Likely one of the nicest original condition ‘Mercs you will see, this particular car has only covered 10,700 miles. Appearing completely flawless and in like new condition this Mercury is enough to get your motor running. With an auction estimate of $38,000-42,000 this by no means a cheap mercury, but you can’t really put a price on originality, or can you? Find it here on Raleigh Classic Car Auctions out of Raleigh, North Carolina.
Perfection is a word that is often over used, misused, or even confused. But taking a look at this Mercury will make you think otherwise. The exterior, the interior, the paint, the carpet, and the chrome brings to mind that one word. Perfection. The interior of this ‘Merc is marvelous. The carpet, headliner, and upholstery look extremely plush. The 1951 new car smell is likely still there and a wonderfully sweet fragrance to take in.
The rear suicide doors are immaculate, and the rear seat looks like a comfy place to ride in this old ‘Merc. When you start to fine tooth comb a car like this you look at the door jambs, door sills, engine bay, and other areas that are exposed to the elements, dirt, and moisture. There is no evidence of dirt, moisture, or anything in any of those areas. Sadly there are no engine photos, but we would love to see that beautiful flat head V8 in all of its 10,700 mile glory.
Although this one engine bay shot of the build tag is spotless. Not that you would, but you could eat anything you dropped on this ‘Merc, due to how clean it is. Dust is even at a minimum with only minor dust apparent in the cockpit close up shots, and even then it is very minimal.
There are some neat period accessories on this ‘Merc that include the side skirts and the sun visor. Driving such a car must really be a treat to see and understand what our relatives would have seen and driven in their time when these cars were new. Packing a 3 speed manual transmission to row your own gears, we imagine this is a lovely driving experience. It would be tough not to drive, but one must enjoy it a little. What would you do with this exemplary Mercury?
I call BS, this car has traveled only 175 mi per year? Where is the documentation to back that claim up?
I didn’t even put 60 miles on my 1965 Rambler his year, and the 30 years it sat in a garage untouched the miles didn’t add up at all.
Regarding your rambler, to be fair if it is something you have restored, coddled and only take to shows, 60 miles a year seems like it would be the norm.
Very poor door fit on LHR RHF. I doubt this is original, but an expensive restoration that hasn’t paid enough attention to panel fit.
I think the headliner is the give-a-way. It makes the rest of the interior look like it’s been replaced. It just doesn’t match the aging the rest of the car exhibits. The interior looks far more recent.
It is a nice looking car though.
I think I’d believe in Adam Lambert junior before I believe this remained pristine since 51.
Chop it, of course.
Bob
My bona fides on this deal is that I once owned a ’49 four door Merc – very similar to this. I might have been born at night, but it wasn’t last night!
Mileage aside, which could very well be accurate, I can’t believe I’m seeing a Merc like this that HASN’T been chopped or lead-sledded, not that there’s anything wrong with lead-sleds, it’s just so unusual to see a stock one ( Oh, THAT’S what they looked like) I only hope someone leaves the car as is. It’s that nice.
Back in 1975 I traded a 1970 Torino station wagon for a 51 Mercury Monterey exactly like this one in excellent condition. Sold it later for 500 dollars. Damn I was stupid.
OMG, this would be my dream car. The 4 doors would make it even better for me personally. And as much as I like Kustoms, I would leave this one as is, for what I would use it for. I can’t afford it so it doesn’t matter. BUt I love this car.
The rear view looks like a chubby smiling face :-). While I might believe the ‘documented’ low mileage, I do have a hard time believing that it’s unretouched at all. Even so, it’s a beautiful example and, as much as I like the chopped and lead-sledded versions, I would hope that this one stays intact. I do think that cars are to be driven, but I’m also not opposed to the museuming of them as well. This one feels like it would be a shame to get it dirty….sort of like when your mom dressed you up for a family affair and told you that she’d clobber you if you got dirty. So you sat on the front stoop doing nothing, museuming yourself.
I’m disappointed that they didn’t show any photos of the motor. It would no doubt be a 255 cid flathead with a 2bbl carburetor. Good ole motor! A car like this should be driven and enjoyed. I might add that this could easily be original all the way around. My ’49 Chevy came out of a barn with only 19K miles on it and it looked real good after a cleanup and detailing. Still looks good today although the padding in the front seat has shrunk down to very little. The interior is pretty much the way it was when it left the factory back in the late summer of ’49….
How is it the thumb will not work .
Gorgeous car, but 100% original (meaning ‘never been restored?) I don’t think so. Carpet and upholstery WAY too good, data plate is new (no dust, even in the rivets???) Come on. Restored to original specifications, but NOT an original condition car.
Very nice example.
Responding to MeToo, My Rambler has never been restored or to a show. I found it in a garage all complete and original. Even the plug wires have 1964 on them, paint and interior look great. About 26,800 miles now.
What ever happened to “new car smell”? That was so sweet.
You would have to be blinded by love to pay within their estimates even if you believe the mileage to be original – still a really special example in its current state
Love it. Condition is everything.
No doubt it’s a very sweet ride, as far as the door fit I’m willing to give the saler the benefit of the doubt, and here’s why people forget how heavy these cars are & automotive assemblie at that time wasn’t a exact science then. Google some of the early advertising in that time frame you’ll see some these cars weren’t flawless coming from the factory. #2 any early four door with suicide doors with no post in between suffered some door sag. I’d have to take a long look in person before I called BS.
Beautiful, beautiful car.
Y’all are way to negative about whether it’s untouched or not who gives a dam it’s beautiful I would love to have it just for Sunday drives It seems like all you love doing is finding fault with cars that has low mileage claims and it’s impossible to find an original car of any kind out there I would love to hear why these cars were left in barns for thirty plus years that’s why I read barn finds
What most of us are responding to is the original listing saying this is an “original” car. It’s not. We all love the car, just not the way the auction company has advertised it.
Thank you Ed these cars need celebrated and not ridiculed.👍🏻
I agree!!!!
This is what I drove to high school…didn’t look this good…but a great car. As I started on my plans to modernize (not customize) it was totaled by a drunk. Door fit on these was not great, had a right rear door fly open on a left turn with a couple in the back and her purse flew out onto the street. Chopping the top on these 4doors is not for the faint of heart. very difficult. I now own a stock 49 Monarch sedan but would replace it with this 51 in a heartbeat. But that visor is the wrong one or mounted incorrectly., it should follow the roof line down.
Thank you, the things a lot of people do not realize on these heavy sleds #1 is just how stout the body’s were & the individual body components were. #2 you hear that they don’t make them like they used too, in some cases that’s a good thing, before people start piling on hear me out. I’m talking more drivetrain these cars weren’t built as durable drivetrain wise as they are now, cars weren’t a major investment like today. The first car I had that made it to 100,000 mile was a 1964 Galaxy 500 with a 390 and 4speed behind it. Getting a 100,000miles out of these cars was a reason to celebrate.
That’s right Scott. I still had my ’51 when I left high school and I was going to see how long I could keep it on the road. This was 1964 and I reasoned that for way less than the cost of a new or good used car I could put a lot of work and improvements into my Merc. I already had installed a second heater hanging from the rear package shelf. Why not run it for 2 or 300.000 miles or more. That damn drunk in his Studebaker ruined that dream.
True story my ’64 Galaxy was t-boned in a Smack’s Restaurant parking lot, guess by what?
A Studebaker Golden Hawk!!! Not by a drunk but by a older gentleman & I’m using that term loosely he needed a couple of more phone books to set on then maybe he would of been able to see at least to the hood ornament.
The guy that hit me was driving a late 50s Lark. He couldn’t make the corner going way too fast and hit my car at a 45 degree angle in the drivers rear corner. Smashed it in so hard the rear window popped out and was laying on the street with the seal still around it. Insurance wrote it off but said I had to collect from the driver because he was drunk ???
We were at an A&W in my buddy’s 49 Chev. Good thing we weren’t in it. We all would all have been hurt. Another friend’s brother wrapped a Golden Hawk around a pole. Those were beautiful cars.
I was at the Smack’s burger place, not a lot of people will remember them, anyway I went there two or three times a week to see this little gal & ask her out. A buddy and I were sitting at a table &I saw this GH pull in as he drove by the window I thought what a sweet ride he went around the corner of the building maybe a second or two heard what sounded like a bomb. This buddy & I just looked at each other and jumped up ran out to see what had happen. He hit my car square right at the left front quarter panel, the drivers window was busted out & pretty much the whole side was caved in, you wouldn’t think you could go that fast in a parking lot, the steering wheel was bent, but one has to remember everything was bigger then. I don’t know about you Lion but it took a few moments to comprehend what I was looking at. My outcome was at least better than yours, the car was totaled so I bought it from the salvage yard, for the young people you didn’t buy a totaled car from the insurance company then you just hoped you had a in with whoever had the junkyard. Here’s where it gets interesting they had another one that had been hit on the other side just not as bad, my Dad bought it and we made one good car out of two. I sold it to a kid in the next town & he didn’t have it long when hit the side of a bridge and the outcome wasn’t good for him or the car and I’ll leave it at that. There is a great part to the end of this story, the little gal I had gone there all the time to see gave me a ride home and three years latter we were married.
Great story, Scott. When I got to the scene of my car it was gone and the Lark was still sitting on the road with the front end caved in. The cop took me to a nearby service station where they had dragged it cause the gas and antifreeze from my rear heater was draining out onto the pavement. No environmental clean up in those days. They hauled it to a claims yard and because the guy who hit me was drunk, I had to pay towing. I didn’t buy the car back it was still mine and I had to pay to have it towed to my folks back yard, they were not happy. Est. value was $125.00 which the drunk had to pay me and I sold the wreck to a guy for $66.00 and he got it back on the road. I could not believe it when I saw that. I bought a 1951 Lincoln 4door and that is the car I should have kept.
I’m not going to argue that you should of kept it. Lincoln’s from that era all some of the best looking cars Lincoln ever built, that is all my Dad and Grandpa drove. Dad had a 1951 Cosmopolitan with the 337 Flathead V8 and a I think it had that 4-speed automatic, not sure but what was the name for that tranny? Hydro-Matic or Hydra-Matic something like that. Obviously you follow these cars & Lincoln was always a step ahead of anything built in that time frame as far as I’m concerned they were neck & neck if not a little ahead of Cadillac then. When you saw one you knew exactly what it was, the first thing you think about when someone said Lincoln at least I did. I thought luxury, elegance and style they were on the cutting edge of everything. The comfort & ride were unlike anything else and you felt like a millionaire every time you drove one. Just a perfect example of American engineering and mechanically almost bullet it proof, these were cars that were ahead of there time.
Yes it was in a class of it’s own. It was a Club Sedan, often referred to as a baby Lincoln because it had the lines of the Mercury, not slab sided like the Cosmopolitan. But this was 1964 and it was 14 years old and I just got a promotion and would need to do some traveling so I sold the Lincoln and bought a 1960 Buick LeSabre 2drht. What A beautiful car ! What a piece of crap ! That car almost ruined our honeymoon and blew the engine right after our divorce, all in less than a year. HA
We have got to stay in touch my friend, I have really enjoyed our conversations, it’s hard to find people with the appreciation for the big stylish cars of the ’50’s and ’60’s which I don’t understand why more people don’t.
And as far as my Galaxy 500 it was hard to let it go, but it was even harder seeing it after the kid hit the bridge, then I found out the kid lost his life and at that point in time the car became unimportant knowing a family had lost a loved one.
Thats always the tough part of loosing somebody close, is looking back and thinking if I would of only done it this way we probably would still be together. Am I doing the right thing and then you make that desion to let her go. I’m talking about the Lincoln they only made so many and that’s it, women out number men 7 to 1, without going any further you know what I’m saying.
Now for your Buick obviously you thought it was a upgrade from your Lincoln.
I have a term I like to use for cars like that Buick.
“Beauty Without The Beast.
We kind of stole this thread, Scott , but I guess that’s okay. The Merc I lost to was almost wrote off earlier when my buddy asked me for a push start of his 1953 Ford 2door. I gave him a shove and off he went only to stop in the middle of the street to talk to our friend. I was busy waving goodby to our friends wife and when I looked back to the road it was too late. It was a little icy and I slid into him, my bumper under his and caved in the whole front clip. but I found a used clip easily and in a week it was ready to go again.
The Buick was different. I was driving with my girl (before we were married) near the football field as the fans were heading to the game and I saw a child’s head bobbing in front of a parked car. I nailed the breaks and the guy behind driving (if I remember right) a 1958 Dodge 2drht nailed my so hard that it pushed me right passed the parked car. Thank goodness the kid did not run out cause he would be dead. The Dodge front end was caved into the engine and the fenders pushed back so far they could not open their doors. Even though both our glasses were in the back seat, the Buick had only a dent in the trunk edge and in one fin and both tail lights were cracked. I thought I was driving a tank.
You were driving a tank, and far as stealing this thread I’m willing to bet whoever started this website is sitting back grinning ear to ear thinking this is exactly what I had in mind. As a kid and even to this day I can be somewhere and pretty much oblivious to conversations or small talk going on around me. Then I’ll hear the mention of a classic car or see somebody at the magazine rack look at a Hot Rod or Car Craft that always gets my attention. Car’s are part of the fabric that made this country great as well as a rite of passage that stays there until our last day on this rock. You hear the words there’s a car guy, I cant tell by just by looking at someone. Like anything else people may look the part, by dressing a certain way or driving a certain car. Let me have five minutes with a complete stranger and everybody around will know that we both are car guys or not. #1 that conversation is going to take a heck of a lot longer than five minutes & #2 cars are more than a hunk of steel and rubber they are part of that persons soul. I’m guessing this is exactly whoever started this website had in mind.
When I was 17 my mother traded a 49 Merc in for a 51 4dr like the one pictured but in a dark green finish How I loved that car. I remember changing all the interior and dash lights with green bulbs. Man that looked so cool to my friends. I even got her to let me install a Douglas steel pack muffler. Can’t beat the sound of a flathead with pipes and mufflers. I would install pipes and mullers and drive it the way it is. Probably would remove the visor, never cared for the way it changed the looks of a car Old Pharrtt Gear Head
Charles, what year was that/ I’m guessing the ’51 was not new our your mom would not let you mess with it at all.