The Mercury car line was started by Edsel Ford, Henry’s son, in 1938. By this time Ford Motor Co. owned Lincoln, which manufactured one of the most expensive cars made in America.
The Mercury was to bridge the gap between a Ford Deluxe and a Lincoln Zephyr. Until 1952, the Mercury was mostly a fancy Ford, but from that year and those that followed it was a nice compromise between Ford and Lincoln. Ford discontinued Mercury in 2010 when the car line was pretty much back to the fancy Ford pattern. A motivating factor may have been GM discontinuing Pontiac, Hummer and Saturn, which didn’t adversely affect GM sales overall.
This edition’s 1953 Mercury Monterey two-door hardtop would have cost about $2,450 (about $21,700 in today’s dollars) when new. In addition to this model, Mercury offered a four-door sedan, a station wagon and a convertible. This was the last year for the flat-head 255.4 cubic inch V-8 engine rated at 125 horsepower.
Most classic car owners cherish their possession and make sure the vehicle avoids inclement weather and excessive sun exposure. Classics are usually treated with greater care than a new model just driven off the showroom floor. That is not the case with Walnut Creek resident Ken Benner.
This 63-year-old car is his daily driver and is not even entitled to garage space at his home. But don’t think he doesn’t love this car that he has owned since 1979.
“This car came out in 1953, when I graduated from high school,” Benner stated. “I was just a poor farm boy from Montana; I loved the car but couldn’t afford the hub caps. Many years later, a softball team member of mine had three or four old cars and wanted a truck. I had a couple of trucks, so we just swapped titles.”
He thinks the old Mercury was worth a couple thousand dollars when the trade was made. This Mercury has not been restored, but it has been worked on a lot and is well maintained. Apparently it’s like the Golden Gate Bridge in that it’s never finished being fixed, painted and having parts replaced.
The hardtop has had three engines, three transmissions, three paint jobs, two interiors and had the front and rear ends rebuilt. The current color is a 2005 Ford Maroon Pearl coat with a matching red-with-white leather interior. Benner has no idea what he has invested in the car.
“It’s been a pretty penny,” he said. “Old cars are like boats, which are a hole in the water you pour money in.”
The Mercury has a lot of eye appeal, but it’s not a show car. It has been all stock until about two years ago, when the engine needed work. Benner’s mechanic, Jim Korea in San Leandro, talked the owner into giving it a little more zip. It wasn’t a difficult sell as Benner had been a bit of a hot rodder in his youth. Korea installed Edelbrock high-compression heads, a “recreational” cam, a Holly four-barrel carburetor, new pistons, etc. It made quite a difference in the performance. But other than the engine improvements, the car is stock including the rebuilt three-speed Merc-o-matic transmission, drum brakes and a huge steering wheel.
“There is no power steering,” laughed Benner, “so it takes a lot of power and about three turns of the steering wheel to make a 90 degree turn.”
It sounds like the car has had lot mechanical challenges, but this Mercury has been Benner’s daily driver for 37 years. The odometer says 41,753, but it has rolled over a few times. He drives an average of about 11,000 miles a year, so he has driven it more than 400,000 miles. “I have no clue how many miles were on it when I got it,” he adds.
The 1952 to 1954 Mercury models were pretty flashy in their day. The car line was redesigned and engineered with one feature being 18 percent more glass area. The dashboard was unique in that the heater and vent controls were levers on a perpendicular dash to simulate airplane flight controls. The high school love affair with the 1953 Mercury never left Benner.
“I just fell in love with the style and the way those fenders sloped in the back. I especially liked the hardtop because hardtops were still pretty new at that time.”
The current value, Benner believes, is between $35,000 and $40,000, but there is no possibility of a sale.
“I have a granddaughter who, when younger, each year at Christmas would take a big yellow ribbon, tie it to the front of the car and say ‘Thank you, Grandpa, for the wonderful gift.’ To this day she still asks, ‘When do I get my car?’ ”
Have an interesting vehicle? Contact David Krumboltz at MOBopoly@yahoo.com.
