1958 Mercury Montclair

American cars of the 1950s were highlighted by excessive use of chrome, gadgets, tail fins, jet-age styling, and bright colors. Mercury Montclairs, introduced in 1955, was the company's mid-range car, available to those with deep pocks and a yearning for style and elegance. They were equipped with Mercury's finest accouterments with extra chrome trim, jet-inspired design cues, and two-tone paint combinations. Full-length side chrome strips with silver trim between them, and chrome headlight rims, helped distinguish the Montclair from the other 1958 Mercurys.

1958 Mercury Montclair body styles included a sedan, hardtop coupe, hardtop sedan, hardtop coupe, and a convertible, with prices ranging from $3,240 to $3,600. The Turnpike Cruiser was offered in both 1957 and 1958 and was inspired by an auto-show concept car of the same name. They were built to celebrate the Interstate era, offering both style and power. The Turnpike Cruiser joined the Montclair line in 1958 and was offered in both hardtop coupe and hardtop sedan body styles. A total of 2,864 examples of the two-door Turnpike Cruiser and 3,543 of the four-door Turnpike Cruiser were built.

The overhead valve 383 cubic-inch V8 had five main bearings, a Holley four-barrel carburetor, and delivered 330 horsepower at 4,600 RPM. A Merc-O-Matic automatic was standard. The largest rendering of the MEL (Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln) design to date was the 430 cubic-inch engine with 360 horsepower. A three two-barrel carbureted version with a special intake brought horsepower to 400 bhp and was the first American engine to have a factory rating of 400 hp. Bill Stroppe's West Coast shop was tasked with developing these engines, with the special intake reportedly cast for Mercury by the Mooneye company and a unique polished aluminum air breather designed by Hot Rodder Lynn Wineland. These engines were offered as a dealer-installation option before being factory installed. It is believed that 100 examples of these special 430 cubic-inch engines were built that year, which could have been optioned onto any Mercury vehicle.

by Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2020