan wrote:

In actuality, there is nothing wrong with Johnnee D except for the weird European sentiments. 

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 Oh, if you only knew him...................