Back in 1978 only 585 Mercury Monarchs were produced from the factory with a four speed manual transmission and the 302 small block engine. This is even crazier when you think about the fact that they built 38,939 coupes and 52,775 four doors! The variable venturi 302 was an optional engine but the standard Monarch was offered with a 4.1L inline six and a four speed manual transmission. No one bought them that way, apparently. The base six cylinder was rated at 97hp which is horrifying and the 302 came in at a whopping 134hp which might even be sadder. The good news is that no one who wants this car wants it to go drag racing with, they want it because it is amazingly rare as researched by the Marti Report folks that provided the information to the seller.

This car is amazingly clean with the interior being a level of perfect that seems almost nicer then the factory installed stuff when it rolled out of a plant in 1978. The seats are barely if at all worn! The simulated woodgrain shifter knob and neat little console are really interesting as well as the fact that the glove box appears to have the same outer covering as the seats. Weird!

Rocco Bastone found this one and while we agree that the $12,000 asking price is pretty wacky even with the rarity of the car, it has to be the nicest one on the planet, so take that for what it is worth. Hey, at least it has Flowmasters on it so it’ll rumble as you (slowly) pound down the road.

CL link: 1978 Mercury Monarch is clean, expensive, and one of 585 with a four speed