Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post: The Least Likely Custom? Continue reading the Original Blog Post
You are correct. And with that sleek, wide front end and hooded quad lights the front would lend itself well to being customized. I vaguely remember a "restyling" illustration of the 1959 Mercury in one of the little mags.....
Have seen many early customs use those tail lights, usually along with a generous portion of quarter panel, and a few that used that cool rectangle grille to fill in an opening. I'm sitting on a complete set of the woody trim from a '59 Colony Park just hoping a wagon comes along that I could put it on. These cars have a super cool dash in them, and gigantic MEL motors too!
A few years ago I encountered a derelict car that I couldn't quite identify. The overall shape and detailing said "Mercury" but the trim was wrong. Sure enough, a quick online search revealed it was Canadian, a '59 Monarch Sceptre. With the golden crown badging and gothic "Sceptre" script on the front fenders, it seemed like perfect material for a sled. That car was the only example I've ever run across, but I'd love to see one customized!
Some cars lend themselves to be customized, others to be accentuated or highlighted. The Merc fits the latter category.
I never heard of a Monarch Sceptre, so I had to look it up. Holy shit, did they actually come like this? 8 tail lights, none of which are reverse lights, 6 shared with the '59 Edsel? Gold Rolex crowns stacked up like cordwood? This thing is WILD!
The early 50's Mercurys were a young man's dream but by the end of the decade, for some reason, they seemed to become associated with a generally older crowd. This is just my unscientific opinion of what might be a reason for fewer 1959 customs. Whatever the reason, they are certainly good fodder for custom treatments. Keep the pictures coming. I wonder if there were fewer '59 Merc 2-door hardtops produced than other makes.(?) .
Reminds me of a (60?) Impala I saw in a salvage yard with TEN taillights spread across the rear end! What would have been killer would have been if the owner had used the relays like the T-bird and Cougar did to make them flash sequentially!
I think there would be a LOT of cars more unlikely than the Mercury. For instance: Tucker 48s, Nash Metropolitans, Frasiers, Jeep station wagons, Nash Healeys, and Powell pickups. I'm sure this thread could go on for a long time if other people added to this list.
My dad bought one new. A mordoor turnpike cruiser, orchid and cream color combo. He out of the blue offered it to me for the prom. It blew me away that he did and I did take it. Not to the prom though like he thought. Only squares and spares went to proms. Guys went cruisn with a little drag race'n. It went pretty good, pushbutton shift as I recall. All went well, I didn't wreck it, and the word I got the prom was a bore. But to turn that boat into a custom would have been monumental.
From all the searching I did, I don't think any Monarch came from the factory looking like this. Those are just Edsel tail lights someone added as well as the extra crown.
I've got one not custom just bone stock put about five thousand miles on it in the five years I've had it. Just for fun I took side by side pics with my 2003.
Even though I have an '01 Crown Vic Interceptor and should be partial to the '03 Merc, I'd take that '59 anytime.
The guys that bought them new were older guys who either couldn't swing a Lincoln or bought the Mercury even though they could afford a Lincoln because the Mercury wasn't seen as showing off. Pretty much the same as guys who bought Buicks rather than Cadillacs. They weren't much into customizing. Mom had a few early 50's Mercuries then had a 57 Monterey 2 door that got traded for a 58 Colony park. She could wheel both of those. Car nut that I was in my early teens I never gave a thought to what either would look customized.
I sold my '59 Parklane convert to collector in Sweden. He has since completed the restoration. He belongs to a club there that is exclusively '59 Mercs.
I’ve got my eye on a ‘59 Parklane sitting in a local field. It will probably sit there for several more years, as the owner seems to think it’s of museum quality, or plated with unobtainium. I think they rate as one of the most beautiful cars ever built. Any changes I would make would be pretty mild, other than lowering and really nice paint/interior. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Here’s a stocker, just to show that shaving the door handles is a reasonable mod. It would bring out the rocket shape on the side. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Funny thing is, before you mentioned it, I didn't even see the rocket shape. I guess I grew up in the wrong era. Phil
I had a 59 Montclair with the 383 4bbl, that was the wildest looking car I ever owned. The room between the front seat and the dash on the passenger side... you could hold a sock hop. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
You didn't have to customize them, they came that way from the factory. This was the era when custom bodywork became unnecessary and Larry Watson could lay on a custom paint job, lower it slightly and you were done. THE most unlikely full custom is the Modern Grecian 1947 Studebaker Land Cruiser 4 door sedan customized by George Barris not once but twice. What the hell were they thinking?
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