Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen’s tenure as President of Ford was very short-lived; 19 months in total. He was hired by Henry Ford II from GM to be the President of Ford, bypassing a very disappointed Lee Iacocca. It was never going to work; GM was a remarkably unpolitical organization; more like a chummy club were the executives mostly looked out for each other. Ford was the epitome of political, since everything revolved around HFII’s mercurial temperament and a few key execs who tried to stay in his good graces.
But Bunkie left his imprint at Ford. He was very much oriented to design, as was Iacocca, which only ignited the flames of their enmity for each other. Bunkie would arrive at the design center at seven every morning, earlier than Lee, and demand changes that Lee later in the day would try to counteract. But Bunkie was the boss, and got his way, as is very obvious in this 1970 Montego. It wasn’t exactly very original, though.
What more can I add? Of course it’s not a dead ringer, but that ’67 Olds front end was clearly a major inspiration.
As is the rounded semi-fastback roof, which was of course a GM staple since 1965, and quite unlike the Ford and Mercury roof previously, which were either short and formal or endlessly long fastbacks. How about something in between?
Like this? Again, not a direct copy, but the proportions and general feel is more than a bit familiar. And it works, which is the important thing. Well, from the side in any case.
Its front end is a matter of taste. It’s certainly bold and…long. Thanks to that version of a “Bunkie Beak”, the Montego was now 209.9″. That makes it the longest Falcon ever; well except in Australia, where the 1976-1977 P6 LTD stretched 2″ further. But it had a longer 121″ wheelbase. The Montego’s is 117″.
In case you were wondering about what I said above about it being the “longest Falcon ever”, yes, underneath a couple of generations of face lifts and body lifts, there is a 1966 Falcon/Fairlane inner body. That’s on full display on the Montego wagon, as from the cowl back, it is essentially unchanged from the 1966 Falcon wagon.
This view from the rear makes that all-too obvious. A compact wagon with full-size length; what a brilliant concept!
Enough with the boring wagons. The hot stuff was called Cyclone, and there were no less than three versions. The just “Cyclone” was plenty warm, what with a standard 429 V8 making 360 hp, and optional versions with 370 and 375 hp on tap, the latter being the 429 Super CJ, with lighter internal parts and lots of other hi-po goodies, all of which added up to…5hp. Well, it was the days of fudging these things to keep the man from getting too worked up over big numbers.
Somewhat curiously, the Cyclone GT was much milder, with a standard 351 2 barrel. The more powerful ones were also available.
And of course the Spoiler, the counterpart to the GTO Judge. It was
The Spoiler came standard with the 370 CJ, with the Super CJ optional. This brochure suggests that the semi-hemi Boss 429, designed to be Ford’s hemi-killer, was also available. It was not, in reality. And it undoubtedly made more than 375hp, in reality. But who’s concerned with reality in 1970?
Let’s get back to our featured car, which initially threw me a little, as it has the hidden headlight front end from the Montego MX Brougham, the sedan version of which I have also encountered and made famous here.
But one quick look into the back seat made it obviously that this was no Brougham, even if that Brougham I wrote up had rather pathetic upholstery and interior trim for a car bearing that regal moniker. No, this is a basic Montego; Falcon-grade, in other words.
And then it hit me: this is an old familiar face, despite being lifted. I found this same car in my early CC days ago, looking rather decrepit, and I wrote it up at the old site within days of ten days ago, on Feb. 27, 2010. A curious coincidence. But then the owner had told me a few years back when I noticed it was gone, that he was having it majorly fixed up.
It’s even got the same wheels still, although with a new coat of paint.
I kind of liked that original purple, but this trendy matte black actually works quite well.
The front compartment sports a couple of unique touches, like this rather tall floor shifter.
And the padded dash has the most severe case of vinyloma I’ve ever seen on the inside of a car. Is it a special effect, created by pouring a mild acid on it? Or? The owner is an artist, so anything is possible.
I rather like the Impala-ish six tail light treatment. And since the base Montego had only a Bel-Airish four, this must have come from the same donor as the front end.
Very 1970. Did all the companies buy this plastic egg crate material from the same supplier? Egg Crates R Us.
I’ve run out of time and things to say, so I’ll leave you with the most memorable element. It’s hard to unsee.
Note: a rerun of an older post.
I’m just looking at that interior, and wondering what they left off the Falcon/Fairlane to make it even more plain than this car. Weren’t Mercurys supposed to be at least slightly more posh than Fords?
Nice to see they bothered to save and fix up another old beater that would have normally been scrapped .
Long may it live .
-Nate
My driver’s ed car in 1968 was a Mercury Montego, 4 door sedan. Always have a soft spot for that name. Hard to believe three average-sized teen boys and/or girls drove around in the back seat while the instructor supervised the learning driver in the front seat. Never thought of it as a glorified Comet, more like a fancier Ford Fairlane.
I never saw the Oldsmobile family resemblance until now. Now I can’t unsee it.
The Cyclone with the bullseye front really offended me as a 12 year old, I couldn’t believe how ugly it was. Still don’t care for it but I’ve softened somewhat.
Bunkie Knudson was probably a terrible executive. He was of course GM “legacy” 2nd gen. He lined up Pete Estes and John DeLorean under him at Pontiac. Granted he had marketing vision but I think he didn’t know how to really run a company on top. He ran White Motors into bankruptcy. And he didn’t have marketing vision in trucks and tractors.
Well, Bunkie was pretty successful back at GM when he turned Pontiac around. Of course he had the super competent Pete Estes and visionary John Delorean assisting, but the mark of a good executive is to recognize and cultivate talent behind him.
Also, I think HFII gets short shrift for his performance at the helm of Ford. Here was an inexperienced 28 year old guy who took over a company teetering on a bankruptcy and turned it into a behemoth. He hired superbly, from Ernie Breech and the whiz kids to Alan Mullaly. He did grow imperious and insular in his later years, but his overall management of the company was brilliant.
“GM was a remarkably unpolitical organization; more like a chummy club were the executives mostly looked out for each other.”
The exception that proves the rule : John DeLorean. Had GM been more accepting of executives like DeLorean, they may not have gone bankrupt.
My dads 72 montego wagon had posh dark green interior best bench seat ever firm but comfortable and supportive. Pale green exterior was painful to look at
I, as well, hadn’t before recognized the resemblance of the full-size ‘67 Oldsmobiles to the ‘70 Montego. I must say that the “Bunkie beak” was executed gracefully and tastefully on the aforementioned Olds models and some ‘60s Pontiacs while the ‘70 Montego and T-Bird seem clumsy and ponderous in comparison. This, to my mind, speaks to GM’s general styling superiority in those years. Not only did the Ford designs lack originally but they were a poor imitation, not an improvement.
I have always been a fan of the ” “Bunkie Beak” Montego with concealed headlights. I thought the Montego was a stylish car but should have been a little more upscale. It would have been nice to see a Cyclone convertible with its beak and concealed headlights but it was not offered. Unfortunately, there was not a 1970 Montego convertible. But if one had been offered switch out the front and back panels with a 1970 Cyclone, add the 375 hp, produced by the optional 429 cubic-inch Super Cobra Jet (SCJ) engine, often part of the “Drag Pak” option. Or it could have been offered with other high-performance options included a 370-hp Cobra Jet (CJ) 429 and a standard 360-hp 429-4V. That would have been one sweet Bunkie Beak Mercury convertible.
I attach the W shaped nose styling more to the 66 Riviera than that Olds but I certainly see the resemblance. Overall I think it’s a cool looking car, but so was every other 1970-1971 intermediate from every other company including its Torino cousin, Mercury gets lost in the shuffle once again.
Who knew there were so many different versions of the “Cyclone”? Remember seeing them (generally) in yellow, or orange when they were new, newish.