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1954 Mercury Monterey
2-dr Hardtop
Converted to 12 volts. |
| Ed Sullivan sells the 1954 Mercury (YouTube Video) | 1954 Mercury Fact Sheet |
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March 24, 2026 - The Mercury is flying! Well, it sits on jack stands. I pulled the wheels/tires off it today in preparation for the hopeful delivery of 4 new 710R15 wide whitewall bias-ply look-alikes later today. I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon to get them mounted. I'm keeping the old tires for a friend in Richmond who can them for show. The tires are 2 years old, and replacing them will give me peace of mind plus possibly sure the vibration issue. I will lube the front end while everything is open. |
| March 23, 2026 - You can pretty much tell what my latest vehicle is by packages from eBay. Clockwise from left to right, I have a porcelain emblem keychain, a dealer postcard. a 1953-54 Body Part Catalogue, a 'Quick Facts' dealer brochure, a 1955 wheel cover (bought by mistake), a deluxe showroom sales catalogue, a dashboard clock, and a 1954 Mercury sales folder, around two 1954 Mercury wheel covers. Note the only difference between the 1954 and 1955 wheel covers is the ring around the emblem in the middle, which is covered by the fenderskirts, so I can use it anyway. New tires are due in tomorrow, which should solve the vibration issue. And I have a rebuilt fuel pump and an NOS one coming, as well as a rebuild kit. |
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March 21, 2026 - I pulled the fuel pump and found a split/torn fuel diaphragm. No rebuild kits appear to be available, so I got a refurbished pump and a NOS pump off eBay this afternoon. The old pump is back in place, obviously new and 'rebuilt' by Arthur Gould in 2023 and almost no miles since. They used to be reliable, but I won't be using them in the future. 'AG Rebuilders' may have the name, but they sure don't have the quality they used to. I also have a new set of tires coming - 710R15 wide whitewall bias-play look-alikes. The same design as normal bias play with radial construction. Between the two issues I'll have spent almost $2000 on the car, but I knew it was going to need some work when I bought it and paid accordingly. |
| March 17, 2026 - The new fuel
pump showed up tonight - I have it installed loosely and it works fine
at idle and revving the engine. I will take it on the Interstate
tomorrow and see if it solves the vibration issue. (FOLLOW-UP: The Mercury still has some vibration on the highway - I suspect the 24-year-old tires, which are wider than the bias-play and make it a bear to steer at rest. |
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March 14, 2026 - I took the Mercury on our TRAACA run to Belvidere, NC and the Nicholson House restaurant. The car did OK, but had the same stumbling issue at road speeds. I think it may be fuel starvation due to a weak fuel pump. I have ordered a new 6-lb pump to replace the 3-lb electric pump in it - The specs call for 5-8 lbs pressure, It is due on Wednesday. |
| March 11, 2026 - The Mercury got a good run today - I drove it to Mom's, then to pick up spare parts from the Seller's brother, then out to Richard's house. There is still a bad vibration that could be either the tires or the bad gas. I plan to drive the car on our TRAACA tour to NC this weekend and burn out the rest of the bad gas. I'll have to have a can of gas with me in case I run out - the Mercury does not have a working fuel gauge at the moment. The vibration seems to ease up a lot when the car has warmed up, but that could be tires or gas. Also, it drops out of overdrive into freewheel sometimes - a weird situation, but it shifts fine and the overdrive doesn't make any odd noises. I plan to change the oil and clean the relay contacts. |
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| March 10, 2026 - I picked up the Mercury today and drove it home. There was a little stumble on acceleration that I think is old gasoline. It has about half old and half new now, and I added a large container of Seafoam. However, I am very pleased with the car. It has a new clutch, new brakes, tires that have less than 3,000 miles on them, and looks really nice. It is actually nicer than I thought it was - sort of a reverse 'Buyer's Remorse'. I'll go by to pick up spare parts that come with the car tomorrow and then start my usual eBay purchase attack - buying anything and everything I might ever need. The car fits fine in the garage despite the continental kit. Which is mostly for show - like the T-bird, the actual spare is located in the trunk. |
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| March 9, 2026 - Coming soon to a garage near me - mine, actually. A 1954 Mercury Monterey hardtop! It is a little gaudy with red and white paint, a continental kit and glass packs on the exhaust. It is set up as a tour car with some minor modifications, and is mostly original! |
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