The wood panels really stand out against the India Black paint on this beautiful 1953 Mercury Monterey ‘Woodie’ 8-passenger Station Wagon. It was actually the last year that real wood was to be used on these cars.
After a big restyle in 1952, their weren’t any major changes to the 1953 Mercury. The bumper and grille combination was changed which now had bullet protrusions on the top bumper rail, the hood ornament was changed and the body now had full length trim running down the side.
Monterey was the top-of-the-line for Mercury in 1953 and the station wagon had just been moved into the series from the lower level Custom Series where it had sat previously. They also removed the 6 passenger model.
Inside there is a very cool instrument panel together with an all-vinyl two-tone interior. Note the levers that control the heating.
The all-vinyl aqua and black interior certainly stands out!
There is also an extra row of seats at the rear (in the cargo space) allowing for 8 passengers to be seated comfortably. With the last rows folded down there is a full 7 feet of cargo space!
Power comes from a 255.5 cubic inch flathead V8 providing 125 horsepower. This is paired with a 3-speed manual transmission.
This wagon enjoys optional extras such as a clock, AM radio and a heater!
Mercury sold 7,719 Monterey Station Wagons for the 1953 model year at a base price of $2,591. It was the most expensive Mercury that year.
nice reworked FORD. This first owner must have liked changing gears as for the cost of the Woddy kit would more than likely been more than the swap from a manual to an auto.In Australia we dont use the phrase L Head for any side valve engine we use the term Side valve we dont even use the word Flat head .As all our engines were soursed from Canada we used the Side valve V8 through the 1954 model year.