The 1959 Montclair was one of the biggest cars Mercury ever built — and owners still complained it didn't have enough interior room for its size.
Lead trim: Montclair 430 cu in V8 (310 hp, 1960) · up to 322 hp
Mercury Montclair1959–1960
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Mercury Montclair yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactThe 1959 Montclair was one of the biggest cars Mercury ever built — and owners still complained it didn't have enough interior room for its size.
The Mercury model line underwent a ground-up redesign for 1959 as the Montclair expanded to a 126-inch wheelbase; following the cancellation of the Edsel Corsair and Citation (which shared bodies with Mercury), the division used a body and chassis exclusive to itself for the first time since 1940. The Phaeton and Turnpike Cruiser trims were discontinued along with the convertible, paring the line to a four-door pillared sedan and two- and four-door Cruiser hardtops with a semi-fastback and larger compound-curve rear window. The Super Marauder V8 was discontinued, with the 383 V8 (retuned to 322 hp) becoming the only engine; automatic transmissions became standard (the pushbutton "Keyboard Control" retired for a column shifter, with the Multi-Drive dual-range option). One of the largest cars ever produced by Mercury, the 1959 Montclair was criticized by owners for lack of interior room relative to its size, poor fuel economy and its windshield design. For 1960 the second major exterior revision in two years brought more restrained styling, nearly removing the tailfins, and the 430 V8, shared with the Colony Park and the Park Lane, returned as the standard engine (retuned to 310 hp). Mercury discontinued the Montclair and Park Lane for 1961 in favor of the Monterey.
Collectors Spotted in the Mercury Montclair Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Mercury Montclair yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
2 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montclair 383 cu in V8 (322 hp, 1959) | 1959–1959 | V8 | 322 hp | 375 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Montclair 430 cu in V8 (310 hp, 1960) | 1960–1960 | V8 | 310 hp | 460 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
The quirky Breezeway reverse-slant rear window came back for 1967-68, but neutered — it now fit inside the normal roofline and only cracked open a few inches for ventilation.
Every four-door 1964 Montclair sedan got Mercury's odd reverse-slant 'Breezeway' rear window as standard — two-door hardtops could choose the conventional 'Marauder' roofline instead.
The 1959 Montclair was one of the biggest cars Mercury ever built — and owners still complained it didn't have enough interior room for its size.
Mercury’s pushbutton shifter copied Chrysler’s mechanical TorqueFlite setup — steering clear of Edsel’s infamous, failure-prone electric Teletouch system.
The 1955 Montclair could be ordered with a tinted Plexiglas roof panel up front — a feature so unloved for cooking drivers in summer heat that only 1,787 were ever built.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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