MERCURY PARK LANE - $10,000 (Sherman Oaks)

[Guest]

A companion piece to the 1960 Monterey 6T-FinSeeker posted.

 

 

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/cto/d/sherman-oaks-mercury-park-lane/7484492550.html

1960 Park Lane Four Door Hardtop. Car has been garaged for many years and not driven. 430 V8 four barrel. Transmission was resealed and is the original Lincoln style Multi-Drive. Neutral safety switch needs adjustment. $5000.00 in recent mechanical repairs. The brakes were redone a few years ago, but not driven. Interior was also redone years ago as was the chrome. Paint has some pinching and texture issues. Tires are new. Factory A/C, but not working. All standard power accessories. Needs some TLC. Paint color is Mountain Rose Poly.

Reply by e-mail only: a785cd226a1c3ee78dd52ed6a4ad5ed3@sale.craigslist.org

 

Edited May 20, 2022 by GregLaR (see edit history)

[6T-FinSeeker]

4 hours ago, GregLaR said:

A companion piece to the 1960 Monterey 6T-FinSeeker posted.

 

A very nice looking car! 

 

This Seller has done some serious thinking about price:

On 5/11/21, Seller listed on Craigslist for $20,000

On 6/2, Seller reduced price to $18,000

On 6/9, Seller reduced price to $16,000

On 5/16/22, Seller relisted on Craigslist for $10,000 (GregLaR's post)

 

Original thread from May 2021: https://forums.aaca.org/topic/362681-for-sale-1960-mercury-park-lane-hardtop-mountain-rose-poly-merc-needs-tlc-sherman-oaks-ca-not-mine-62-reduced-69-reduced-relisted/#comment-2216097

 

I wish Seller had included full-side view and more interior photos this time.

Thanks for posting!

 

 

Edited May 20, 2022 by 6T-FinSeeker (see edit history)

[58L-Y8]

Here is something to ponder: the 1960 Mercury Park Lane was essentially a Body-on-Frame version of the Lincoln chassis.  At 126" wb and 219.2" oal, it was the size the unibody Lincoln would have to be stretch to match for 1964 and by 1966.   Lincoln had been saddled with the unibody for 1958 to fill out the capacity at the new Wixom, MI plant along with the four-seat Thunderbird.  

The advantages of unibody construction diminished as the size of the body grew.  The 1958 Lincoln was designed prior to computer analysis capability which Chrysler Corporation employed for their 1960 full-size unibody developments.  The Lincoln was a 'best-guess' job when it came to where to apply additional strengthening gussets and bracing, resulting in an excessively heavy cars for their size.  Unibody construction because of its complexity also limited the body style selection because of the cost to amortize over a smaller number of units for certain body styles such as longer wheelbase sedans.

With Thunderbird sales burgeoning from 37K for 1958, 67K for 1959 and 92K for 1960, the Lincoln volume complicating production would seem less necessary.   The Mercury Park Lane platform was ideal for a 1961 Lincoln-style re-skin to return the Lincoln to a more competitive position versus Cadillac and Imperial regarding body selection.   The Mercury body already had interior dimensions consistent with other upper-medium-priced and luxury cars.  The 1961 Lincoln, for all its design appeal, was woefully short on interior room, an aspect that brought a good deal of negative feedback and resulted in the 1964 wheelbase stretch to 126".  The three additional inches were added to the rear seat legroom...to satisfy those complaints.  The Mercury platform was discarded for 1961 as the Mercury was returned to share almost completely with the Ford through 1964.   
 

[Leif in Calif]

Thank you 58L-Y8 for that excellent analysis and history lesson. That's why I like this forum: People know things! 

Edited May 21, 2022 by Leif in Calif
miss spell (see edit history)