Photo on right: The proud owner,
Mr. Jim Miller on the left and Mr. Ed Cook on the right |
 |
-
I purchased this car in August of 2006. When I found it in a color advertisement in a car trader magazine, I was taken by its’ looks. I had been looking for a hot rod of some kind narrowing it down to some kind of Mustang but couldn’t find anything that grabbed me.
-
Then I saw a car ad that said, “1956 Mercury Crown Montclair, have your ever seen one?”, and I looked at the color picture of this amazing car I thought I hadn’t ever seen one! I drove up to Santa Barbara and looked it over, not very carefully I might add! The car was an older restoration and had not been taken care of very well. I purchased it anyway, not really knowing what I was doing or what I was about to get my self into. But, I didn’t care, this car grabbed me by the heart! I took it home and went straight to work on it!
-
The brakes were checked and adjusted then worked on tuning up the engine. Soon, I realized I needed to replace the weather stripping on the front and rear windows. The stainless on the car was in good shape and I didn’t want just anyone taking it off to get the glass out. After some searching around the area, I was steered, literally, to Mr. Ed Cook of Camarillo, California. I was told that Mr. Cook was a Ford expert restorer and did excellent work. I called Ed and set up an appointment to bring the car over to his house. Ed removed the stainless pieces from the windows and after removing the glass he “suggested” removing the rest of the stainless and chrome and having it polished and pot metal re-chromed. Well, one thing lead to the next and everything except the body came off the car including all of the front and rear suspension. The body was sanded down, some areas were repaired and the entire car was repainted in the same color scheme as it was when purchased. The 312 cu. In Y-block was rebuilt and an original Offenhauser Tri Power Intake manifold and valve covers were installed and three Stromborg 97 carburetors to feed it. Red’s headers were installed and connected to two inch exhaust pipes with 26 inch Smittys Mufflers for that authentic 50’s sound. The Sunset Coral and dark Gray Metallic paint are correct ’56 Ford colors and together they make this car a real attraction.
-
If you look at the lines of this car you can see how well the Crown Tiara molding works on the Montclair. The stainless and chrome side molding, the rocker panel and the stone guard are all sculpted on the car so that addition of the crown molding to the car’s lines flow to perfection. I think that the Crown molding fits the Mercury far better than on the the Ford body, mostly due to the lightning blot chrome configuration and the bumped out rear fender slab. When people see this car, they can’t believe how beautiful the car looks. The word stunning comes up regularly. The wire wheels from Motorspot make the car look regal. Had Mercury mass produced this car, I truly believe sales would easily have surpassed the Ford Crown Victoria and maybe even Chevrolet. Examine this car closely, study the lines and you will see how well the lines all flow together.
-
Not too many Mercurys win “Best of Show” at a Mustang Club car Show. This one recently did just that on July 19th, 2008! This car was picked by Motor Trend Magazine as one of the 10 Cool Cars at the Fabulous Fords Forever Car Show at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, Ca. in April 2008 as well! There were over 2200 cars at this show, 1500 were Mustangs! To go along with the show, Mustang Times featured a picture of this car in an article from the Buena Park Ford Show on the first page of the article.
-
As I said, every where this car goes it draws a crowd. People come back to see it three, four and five times! Am I proud of this car? You bet! It is a one of one and people look at this car and remember when… When their parents had one, when they bought one new, when they were first married and went on their honeymoon in a Mercury or when it was the very first car they owned. They remember when cars were really cool! I hear people say everyday, they don’t make cars like this anymore. This is a real beauty!
-
I have been very fortunate to be awarded recognition at almost every event I have attended to date. This is amazing, fun, exciting, and I am blessed to have such a timeless piece of art to drive. A lot of people at car shows, tell me how refreshing it is to see something other than a Chevy here. They tell me how tired they are of going to shows and seeing nothing but some form of a tri-5 Chevy. A friend of mine has a superb 1953 Hudson Hornet that is stock except for the paint and a conversion to 12 volt with an alternator. When that car is at a show people can’t get enough of it! When we cruise around town people give us the thumbs up take pictures of the car or come up to us at a stoplight and tell us how much they like the car. It is very rewarding.
