Vehicle Description
West Coast Classics are proud to present an absolutely exceptional
comprehensive frame off restoration and completely rust free and
restored with great attention to detail example of this 1956
Mercury Montclair Convertible with its 312 CI V8 engine in
beautiful and striking 'Flo-Tone' two-tone color combination with a
gorgeous matching interior. The car had factory options including
the 312 V8 engine, a Merc-O-Matic automatic transmission, vinyl
upholstery, power top, electric clock, horn ring, chrome window
surround moldings, full length body side stainless trim, rear
fender skirts, rocker panel moldings, heater amp; defroster, signal
seeking AM radio, power steering, tinted glass, 4-way power front
seat, padded instrument panel amp; seat belts, power windows, road
lamps, hubcaps and whitewall tires! The legendary Mercury Monterey
coupe was forever immortalized in 1949 by James Dean in 'Rebel
without a Cause' and then the following year was chosen as the
official Pace Car for the Indianapolis 500, and with good reason -
big, imposing and expensive and a standout amongst 1950's American
cars for both exceptional and unique styling and sound engineering
and performance, coupled with solid construction and a high quality
fit and finish, the Mercury Monterey was a top-of-the-line
sub-series in 1952 before becoming a line of its own for 1953-54.
Ford's flathead V8 continued until 1954 with the company's
introduction of the all new 292 'Y' block overhead valve V8 with a
five-main-bearing crankshaft and a standard 4 barrel carburetor,
also to be used in the Ford Thunderbird. The Monterey was available
as a convertible, sedan, a pillar-less coupe and station wagon. The
Mercury Montclair was to supersede the Monterey as the
top-of-the-line Mercury model and was first introduced in 1954 and
would continue being a stand out amongst early '50's cars for their
exceptional styling and sound engineering. They offered a lot of
new features and upgrades which were introduced to distinguish the
new '56 models such as a 12 volt electrical system and an array of
new options that could now be supported by the the higher voltage.
New styling features included Mercury's best trim and a revised
bumper and grille with the vertical bars of the lower section
appearing to show above the center bar, as well as a newly designed
front bumper with a blunt end, as opposed to the bullet style point
on the '55 Mercury. The Mercury name in block letters was moved
from the hood to the center bumper bar and on the hood a large 'M'
emblem was used as part of the 'Big M' marketing theme most notably
with the introduction of the larger V8's with more power. Hooded
headlights and and a jet style hood ornament continued. Body side
trim was changed to a full length lightning bolt style piece on all
but the wagons. Introduced by Lincoln some years earlier was the
striking image of a visible rear spare wheel resting on the trunk
lid and extended bumpers, otherwise known as the optional
"Continental kit". This option was welcome since it refined the
look of the Mercury without overbearing its classic lines which
until 1956 deliberately ignored the fifties fashion for fins,
making it a very unique looking car for its era.This particular
example is exceptionally rare and unusual, firstly as an obviously
stunningly frame off rotisserie restored example with no expense
spared with beautifully razor straight sheet metal with no signs or
history of any accidents or rust ever and with the undercarriage
looking as new as the body. The car has a beautiful and obviously
very professional repaint in a striking two-tone color paint scheme
and has a beautiful matching two tone vinyl correctly restored with
correct original material interior including piping etc and with
all its original factory instrumentation intact including the
original 'AM' signal seeking radio, all of which are is in quite
exceptional and original specification condition throughout. All
the chrome has been re-chromed and the car's original 312 V8 engine
and the transmission was reportedly rebuilt at the time of the
restoration.As you would expect from such a comprehensive frame off
restored example all the options are working as they should and the
312 V8 engine is extremely strong and powerful and sounds
absolutely magnificent with this particular car also driving
absolutely magnificently - must be driven to be believed - does not
miss a beat and purrs like a kitten - drives straight as an arrow
with no strange road wobbles, shakes or rattles - a truly
remarkable daily driver that will give any modern day car a run for
it's money! The transmission shifts smoothly through the gears and
the car is an absolute pleasure to drive!This is an extraordinarily
rare opportunity to own a superb frame off restored with no expense
spared example of this true American classic - a top-of-the-line
1956 Mercury Montclair Convertible in a very striking two-tone
color combination and beautiful matching interior! A true all
American classic car, an essential addition for the Ford/Mercury
collector or simply any classic car enthusiast to enjoy today with
burly good looks and just the right amount of tasteful period flash
matched to a modern powerful V8, long underappreciated, with
convertible models in particular being of low production to begin
with and now obviously very scarce and thin on the ground,
collector values are rising fast, with not too many having been
saved over the years, and very few, if any, in this kind of show
ready quality condition!