Although I can’t say that the forward-looking yet somewhat gorpy (hey, it’s the “word” that came to mind) late-1950s period of American automotive design is my favorite, you have to appreciate its star-chasing audacity. We could point to several over-the-top examples: the 1958 Buick Limited, the 1959 Cadillac, and certainly this 1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser, which was, according to my copy of Krause Publications’ Standard Catalog of Ford 1903-1998, “one of the most gadget-laden cars ever built.” Barn Finder T.J. thought that this example on eBay in North Hollywood, California, was wild enough to send in for our perusal. It’s being auctioned with a reserve, and the high bid of $1,925 has not yet met it.
So what was on the list of Turnpike Cruiser standard features? Buckle up, because it’s a long list:
- Breezeway ventilation and power-operated back window (which still works!)
- Roof-level air vents (with lethal-looking “probes”)
- Skylight dual-curve windshield (which has a crack in the passenger side corner – are there replacements?)
- Quadri-Beam headlamps (something new in 1957)
- Average-speed computer clock
- Tachometer (which also works)
- Merc-O-Matic drive
- Pushbutton gear selection
- Power steering
- Power brakes
- Padded instrument panel (at least the passengers are safer, even if the pedestrians aren’t)
- “Full-vision” steering wheel
- Dual exhausts
- Heavy-duty battery, foam rubber cushions, and deluxe wheel covers
The engine was the best Mercury could offer in 1957, the 368-cubic-inch Turnpike Cruiser V8 with 9.75:1 compression and 290 horsepower. This was the same engine used in Lincolns with a slightly lower compression ratio and ten fewer horsepower. The seller says that the engine “runs strong” and the transmission “shifts well using the push buttons.” The radiator was recently redone (although it doesn’t quite look like it in this photo), and the fuel pump, belts, and hoses have recently been replaced.
Additionally, the interior is “very nice,” and indeed the upholstery appears to be in great shape. Even the padded dash doesn’t seem to have any gross tears or rips, and if I were a potential buyer, I’d be happy to see that this example doesn’t have the optional power windows. There are enough things to go wrong on an old car, and with only 8,305 1957 Turnpike Cruiser four-door hardtops built, anything that can be simplified simply means one less part I’ll have to potentially find. I know some disagree with that logic.
This is a car that gives the buyer some options. It’s solid enough to restore if one was so inclined (the seller does include several pictures of minor rust areas, including, most troublingly, the trunk lid and rear bumper), but it’s also presentable enough to cruise around in as it sits. If every day behind the wheel brings you the kind of optimism that brought on its outlandishly futuristic styling, it will be worth the money it brings.
A Tachometer? Well, timbers be shivered, sure enough, the left pod has a tach. Many must think, “turnpike”, big deal. Well, it was a big deal, a HUGE deal, and this car was designed to travel on one. The most famous turnpike is of course, the Pennsylvania Turnpike. It preceded the interstate system, and was novel in that, there was no stopping and rest areas along the way, unheard of previously. This car wasn’t cheap. I read, this car cost just over $4,000 BUCKS, or almost double of a ’57 Ford, and frankly, gee-gaws aside, it wasn’t double the car. Apparently, only 16,000 Turnpike Cruisers were sold in ’57, compare that to over 1.5 MILLION Fords, they were a rare sight away from the “turnpike”. Many found out the top speed of 115mph on that highway. I bet it overheats easily,,,
Howard, I’m thinking the question of it overheating might come down to- will that thick multi-core radiator make up for the lack of a fan shroud-on a hot day in slow traffic after years of use.
George Jetson’s land based vehicle . I love the antenna’s sticking out the tops of the A pillars
The Delaware Valley Ford V-8 Club meets at a club house just outside Philadelphia. In the garage there are three of these, black, red and blue, two tones. I do not remember the two antenna’s that I saw in the photos and that you mentioned. I asked one of the members about the four headlights on a 1957 car. He said that’s correct, though most cars did not have them until 1958, including Fords. Others may know, were the four only for the Turnpike Cruisers and top models but not all model Mercurys that year? I am pretty sure that one car just has two. Maybe that’s the case with the antennas too, not all had two?
According to the “Standard Catalog of American Cars,” almost a third (32.6% to be precise) had the quad-beam option. But only 1.5% had air conditioning. Four headlights were standard on the TC and optional on other models. However, some TCs had single headlights because some states prohibited quad headlights.
Fun write-up Aaron. When one steps back and takes this car in, it is quite the piece of work. The list of features Aaron provided is evidence, and it is not even meant to be complete. For example, those sculpted rear quarters leading into the slated taillights were over-the-top. And check out the metal discs around the interior door handles. Futuristic, yes; the designers must have had lots of fun with this Mercury.
One year sooner than the ugly years. If you go back and look at all the great looking cars Mercury built up to this point you have to wonder what happened to the original design department.
Definitely an oddity at a car show, but would also be one to drive on Sundays.
My friend had one of these for his everyday driver , what a boat he loved everything about it except the gas usage ! said it could pass any thing on the road except a gas station !
One of my favorite model Mercurys, and always love it when they are listed. So many quirky gadgets on these Turnpike Cruisers. Those roof level air scoops and its rear window are my favorites. Tach is a nice touch too. Didn’t they come with a fan shroud? I know I can’t even find one for my 65 Mercury. Unobtanium. Shame about the cracked windshield, I bet you can’t find one.
I’ve a ’57 Mercury Voyager with the same engine: no fan shroud, even on the models with air conditioning, like the ones I have on my wagon! It’s disappointing because a fan shroud is really useful. It also provides protection; when I check the ignition timing, I’m very wary of the fan blades.
Phil, I had to fabricate my own fan shroud from an aftermarket for my 65 Mercury after it broke. They definitely are designed to run much better and cooler with them. Anything you can do will help. So far, I just did the top one, and will be adding a lower one soon.
I like the design of this car ! However it looks like a heavy one. Four thousand pounds land yachts were common back then. Drum bakes would fade quickly.
Trust me I know !
Wish I had found one in late 1960s when I was walking around with a few hundred dollars in my pocket.
Back in the late 60’s my then Mother in law (RIP) was in need of a car. We scoured the local newspaper (yeah that’s how we did it back then) for a used car. Strange thing it was listed under garage sale. A 57 Mercury. So we got the address and drove in my junker to see the car. It was two tone white over tan. A two door hardtop. It didn’t run and had been parked for a year or so. The body was straight, no rust or dings. The interior was perfect. And the car was complete. So she handed over the $50.00, got the title and keys. Then we drove down to the local parts store and got new spark plugs, cap, rotor and plug wires. I installed them right there at the garage sale. She turned the key and the car fired right up. She drove that car for about three years before the transmission went bad.
God Bless America
This is definitely no parts car. The restoration, what ever it’s going to take, is going to be a labor of love. On the street or at a car show this air craft carrier is guaranteed to turn heads and stop anyone and everyone in their tracks for a closer look. Can you imagine what the same year Lincoln had added to it’s carcass as standard equipment?
Nope, it’s certainly to nice be anyone’s parts car, it’s so close to being a driver survivor. Front disc’s is all I would do other than a thorough tune up.
Anyone that has a MIG welder, and knows how to paddle lead (lost art) would be able to fix the small rust issues easily! A good bumper re chrome shop should be able to handle the bumper issue without any problem. Your local HVAC shop should be able to handle fabricating a fan shroud for the engine. The front windshield would be the hardest problem to solve, I think. I did a quick internet search for a windshield, and found some suppliers! Amazing! A fresh coat of paint, disc brakes all around, and you’d have a beautiful cruiser.
good luck trying to find a deck lid
That deck lid is an easy repair, to anyone who knows anything about body repair!!
I fondly remember when they went to “The Big M” in 1957, moving Mercury up-market toward the Lincoln, in order to open up a new slot for the “Space-Age” Edsel which would appear later that year. Of course, we all know what happened with THAT! Then, after the ’59-based 1960 Mercury, they moved this make back down again to mid-market status once more. Still, while the ’61 Mercury was an ugly beast, the 1962 facelift made for a very lovely car (even if it did have the same dashboard as a 1960 Ford or Edsel, essentially, and looked like a ’62 Ford with different sheet metal). I always have been partial to Mercurys — I guess my grandfather’s 1939 Mercury (which he traded-in on a 1946 Mercury) rather sold me on the brand. He let go of the ’46, to buy a ’53 — one of the prettiest Mercurys ever made: he had Merc-O-Matic and all the available “toys” on that one; and for a man in his mid-seventies then, it made us smile. He WAS thinking of getting the convertible, and we DARED him! But he settled for the top line (Monterey, was it?) two door hard top. He had lots of blond hair which never turned grey, but you still knew that the fancy two door hardtop was a bit too “sportin'” for someone born in the 1870s. He liked to have fun. He traded the ’53 Merc. in on a black-and-red-and-gold 1957 Turnpike Cruiser (natch!). In the late 1940s, Lonzo and Oscar had a popular song (also recorded by Guy Lombardo), “I’m My Own Grandpa” (anyone remember that one?); well, in some ways, my otherwise dignified grandfather role-played as his own grandson — especially in what he drove! His older brother (my great uncle), on the other hand, still drove a black 1939 Buick Century four door sedan into the mid-1970s, when he was older than 100! Hey! — as long as it RUNS, why get RID of it? At least, when you saw it tooling down the streets of Brookline, you knew who it was!
Alright Harrison, now that you mentioned the 1953 Mercury, I have a couple of stories from around 1973 to 75 while I was living and working in the Anderson Valley in CA 130 miles north of SF, about 30 miles from the coast. I am still finding some things I did not know about the Valley. Apparently around 1967 several of the Manson family lived just north of where I stayed in several locations, in Navarro. Prior to then, “over the hills” around Ukiah in 1965 Jim Jones was setting up camp. I was in Philo most of the time but also in the local metropolis of Boonville, next to the road to the small city of Ukiah. This place was still relatively poor before the vineyards were producing much. It was redwood logging, sheep ranches and apple orchards. That’s a long forward to the 1953 Mercury. I can’t remember if I sold it for a 59 VW or a 54 Chevy pickup. The Mercury was the common light blue with a white top and ran very well. But one morning it was unusually cold. The Mercury started fine, but the engine made a strange sound. Both water pumps were ice frozen, but the belts were spinning past the pulleys. I warmed them up with warm water and made sure to add more antifreeze. Then I had another nicer 53 Mercury Monterey, gifted to me by someone who went back east. Unfortunately, this one got taken away to the yard when I left too. I was admonished when he found out what happened a couple of years later, but there we are. I also left boxes in a barn. The thing that I remember most was a large box of old car horns from the 40’s to 50’s.
Ok, I’ve got a question for all you restoration specialists out there. How many of you know how to paddle lead, and do metal finishing? Are these lost arts now days? Just curious! when I did body work in the 60’s, bondo was just coming in. The shop I worked at didn’t use bondo, and, at that time, it was considered inferior to metal finishing, and using lead fillers. Ok, now Ive given my age away, everybody can laff! (;-) Thanks for your reply’s!
Not even the most experienced welders today will fool around with paddle and lead work and welding. I had a very well trained military engineer help me do 2 qtr panels on a 66 Mustang Fastback and he used modern fiberglass and steel fiber filler in the areas around rear glass, that was originally was lead. The guys that used to do it are long dead.. If you find anyone who can, let us know.
Thanks, HC for the reply. Interesting! I appreciate it! Chuck
Neat car. Kinda looks like a 312 to me though?
There are some visual similarities between the Ford and Lincoln Y-Blocks, and the air cleaner blocks some of the differences, but the valve covers give away that this one has the Lincoln.
https://macsmotorcitygarage.com/fords-forgotten-y-block-the-1952-57-lincoln-v8/