This is the 1964 Mercury Marauder owned by Steve Dauria. He found the body he wanted for just $1,500 and set out turning it into the road-going NASCAR-inspired machine of his dreams. Along the way, he battled through the recession, a criminal hijack of the car, and the goal to put an entirely new roof on this thing. But one issue that almost sunk the whole project? Cooling.

A built motor was tested and tuned, and it couldn’t run cool enough. That engine was sold off to an interested party, and a new aluminum engine was built. This one made 200 more horsepower, put far less weight over the nose, and the car still wouldn’t run cool. Eventually, Steve found out the issue was relayed to his pulley speed ratio. The water pump was not being properly driven, thus the cooling issues persisting. If that’s not enough to make you pull all of your hair out… but he didn’t, and the build was eventually finished.

Petrolicious sat down with Steve to learn more about his car. Like the fact that it runs NASCAR-spec tires, massively upgraded brakes, and a proper power-steering setup.

There’s a whole lot more going on here as well. But at it’s core, this is one sharp Marauder owned by a man who loves his ride. Watch the video above and head over to Petrolicious to read more about the car.

[Featured image from Petrolicious]