Mercury Montcalm

[ragtop4two]

This Mercury has been sitting on our family property since 1970 or possibly sooner. I do remember it before it was shot at the first time and I know it's been under water several times over the years as it is sitting in a low area near the river. It is a Mercury Montcalm as far as I can recall, but I'm guessing it is a 1960? Any ideas, it is a Canadian car.

[Dosmo]

It appears to match up with the U.S. version of the 1961 Mercury Meteor.  I attached the below images after finding them at the curbside classic website.  Not familiar enough with Canadian cars to definitely say the car on your property is from the 1961 model year, but, I'm guessing 1961 to be correct.

Edited January 28, 2018 by Dosmo (see edit history)

[ragtop4two]

That does look like a match. It may also be a Monterey, I haven't seen it in years but do remember the Montcalm or Monterey badges on it. My cousin took my attached pic yeasterday.

[Laughing Coyote]

It's a 1961 Monterey. The ones in the pictures are a Meteor 800 4 door hardtop (no posts) The Monterey had a chrome strip on the edge of the trunk and also the side moldings had a black insert in them. The 800 has just the stainless side trim without the black. The Monterey was the top of the line, then the 800, and then the 600 which was the base model.

[Dave Mellor NJ]

The tail lights on the 60 must be about the largest of any car ever. Very recognizable

 

[Buffalowed Bill]

I don't remember the last time I saw a 1960. I wonder how many have survived?

[8E45E]

Its definitely a 1961 Mercury from the rear as seen in the photo.  Perhaps it has a Meteor front clip installed on it.

 

I posted photos of a Canadian 1961 Meteor Montcalm here:  http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?60700-Orphan-of-the-Day-04-08-1961-Meteor-Montcalm&highlight=1961+METEOR

 

and here:  http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?9950-What-makes-people-do-this/page2&highlight=1961+METEOR

 

Craig

Edited January 29, 2018 by 8E45E (see edit history)

[ragtop4two]

Thanks for the replies. Considering that it is a 1961 and I know it has been sitting there for almost 50 years I am now wondering why as it wasn't a wreck when I first seen it. I'll ask an older family member one day.

[Laughing Coyote]

A lot of those trim pieces are hard to get pieces and could bring some money if they clean up good. The 61 body style was a one year only. Makes it hard to find trim parts. The frame and running gear is the same as a Ford Galaxie. The dash is the same except for the dash cluster. 

Edited January 30, 2018 by Laughing Coyote (see edit history)

[Gunsmoke]

My Dad was a "Mercury" guy for many years from 1950-1970, and as we lived in a rural area on 2-3 acres, when a car had lost it's mechanical fitness, he simply drove them to a spot in the woods about 200 feet from the house and left them there, would have been 3 or 4, 1954-1965 models. They were still there in the mid-eighties when he sold the property. I don't know what eventually became of them, but suspect a mobile crusher eventually did it's dirty work. 

[Bleach]

I think it's a US model. A Canadian 61 i found online looks like this.

 

[Dave Mellor NJ]

23 hours ago, Dave Mellor NJ said:

The tail lights on the 60 must be about the largest of any car ever. Very recognizable

 

Interesting that Mercury kept the wrap around windshield and reverse angle vent window for an extra year. Ford changed back to the conventional arrangement in 60.

[8E45E]

9 hours ago, Bleach said:

I think it's a US model. A Canadian 61 i found online looks like this.

 

That is a Monarch Richileau.  It was sold at Ford dealers, while the Mercury was sold at Mercury-Lincoln dealers in Canada, as was the Meteor.

 

It hardly made sense in 1961 as McNamara's cost-cutting by sharing Ford and Mercury body shells made the Canadian Monarch and Meteor redundant that year.  Previous to that, Monarchs were based on Mercurys while the Meteor was Ford based.

 

Craig

[Bleach]

7 hours ago, 8E45E said:

That is a Monarch Richileau.  It was sold at Ford dealers, while the Mercury was sold at Mercury-Lincoln dealers in Canada, as was the Meteor.

 

It hardly made sense in 1961 as McNamara's cost-cutting by sharing Ford and Mercury body shells made the Canadian Monarch and Meteor redundant that year.  Previous to that, Monarchs were based on Mercurys while the Meteor was Ford based.

 

Craig

 

Canadian Ford products were certainly confusing then.

[Bleach]

15 hours ago, Dave Mellor NJ said:

Interesting that Mercury kept the wrap around windshield and reverse angle vent window for an extra year. Ford changed back to the conventional arrangement in 60.

 

1960 Lincolns also had "Panoramic" windshields like the full sized Mercury. I personally like them better than "conventional" windshields. You get a much better unobstructed view of what's ahead of you, especially when making left or right turns at night.

[Dave Mellor NJ]

Now that I think about it, The Thunderbirds and the trucks also kept the wrap around windshield for 60,anything on a 3 year cycle,but the edsel went to the conventional windshield in its brief 60 run

[8E45E]

On ‎1‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 1:19 PM, Bleach said:

 

Canadian Ford products were certainly confusing then.

It wasn't so confusing when Ford and Mercury each used different body shells from 1949 to 1960.  Meteor was based on Ford bodies and sold at Mercury-Lincoln dealers, and Monarchs were based on Mercury bodies, and sold at Ford dealers.  It all changed for 1962 when the Meteor name was applied on Mercury's version of the intermediate size Fairlane sold on both sides of the border for 1962 & 3.  The Monarch was dropped after 1961, though the name was revived in 1975.  What does confuse many was in 1964,  the Monterey name was dropped in Canada and replaced with the Meteor brand in different trim levels which lasted right up until 1981.  (The Meteor name had a good reputation in Canada.)  In 1963, a very basic Mercury was introduced in Canada, called the '400', with 223 six as standard, no trim around the side windows, pope Paul hubcaps, and one-piece rear window available in two and four door sedans.  It was replaced in 1964 by the Meteor Rideau when the Comet became an intermediate and the Meteor name was dropped in the U.S. From 1964 on, the Meteor trim levels basically corresponded with the full-size Ford's trim levels, including sharing the dashboards.  The Rideau matched the Ford Custom for trim, the Rideau 500 = Custom 500, Montcalm = Galaxie, etc.  A couple of rare and interesting models were the 1967 Meteor Montego (the name only used for one year when it got applied to the intermediate line starting in 1968) which matched the Ford XL500 for trim level, and the 1970 LeMoyne which matched the LTD. 

 

Craig

Edited February 1, 2018 by 8E45E (see edit history)