For one family to own a classic car for more than six decades is not unprecedented. However, it also isn’t particularly common. That is the story behind this 1956 Mercury Montclair. The family patriarch purchased the car in July of 1956. He maintained and drove the vehicle until his passing. It was inherited by his son, who continued the tradition until he also passed away. It is now being offered for sale to settle his estate. This is the chance for someone to own a rust-free survivor. The Mercury is located in Fort Myers, Florida, and has been listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding has reached $9,900, but the reserve hasn’t been met.
The Montclair is finished in Glamour Tan and Classic White, and it does present beautifully. As you can see from this shot, the lower extremities of the body are clean and rust-free. The seller provides a couple of photos of the vehicle’s underside, and it looks to be just as solid as the rest of the car. Helping the Mercury to remain rust-free is the fact that the car was undercoated when new. It also appears as though there may have been an oil leak at some point in the past, because it looks like there is some old oil under there. This probably isn’t such a bad thing, because it will have helped the Montclair to remain rust-free.
This side of the Mercury is just as impressive, with no signs of any issues. The seller indicates that the vehicle has never been restored, and has only received some minor paint touch-ups during its lifetime. He is a longtime family friend, so he does have an intimate knowledge of the Mercury’s history. It has always been garage-kept and has remained under a cover in the garage when not in use. The paint is holding a beautiful shine, with no signs of any apparent dings or dents. The glass appears to be in good order, while there are no signs of any problems with the trim or chrome.
The 1956 model year saw the introduction of the 312ci V8 to the Montclair range, which was available in several different specifications. I believe that this one produces 215hp, and is backed by a 3-speed Merc-O-Matic transmission. The Mercury doesn’t appear to feature power steering, but it is equipped with power brakes. The 312 brought a welcome boost to vehicle performance, and the fact that this was a six-seat family car capable of covering the ¼ mile in 17.8 seconds is quite impressive in a 1956 context. During the final two years before the owner’s passing, the vehicle had remained unused. The seller was charged with the task of reviving the Mercury, and it appears that this was a reasonably straightforward task. The fuel system was flushed and cleaned, and the carburetor was sent out to a specialist for a rebuild. The Montclair also received new tires, a new battery, a fuel pump, along with points, and a condenser. It is now in sound mechanical health and is said to run and drive perfectly.
The first thing the jumped out at me when I saw the photos of the Montclair’s interior was the cover on the front seat. I initially found this to be a huge disappointment, because it detracts from what is otherwise an impressive interior. However, looking at the cover carefully, I can see what appears to be the impression of the original upholstery showing through. This has made me wonder whether this is just a fancy slipcover and whether the original upholstery might be in good order beneath it. We can always cross our fingers. The carpet appears to be a relatively recent addition, but the rest of the trim looks to be original. One interesting point with the entire car has been the seller’s approach to reviving it. He has explicitly concentrated on returning it to a roadworthy state but has done nothing to it from a cosmetic standpoint. It would seem that he wants to leave the joy of making this garage find shine to its next lucky owner. With that in mind, there are a few dirty marks on the upholstery. I don’t think that it would take a lot of work to clean these off. Apart from a radio/cassette player mounted under the dash, it appears that there have been no aftermarket additions. The Montclair does come equipped with a Town & Country factory AM radio.
This 1956 Mercury Montclair would appear to be a solid and mostly original survivor. It also seems that it is ready to be driven and enjoyed immediately. It is possible to find relatively tidy examples for around $24,000, but immaculate examples can sell for considerably more. It appears that the seller believes that this particular car might fall into the upper echelon of potential values. I can only guess where the reserve has been set, but I think that I might have some idea. A search of the internet revealed this car for sale on another site. It has been listed with a price of $36,000 OBO. If this is a car that you are seriously interested in, then it might be worth submitting a bid or two on eBay. You never know, but the reserve might be lower than the classified listing price. If you are the successful bidder, then it could be a win for you on two fronts. You could find yourself owning a classic car, and you might also score yourself a bit of a discount. It’s certainly worth thinking about.
Reminds me of the San Francisco Merc
that was profiled at the Old Parked Cars
website a few years back. Like this car,
it was a Montclair that had been parked
under the old Embarcadero bridge for many years. Local legend has it that the
car’s owner used it as his living quarters
for many years. The car is properly licensed and tagged with current plates
every year and is driven very little if at all.
If you’d like to see this car, go to Google
and type the words San Francisco Merc
into the search box and you’ll see this car
yourself. Perhaps some of you in the San Francisco area know about this car and
could shed some light on it. And as for this car, it’s very nice and if I had the cash,
it would be coming home with me.
Just a guess, but in the 50’s it was common to use plastic ‘slip-covers’ to protect the original upholstery. My dad always bought cheap cars, run them into the ground, and then found another. One of his great joys was stripping off those covers and having like-new seats to ride around on.
so many people put the wide white walls on a car from the 60s, and posters are quick to point it out. i attribute it to owners who are too young to realize the wide white walls are from the 1950s, not 1960s. well here we have a car that should have the wide white walls, but instead has the narrow ones.
those narrow ones are increasingly hard to find. i paid a premium to replace them on my 96 park avenue. at least this owner didn’t put blackwalls on this 56 merc, but it sure would look better with the wide ones.
Late 62 and 63 were the start of the narrow white wall. Even the wide ones were not as wide as the 40s.
I think he is reaching for 36000. Nice car but don’t see that much value. I think lower to mid 20s maybe, but even then it is still a mercury.
If you’ve ever been to to S.W. Florida you probably know it’s where wealthy northerners go to retire. Some of them are car enthusiasts so finding a nice classic for sale is not uncommon but these people generally have no money problems and will stick to their price. I lived in Naples for several years and still have family on my wife’s side living there. I worked as a mechanic and manager while living there and saw several classic cars come in for service. Under these circumstances it’s not likely anyone is going to get a bargain buy on this car.
God bless America
Very nice car I’ve always wanted one,even good price.but sounds a little jinxed to me,i’ll pass on this one.
alittle to steep on price,did’nt see the price right away way to much.
Lovely car, love the design overall, grill, bumpers, styling etc., yet what has always driven me nuts about the side trim is the line of the sweep from front fender through the door. Seems headed back with no graceful arc, like maybe a Buick sweep spear would as an example. The angle of drop from the leading edge of the door is abrupt in comparison. Just me I know, a minor peeve since first I saw one of these. What would it have taken to have made that molding just a bit more curved-or were they worried it’d be too like Buick’s?
This is one beautifully well kept car!! It’s really clean and the color combination is one that you don’t see to much!! In fact I’ve never seen one before with this color combination!!! I personally don’t think the price is that bad for a car like this in this condition!!!
Nice car and I believe that color looks good on just about anything. The car most likely will leave the states to folks that value the 50’s Americana….and have money.
Wonder if the title is still in the family’s name?
Just to let you all know, after 36 bids, the car sold yesterday (16th), for $15,700.