Magnificent Midcentury Masterpiece: 1959 Mercury Monterey Cruiser 2-door
- January 29, 2021
- Optional 383ci V8 Engine
- 84k Seller Stated Miles
- Spectacular Livery and Interior
- Highly Optioned, Including Continental Kit
- Thoroughly Detailed, Well Maintained, Recently Serviced
We love Mercurys for many reasons, but largely because they’ve unjustly become such an “afterthought” car. Ask any connoisseur of classic American cars, and the a half dozen makes roll freely off the tongue, but rarely does anyone mention Mercury. If only for the fact that exclusivity is a significant driver of collectability, Mercurys deserve some more attention, and that’s not factoring for unique styling and great build quality. It’s great to roll into a cruise night with a vintage Mercury because unlike virtually every other Big Three brand, there won’t be another fifteen others in attendance. For 1959, Mercury’s Monterey stretched out on an insane 126” wheelbase, offering customers a choice of the standard issue 312ci V8 engine or the mightier 383ci V8. The Cruiser was a pillarless 4-door or 2-door with a massive wraparound rear windshield creating a sort of fastback appearance, and acres of chrome balanced out the miles of sheet metal. It was and remains a sight to behold.
On offer here is a fine example of one of the most lavish and muscular ever built by Mercury. Complete with a Continental Kit, the car is presented in yellow with a black top, sport stripe, and trim, wide whitewall tires, full-width wheel covers, wheel skirts, tinted glass, and a highly original green interior complete with all the trimmings. The ocean-liner-scale bench seat has seat belts, while the spaceship dashboard is equipped with a full battery of gauges and the optional padded dash top (safety first, right?)
Powered by the optional 383ci V8 engine, which was only offered with an automatic transmission, gobs of punch was on tap to make it a truly muscular car that no one really noticed. Pity, because by all accounts those who had a Monterey – especially with the larger engine – could really lay it down in the light-to-light combats, or just enjoy lofty smooth-sailing down the interstate. This one even has power steering. Said to be very well-detailed, the car is a combination of restored and original, which is nice to read. Showing under 90,000 miles, we tend to believe it’s likely leaning more towards original given the overall condition. The rarity of a late ’50s Mercury alone is something remarkable, but in this condition and great color combination, it’s an absolute treasure.
Scour the marketplace: finding another one like this is really difficult. In Hagerty’s valuation guide’s #1, “concours” condition, a Monterey Cruiser 2-door comes in at +/- $35,000, and this one is priced a bit higher. But after some Zero260 team back-and-forth, given the colors, the condition, the equipment level and the fact that it could be years before another one as good is offered again, we feel this one’s worth the premium.
