The Montclair was Mercury’s mid-level, full-size car from 1955 to 1960 and again from 1964 to 1968. For the latter run, it was sandwiched between the Monterey and Parklane models. The seller has a 4-door “hardtop sedan” that’s been sitting in the mud for 25 years, rusting out the back portion of the frame. But with some new parts, it’s now a running project. Located in Greenville, Wisconsin, restoring this Merc further could be a labor of love. It’s available here on Facebook Marketplace for $2,500. Our thanks go to “Lothar… of the Hill People” for the tip!
No one at FOMOCO seems to know how the name Montclair came about, but it could have been named after Montclair, New Jersey, which was near a then-new Mercury plant. In 1966, the Ford division built nearly 38,000 Montclairs of which more than 15,700 were 4-door hardtop sedans like this one (pillarless portals). A 390 cubic inch V8 with a 2-barrel carburetor was standard. That, along with an automatic transmission, occupies their place in this Monty.
This car sat for more than two decades, and its surroundings ate away at part of the rear frame. The seller has “patched it up,” but a new frame or portion would be the best permanent solution. The trunk has some rust, too, and the dark green paint is beyond its prime. Parts of the interior seem okay, but the carpeting is trash and needs to be replaced. We’re told the mileage may be a true 23,000, but isn’t it just as likely that the odometer could be on its second time around?
New parts include the brakes, tires, carburetor, alternator, muffler, belts, and more. But the fuel tank has a leak, and that will need to be addressed sooner rather than later. While some of the heavier lifting may have already been done, the buyer is going to have to keep plugging away. Especially at sorting out the trouble with the frame. But how much demand is out there for a 60-year-old Montclair with four doors?
The 4-door hardtop is cool. The neglect, not so much.
Aww, the brakes should be first, you can wait on the fuel leak, you can just follow the drips to where you parked it.
Search “Build Season” on YouTube and you’ll find a one-hour plus video on this car’s partial revival.
I have a driver 65 Mercury Marauder Montclair. A 2 door HT. Shame about the frame rot in back of this 4 Dr HT sedan and also may explain gas tank leak. The drivetrain alone is worth its asking price. What would you pay for a running 390 FE these days, if you could even find one? Lots of value left in this Montclair.
Hail Lothar… of the Hill People – Much has he seen, and much has he done!
If this car was buried in mud, it certainly did no benefit to the frame but as a former owner of a 1965 Montclair, an Ohio car, the rear frame was a rust issue sans any mud and my car was only 5 years old at the time. The front frame took a bend just in front of the rear wheels and that was it’s demise. That frame section caught and held every bit of debris the rear wheels could toss at it. A poor design as the inner wheel well was not quite effective.
It’s a known weak spot, especially on any Mercury subjected to road salt and damp conditions.
That aside, the 390 in these cars was pure delight to drive. They were like tanks, heavy and very road worthy.
I had one of these in the early seventies–indeed the identical car. Couldn’t keep gas in it, which I wouldn’t have minded so much if damned thing could get out of its own way. It couldn’t.
I checked out the Facebook ad and seems to be an honest person who has done much to improve the car for driving. He did do minor frame patching, but it will need more. This is not so unusual for one of this age in the snow / salt belt. Worth the price?
My parents had the exact same car, this was the car I got my drivers license in. Luckily I had found a 1 owner 57 Chev. 1 owner, Black 2 door hardtop a few months before for $500 and maybe used the 66 once or twice after that.