Just surfing for old Mercs and wound up here. In 1966 my first car was a 1954 4dr Merc Monterey with a 1956 312ci. Had a 3sp stick with overdrive. I drove the heck out of that car. Rebuilt the engine, my first rebuild, at age 16, and blew it later. My second car was a 1957 Merc. Hardtop, 2dr with a 312ci and push button auto trans. I used to floor it in reverse and at high rpms push the drive button and burn rubber going backwards and when it started to go foreward it would fishtail leaving what looked like a pair of matching hairpins on the pavement. I eventually blew the trans out. :) I was on e crazy kid then and knew no bounds. I don't have time to tell all the cars I have owned and abused. Most of my Ford products withstood the punishment better than any Chevy product I ever owned. At nearly 61 yrs of age I still drive mostly Ford autos with my current being a '05 Merc Sable. Rick
Rick Martin
02-Nov-2010 23:29
Most people dont know it but 100 57 Merc M335s were built by Bill Stroope for Nascar and Usac , a few got out to the public and a few to the highway patrol, these were 145 mph cars with hand built dual qaude 368 linc engines with 335 dyno proven hp or more, they also came with a 3spd T85 stick trans , this deal was a 635 dollar option and very hard to get. i have 2 of these cars, one a monterey 2dr sedan and one Full Nascar Stock car . Rick Martin Darrtown Ohio
Guest
16-Mar-2010 04:37
My Dad made the mistake of buying me a 4 door hardtop cream white 57 Mercury as a used car...I was a 16 year old teenager in 1965. The car only had 35,000 miles on it. What he didn't know is what neat little log on the front fenders meant..the one telling others this car was a 4 door hardtop TURNPIKE cruiser with the merc-o-matic push button tranny and a holley 4 barrel carb. I figured out that I could run it up to 55mph in button L, then shift to button D, and back to button L for the second gear..90 mph and back to drive to 134mph, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol. It would beat most 60s cars drag racing and I could drop it to second at 70 mph and leave other behind. It stayed with 4 barrel 389 4 speed GTOs but would beat 390 Fords and 396 Chevys. Needless to say, I lost my license for 90 days. The car was beautiful and a "sleeper". Who would think it would smoke the tires all the way through 3rd gear? Oh to have one again. Probably kill myself in it. Enjoy.
Guest
01-Oct-2007 17:45
When I saw your 1957 Mercury Montclair, my heart skipped a beat. My husband and I had a convertible, blue and white. It had the push button transmission, power windows and a continental kit on the back. It was some car. We have never seen one exactly like it, either in pictures or at car shows. Wish we still had it. All we have left are a few pictures and our memories. Janet
Rick Johnson
27-Oct-2005 01:46
Rick Johnson 25-Sep-2005 19:15
1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser Two-Door Hardtop. Mercurys were all new for 1957, and their advertising campaign emphasized "Dream Car Design". Mercury's styling was in fact inspired by the XM-Turnpike Cruiser show car of 1956, and their new top of the line series bore the Turnpike Cruiser name. The Turnpike Cruisers were "Glitz and Gimmick" from beginning to end, featuring "skylight dual curve windshields", drop-down reverse slant rear windows, and dual air intakes over the A-posts housing little horizontal antennae. There were also optional "Seat-O-Matic" power seats adjusting to 49 different positions at the twist of two dials. Not to be outdone by Chrysler, another "Space Age" Cruiser standard feature was a pushbutton automatic transmission. A convertible Cruiser was chosen as the pace car for the Indianapolis 500 that year. The Turnpike Cruiser convertible was the most expensive Mercury that year at $ 4,103. The Cruiser Hardtop Coupe as shown in Ken's photo was $ 3,758. For comparison purposes, a Mercury Monterey Hardtop Coupe was $ 2,693, over a $ 1,000 less!!!!All Mercurys rode the same 122 inch wheelbase. The standard Mercury powerplant was the 312 cubic inch V-8 rated at 255 horses. The Turnpike Cruisers were powered by Mercury's 368 cubic inch engine developing 290 horsepower. All Cruiser production for the year was 16,861. Inspite of all the hipe and gadgetry, these "Space Age" Cruisers turned out to be a dismal sales failure for Mercury. However, as a Classic of the Fifties, all those gadgets and "space age" features today make these Cruisers very popular with Collectors.
