1960 Mercury Monterey Convertible

The Mercury marque came into existence in 1939, conceived by Edsel Ford, to fill the market gap between Ford and Lincoln. During the late 1950s, they battled Oldsmobile to take over supremacy in the mid-price segment. For 1959, the model was all-new underneath and the following year Mercury completed the makeover with a completely new skin. In the back were curved vestigial fins giving it a modern and iconic appearance. With a width of 81.5 inches, it was (along with its sibling marque Ford) the widest car of the year.

This particular example is a convertible that has just three owners since new. It is fully original apart from a high-quality repaint and new carpeting. It was ordered from Sachs & Sons, the Lincoln-Mercury dealer in Downey, California, by Karl Kramer, of Beverly Hills. He paid $3,477 for this car, in cash, and drove it just 32,000 miles until he was no longer able to drive. It then sat idle until 1978, when his daughter told a neighbor about it. The neighbor's wife purchased it at first sight. The new owner had the car repainted. In all the years he owned it, he drove it only once, to Santa Monica and back. It sat in his garage until he sold it two decades later.

The car is virtually original, including its green-tinted rear window, which matches the tinted glass. During its life, it has been driven just 34,000 original miles.

The car is fully loaded, including power seats and windows (accounting for just eight percent of production), but has no heater. Under the hood is a 383 cubic-inch overhead valve V8 engine rated at 280 horsepower and is mated to a three-speed Merc-O-Matic transmission. There is power steering and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes. It has a padded dashboard, radio, backup lights, seat belts, deluxe wheel covers, and tinted glass.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2015