Will my 80’s Mercury Wagon SURVIVE a 2,500 Mile Drive Home?

In this video, I buy a 1981 Mercury Zephyr 100% sight-unseen, 2,500 miles from home. The trick? Get it back to Ohio in one piece, preferably without a tow... or fire. The BIGGEST thanks to Derek & Kevin for all the help -- follow them for more!
Derek: / onemannoplan
Kevin: / junkyard_digs ‪@JunkyardDigs‬
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[@ericbates654]

Big fan of @JunkyardDigs! Glad he was able to help you out!

[@Nacios007]

JunkyardDigs is just awesome!

[@bigjohnson7415]

JYD and Mook are AWESOME!

[@justsumguy2u]

I'm honestly not at all surprised that you made it, as the Fairmont/Zephyr were some of the most reliable, well-built cars Ford has ever made. Much of that has to do with their simplicity---there's really not a lot to go wrong. And there's also a lot of tried and true bits here, like the 200 inline 6 and C4 trans. Great cars

[@realmaindrianpace]

I had a '79 Zephyr 4 door sedan, cream and brown 2 tone, 200 six/C4 with full power, PW and locks and pretty well loaded. One of the best cars I ever had, and would regularly touch 21 MPG on the freeway at around 65 with the A/C on meat locker mode. Ah, memories.

[@JamesCooperider]

That is fantastic. I have a feeling mine would get similar mileage had I not been running 75, haha!

[@joer8399]

I had an 82 2 door Fairmont, one of the cheapest and most reliable vehicles I owned. The 200 6 cylinder is a great engine, not powerful but reliable and fuel efficient. Personally, I hate seeing these cars with LS motors in them, I know that was a thing for car guys for awhile.

[@Dog.soldier1950]

I had one too. But 4banger. POS. FYI in the PNW mold/moss is OEM

[@user-tb7rn1il3q]

Fuel now has ethanol which hurts fuel economy. In addition winter fuel has less energy in it which reduces fuel economy even more.

[@ST_RayChez]

I'm getting the classic Top Gear "buy an old second/third/fourth hand car and go on a road trip" vibes from this. And it is awesome!

[@JamesCooperider]

Hahaha hell yeah!!! Right on, glad you enjoyed 🍻

[@williamegler8771]

My parents had one that they bought brand new. When they test-drove several models at the dealership my father decided they had to decide between the automatic or A/C because he felt the 200cid six wasn't powerful enough for both. After talking it over with my mother, because it was primarily going to be her car, she choose A/C. They special ordered one with all of the available options available except automatic. The factory even confirmed with the dealer that the order was correct. Drove it up until 2002, although it was regulated to extra car status after 150k miles, and then sold it to their cleaning lady's brother for the princely sum of $250.00. He drove it from Madison Wisconsin to Fairbanks Alaska and on that trip, it turned 250,000 miles. It finally met its demise in 2011 when it was being driven down a dirt track and a jagged rock punctured the oil pan. He towed it back to his property folded down the backseat and propped open the rear passenger door and turned it into a doghouse for his Huskies. To my knowledge it's still there.

[@RyanDunn1987]

I like the fact that the dude's house has like 3 rooms, but has a garage bigger than the house itself, a big ass front- and back lawn packed with cars. And I'm not even criticizing. This dude is living the car-guy dream and I love it!

[@JamesCooperider]

Hahaha I’m serious, Derek is the man and he’s definitely living the dream.

[@john_toss]

You’re right about seeing older trucks in the northwest. That’s what I love about living here since no salt or major rust. There’s a lot of older cars in my neighborhood and town

[@mikesawyer4707]

Two thumbs up to Kevin from junkyard digs. Kevin is a cool dude for lending a helping hand. 😊

[@JamesCooperider]

Absolutely! Can’t say enough about how nice he is. Hell of a dude!

[@miltstone2]

Kevin is a good guy and I bet sleeperdude would love to own that wagon! Awesome vid man!

[@johnellis3309]

Good job I bought a Ford Fairmont station wagon from a junkyard on Columbia boulevard paid $300 for it put a battery in it and some tires. I drove it back and forth to work for a year I woke up one morning and the thing was leaking fuel. My neighbor was a Ford mechanic he looked at the carburetor.. and said somebody put a Ford pinto carburetor on it. He asked me how does it run ..well it always ran good. He said well leave it alone then. I drove that station wagon to Yellowstone. Mount Rushmore Badlands. Grand Tetons. Over 4,000 mi on my vacation.. the thing never missed a beat

[@TMVarchive]

My family had an '81 Fairmont wagon with fake wood trim. We drove the $hit out of that thing and it was as reliable as you could hope for. By the time we traded it for a minivan in '91 it was rusting to pieces and drinking oil like crazy but still started on the first hit of the key.

[@coletrickle-km7cl]

Do you wish you had a inflatable mattress and a sleeping bag for the trip? That back seat folds down. You'd have your own motel zephyr back there.

[@Slider68]

Back in 1984 a buddy bought a near identical used 81 Mercury Zephyr wagon. It had the same exterior color and same gutless 6 cylinder with 1bbl carburetor, same 3-speed automatic, etc. Your video brought back numerous memories of us driving and in the winter trying and failing to start it (see below for more details). He bought it to replace his 1981 Ford Escort GT, that he had just blown the engine in. He had bought the Escort brand new only 3 years earlier and it was really his first car. His cylinder head literally cracked in two, destroying the engine right after the factory warranty expired. At the time, I was driving my Plymouth Volare wagon, that my parents bought in 1978, brand new. It had just been given to me (when it was 5 years old and had close to 100,000 miles on it) after the transmission failed. The body was terribly rusted out (huge holes all over, including the rear ¼ panels, floor, doors, front fenders, etc.) and I had spent about ½ a year getting it back on the road and through a safety check. Cars were not built as well back then and 100,000 miles was typically considered totally worn out, especially if you lived in "the salt belt". My wagon had the 225 cu in Super 6 (slant 6, with 2bbl). To my amazement, my Volare was both faster and more fuel efficient than his Zephyr. That Zephyr got absolutely terrible fuel economy (around 10mpg in mostly country town like driving, and dirt road flat out driving, but I recall more like 20+ on the highway). His previous Escort GT was much faster and much more fuel efficient, although wasn't exactly durable... That Zephyr was fairly durable and reliable. We drove the heck out of our cars and it never really broke (other than brake pads). One problem the Zephyr did have was every time the temperature dropped below about -20°C the engine would flood, and it wouldn't start. It really needed to be plugged in (block heater) in order to start in the cold.

[@coletrickle-km7cl]

The most valuable part on that wagon is the back up lenses on the lift gate. Most of those are missing eather one of them or both. Needs a coyote 5.0 V-8 swap, a 2003 cobra IRS rear axle, a full maximum motorsports suspension, 2003 cobra wheels, and you'll have a awesome fox body wagon. Eric the car guy has a awesome hot rod build on a fairmont.

[@mescko]

That's the greatest thing about the Fox body. Nearly 30 years of parts-bin engineering makes for an amazing variety of projects you can do.

[@lordtickles1478]

Video showed upbin my feed. Loved it, now subbed and glad you got to meet kevin. Been watching him for years.

[@bryanballi2788]

Started following you on the Tok and now here as well! Such a cool video and wagon! I love how excited you got when you climbed out of Pendleton, OR. I'm a truck driver in the PNW and I travel the I-84 from Boise to Portland daily and im constantly in awe of it. I immediately recognized Hwy 14 in Washington at the beginning of your video. Love it!

[@JamesCooperider]

Man that is all too cool. Thank you for this comment, that’s fantastic - I couldn’t imagine seeing that semi-regularly for work! Cheers 🍻

[@user-qb7qg2pp6w]

the Head light switch is probably weak causing the loss of lights. those old fords were known for that.

[@trixie9867]

your dash looks really nice - be careful when cleaning it near the speaker holes - its brittle

[@JamesCooperider]

It is surprisingly nice! but you bet, it's pretty crispy haha

[@veeflames187]

Strangely I did this exact drive about at the same time. Took my 1991 Mazda Familia Hatch with 320,000 miles from portland oregon to NY moving. It was strange seeing those highways again. This felt really relatable as I had a few minor issues but, one alternator later and it did the trip with no issues. I had to slow my roll a bit around indiana as my fuel consumption with a loaded car wasnt to great so the last bit took a bit longer then i wanted, but 28mpg at 70mph or 38mpg at 50mph was no contest with my limited budget rode the right lane the rest of the way. Love seeing folks take older rides and using them daily or on long trips. its a nice vibe for sure.

[@Oldvolkshome]

Rad video James! Also, shoutout to Derek with the Monster Rabbit shirt!! Sweet!

[@18wheeler77]

53:32 heh hey, mister! You left your camera!

[@FiftyfourhundredWatt]

I did a very similar thing just 2 weeks ago. December 2023 btw. I am an American Expat living in the Philippines for the last 13 years. I live in Gubat Sorsogon (look it up) which is extreme southeast of the main island of Luzon. I bought a 1998 Volvo V70 north of Manila somewhere called San Fernando Pampanga. It took 2 bus rides to even get there and about 16 hours one way travel. Well I bought the Volvo based on pictures and a couple talks with the owner. I got a great deal for what is basically a good car where everything works, all the fluids look good, and the only bad thing I know about is a worn out trunk strut and a pair of worn out or damaged Tie Rods. We made it home just fine after 13 hours 30 minutes with zero troubles. Google Maps sent us home on one of the worst detours with over 100 km of severe potholes. Years ago I bought a Suburban in LA California and drove it to Michigan where I was living. I have zero regrets about this Volvo purchase and would do it again.

[@MrCMDRShep]

that was AWESOME! i love seeing people interact with people like Derek from VGG or Kevin from JY Digs, new to the channel but i hope to see some more content from this car again! as a wagon lover, this looks like it would be a dream trip! great video! Thank you for sharing this journey!

[@FishyEngineer420]

That’s sick, I live in Yakima!

[@DreamGrandDragon]

A lot crazier than what I would do and hello from Circleville Ohio. Nice to see Ohio local on KZbin.😂

[@careyhaubrick7037]

This was great. I really enjoyed it. When I was 16 the very first car I test drove to purchase for my own was a 1980 Zephyr wagon with the 200-6 and automatic, and my Mom didn’t approve of it, so never did get to buy it but it sure created a lifelong love of these cars. Later on, when I was a bit older, I purchased a 1981 Zephyr Z7 coupe that was fully loaded with the full console, power windows, AC, sunroof, etc, it had it all… the only change was that the previous owner had swapped out the slug 255 (4.2L) V8 for a similar era 302. It was a great car and one of those ones I wish I never would have let go of. A lot of memories here for me for sure, thanks for putting together this amazing story.

[@htmotorworks799]

Just watched this and it was a great watch! What an adventure.

[@anman366]

Great video man! I cannot even fathom how much time and footage you had to amass for this one, it was great to watch!

[@18wheeler77]

19:48 did you guys really use cinderblocks as jack stands?!!! You know they’re not as strong and solid as y’all think they are, right?!!

[@DesertRatLife]

I love these road trip videos. For sure my favorites! I flew 1000 miles to washington to get my 05 TDI Jetta so I know the feeling.

[@iamcodymack]

Sweet wagon! I have an 83 sedan. I feel like constant 70-75 mph contributes to your bad mileage, makes that 200 scream.

[@kier6468]

Looks like a fun trip. Why were you worried about 15 psi oil pressure at idle and 40 going down the road? Those figures are completely normal and indicative of a healthy engine.

[@djstangerdude]

I have watched all your videos and TikToks and have enjoyed them all! This video was by far the best you have done! You should be proud! I hope this video blows up your channel with new subscribers! Well done!

[@timothyfendrick549]

thanks for the ride

[@matthewknudsen1373]

Greatly enjoyed the video. Honestly, vibes were immaculate the whole way through.

[@JamesCooperider]

Thanks man!! It was a ton of fun and I'm glad that it came across!

[@jonkitrel6622]

This video was like a favorite pair of jeans (bear w me)... first, you bought the car in my back yard (western WA) and drove it through my front yard (eastern OR). Up til Cheyenne, l recognized MOST of the places on your trip, including the green/yellow gas stop in ID north of SLC on l-15. Then, the guest appearance by Kevin (JYD) topped it off... dude's an ENGINEER, he knows stuff. The PNW is the best kept secret in the old car game... don't tell anyone.

[@anman366]

Behold the 1980-something Lincoln Zephyr wagon. Featuring an amazing Inline 6-cylinder engine that combines the fuel consumption of a big block V8 and the power of a small displacement 4-cylinder!

[@joeschmitz2790]

Thank you for the video! It was awesome to watch!!!

[@daviddavis4444]

My Aunt and Uncle went thru Montgomery Ward and bought their 1980 Ford Futura Wagon with the fake woodgrain on the side. Power Everything and drove it for years straight 6 never failed.

[@dandufoe4594]

That thing is clean but the mileage issue might be because when it was built the speed limit was probably 55 and if you’re running 70-75 might be it

[@Skagen63]

50:05 I was sure you were going to throw that hat out the window ... xd

[@werf_64]

amazing video so entertaining we need more content like this and you will be sure to blow up keep it my man!

[@kelleredward6153]

Amazing. Loved this video. Thanks for the amazing content!

[@805local5]

Incredible video James! One of my favorites. This video deserves many many more views than it has! Very well done 🙌🏼

[@JamesCooperider]

Thank you, I really appreciate this!

[@MJHarte]

This is the first time ive seen my town at the start of a video! He got his first tank of gas in Washougal, Wa - my home town!

[@IowaBudgetRCBashers]

I’m not a Fox body mustang fan but for some reason I like the fairmont futura and zephyrs, as well as the thunderbirds..

[@j.d.1966]

Amazing video man, keep it up! Youre destined to blow up soon!

[@journeymenforlife]

We’ve come over from Junkyard Digs and a new subscriber here! Seriously cool channel, cool old cars and a nice guy! Keep it up man 🤙🏼

[@JamesCooperider]

Hey I really appreciate that! This’ll sound like a really stupid question but did he promote this video or mention it somewhere else?

[@KMFDM781]

Found your channel and I'm loving it! Looks like another VW guy! If you're ever in Indy and need a hand or mechanical expertise or anything let me know!

[@dc76384]

Oh wow! What an adventure. Greetings from N.W Indiana

[@martinmoore8730]

That place you stopped at in the!!NOWHERE!! is pretty much known as Malta, it was originally a truck stop then had just truck parking then a few years ago banned trucks from entering. I used to stop there for my rest breaks.

[@Mr6384]

Great video!! My first road trip in our 1978 Thunderbird Diamond Jubilee will hopefully be this summer!! We bought it in SoCal but it had been sitting for years. Towed it back to Tennessee and glad I did bc the first start up the carb overloaded!!! Now the mechanics have done their magic to it!

[@TJ-nr9cg]

Funny how things like ashtrays amaze kids today😂. every car had em for the first 38 years of my life so it makes me laugh that its a thing to yall. Cool video. These cross country drive videos in "sight unseen" cars are trendy and kinda fun. Oh, and btw...if you think that part of Oregon was nice, had you driven more northwest from ol Yakima you'd have seen scenery ten times nicer than what you drove through. Honestly head towards Seattle someday. Put that on your bucket list my man.

[@timzzz9963]

My 86 mustang had that exact cork gasket. Big oil leak and bits of cork in the oil. Fun times.

[@xbigbobsagetx]

Just found your channel! I love this kind of content. I live in Missouri and my wife and I just went on a huge road trip in our daily (2012 Yaris.) put about 4000 miles on it in a week. I love the concept of flying somewhere and buying a random car to drive back though, besides the nerve wrecking anxiety 😆 Will definitely be looking at your other videos soon. Have a good day!

[@LovelessAndroid]

MO resident here too. Check out fellow Missourian - Aging Wheels. Great content as well.

[@mescko]

I was on the selling end of one of these adventures, I sold a car to a now friend of mine, he flew in to OR where I am and drove it to SoCal then home to Naperville. That was about 15 years ago, he still has it and he sent me pictures of the car participating in his recent wedding.

[@williamsinger4124]

I see Derek has a 92 or 93 accord. I bet that thing works perfectly

[@ice44567]

As someone who lived in Ohio, your reaction at the views is exactly how I felt once I moved out West lmao

[@fdholley]

Was a good watch...good you got home safely

[@hawkhawkins5374]

Great video. What an awesome trip and experience. Congratulations on your successful adventure.

[@Coltrain78]

Wonderful video! Learned to drive on a maroon 1983 Zephyr.

[@markdoyle6414]

Another American road trip from the comfort of my sofa. Awesome.

[@theskateboardt619]

Had to come check your channel out and I missed this video in my subscriptions for some strange reason…. Nice and long video, looking forward to watching this 🤘🏻

[@evoemperor3776]

You can go to trip to the moon with that engine and trans combo🤣

[@austinswallow]

What an awesome trip! Your petrol prices are significantly cheaper than in Europe, the price here in the UK is around £6.60 GBP Sterling, about $8.35 USD at today's exchange rate, ok, our gallon is the equivalent of 1.2 US gallons - so you would get better mpg if you measured this against our gallons, but nevertheless, your petrol is dirt cheap! Thanks for sharing, greetings from the UK!

[@joer8399]

Glad to see an original Fox Body not turned into an ls swapped drag car.

[@rottenroads1982]

Me, I like Station wagons. Their is just something about that Low and long body style that I like. I was born in 2006, so I never had the ability to ride in a Station Wagon, but I hope that I can get to drive one some day.

[@ruthiegobbi3031]

THAT WAS AWESOME, GOOD JOB,I RODE WITH YOU BUDDY,

[@DaewooFestiva23]

what a gorgeous example. Great buy!

[@cwo3usmc]

Nice job! Enjoyed it.

[@wallacegrommet9343]

I had the Ford version as a company car for furniture field techs. Four on the floor. Bench seats. No AC. Manual everything. Single speaker AM radio…..good times

[@jaredreck882]

Amazing thanks for sharing

[@mcweirdstufff]

What a sweet ride! When I was a kid my Mom had a blue 78 Zephyr wagon, wish I had it now. Great score!

[@leeroy3375]

Great video bud.. keep up the good work

[@craigmclean8260]

Great journey, and I'm glad it turned out well...I kinda had a feeling that JYD Kevin would zero in on timing, since you had done the "smog pump-delete"...Wow, 18 MPG; that's about as good as I got in my '72 Vega (I had to add a couple of quarts of oil at every fill-up!)...I recall when these were brand-new, along w/ the "Fox body" Mustang; seemed like they'd be reliable, if not exciting, old buses...and living in N. Ohio, I can concur it's hard to find anything locally, older than about a 2004, that still casts a shadow. Thanks for taking us along on this road trip; will check out your VW content!

[@joeledger5580]

As soon as you said you were heading to Ames, I knew that you would be meeting up with @Junkyard Digs...Glad he was able to dial the wagon in, as many of his videos that I have watched, he still manages to amaze me , like his latest where they actually got the Hummer to fire up.

[@stage0garage]

Nice video! I did the same thing in February to bring home a ‘79 Dodge stepside from WA to WI. It made it but was pretty dumb to do in Feb. But now we’re hooked on the clean WA cars…so gonna do it again soon. Was also the kick-off video for our channel.

[@420catson]

when i was looking to buy my first car i saw a mercury zephyr, didnt bother askin my dad to look at it cuz i knew he was gonna say it was a lemon and too old but i still think theyre cool id love to see more of this thing!

[@barlowrichard]

Great video!! Should have way more views.

[@RoadHeros610]

Dude such an awesome positive video thankyou

[@DanneBe91]

Love it! Great job, and great car! 😊

[@Mayala285]

When I first saw this video I was hooked the whole time. Great editing, pacing and overall great video.

[@JamesCooperider]

Thank you so much! It’s incredibly difficult to edit a video like this so I’m glad you felt the pacing & editing worked. Hell yeah 🤘🏻

[@meganpaull6140]

I just discovered your channel and I must say what a great journey in the car you bought it got you home safely great channel 🇦🇺

[@wallacegrommet9343]

Draft behind tractor trailers. Even one hundred feet back is an improvement

[@malcolmschenot6352]

I had an '86 Ford LTD which is a very similar car to this one. Drove it from Miami to Phoenix when I moved; did just fine. It was a hurricane Andrew survivor and did me well. I subsequently have a soft spot for all these mostly forgotten cars. They were cheap, reliable and comfortable.

[@daniellino7492]

great video!!! that 1hr flew by, it was fun!!!

[@JamesCooperider]

Glad you liked it! It was a blast to film

[@trixie9867]

I remember my grandfather had a 78 Zephyr Z7 - it was the futura body style, white on white, and 4 cylinder with a manual transmission - when the dealer sold it to him they mentioned it was a rare spec model - none others around

[@trashman1979]

I was very impressed on multiple levels. I was especially surprised by the appearance of Kevin because there was no mention of him in the form of clickbait! Good job all around!

[@JamesCooperider]

Thank you, I greatly appreciate it! 🍻

[@bishamsingh4023]

Nice video! I enjoyed it.

[@AndreasLarsson95]

Awesome ride!

[@jasonburton487]

awsome video, the mini family truckster did great it seems :)

[@erikalbertson7483]

I had an 80's Mercury Cougar wagon with a v-6. Great little car ! It was dark brown with a light brown interior.

[@CalvinMorris-cf8jk]

wonderful road trip.

[@Ponykotze]

This Video deserves so much more views

[@mikerhodeback9636]

New headlight switch and connector will fix the high beams....led bulbs will help too.

[@itsduncan4864]

awesome video !

[@MichaelJustice-ng7by]

Kevin is good he knows a lot about old cars

[@ThefishDakota]

Proud of you dude.

[@igormac88]

Great content! Get me thinking about the mileage.. this car is from the recession era, so its made for 55 mph cruise I think, which were already not that super good for modern times. Probably going above this, like 70, 75..80 is gonna hurt a lot fuel mileage. And after all, this wagon brought you home safely with minor issues after a simple shakedown just to replace lights, belts, tires and a quick wash after being parked for who knows how much time. How many good memories this Zephyr may have in these seats, children raised in them, soccer games, school runs, so many stories to tell in all hers 42 years on the road.. and now for a new life in your hands

[@gavin8730]

shout out to the guy who got pulled over at 53:51

[@JamesCooperider]

Thought that was gon' be me for a second there, not gonna lie

[@MadeInNewYork73]

Mine was a 79 Zephyr Z-7 4 cyl, 4 speed! Slow but ran great....always a Ford. Been good to is except 2000 Sable Wagon GS. Trans replaced when new..went 180k. ALL of my Mustangs fab as is this Fusion SEL I have.