Vehicle Description
1956 Mercury Montclair
The vehicle name, Montclair, was introduced in 1955 and applied to
Mercury's premium automobile line. Ford historians are at a loss as
to where the name originated; the consensus is that it's taken from
the upper-class community of Montclair, New Jersey.
The Mercury division of Ford was always offering a more upscale
version of the standard offerings, and this car drips mid 1950's
style. A nice light two tone, plenty of chrome trimmings and a
topped off by a Continental kit on the rear bumper, you would fit
right in at any country club, and arrive in total comfort and
safely as several safety features were introduced with this car.
Read on Trooper Grazer.
Exterior
With a total blast from the past we grab our poodle skirts and
straighten our thin ties and we shake hands with this example on
consignment. Bathed in classic white from the belt line to the mid
door lightning bolt style swoop spear all in beautiful condition.
Upper roof and door sills as well as straight steel below the spear
trim we see Saffron Yellow. This is bordered by a rocker trim which
rises to nearly meet the upper lightning bolt in the area of a faux
vent. A smooth roofline takes a sharp curve downward and is loaded
with chrome trim on all the borders. A nifty wrap around windshield
shows the beginnings of the bubble front and is filled in with
tinted glass. Up front a jet age hood ornament is framed by single
headlights that have arched metal on top and give us shades of the
Bat Mobile. A large toothy grille has signal lights that are
wrapped in a mass of chrome and lower curved fangs on either side.
Snazzy exterior mirrors double as spotlights. On the back we see
the Continental bumper complete with metal two tone and chrome
wrapped spare tire cover. Not to be outdone by this pedestrian flip
down license plate gas tank cover, one pulls the unlock lever and
tire cover magically moves to the side to reveal it and the trunk
release. Now that's cool man, and so are those lantern style
taillights.
Interior
A swing of the doors and we become one with a black and white
world. Door panels show power windows and more of the lightning
bolt styling. Slipping inside on the black insert vinyl and white
bolster split bench, I put my right arm across the top and entice
my squeeze to move over we are going for a cruise...and probably a
park somewhere too. The front bench has a power adjustment. A
matching rear bench is in back. One of the safety features is seen
on the steering wheel that has a deep center to afford a bit more
protection in case of a frontal crash. Three tiers of instrument
cluster reside within the fan like dash front right behind the
wheel. Air conditioning and power steering are boldly announced and
the central radio works with a fiddle of the volume knob. A padded
dash is another safety feature although compared to a modern-day
dash this is truly in its developmental infancy. A large glovebox
fronts the passenger side on the dash and has Montclair badging
written in your grandmother's handwriting in chrome. A tight black
headliner complete with A/C vents within it which are fed through 2
plastic styled tubes on either B pillar...the A/C unit is actually
in the trunk!
Drivetrain
Underneath the hood we see a 312ci V8 with a gold painted intake
and a Holley 4-barrel carburetor under the big blue air cleaner. A
3-speed automatic transmission is on the back of this engine. All
clean and rear under here dudes.
Undercarriage
Some road splatter and nice patina show underneath. The frame is
rust free and sturdy as are the floorpans which look like new.
Rockers are nice and sturdy, and a dual glass pack exhaust system
snakes its way rearward and exits just below the bumper.
Drive-Ability
Having a love for these big 1950's cars I took the wheel and fired
this car up. It has a wonderful exhaust sound thanks to those glass
packs. It shifted beautifully and is an awesome cruiser. The A/C
blows cold, and all the multiple fan controls work properly. Vacuum
windshield wipers are disappointing, but you probably wouldn't plan
to take this car out in the rain anyway. Noted the speedometer
needle is missing its top indicator portion.
A beautiful car made for upper class suburbia, all working
conveniences, nice power, and a great ride. Gotta love this dual
purpose mirrors/spotlights, and the interesting tilt away spare
cover to access the gas and trunk. Let's go to the hop!
VIN Decode
56SL57586M
56-1956
SL-St Louis, MO Assy Plant
57586-Sequential Unit Number
M-Mercury
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 450 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia
on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is
www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914.
Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the
vehicle in person.
