Vehicle Description
West Coast Classics are proud to present an absolutely exceptional
and completely rust free 1956 Mercury Montclair 2 Door Hardtop - an
older restored example with great attention to detail and still
very presentable example of this 1956 Mercury Montclair 2 Door
Hardtop with its 312 CI 225HP V8 engine in beautiful and striking
'Flo-Tone' two-tone color combination of 'Classic White over
Persimmon' with a gorgeous matching interior. The car had factory
options including the 312 V8 engine, a Merc-O-Matic automatic
transmission, vinyl upholstery, 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 'Town amp; Country' radio, power steering, tinted
glass, padded instrument panel amp; seat belts, dual side-view
mirrors, road lamps, rear bumper guards, hubcaps, whitewall tires
amp; Continental kit! 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 firstly very original and honest with beautifully razor
straight sheet metal with no signs or history of any accidents or
rust ever and with a solid undercoated and rust free undercarriage.
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.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 fully appreciated -
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!Recently acquired from a
prominent collection, this is a rare opportunity to own a superb
older restoration example of this true American classic - a
top-of-the-line 1956 Mercury Montclair 2 Door Hardtop 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, and now obviously being 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 all
stock and very honest quality restored condition!