1959 Mercury Commuter 6 passenger 4 door hardtop Wagon All Original Survivor

Up for bids is my 1959 Mercury Commuter 6 passenger wagon. I have owned this car since 2015, in which I bought the car from a gentleman whom recovered the car from an abandoned house, now known to have been the orphanage it served since new. Before the house was to be demolished in rural Virginia, It had been used as the hauler for children at “WASH LAWN Children’s Home by Faith” advertised on the tailgate. The woman who owned the car from 1959 until her passing in 2015, went by “Jenny”, so I named this car “Jenny” the Commuter. Since I have owned it, I have continued to keep the car out of the weather and sunlight.

Apparently the orphanage was closed in 1977/78 or at the least was relocated, and the car was forgotten about in the garage basement until Jenny’s passing in 2015, in which her estate went to demolish the house, in which they found the car inside.

This car appears to have been well taken care of until it was parked in 1978, as the interior is in good condition considering, and the body is fairly solid. The rust in the car is only in the body, and it is located in the lower quarters, bottom of the drivers door, rocker panels, and eyebrows of the front fenders. There is also light rust in the bottom of the tailgate. Included with the car are new old stock eyebrow repair panels as well as new lower quarters to repair the rust. I found upon cleaning the car out that the rust in the drivers door and the quarters were caused by the car having rodents in it while it was tucked away from the rest of the world. The worst rust damage occurred from the rodents to the driver’s door as the urine from the rodents proved acidic and caused rot to the door. The door can be repaired by a good body man, but may be replaced. Front doors are the same as the 59 Mercury 4 door hardtop non-wagons. All the doors open and close as they should, no doors sag or have worn out hinges.

However, all 4 door panels are in excellent condition and need mild soap and water to clean up nice. The seat covers are not perfect as they are original. The can be repaired where the vinyl has spit on the front edge of the front bench seat, or they can be recovered. The cardboard panel headliner is in very good condition with one panel needing to be put back in place. Many of the cardboard ‘59 Mercury wagon headliners do not last and need replacement. The dash pad is original and in decent original condition, with it not seeing sunlight for nearly 40 years. The chrome on the car is in good condition except for the bumpers as they will need re-chroming. The car is complete, the passengers front fender looks to have taken out a mailbox at some point but I will include an extra headlight bezel as the original was damaged and removed back in the 70’s. The grille is complete and in good condition. The car still wears its original coat of paint, so it is an honest car that is hiding no body filler.

The glass is all intact and in good condition except for the tailgate glass and drivers side rear door glass. They are both flat and can be replaced by a regular glass shop. The driver's quarter window has a thin hairline crack on it right at the curve, but does not effect the structure of the glass and can be left as-is with little notice. The windshield is in good condition with NO cracks whatsoever.

Back in January I worked on the engine, rebuilt the carburetor and got the engine to turn over and fire. We had oiled the cylinders and had let the oil sit and work into the pistons to make sure everything was loose when we went to crank it. Once we got the engine to fire, we did not go any further as the engine has yet to have the cooling system worked on, and should have a fresh oil change. A new ignition switch was also installed from Dennis Carpenter.

The car has 65,000 believed to be original miles as it was driven locally hauling kids through the years, but it may be 165,000. I have no way of verification. The exhaust suffered through the years and is rotten and will need replacement.

• Single tone Canton Red paint,
  
• Optional 383 2 barrel V8 engine with 2 speed automatic transmission,
  
• Lever Temp heater,
  
• standard AM Radio,
  
• padded dash,
  
• power tailgate window (have not been able to get it to roll down)
  
• manual steering and manual brakes, and clock delete plate.

I currently have a clear title in process and I will promptly have it signed over to the new owner once I receive it. When I bought the car it had no title, that’s why I currently do not have one. I never planned on selling this car however I have a financial opportunity arise and need to sell. I am also selling many of my other cars that I will list shortly, including a very rare 1980 AMC Pacer Wagon I have already listed.

If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to contact me and I will respond asap. This is a very rare and desirable wagon that deserves a full correct original restoration, especially with the history the car has. If you would like to hodrod, or resto mod, or do any sort of customization to this car, I please ask you to pass on this car and find another, or consider restoring this car to original specs. I have found they are more valuable this way and in turn you have a rolling piece of history going down the road that you will never be a duplicate of at the local cruise ins. The last photo in the description is the car when it was recovered from the abandoned orphanage house in 2015. A $550 deposit is required within 48 hours of auctions end. Thanks for looking and good luck!