Montclair Memories – A Mild Custom Mercury Made to Transport Owner Jerry Pignolo Back in Time
There’s a good reason that Jerry Pignolo’s ’56 Mercury Montclair captures the look and feel of a mild custom built in the late-1950s. It’s because Jerry is old enough to have experienced that era firsthand – he’s been there and done that.
“I’ve been a car guy since I was 14 years old,” says Jerry, who is now an active 81. “I was customizing cars in high school – nosing and decking, shaving door handles and frenching and stuff like that.”
Jerry grew up in Boston, Massachusetts and still carries the accent from that city. Back in 1959, he and his buddies formed the Boston Bad Boys car club. Each friend had a skill – one was good with mechanical work, another with welding, another with body and paint, and so forth. Though they all came from modest means, their combined skills allowed them to craft head-turning cars that frequently beat out higher-end rides at local car shows.
Jerry moved west in 1970, first landing in Las Vegas, then then moving to the Phoenix area. He never stopped messing around with cars, though. For many years, it was custom Corvettes. By his count, he’s owned, modified, or built more than 110 different cars through the decades.
This particular Mercury scratches a 10-year itch that Jerry had to own a ’56 Montclair. Introduced in 1955, the Montclair was Mercury’s upscale model with nicer trim, colors, and features than the sibling Monterey. The two-door hardtop version had one specific characteristic that Jerry liked even better: a lower and sleeker roofline. “They dropped the roofline 2-inches,” Jerry says. “It’s chopped from the factory.”
Jerry found the ’56 on Facebook Marketplace in the San Francisco area. It was an older rebuild that had incorporated some just-right mild custom touches. “The man I bought it from had nosed it and decked it and pinstriped it,” Jerry says. “And they matched the factory colors –Seafoam Green and Dark Green.”
The paint and bodywork were still in good shape and reflected the sorts of modifications Jerry would have made anyway. On top of that, the chrome and stainless trim were nice, as was the interior, which the previous owner had redone using factory-style materials and patterns. As a bonus, the car had also been fitted with an air ride suspension, including a four-link setup in the rear.
While much of the Mercury was in good shape, there were a number of repairs and updates to tend to, the result of a prolonged period of storage and perhaps a little neglect. The original carb feeding the 312c.i. Y-block engine was leaking like a sieve, so Jerry replaced it with an Edelbrock AVS four barrel. He also had his buddy at Scottsdale Muffler run a new dual exhaust system with Smithy mufflers, in addition to rebuilding the suspension. Front disc brakes added a little more stopping authority, while wide whitewall radials and a set of reproduction Lancer-style wheel covers helped complete the period custom appearance.
In addition to the mechanical repairs and upgrades, the Mercury was treated to a new wiring harness, as critters of some sort had chewed through much of the original stuff. The car still relies on its original automatic transmission, and an under-dash A/C unit helps to keep things cool during the hot Arizona cruising season.
A fitting finishing touch for this mild custom Montclair is hanging from the rear bumper – a Boston Bad Boys club plaque. It’s a good reminder for Jerry of where he came from and the good times he had with his friends during his formative years, experiences that have shaped and influenced his life. We’re sure those memories come flooding back each time he cranks over that Y-block, rolls down the windows, and listens to the rumble of the Mercury’s dual exhaust.
Photos: John Jackson
