Featured on AutoHunter, the online platform driven by ClassicCars.com, is this 1953 Mercury Monterey coupe. This awesome period correct, hot rodded Mercury is powered by a 255cid flathead V8 backed by a Merc-O-Matic three-speed automatic transmission, and the engine has some great mods including aluminum Offenhauser heads, an Edelbrock dual-carburetor intake manifold, chrome air cleaners, an external oil filter, and headers. Recent service includes the replacement of both water pumps, the installation of a 12-volt alternator and an electric fuel pump. Those mods ought to give it a bit more power than stock, and my only addition would be to ditch the whitewalls for some black walls but that is more about my taste than anything the car really needs.
When restored, this cool Mercury was painted in red and white over a matching red and white vinyl interior and comes from the selling dealer with the receipt from the most recent service and a clear title.
When it was released in 1952, the Mercury Monterey was conceived as a full size mid luxury car positioned between Ford and Lincoln and the flagship for the Mercury line. The Monterey has styling that was basically carried over from other Ford models, including Ford’s Lincoln line. The Mercury and Lincoln are practically indistinguishable from each other although the Lincoln carries a higher price in today’s market, possibly due to it’s history of competing in the Carrera Panamerica. Today the Mercury Monterey Sport Coupe is an easy car to maintain and has lots of hot rod street cred as well, being a favorite of customizers over the years.
In the world of hot rods and customs this is the kind of car that really suits me. I love that it appears from the outside to be mostly stock but has had these nice engine mods done to give it more power. I am also thrilled that they left the original Ford flathead in place and did not swap it for a modern small block crate motor. Sure, the crate motors have more power but there are few American hot rod engines cooler than the Ford flat head V8.
What can I say, to quote Bryan Setzer, “I’m crazy about a Mercury and want to cruise it on down the road.” This is just the car for local shows and to drive and enjoy with the Stray Cats playing on the radio.
The auction for this 1953 Mercury Monterey ends on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, at 1:15 p.m. (PDT)
Visit the AutoHunter listing for more information and photo gallery
I have a lot of great memories of the 1953 Mercury Moneray. They hold a very unique place in my automotive history. I was born in Detroit in 1955, so this Mercury has a few years on me. But while I was very young in the early 60s, there were four of these very popular cars in our neighborhood. My dad owned one, and two of our next-door neighbors had them. Including my dad’s, three of them were all the same colors. A mild orange body with a black painted roof, over black orange, and white interior. The last of the four was a light green with a darker green roof over green black and silver interior. I always thought it was very interesting that three of them were the same exact colors, it must have been a popular color combinations at the time. As I said I was young and didn’t know that much about cars at the time. I did know that I loved everything about them and would one day make them my life, and I have. There’s one final thing about those 53 “Mercs” and that’s that they all had a very distinct sounding exhaust system. It was loud compared to other cars, and to this day, with all I know about cars, I can’t explain how that could be, especially since all of their owners did nothing to modify the stock duel exhaust they came with. Imagine, in the early 50s, a car came stock with radical sounding duel exhaust. Leave it to Ford Motor Company to do something different than GM and Chrysler. That must be why I will only drive Fords. Thanks for featuring this 1953 Mercury Moneray.
To be clear, the model is “Monterey,” named after a city in northern California, which was named after a place in Mexico.
I would venture to suggest that all manufacturers did things differently from each other and Ford was no more unique than the Big 3 and the independents. If anything, the independents often marched to their own drummer.
Andy, I enjoyed reading this article about the ’53 Merc. Beautiful car and I love the whitewalls! However, I was not aware that Brian Setzer (Stray Cats) ever recorded Mercury Blues. It’s certainly an old song first recorded in the late 1940s and covered by many artists over the years. The most popular version was released by Alan Jackson in the early ’90s.
Depends on what you mean by “popular.” I doubt Alan Jackson inspired many musicians to play the tune, IMHO.
Alan Jackson’s “Mercury Blues” rose to Number 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles, as well as Number 2 in Canada in the Fall of ’93. It was still popular three years later when Jackson performed the song ‘Live’ on the hit Tim Allen TV series “Home Improvement” in 1996. As it turns out, the lyrics cited in this article are actually from a song titled ’49 Mercury Blues recorded around the year 2000 by The Bryan Setzer Orchestra, not the Stray Cats. Just sayin’…