Vintage Photos Of Classic Mercury Cars Of The 1950s And 1960s

Text by Patrick Bell.

Mercury was first introduced in 1938 for the 1939 model year. Until early 2011, it was Ford Motor Company’s medium-price line, situated between Ford and Lincoln.  Mercury built many cars in its 73-year history.  Today, we’re looking at images of some classic Mercury cars of the ’50s and ’60s, photographed back they were still on the road.

Our lead image shows a 1966 Monterey or Montclair 4-door hardtop from Connecticut.  The Monterey was the entry-level full-size Mercury series, while the Montclair was the mid-level version.  The only exterior difference as far as I can tell was the nameplate on the quarter panel, which is too small to read in this photo.  The standard engine on the big Mercury was a 390 cubic inch Marauder V8, with a 410 Marauder and 428 Super Marauder V8s as options.  Perhaps the photographer and the lady in the yellow dress were out looking at the fall colors.

The postwar Mercury was restyled for 1952, splitting into separate Custom and Monterey series and adding a 2-door hardtop body to compete with the popular GM hardtops.  This photo features a 1952 Custom 4-door sedan with a Pennsylvania license plate.  It has a 255 cubic inch version of the familiar Ford flathead V8, which was the only engine Mercury offered until 1954.  This photo was probably taken later in the year than the one above, since it was much colder and there was already some snow on the ground.

This 1952 Custom 4-door sedan might be the same car as in the previous photo, or one just like it. (The images came from two separate sources.)  From this view, we can see the new “Jet-scoop” hood.  However, there is no front license plate, which was no longer issued in Pennsylvania beginning in 1952.

The 1952 style cycle continued through 1954 with only minor exterior changes.  But under the hood of the 1954 model was a new overhead valve “V-161” engine, which was Mercury’s version of the new “Y-Block” V8.  (The “161” referred to horsepower; it was 256 cubic inches in size.)  The photo above shows a 1954 Monterey Special Custom Coupe.  The paint on its passenger door doesn’t match the fenders, so it appears that it had been repainted.  In the background, between the two men, you can see a black car from the mid to late 1930s, but I cannot see it well enough to guess what it might have been.

This B&W photo shows a different angle on another 1954 Monterey Special Custom Coupe, this one with a light body and a dark top and sporting a California license plate.  The 1954 Monterey was Mercury’s bestseller for the second year in a row.

This photo features a 1955 Mercury Monterey Coupe with a 1959 Iowa license plate, issued in Decatur County, where the seat is Leon.  The grain tower says “Melcher,” which was a town in Marion County, so the Mercury people seem to have been the visitors on that hot summer day.  Mercury got a major restyle for 1955, adding a new top-of-the-line Montclair series in addition to the Custom and Monterey.  The engine size was increased to 292 cubic inches, with 185 horsepower standard in the two cheaper lines and a 195 horsepower version for the Montclair (and optional on the other two).  The car in front of the red Mercury was a 1958 Ford Fairlane or Fairlane 500 Town Victoria, also from Iowa.  In the background, visible just behind the roof of the Mercury, is another car that looks like a 1957 Ford Fairlane 500.

For 1956, Mercury got a minor facelift, plus a engine size boost to 312 cubic inches, in 210 and 225 horsepower versions.  A new entry-level Medalist line was added below the Custom, bringing the number of trim series to four, and there was a new 4-door “Phaeton” (4-door hardtop) in all series.  The car in this photo was a 1956 Montclair convertible with a”Flo-Tone” two-tone color style.  It was the second-most-expensive Mercury this year, with a base list price of $2900.  This one was from California and was out for a drive in what appeared to be olive grove country.

It was major restyle time again for 1957, introducing Mercury “Dream-Car Design” with “Rear Fender Projectile” styling.  Ford Motor Company had the idea of trying to move Mercury upmarket this year, so the cheaper Medalist and Custom series were dropped and a new top-of-the-line Turnpike Cruiser was added.  Engine choices were the “Safety-Surge” 312 cubic inch V8 with 255 horsepower, or the new Turnpike Cruiser (MEL series) 368 cubic inch V8 with 290 horsepower.  The car pictured above was a 1957 Montclair 4-door sedan with 1958 Ohio license plates.  These folks were likely visiting New Jersey when this photo was taken, as that is where the International Harvester L-series dairy truck in the background was licensed.

When the 1957 cars arrived, four-lamp headlights were still illegal in two states.  Everywhere else, the 1957 Turnpike Cruiser became one of the first models to adopt the new “Quadri-Beam” setup, which became optional on other Mercury series later in the year as state lighting laws became uniform.  Quad headlights were then adopted by all US manufacturers for 1958.  The car featured in this B&W photo was a later 1957 Monterey Phaeton Sedan (4-door hardtop) with the optional Quadri-Beam Headlamps and standard “Jet-Flo” bumpers.  The round badge on the fender indicates that it also had the Turnpike Cruiser 368 V8.  It had a New York license plate.

For 1959, Mercury celebrated its 20th anniversary with another restyle.  The Turnpike Cruiser was dropped and replaced with the new top-of-the-line Park Lane, which had a 2-inch-longer wheelbase than other series.  There had been some shuffling of engine choices, so each series had its own engine: Monterey had the 312 cubic inch, 210 hp V8, with an optional 383 cubic inch V8 with 280 horsepower.  The 383 was standard on the Montclair, where it had 322 horsepower.  Exclusive to the Park Lane was the big 430 cubic inch V8 with 345 horsepower.  The car in this B&W photo was a 1959 Monterey 2-Door Hardtop Cruiser with a 1958 Tennessee license plate issued in Shelby County, where the seat is Memphis.  The car parked behind it may have been a 1952 Buick that was missing its grille.

Comet, a fancier version of the compact Ford Falcon with a new roof and longer tail, was originally slated to be an Edsel, but it was orphaned when the Edsel line was put to rest before launch.  For 1960 and 1961, the Comet was technically its own make, although it was sold by Lincoln-Mercury dealers.  The 144 cubic inch “Thrift-Power Six” was standard, with 85 horsepower, but a bigger “Thrift-Power 170” became optional for 1961, with 101 horsepower.  The Comet did well in the sales department, actually outselling the full-size Mercury line for 1961, so for 1962, it officially became the Mercury Comet.  This two-tone black-and-red Comet was a 1961 2-door sedan with what looks like an Ohio license plate.

Next, we skip ahead a few years to 1965 and a new restyle.  (We are skipping over the early ’60s Mercury full-size models, which were back to being restyled full-size Fords with a slightly longer 120-inch wheelbase.)  The 1965 Mercury rode a 123-inch wheelbase and was offered in three trim series, Monterey, Montclair, and Park Lane.  Most had the 390 cubic inch V8, which was available in four versions.  There was also a very rare “Super 427” V8, which was only available with 4-speed manual transmission.  The car featured above was a 1965 Monterey Breezeway Sedan with non-original wheel covers.  The “Breezeway” had reverse-slant sail panels and a power rear window that could be opened for ventilation.  (This was a feature first introduced on the Turnpike Cruiser in 1957.)

For 1967, Mercury entered the popular “pony car” field with the Cougar, a sporty hardtop based on the Mustang.  The Cougar was available in standard, GT, and later XR-7 trim, all with V8 power.  It could have a 289 cubic inch engine with 200 or 225 horsepower or the big 390 cubic inch Marauder 390 with 320 horsepower.  Mercury marketed the Cougar as a sporty personal car fitting between the Mustang and the Ford Thunderbird.  It did very well in its first year; it was the bestselling Mercury series.  The photo above actually features two Cougars: The one in the foreground getting a clean-up was a 1967 model with a vinyl roof and what might be an Ohio license plate, but there was also a 1967 or 1968 Cougar parked on the street behind the woman in blue and white.

Although it was based on the compact Falcon, the Comet was almost big enough to be an intermediate, so Mercury made it one in 1966, with a new body shell shared with the Ford Fairlane.  For 1969, there were five series: base Comet, available only as a 2-door hardtop; Montego; Montego MX; and the sporty Cyclone and Cyclone CJ, which were available only in this fastback body style.  The car featured in the photo above was a Cyclone, with the optional right-hand racing mirror, dual upper-body stripes, and deluxe wheel covers.  It could have had any of five V8s, from the standard 302 cubic inch engine up to the CJ 428.

Our final image was taken at the 1968 Watts Summer Festival Parade on Central Avenue in Los Angeles.  This parade car was a 1968 Park Lane convertible, one of 1,112 built, with the optional wire wheel covers.  The standard engine in the Park Lane was the Marauder Super 390, with the Super Marauder 428 optional.  Lincoln-Mercury apparently provided this car, as it had a California manufacturers license plate.  The car following behind was a 1968 Chevrolet El Camino.

Thanks for joining us and to all good day!

 

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