1957 Mercury Facts: Resources

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• Mercury Medalist
• Mercury Custom
• Mercury Monterey
• Mercury Montclair

1957 Mercury Facts – Body Paint Color Mix Codes

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1957 Mercury

1957 Mercury Facts and Specifications

General Year Information – 1957 Mercury Facts

For the first time, the brand had bodies that were the exclusive to it and not based on Fords or Lincolns. The Medalist line disappeared.

Turnpike Cruiser
The Turnpike Cruiser took many of it cues from the XM – Turnpike Cruiser concept car. Power brakes, power steering power seat, and power windows  were standard. Other special features included: an overhanging roof with retractable rear window, air ducts mounted on top of the windshield (with fake antennas protruding), power seat with a memory dial, rubber instrument bezels for safety, special start button on the transmission selector, clock/odometer that was a rudimentary trip computer,  sliding door locks, and gold anodized insert in the upper rear fender concave section, which lead to the taillights.

Montclair
For 1957, Mercury again revised its sedan line, with the Montclair becoming its mid-range offering, now slotted below the newly introduced Turnpike Cruiser. Mercurys grew in size, moving to a 122-inch wheelbase, adopting a perimeter style frame that was designed to accommodate a lower, wider body and which allowed for a lower floor.

The model line underwent a revision, as the Montclair four-door pillared sedan now shared its roofline with the Monterey. The 312 V8 was carried over from 1956, re-tuned to 255 hp. The Turnpike Cruiser’s 368 cubic-inch V-8 was offered as an option, producing 290 hp. A three speed manual transmission was standard, while the optional 3-speed automatic adopted push button shift controls. These mechanically activated push buttons were in response to the Chrysler Torqueflite push button controls. The Mercury control initially offered five buttons and was called “Keyboard Control”.  A separate push/pull lever was included below the control buttons labeled “Park” which would lock out the control buttons until this Park button was pulled to release it. The control panel was installed to the left of the steering wheel.

Monterey
A concave vertical bar grille; front hinged hood; ‘V’ shaped taillights; upper rear fender and rear deck sculpturing and cowl vent intakes were several of the new features. A chrome ‘M’ was placed between the grille and bumper. Early models had two headlights; later ones had four. Interior features included a front seat track stop to keep the front seat back from breaking loose, a new design for the safety steering wheel, a new radio, and memory power front seats.

The station wagons were divested from the Monterey series, with the Commuter, Voyager, and Colony Park lines and becoming their own series. The 312 Ford Y-block gained 20 horsepower to go with the added weight, and the 290 HP 368 CID Lincoln Y-block V-8 became an option. Early 1957 Monterey models had two headlights however later examples were fitted with four with the turn signals positioned in the headlight alcove above the headlights.

M-335
The M-335 Engine option was designed for NASCAR and used a high performance version of the 368 CID V-8. It was intended for the Monterey but was available on all lines.  For More information on this option, click HERE.

1957 Mercury Facts – The Turnpike Cruiser

The Mercury Turnpike Cruiser was named to commemorate the creation of the Interstate Highway System. The Turnpike Cruiser was the flagship Mercury model line in 1957, slotted above the Montclair. The list price was $3,758 for the coupe, $3,849 for the 4-door,  and $4,103 for the convertible. The Turnpike Cruiser was was intended to compete against the Buick Roadmaster and Oldsmobile 98.

The Turnpike Cruiser was first produced as a luxury two-door and a four-door hardtop sedan. A convertible, called the “Convertible Cruiser”, was offered on a limited basis. The convertible served as a pace car for the Indianapolis 500 auto race, leading Mercury to offer a replica version for sale. It was offered in a single yellow, Sun Glitter, exterior color and was fitted with the optional continental tire kit.

Mercury fitted the Turnpike Cruiser with a wide variety of advanced features for the time of its production, including a retractable rear window called the “Breezeway” window, it also featured a compound-curve windshield, mechanical push button transmission controls, and an early  trip computer. The Turnpike Cruiser shared its 122-inch wheelbase, body-on-frame chassis. rear-wheel drive chassis with the Monterey and Montclair. Front suspension was independent ball-joint with coil springs, the rear a live axle with leaf springs. Brakes were 11-inch drummed all round.

For this year only. the Turnpike Cruiser was fitted with a 368 CID, 290 HP V-8 identical to the Lincoln engine, from which it was sourced. The engine was also offered as an option across the rest of the Mercury line. To compete in NASCAR, the engine received a special camshaft, twin 4-barrel carburetors, and blueprinting. Called the”M-335″, it was hand built from Lincoln blocks by Bill Stroppe.

All Turnpike Cruiser engines were paired with a 3-speed “Merc-O-Matic” automatic. For 1957, Mercury offered push button transmission controls in response to the Chrysler’s Torqueflite. The Mercury control buttons were called “Keyboard Control”.  A separate push/pull lever was included below the control buttons labeled “Park” which would lock out the control buttons until the Park button was pulled to release it. The control panel was installed to the left of the steering wheel.

Although not legalized across the entire United States until 1958, “Quadri-Beam” dual headlamps were fitted as standard equipment, the only 1957 Mercury to do so, as well as one of very few cars from that year to be equipped as such. For states that still mandated single headlights, a standard Montclair/Monterey setup was used. In place of the contrasting paint on the rest of the body, the scalloped tailfins were gold-anodized. Along with its retractable “Breezeway” rear window, the Turnpike Cruiser received a separate roofline, with the windshield curving into the roof.

As a consequence of the compound-curve design of the windshield, Mercury added rooftop ventilation intakes to the Turnpike Cruiser to cover a body seam, and unusually in a secondary function, each intake housed a faux radio antenna, as the functional radio antenna was mounted on the passenger side front fender. Air conditioning and power side windows were extra cost options. To distinguish the model line from the Montclair, the Turnpike Cruiser was given gold trim for its badging, including the Mercury “M” grille badge.

The interior of the Turnpike Cruiser had several features distinct from other Mercury sedans. To aid forward visibility, a flat-top deep-dish steering wheel was fitted, to match the curve of the instrument panel. Many of these wheels were replaced by standard wheels based upon customer complaints. A tachometer was fitted along with with a clock to calculate average speed and a trip odometer, effectively, a trip computer. One of the first memory seats, “Seat-O-Matic” was programmable and moved the seat down and back when the ignition was off.

The Turnpike Cruiser standardized several Mercury safety features, including a padded dashboard, a deep-dish flat-top steering wheel, and safety door locks. Seat belts were optional, along with a safety harness for children. Nearly 10 years before being mandated, the design of the taillamps performed as side marker lamps.

1957 Mercury Facts – Powertrains

• Transmissions
  • 3-Speed manual transmission:  1st- 2.49:1, 2nd – 1.59:1, 3rd – 1.00:1, Reverse – 3.15:1.
  • 3-Speed manual overdrive transmission:  1st- 2.49:1, 2nd – 1.59:1, 3rd – 1.00:1, Overdrive 0.72:1, Reverse – 3.15:1.
  • 3-Speed automatic transmission: 1st- 2.40:1, 2nd – 1.46:1, 3rd – 1.00:1, Reverse – 2.00:1. NOTE: 1st gear only engaged at WOT.
• Engines
  • 312 CID V-8 255 HP with 3-speed SMT & AMT. Standard Monterey & Montclair.
  • 368 CID V-8 290 HP with 3-speed AMT. Standard Turnpike Cruiser.
  • 368 CID V-8 335 HP with 3-speed SMT. Optional Monterey. Some fitted to Montclair and  Turnpike Cruiser.
• Rear Gear Ratios
  • 3-Speed manual transmission – 3.70:1 standard, Optional-  None.
  • 3-Speed manual overdrive transmission – 3.89:1 standard, Optional-  None.
  • 3-Speed automatic transmission – 3.22:1 standard, 2.91:1 optional.

1957 Mercury Facts – Significant Options

• • Air Conditioning.
  • Antenna, Electric.
  • Antennas, Rear mounted.
  • Automatic Lubrication.
  • Back-up lamps.
  • Compass.
  • Contour floor mats.
  • Curb signals.
  • Door edge guards.
  • Door handle fingernail shields.
  • Emergency-utility light and case.
  • Engine compartment light.
  • Floor mats.
  • Hand brake signal light.
  • Heater.
  • Inside control rear view mirror.
  • Locking gas tank cap.
  • Outside rear view mirror.
  • Power brakes.
  • Power seat.
  • Power steering.
  • Radio, Push-Button.
  • Radio, Travel-Tuner.
  • Rear speaker.
  • Rear view mirror, conical.
  • Rear view mirror, remote control conical.
  • Rear window defroster.
  • Reflectors, rear bumper pod.
  • Safety jacket, children.
  • Seat covers, plastic.
  • Solex glass.
  • Spare Carrier, Dream Car.
  • Special steering wheel, standard Turnpike Cruiser.
  • Spotlight with mirror.
  • Spotlight.
  • Tire chains.
  • Tissue dispenser.
  • Traffic signal reflector.
  • Undercoating.
  • Utility spotlight.
  • Vanity mirror.
  • Wheel covers, full-disc.
  • Whitewall tires.
  • Windshield washers.