1953 Mercury Monterey

1953 Mercury Monterey Sedan

For consignment, some big chrome, big trimmings and nicely scaled front hood scoop and wrap around glass we give you Mercury\'s generation 2 of the Monterey. Graced with the desirable 255ci flathead 8 cylinder and bathed in alternating shade of green, you can own a snappy boulevard cruiser/head turner right out of the early 1950\'s when Detroit was definitely king.

Exterior
Leading the way is a nicely painted silver dual tier front bumper. The beginningsof dagmars emanateforth from within sparse but toothygrille opening and integral fog lights and signal markers reside down low within the bumper. The hood cascades downward and has a large chromed Mercury badge that edges the front of the hood along with chrome MERCURY block lettering. Simple single headlights grace the front of each quarter and the bumper wraps around the front corners. A chromed trimmed hood scoop adds a bit of sportiness and veers outward as it approaches the windshield. This scoop section of the hood does a wonderful dance with both the darker Sherwood Green Metallic highlighting the scoop and lighter Asheville Green taking over the flats and curved front. All of the green tinted glass has thick chromed surrounds and on the drivers door is a chromed side view mirror too. A Sherwood Green painted top is above and around these window trimmings and the rear glass is simulating the bubble windows yet to come. On either side is a large trim spear running the length separating the mid body Asheville Green from the lower Sherwood Green Metallic and on back are fender skirts in a much darker green colorway, with a trio of horizontal rigs on the slight rear fender bump out to simulate motion in static form. On back, a large silver rear bumper cradles the chrome trimmed cathedral style taillights and a single chrome piped exhaust peek out from below. All of the body shows with straight steel having several areas of inclusions, runs and solvent pop on the sides near the rocker and hastily touched up chip offs throughout. Keeping this Merc grounded are 15-inch red painted steel wheels with red encircled and polished covers.

Interior
A swing of the doors and smooth black vinyl lowers greet us on the panels. These also sport a swoop spear in chrome for an accent, as well as shiny cranks and actuators, a black armrest, and smooth white uppers with dark green metal sills. Inside are nicely preserved herringbone patternbroadcloth covered lower cushions and smooth ivory leather uppers. A wide rear bench awaits the passengers as well, and it is beautifully preserved in the same pattern as the front bench. A full metal dash painted in steel green/gray has a single eyebrow bump up in front of the driver. Here we note the gauge cluster which is nice and clean. A large oval shaped light green box is atop the steering column and it has a series of 4 jetson-esque oval topped T bar sliders for various controls. An original black steering wheel with nice chromed horn rings and center is fronting the futuristic dash. In the center is an AM radio presumed to be original to the car and a centrally mounted clock and just below is a trio of aftermarket gauges within a chrome bezel. Dark green carpeting for the floors and its looking good, and a fuzzy green headliner is tightly mounted above and on the B pillars. A note to the trunk, which is uber spacious, has the spare tire within and is lined with green side paneling and a black and green checkered vinyl floor liner.

Drivetrain
Under the hood in a restored but showing patina engine bay is turquoise painted 255ci V8 in flathead form. It has been treated to new water pumps and a new aluminum radiator to ensure things stay cool as a cucumber. A single 2-barrel carb breathes in filtered air through a chrome lidded open element air cleaner. On the back of this block is a 3-speed manual transmission. The rear axle on this car is a 3.73 ratio. All hoses and other bolt ons are not rusted and retain a nice shine throughout.

Undercarriage
Solid steel framing and floor pans underneath have a nice coating of black undercoating and patina. Single stock style exhaust snakes its way rearward, past independent coil springs upfront and to the rear leaf springs all with new shocks. Power drum brakes are on all 4 corners. It is mostly rust free with only a peppering of surface rust on the untreated areas.

Drive-Ability
The hot-rodders dream engine in this Merc, itfired right up and idled smoothly. On the test track the 2-barrel provided plenty of fuel to burn and move this large beautiful hunk of steel forward, and somewhat quickly! Thanks to the new cooling system the engine remained at a perfect temperature and the only items we found to not be working were the radio, horn, fuel gauge and the clock.

In need of some TLC if you\'d like to take this Merc to the next level, but it remains very presentable as it. A nicely curved bubble

Read More

Read Less