James Dean’s 1953 Mercury Monterey
James Dean might have been the Rebel Without a Cause, but he was also a man of great taste and a thirst for adventure. In his time he owned various motorcycles and automobiles (eventually losing his life while in one) and we discovered his classic 1953 Mercury Monterey up on the auction block.
This is a great find by antiquehelper.com. The estimated price of this Hollywood Icon’s vehicle was estimated (at the auction held in 2005) between $20 – $25,000. It is partially restored and a real beauty both inside and out. The seating, engine, and all around appearance/mobility of the car are in decent shape for a ride that was built half a century ago.
This ’53 Mercury car was originally owned by Seth Mason of Fairmount, Indiana. It was then sold to James Dean’s Cousin Paul Scott- both he and James Dean rode around Fairmount in this vehicle. The car was later sold in the seventies to the last owners, and has been garage kept since 1977, though occasionally rolled out for local parades.
The car has an original 87,202 miles, a recently tuned flat head V8, new brakes, new wide white wall tires, Merc-O-Matic transmission. The interior was restored in April of 2005. Some of the options include an in-dash radio and clock, Fender skirts, dual outside rear view mirrors. The car still runs and drives good. The outside has not been restored and there are a few rust spots and small creases in two of the doors and a small dent in the front fender. There is also a missing chrome Mercury placard.
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