1959 Mercury Monterey

Convertible

383

Automatic

N9MA530991

Clear

Gasoline

When was the last time you saw one of these, restored or otherwise? Up for sale is my rare 1959 Mercury Monterey convertible project. Optional equipment includes the original 383 2-barrel engine (yes, Mercury made a 383), multi-drive transmission, rear reflectors, padded dash, and power brakes. This has been an Ohio car its entire life (confirmed by Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles title search). The word "rare" is overused in the collector car market, but I believe this truly qualifies as a rare car. Mercury made 4,426 Monterey convertibles in 1959. The only other Mercury convertible available that year was the Parklane, and only about 1,200 of those were made. I’ve never seen another one of these at any of the shows I’ve been to, and have only seen two restored Monterey convertibles here on ebay over the last 5 years. Don’t miss out on your chance to own this great 50’s convertible… Another thing that makes this car very unusual is that is supposedly only has just shy of 26,000 original miles on it. The estate that I bought it from gave me this information. The last time the car was on the road was 1968, as evidenced by the plates that are still on the car. The firewall in the engine bay is very, very clean, the brake pad rubber is not severely worn where the driver would step on it, and the odometer numbers cleanly align. The clear Ohio title that I have also shows this as the correct mileage. I do have not any documentation to support the mileage, so use your own judgment or come and inspect the car prior to bidding. Obviously the car needs a complete restoration, but it is a very restorable car. It does have some rust issues on the inner and outer rear quarter panels (both sides), the driver’s rear wheel lip, and driver’s dogleg, and I suspect the rocker on the driver’s side likely has rust too. Someone attempted to do some poor quality bodywork repair by using screen and fiberglass to cover the rust. The previous owner left cardboard boxes of parts in the trunk of this vehicle, which drew moisture and caused some rust holes to form. This should be able to be repaired easily enough. The front and rear floor pans are rock solid. The frame is solid and straight; no evidence of any accidents. It does have some rust scale on the frame, but no rot or holes. All sheetmetal is in good shape with no major dents. Several small dents/dings around the body though. The hood is obviously not original, but is a correct 59 Mercury hood that I bought out of Kansas. The hood front lip on the inside is rusted significantly and will require repair as well. All the stainless and cast trim pieces are in tact and in good shape. Cast pieces do have pitting on them, so will need re-chromed for a show car. Rear taillight has a chunk out of it, but both could be used as is. Front windshield is perfect. Side windows roll up and down fine, but drivers side flat glass is broken. I have had the engine running on a bottle. There is a what I believe to be a valve-train ticking that I can’t quite figure out. I replaced lifters to try to eliminate the tick, but it continues to tick. That’s where I stopped tinkering with the motor. Could be something simple, but assume the motor needs to be rebuilt. The 383 block is the same as the Lincoln 430 (which was an upgrade option on the Merc’s), so you could build a real torque monster from this engine. Original, optional, multi-drive transmission is in place. No idea of it’s working condition. Brakes are shot on the car, so it is not in driving condition. Tires hold air, but all are old and dry rotted. Original 59 Merc hub caps included. Interior is all intact and the rear seat material is still decent. Front driver’s side is ragged. Door panels are in decent condition. Padded dash is disintegrating and cracked. I did not get a set of keys when I bought the car, so I replaced ignition tumbler with a NOS tumbler and key. I do not have a key for the rear trunk, doors, or glove box lock. You can easily have them re-keyed, or swap them out with NOS ones. Lights and warning lights all seem to work as expected. The top frame is in very good condition; it has some minor pinholes in the passenger’s side rail, near the front corner. I have not tested the top motor, but I did disconnect the actuator linkage so I could manually raise and lower the top. Frame moves easily and is not frozen up. The car had a ragged black top on it when I bought it. It was trashed, so I removed it. The top latches are all in place and operate freely. I also have a lot of NOS and some used parts for this car. Some of the harder to find NOS parts I have are rear quarter outer patch panels for both sides , the convertible top switch and chrome lever, and many others. These parts are not included with the purchase of the car. If the winning bidder is interested, I’ll sell the entire lot of parts for an additional price, to be determined (need to inventory it all). I have included many pictures here. Many more pictures can be viewed here: I do not have a Buy it Now price in mind; I am inclined to let the auction run its course. Feel free to make offers. I do not have to sell this car, I am not desperate, so don’t waste my time or yours with ridiculously low offers. All buyers are welcome to come and inspect the car prior to bidding or before the auction ends. I’ve described the car honestly. Please ask all questions prior to bidding. I’d be hard pressed to take any trades, but would consider running and driving 20’s-30’s hot rods, or big fin cars, but that’s about it. No project cars. I will sell worldwide. Seller is responsible for all shipping and customs paperwork and expenses. Car will need to be loaded on flatbed or trailer with a winch. I will store the car inside for 30 days after the auction close. Car must be picked up within 30 days, or I will charge a daily fee of $50 for storage payable before the car is released. Sorry, but I’ve been burned previously on cars taking months to pick up. I will accept cash in person or certified bank cashier’s check. The latter will need to clear my bank before car is released. $500 non-refundable deposit due via PayPal within 24 hours of the auction ending. Non-paying bidders will have negative feedback left, and will be reported to ebay. Buyers with 0 feedback need to contact me prior to bidding or your bid will be cancelled. Car is sold as is, and where is. No warranties are expressed or implied. No returns accepted. Thanks for your interest. On Mar-07-13 at 16:08:59 PST, seller added the following information: Here's the inventory of NOS and Used Parts that I have available (these items DO NOT sell with the car, but are available for sale to high bidder for a lump sum) NOS Parts:Convertible top switch, power lead and Chrome lever Chrome Hood Ornament Full Set of Chrome Hood Letters - MERCURY Left Rear Quarter Panel -- Rear patch panel Left Rear Quarter Panel -- wheel lip patch panel Left Rear Quarter Panel -- door to wheel lip patch panel Right Rear Quarter Panel -- Rear patch panel Right rear taillight lense -- no sleeve Right rear "J" trim Lower rear quarter trim - Right Vent window glass Door trim clipsTemperature Sending Unit Trim Clips Instrument Cluster Chrome Bezel Headlight switch LH Tie Rod End Glove box cable Door knobs and ignition cylinders with keys Trunk Mat Glovebox or trunk lock cylinder and keys Left wiper arm Heater blower switch assembly Heater valve assembly Dimmer switch Used Parts: Horn ring center cap Right/Left lower quarter trim Radio and Bezel Power steering cylinder rebuild kit (new) Steering wheel chrome blow ring Turn signal assembly Refurbished radio Left/Right taillight bezels Left headlight center trim piece Left/Right Rear "J" trim Right rear taillight lense -- no sleeve Again, these items are NOT INCLUDED with the sale of the car!!!! they will be offered for sale as a bulk lot to the high bidder only. This auction is getting LOTS of views and many, many watchers. The car WILL SELL since my reserve has been met. Bid to win! Good luck!