What Does The 1952 Mercury Monterey Cost Today?

With a name inspired by Monterey Bay, the Mercury Monterey was introduced in 1952 as an improved version of the Mercury Custom.
The 1952 Mercury Monterey (72C) was first introduced as a luxurious two-door coupe, that later evolved into something more. Named after the Monterey Bay on the Central Coast, the Mercury Monterey was part of the Mercury Eight series to compete with other hardtops in the era.

Popular in the Hot Rod scene, the Monterey still holds its ground today. The Monterey serves to be the upscale version of its predecessor, the Mercury Eight, and remains popular among the crowd, resulting in the price they go for today.

Here’s more about the 1952 Mercury Monterey, and how much it costs.

Brief History Of The Mercury Monterey

Mercury was founded in 1939 with the original purpose of filling in the void for an entry-level, yet luxurious car. All production Mercury models are a product of other Ford components, and the long-roofed coupe is no exception.

The Mercury Monterey has a technical name of the Model 72 and was in production from 1952 to 1954. During the span of its production, it served multiple purposes: entry, mid, and high tiers. Mercury featured the Monterey with a 255 cubic-inch flathead V8, and while it didn’t make a lot of power, it obviously made all the right noises. The Flathead V8 from Ford wasn’t pioneering technology, but it became insanely popular upon mass production and the affordable price tag.

The Monterey platform ran from 1952 to 1974, posing in all shapes and sizes. Formerly, Mercury had been known as the “little Lincoln” due to its similar characteristics, which weren’t sitting right with them. In 1952, the Monterey got a styling refresh from the company, resulting in a convertible, four-door, and station wagon version of the car. While this didn’t exactly appeal to the purists, it did attract a wider crowd of people to the platform.

The 1952 Mercury Monterey’s Design

The full-sized third-generation design was highly fitting for the era of automobiles. It competed with vehicles from GM and Chrysler, and because the Monterey had adequate power and decent handling characteristics, courtesy of its independent suspension in the front and solid-axle design in the rear. This in excellent sales, as the Mercury Monterey serves to be a fantastic daily driver. It also helped the Monterey’s case that the car featured a long roof and a beautiful two-door design. A change in design occurred in 1952, which in an exterior revamp and a larger windshield for the Monterey.

The climate controls were changed to levers, taking inspiration from the style of larger aircrafts. Coming standard with the 1952 Mercury Monterey were power brakes, power steering, cloth upholstering, full carpeting, chrome window surrounds, as well as an electric clock. For those that wanted, you had the option of a heater, windshield defroster, fog lights, and radio as additional equipment.

The 1952 Mercury Monterey: Flathead Performance

Even though Mercury Monterey didn’t feature a lot of power, it did make the right noises. The Monterey came with a flathead V8, that was capable of pushing 125 horsepower. It wasn’t particularly wowing, but the flathead in itself was iconic for its status as being an affordable, production V8 engine. It was also iconic for its design: being a flathead. This setup was innovative from Ford, as the cylinders for the 8 pistons were in one casting. Because of this, the flathead ran extremely smoothly, producing nearly zero vibrations. Mated to the flathead was a 3-speed manual transmission with the option of overdrive to help with fuel efficiency and emissions.

As previously mentioned, Ford’s flathead V8 wasn’t a pioneering design, as it did exist before. Still, the monobloc design proved to be popular for its own reasons. The flathead featured high oil pressure, which helped with lubrication, allows you to cruise above 3500rpm without starving your engine of oil. While this helped in performance applications, it took an exceptional amount of time and money to make large power figures. Today, the flathead is sought out for other reasons. Primarily, they are preferred for resto-mod builds, as the engine’s design is unique timeless.

This Is What A 1952 Mercury Monterey Costs Today.

With modern-day car pricing, the Mercury Monterey will vary in price greatly. Contributing to the variable further are the conditions the cars are in. Barn finds, and poor condition vehicles can be found for a few thousand dollars, though the ones you want to be seen in will cost you a lot more. The Mercury Monterey had a sticker price of about $2150 back then, which translates to about $25,000 today. For a car worth showing off, you’re probably looking at a minimum of $25,000. Those that are in more pristine condition can be found in the upper 40s. These Mercury Montereys can be found on auction-style websites, like Bring a Trailer, or Classic Cars. Finding the right one for you isn’t incredibly difficult, as there were eleven color options to choose from.