1957 Mercury Colony Park Hardtop 9 Passenger Wagon, 312 V8, Complete, 1 of 7386

Up for bids is my 1957 Mercury Colony Park Hardtop 9-Passenger Wagon. This Mercury has been off the road since 1975, and wants to see the roadways again. The car is complete, the passengers side rocker trim is currently inside the car.

It was special ordered, built right before the end of production, August 9, 1957. It is one of just 7,386 units built. It was sold/ordered new through Pogoda Mercury in Winnetka, Illinois. I bought the car last year out of Georgia, with the hopes of restoration. Unfortunately I have now owned the car for a year and have not done anything with it, and do not have any storage for it out of the weather. I do not want to see it deteriorate any further, and make sure it finds a great home. The family I bought it from, they had owned it since at least the early 70s. It was last daily driven by the mother-in-law to the gentleman I bought it from, her senior year of high school in 1974. The car has a decal at the top center of the windshield proving the car was still in Illinois in 1965. The car is 100% complete with all trim included inside and out, except for carpet which was removed recently to assess the floor. The engine is not stuck, turns over, and the previous family did say it was a running driving car until it was parked due to having newer cars to drive. The car was not parked due to any sort of mechanical problems.

The car is equipped with a 312 cu. In. Y-block Mercury “Safety Surge” V-8 Engine with “Keyboard Control” Pushbutton Merc-O-Matic Transmission, in single tone Tuxedo Black with Tan and white vinyl interior (this interior will be much more inexpensive to re-do compared to the complex vinyl and special cloth seats of 58 and 59)

Quad Headlights (Mercury’s came standard with regular dual sealed beams in ‘57, quad headlights were not legal in all states until ‘58)

Dual Exhaust

Power Brakes

Power Steering

Power Rear Tailgate Window

Gold foil in-lay trim on the MERCURY “scallop” at the tops of each quarter panel (standard was just painted)

Padded Dash

Standard Radio

Backup lights

Electric Clock

Day-Night Rear View Mirror

Windshield Washer

Glove Box Light

After pulling the carpet, it is evident the car did have seat belts on the front seat at some point.

Overall the body is fairly solid considering the vehicle’s history. There is rust at the brows of the fenders that has been repaired I would imagine at some point in the late 60’s early 70s. There is also rust at the back corner of the roof on the driver’s side, but the roof is solid everywhere else. This car also has not had a roof rack ever installed to it, which has saved the interior from further leaks. The passenger’s quarter panel has had rust repair in the past as shown. The rocker panels are pretty decent, and may have been replaced in the past.

The floors are solid considering. There is some rust that needs repair around the base of the second row seat (half dollar size) and ultimately I do believe the drivers floor should be repaired or replaced, but there are no giant gaping holes you have to worry about putting your foot through. The spare tire well will need patching.

The following I received from my friend and Ford Motor Company Historian, Phil Skinner, regarding the dataplate and firewall buck tag:

“Nice car with all three seats. Built at the Wayne, Michigan Plant on 9 August 1957, this is just about when that plant was gearing up to produce the Edsel Citation and Corsair models. The buck tag is really interesting. What I can make out is the following
18-12 H2 WA79302M
77B 01 769-26
N-PB-Y2-Y3-H
M8WB 15458 SOLD
What this is saying to me is your car's body was welded together on or about 2 August 1957, but Mercury wagons bodies were supposed to be built by Ionia, a Mitchell-Bentley Corp. operation. The N and PB both represent Power Brakes, I believe Y2 is for the Power Steering, not sure about the Y3, could be for (the tailgate) power window, and H for a high level of fit and finish. The last line is really interesting, M8WB was the 1958 Mercury serial number prefix for Montclair series, 15458 has been really confused, but the SOLD indicates this car was specifically ordered by a customer and wasn't going to be sitting on the lot for any length of time. Answers, some, mysteries, more!”

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. The car was bought out of Georgia so unfortunately it does not have a title, with the car being in a no-title state, especially in 1974-75. Car will come with 2 bills of sale. To the buyer, I do know of a gentleman who has a rust free 57 Colony Park body/chassis out west (California), with a full set of the fiberglass trim for $2500. That would make a full restoration of this car much easier, and probably cheaper. If interested, I will forward along his contact information. Horn ring is broken off but I have a nice one in great shape to replace it to go with the car. My buy-it-now is still below book value for a 57 Colony Park in this condition. Thank you for your consideration.