For much of its 23 years in production (1952-74), the Monterey would be the equivalent of Mercury’s version of the Ford Galaxie 500. The car’s name was derived from the famous Monterey Bay along the central coastline of California. It was the only Mercury nameplate to be in continuous production throughout the 1960s, This 1954 2-door hardtop wears a beautiful restoration, having been owned by a couple of serious collectors over the years. Located in Denver, Colorado, this beauty is available here on eBay where the number to currently beat is $15,000 in a no reserve auction.
First-generation Monterey’s were built between 1952 and 1954. They were positioned as a separate series and were the cars to buy if you wanted more creature comforts than offered in the Custom models. Ford’s overhead-valve Y-block V8 was introduced in 1954, putting out 161 hp from 256 cubic inches. This Monterey has an interesting story in that it was part of a collection in Wyoming from 1965-to 1992 and spent another 30 years after that with the party the seller bought the car from. Receipts show that nearly $40,000 was expended on restoring the car a few years ago.
The restoration included rebuilding Mercury’s original V8 engine and only 100 miles have been added to the odometer since then. As a result, the car starts, runs, drives, and stops as it should, so you could take it anywhere. New white paint was applied years ago on a body that was and still is rust-free. The seller rates the quality of the finish as an “8” because of the amount of time that has passed, but it still presents quite nicely. The interior was treated with all sorts of new materials and looks outstanding from what we can see.
We’re reminded this is not a trailer queen or Concours show car. Just a very presentable car for weekend outings and Cars & Coffee. Out of 259,000 Mercury automobiles built in 1954, 174,000 would wear Monterey badging. The seller’s car was one of more than 79,000 2-door hardtops produced which was a lot of cars, but when was the last time you saw one?
Certainly one of the best examples of a good looking car from the ’50s. No slouch in the power department either. Nice.
Used to have houses in Montclair and Monterey. Always thought it would have been nice to have one of each Mercury to drive between them!
BEAUTIFUL from bumper to bumper!!
Nice car, to bad the costs to ship a car is double what it was I would be more interested, this is my favorite color / interior combination. Great looking car
Fly out and drive it home. Hey, you only live once. Enjoy it.
When I moved into my house in 1985 I noticed that a neighbor a few doors down had one just like this. It looked really nice. It was sitting on dirt and under trees. I kept looking at it but never talked to the owner. I finally met his wife and asked her about it and she said he loved that car and was going to fix it up and would not sell it. After about 30 years of deteriorating, sitting in the same spot, one day it was gone. I’d like to know what ever happened to it but I doubt it was restorable at that point.
now there a ride with some class.
The ’53 and ’54 Mercury body is one of my favorites! I especially love these in the more stereotypical pastel colors of the time, like coral, pale yellow or turqoise. These cars ROCK those colors!
Used to drive one with a “Sunroof”. Never saw
another one.
I think these are just classy cars. First one i saw was for sale about 8 years ago. Beautiful 53 Monterey with a dual carb flathead. They wanted $20k for it. Not sure if this is the coral color you referenced Prince?!?
This one is my father in laws Sun Valley, has the glass top. Equipped with the Y block that just has that calming rumble of a 50’s car.
Very nice looking xar. With alot of style.
My uncle on my mother’s side had one of these in mint green. In 1959 when he bought a Jaguar, my mom ended up with his Mercury. I think it was the only time we owned a car with Dagmar. I was always fascinated with the heater controls which were positioned right in front of the driver behind the steering wheel in a airplanesque style.
There is a picture of me and a friend sitting on the trunklid, laying back on the rear window somewhere around here. We were in our bathing suits at the lake.
Believe it or not, my father replaced it with an extremely ugly 1949 Plymouth in a dull dark burgundy. Back then we got a new used car every 4 to 6 months, which is why I have so many stories of so many cars that show up here on BF
Crazy about a Mercury gona cruse it up and down the road !!
Nice Mercury and a good price so far for what has been done to it! A lot of miles left on this one without having to do anything but turn the key. Classy!