1953 Mercury Monterey

Described as a “background car” for the upcoming movie “The Fate of The Furious”, this 1953 Mercury Monterey looks clean, and is a driver, looking to need little. With little information, it would be cool to purchase this one before the movie debuted so you could have a “famous” car so to speak. This possible movie star is offered at $6,800. Find it here on craigslist out of Chatsworth, California. Thanks goes out to TireFriar for the submission!

Even if the movie claim isn’t true, this is still a nice Merc. Being a 53, this Monterey is powered by a 255 cubic inch flathead V8, with a 3 speed column shifted manual. There are no engine bay photos, but this one has upgraded wiring, and has been converted to 12 volt. Also this Monterey flaunts a new interior and new tires. The Paint is beautiful, and the chrome looks nice as well, though the front bumper has a ding, and is missing 1953 spec bumper trim. Otherwise, this looks like a great cruiser that is road ready. Will you own this 1953 Mercury before “The Fate of the Furious” comes out?

Source: barnfinds.com

1950 Mercury Eight

Source: hemmings.com

Sensational Mercury Custom Shown At AACA Museum

Share

Photos courtesy AACA Museum.
We’ll stick our neck out here and salivate that this is one of most gorgeous modern customs we’ve laid eyes on in years. This incredible 1940 Mercury coupe is owned by Jack and Carolyn Kiely of Rumson, New Jersey, and it’s going to be on limited display at the Antique Automobile Club Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania, until January 6, 2017. The Kielys commissioned Rob Ida Concepts of Morganville, New Jersey, to build it, a shop that’s spun out more than its share of SEMA shockers and other specialty cars over the years.

The accolades this Mercury has won roll like dice: Best in Show at SEMA, World’s Most Beautiful Custom, Crown Jewel at the Race of Gentlemen, and most recently, first place in Hot Rod Custom and Best Engineered during car week at Monterey, California.

Even a casual look at the Mercury reveals that it significantly departs from its stock Ford-based contours. The Kielys wanted the custom to reflect what might have happened if Mercury creator Edsel Ford might have gone to a French coachbuilder such as Figoni et Falaschi to create a production prototype. To that end, yes, the car began with a 1940 Mercury business coupe, but Ida swung for the fences from that point. The hood, decklid and most of the roofline were fabricated from scratch. The front wheel spats turn in conjunction with the wheels to prevent tire rub, steering at a ratio of 2.6:1. There’s a touch sensor in each headlamp lens that allows the front spat to be removed.

Beyond that, there’s a Rootes Roots-supercharged Ford engine from a 2009 Shelby GT500 – only it’s been dressed with Ardun-style valve covers and leather-wrapped plug wires to give it a correct period look. Raise the trunk lid, and you’ll see fitted, handmade luggage clad in the same leather that adorns the car’s interior.

Source: blog.hemmings.com

1964 Mercury Park Lane Marauder

Source: hemmings.com

1955 Mercury Monterey Coupe

Source: hemmings.com

1970 Mercury Cyclone GT

Source: hemmings.com

1965 Mercury Monterey

Source: hemmings.com

1965 Mercury Colony Park 9 Seat Station Wagon

Source: hemmings.com

1963 Mercury Monterey Custom Hardtop

Normally, we’ll show you a front 3/4 shot if possible as the lead picture for a post, but since the most distinguishing feature of this Mercury design was the “breezeway” retractable rear window, I decided to make an exception. This clean 1963 Monterey Custom Hardtop (so identified by the three vertical pieces of trim on the rear fenders) is listed for sale here on eBay with a buy it now of $4,500. It’s located in Las Vegas, Nevada–possible bribery to get a family member to come along when you go to pick it up?

The seller purchased the vehicle from an eBay auction in 2009, and includes a printout of the auction listing here if you want to look closer–which isn’t a bad idea as they don’t tell us much themselves apart from them not having enough time to drive the car enough; thus the sale. That listing said the car was largely original, but featured an older repaint in the original color and no rust present at all. It looks like that may still be the case, and with the Nevada climate it’s very likely. There’s one other surprise about the car, but I’ll save that for now.


I know this is a four door advertisement, but I wanted you folks to see how the window really was a big thing for Mercury. They called it “the window that came in out of the rain,” and stressed how it would make being in the car more comfortable in all conditions. I found one source that stated the window mechanism was actually designed for the large Ford station wagons and borrowed for the Mercury. I’m not sure how well it was received, though, because as of mid-1963 you could get the Marauder, which was largely a Monterey with the fastback roof from the 1963-1/2 Ford sporty looking hardtop grafted onto the body.


I’m guessing this is how the car has been stored, out of the majority of the Nevada sun. The seller does tell us that the breezeway window works well, which must be a necessity in the heat, especially without air conditioning.


The inside looks really nice, despite the seller telling us that there is one rip on a seam in the driver’s seat. I hope it can be repaired; it would be a shame to lose that original upholstery!


But what’s that other surprise, you ask? This Monterey should have been originally equipped with a 390 cubic inch V8, and some sources say there was an optional 406 cubic inch one. But this is a honking big 428 V8 engine, and it’s attached to a C6 transmission rather than the original Merc-o-matic. This was done prior to the current seller’s ownership, and we don’t know the reason why. I’m also a little suspicious of the brown deposits all around the coolant filler cap; I hope it’s nothing more than sloppyness and/or a bad cap. However, how many rust free Breezeway-equipped Mercurys have you seen lately for only $4,500? Seems like a good buy to me–how about you?

Source: barnfinds.com

1968 Mercury Montego MX

Raise your hands if you like to shift for yourself? This 1968 Mercury Montego MX has a 3-speed manual and it’s in Velarde, New Mexico, about 40 miles north of the capital, Santa Fe. It’s on Craigslist for $4,200 or $5,200 with a replacement 4-speed out of a Fairlane/Comet with floor shifter and linkage.

Automatics are useful for folks who can’t operate a clutch pedal anymore and/or for commuting duties, and three of our vehicles are automatics so I like them, too. And, obviously the foot-clutch-operated manual transmission that we’ve all known and loved for decades will eventually go the way of cursive writing. The Montego MX was in the Comet family and was new for 1968. This car looks great, body-wise, but paint-wise it’ll need some help. You may have noticed the trim piece missing on the leading edge of the hood, hopefully that’s in the trunk.


This is probably the body style to have in this car (or, in any car?), the two-door hardtop. The Montego was made in this style until 1971 when they went all whack-a-doodle with the design. Kidding of course, I like the next generation cars, but there’s just something about this late-60s era of Mercury that I like, they’re so Jack Lord.


The MX got simulated walnut interior trim and this interior looks pretty good, and you can also see that this car was originally, probably, Grecian Gold and why it was painted a gray color is beyond me. But, someone liked it and that’s all that matters. I’m not sure if it’s a good sign to see a rusty door top like that? I don’t think that I’ve ever seen that before and it looks like it may have messed up the arm rest and who knows what the floors are like. Scary, but other than that..


This is a 302 V8 two-barrel with 210 hp. A 230 hp four-barrel option was available and if a buyer really wanted to go, a 325 hp 390 V8 was an option; that would be quite a find. This car looks pretty good to me, you’ll have to budget in a couple of grand for a nice paint job back to the original color, or that’s what I would do since everything else is that color other than the peeling gray paint. I would personally pass on the $1,000 4-speed, a 3-speed column-shifter works for me. Are there any Montego MX fans in the house?

Source: barnfinds.com

1967 Mercury Cougar

 

Mercury Cougars often seem to not get as much appreciation as Ford mustangs or other Ford products. This Cougar is in very nice original condition and features the mid 1967 model year Dan Gurney Package that was simply a chrome dress up package for the Cougar with a window sticker featuring a Cougar and Dan Gurney’s signature. The Gurney package is neat, but do you know what is even better? The price of this Cougar is just $6,000! Find it here on craigslist out of San Jose, California. Thanks Pat L for the submission!

The 289 V8 heart looks clean and you can see some of the dress up package. The Dan Gurney package included a chrome air filter lid, chrome valve covers, chrome radiator cap, and chrome oil dip stick all of which appear to be present. The Gurney package also included turbine wheel covers and white wall tires. Let’s get back to the 289. The 289 is recently rebuilt and in good health. Loaded with such accessories as power steering, power brakes, and air conditioning, this Cougar would be easy to live with. The 289 is backed by a C4 automatic transmission, but the C4 leaks, and has a slipping issue. Many components of this Cougar have been rebuilt or replaced.


Inside of the Dan Gurney special, is a very nice original interior. The dash looks great and is noted that most of the switches and gauges are functional. There are some auxiliary gauges added that are below the dash. There is a radio, but it is currently in the trunk. The seats look very nice as do the door panels. The interior looks to need very little other than a little tinkering to make all the gauges 100% operational and the radio. The exterior still wears the lovely Dan Gurney Turbine hubcaps, and the exterior looks mighty straight. The rockers and quarters looks very nice with no evidence of rust. The only apparent rust is the surface rust on the hood. Even around the vinyl roof looks nice and solid. Someone has spray painted over what we assume to have been surface rust on the hood, the tops of the front fenders, and the trunk area.


This Cougar is a paint job, a few gauges, and a slipping transmission away from being an excellent car. Or it could be left alone and enjoyed for a little while, but a paint job would really bring this Cougar to life. What would you do with this Mercury Cougar?

Source: barnfinds.com

Mercury Marquis Hearse

Clever seller we have here. With Halloween just around the corner, he’s put a classic Mercury Marquis Hearse conversion up for sale. I’ve seen everything from hearses like this to full-scale Ecto-1 recreations put in front of pumpkin patches to drum up business, so maybe this foreboding Merc here on craigslist will find its way to a haunted hayride in the days ahead. 

Full disclosure: I wrote this post with both the classic “Monster Mash” and Ghostbusters theme song on in the background. I had to set the mood, and it made me wish I got more “into” Halloween events. My wife and I don’t even have a single mini pumpkin on the front stoop. Perhaps a full-scale decoration like this hearse would do the trick?

I suspect the original cargo area would scare the kids in the neighborhood sufficiently, but maybe not. Frankly, they’ve probably already seen far more disturbing things on their iPads. I know at a young age, a blacked-out hearse with a lipstick red interior would definitely give me pause while walking past it. Of course, for only $5,500, it might be fun to buy and just cruise slowly around the ‘hood!


The mileage is said to be a low 41,250, which reinforces that this Mercury may have indeed only been used by a local funeral home on short, in-town journeys. The paint still looks sharp, the chrome clean and even the vinyl roof appears to be holding up well. While Halloween will soon be over and the novelty of a hearse will wear off, at least you know this Mercury is up to any hauling tasks you may throw at it!

Source: barnfinds.com

1951 Mercury Sedan

Likely one of the nicest original condition ‘Mercs you will see, this particular car has only covered 10,700 miles. Appearing completely flawless and in like new condition this Mercury is enough to get your motor running. With an auction estimate of $38,000-42,000 this by no means a cheap mercury, but you can’t really put a price on originality, or can you? Find it here on Raleigh Classic Car Auctions out of Raleigh, North Carolina.

Perfection is a word that is often over used, misused, or even confused. But taking a look at this Mercury will make you think otherwise. The exterior, the interior, the paint, the carpet, and the chrome brings to mind that one word. Perfection. The interior of this ‘Merc is marvelous. The carpet, headliner, and upholstery look extremely plush. The 1951 new car smell is likely still there and a wonderfully sweet fragrance to take in.


The rear suicide doors are immaculate, and the rear seat looks like a comfy place to ride in this old ‘Merc. When you start to fine tooth comb a car like this you look at the door jambs, door sills, engine bay, and other areas that are exposed to the elements, dirt, and moisture. There is no evidence of dirt, moisture, or anything in any of those areas. Sadly there are no engine photos, but we would love to see that beautiful flat head V8 in all of its 10,700 mile glory.


Although this one engine bay shot of the build tag is spotless. Not that you would, but you could eat anything you dropped on this ‘Merc, due to how clean it is. Dust is even at a minimum with only minor dust apparent in the cockpit close up shots, and even then it is very minimal.


There are some neat period accessories on this ‘Merc that include the side skirts and the sun visor. Driving such a car must really be a treat to see and understand what our relatives would have seen and driven in their time when these cars were new. Packing a 3 speed manual transmission to row your own gears, we imagine this is a lovely driving experience. It would be tough not to drive, but one must enjoy it a little. What would you do with this exemplary Mercury?

Source: barnfinds.com