The Monterey, named after Monterey Bay, was Mercury's flagship
mid-range full size vehicle which replaced the Mercury Eight from
previous years. It was the only nameplate for Mercury to be
continuously produced throughout the 60's. They were produced for
over 22 years before a brief hiatus after which the name was
revived for a short time in the early 2000s. They were first
introduced in 1952 making the 1953 Monterey you see here a very
early example of one of these cars. The car was purchased by the
current owner in 2012 and in 2013 received a full restoration. The
body is all very solid and painted in a beautiful PPG Torch Red
paint. The body has been shaved of its handles so the doors and
deck lid are all on electric poppers. All of the chrome and
stainless trim is in excellent condition and up front it has a
custom grill. The car comes with nicely painted rear fender skirts
but they don't fit in place with the current wheel/tire set up. The
car has some other very cool old school designs incorporated like
the lake pipes and chrome spotlights which are cosmetic. All of the
lights, etc work well with no issues and it has the blue dots in
the rear taillights. The glass is also in good shape throughout.
The car rides on a set of nice 14 inch chrome wheels with Coker
wide white radial tires.
1953 was the last year for the Flathead which this cool Merc is
still sporting under the hood. The motor has been fully gone
through and it has 10,000 miles on it since being finished. It is a
255 ci motor rated at 125 hp and has been built up with a Isky 505
jr cam, Offenhauser aluminum heads, Offenhauser 3 deuce intake, 3
super 7 Stromberg carburetors, chrome air cleaners, a chrome
alternator, and an MSD electronic distributor. The car sounds great
through the Fenton cast headers into dual exhaust with Smitty
mufflers. It is kept running nice and cool thanks to the mechanical
puller fan and added electric pusher fan. Paired with the motor is
a Merc-o-matic automatic transmission that shifts smoothly with no
issues. Other nice upgrades include the dual CCP master cylinder,
Optima battery and Holley electric fuel pump. The car runs out
great and is ready to go!
Inside the car features White roll & pleat upholstery which is in
excellent condition throughout. The carpet is done in Red and is in
great shape as well. It has a nice split front bench seat as well
as a bench in the rear. The dash is nicely painted in Red and is
topped with all of its original gauges, radio, knobs, switches,
etc. These cars had some very cool toggle switches that were
clearly aircraft inspired and are really neat to see in place. In
front of the driver sits the original style steering wheel with the
Mercury horn ring. The trunk is nicely carpeted and offers plenty
of storage space for all your car show gear.
This cool classic Mercury is a nicely built car that has a very
cool look and drives great.
Take it home for $42,000.00!
Vehicle Details
1953 Mercury Monterey
Listing ID:CC-1961289
Price:$42,000
Location:Mansfield, Texas
Year:1953
Make:Mercury
Model:Monterey
Exterior Color:Red
Odometer:10000
Stock Number:2547
VIN:53SL91702
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