1957 Mercury Monterey

The Mercury Monterey arrived in 1952 serving as a replacement for the Mercury Eight and remaining a part of the lineup through 1974. Its name was derived from the Monterey Bay area in California, and during its twenty-two decades of stewardship, would serve many different roles in the Mercury lineup (entry-level, mid-range, and flagship) and offered in numerous body styles including coupes, convertibles, hardtops, sedans, and station wagons.

Mercury's models were redesigned for 1957 and its wheelbase grew from 119 inches in 1956 to 122 inches in 1957. New styling features included a concave vertical bar grille, V-shaped tail lights, a front-hinged hood, upper rear fender and rear deck sculpturing, and cowl vent intakes. Examples built early in the production cycle had two round headlights while later built examples had four.

The standard engine was an overhead valve 312 cubic-inch V8 with a cast-iron block, a 9.7:1 compression ratio, a Holley four-barrel carburetor, and delivered 255 horsepower at 4,600 RPM. Mercury borrowed the 368 CID V8 from Lincoln and offered it as part of its lineup as optional equipment. Lincoln had been very successful during the 1950s in competition, especially in La Carrera Panamericana, and when Mercury wanted to go racing, they selected the 368 CID as their ticket into NASCAR. With assistance from Bill Stroppe in Long Beach, California, one hundred examples of the Mercury Monterey (to satisfy homologation) were taken from the factory in Pico Rivera, California and fitted with them with the M-335 power package (which included two four-barrel carburetors, boosting output to 335 horsepower). Right around the time Stoppe's modified Mercury was nearing completion, the Lincoln 368 engine had become outlawed due to new regulations.

The standard was a three-speed manual while overdrive and Merc-O-Matic automatic were optional. Additional items found on the options list included a Seat-O-Matic, power steering, power brakes, Continental kit, whitewall tires, air conditioning, and radio.

The two-door sedan with seating for six was priced at $2,575, the four-door sedan at $2,645, the hardtop sedan at $2,760, and the hardtop coupe at $2,700. The convertible listed for $3,000 which brought it close to Montclair territory which ranged from $3,190 to $3,430). The most popular body style was the sedan with 53,839 examples built, followed by 42,199 of the hardtop coupe, 33,982 of the two-door sedan, and 22,475 of the hardtop sedan. The most exclusive Monterey body style was the convertible with 5,003 units built, far above the 1,265 convertibles built on the Turnpike Cruise line and the 4,248 Montclair convertibles.

The total Monterey production was 157,498 units which represented fifty-five percent of Mercury's 1957 automobile production.
By Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2022