Vehicle Description
Vehicle to be offered for Auction sale WITHOUT RESERVE and SOLD to
the highest bidder August 17th - 19th, 2017 at Russo and Steele's
17th Annual Monterey, California Auction. Please contact us for
more information. Los Angeles Broadcasting Pioneer Art Astor was a
man known for many things. A dedicated businessman, loving father
and grandfather and first rate soldier, Art was also known for his
incredible devotion to the automobile. Russo and Steele is proud to
present in Monterey, California the last remaining automobiles in
Art Astor's legendary collection. The Devotion Collection features
the cars truly closest to Art's heart. These fourteen remaining
offerings are vehicles that Art felt so passionately about that he
kept them the closest to him, through the end of his life and
include prime examples of Pre and Post War American Classics,
American Luxury Cars and European Sports Cars. The 1939 Mercury V8
was the first in the Ford product line. It was produced at the
insistence of Edsel Ford who realized Ford needed a product that
filled the $500 gap between the Ford Deluxe and the Lincoln Zephyr.
It was priced at $934 and featured a 95 horsepower flathead V8
motor. It utilized a three-speed manual transmission with Columbia
overdrive. This 39 Mercury from the Astor collection is finished in
a pleasant shade of tan and the paint sparkles in the California
sun. The body is straight and solid and the paint is in excellent
condition. The tan fabric interior is not worn or soiled and the
plastic on the steering wheel is not chipped or scratched. It is
fitted with fog lights and white wall tires. An excellent example
of a "first" Mercury.