Cars We Remember / Collector Car Corner; 1956 Mercury Monterey, Czechoslovakian Tatraplan and ‘57 Ford versus ’57 Chevy

Here we go with more reader questions. 

’56 Mercury and ’57 Packard resemblance  

Q: Greg, I really enjoy your columns in Auto Roundup Magazine and online in many newspapers across the country. I remember you wrote about a guy that really loved his ’56 Mercury and something about submarine races and am wondering if we could revisit a little bit of that letter? 

Also, that article you did on the 1957 Packard a while ago that I also saw in Auto Round-Up magazine reminds me a bit of the 1956 Mercury, in looks. What’s your opinion? — Steve from Montrose, Pa.  

Steve, let’s start with that 1957 Packard, of which I covered in last week’s column as a major feature article. 

In my opinion, the 1957 Packard 400 (and sibling trims) was very close in styling to the Lincoln – Mercury division cars of that same era. Packard’s front end looked like the 1955-1956 Mercury, while the back end treatment closely resembled the Lincolns from 1957, especially with Lincoln’s new, larger rear fin treatment. I always felt that the 1956 Mercury was one of the best looking cars of that decade, and there were many great styles to choose from, both independent and from the ‘Big 3’ major manufacturers.  

The article you recall was from Brooklyn, New York’s Dominick Raffone Sr., of which I revisit a bit below and appeared way back in 2009.

Said Dominick, “Of all the cars I’ve ever owned, my ‘true love car’ was and always will be my 1956 Mercury. When I met my wife in 1959, I was going to a place in Brooklyn, N.Y. called ‘Mitchell’s Drive-In.’

“In January of 1960, I bought a black and yellow two-door ’56 Mercury Monterey; and shortly after purchasing it, found out that all Ford and Mercury parts were interchangeable. Well, I went crazy doing things to my car, as I bought a ’54 Ford transmission, clutch and bell housing from Monte’s Salvage Yard. Then, I bought a ’54 Mercury stick from a 6-cylinder and had to get a stick shift flywheel and driveshaft from the ’54 Mercury. Next, I hooked up a complete 4:11 rear end from a ‘55 Ford Station Wagon.

“Next, I lowered the rear and added Cruiser Skirts, and up front added split 1955 Pontiac bumpers below with a ’57 DeSoto grille. I de-chromed the rest of the car and installed a picture hanging wire that went from the trunk key mechanism under the back seat to under my driver seat so I could pull it and open the trunk. I had to do this as I removed the chrome trunk key function from the trunk and filled it in.

“I then used some molding from a ’55 Mercury, and reversed it to go from the middle of the front door to the rear taillights, which were now from a ’59 Cadillac! Inside, I went with a black interior with little twinkle Christmas lights in the headliner so that when you opened the doors, stars would shine. I lastly painted the car 1960 Caddy Georgian Poly Blue.

“After Mitchell’s, you would go with your girl to Plum Beach to watch the ‘submarine’ races. I wonder how many of the girls and guys reading Auto Round-Up remember Mitchell’s, Plum Beach, warm beer and lousy food and drag racing at Hellie Bly? Mitchell’s Drive-In was the idea behind the place in “Happy Days.” Keep up the great columns, and God Bless America, and our Armed Forces,” Dominick concluded.

I told Dominick that his letter allowed some of my younger generation readers understand what the baby boomers used to do to their cars back in the day. I had many friends who did the same. I also explained that “watching the submarine races” was actually “teenage lingo” that meant you were going to Plum Beach with your girl, as Plum Beach was a well known teenage “lovers lane” by the water out on Long Island.

Rare T-600 Tatraplan

Q: Greg, any info on a car called the Tatraplan? I know many people have never seen or heard of one of these. My friend had a 1947 Tatra, but doesn’t remember much about it. — Arnie from Spokane, Washington. 

A: Arnie, the Tatraplan was built by the Tatra car company, a Czechoslovakian company. The 1947 model was called the T-600 Tatraplan.

The Tatraplan name comes from what was a government sponsored, “centralized economic” plan in Czechoslovakia. The T-600 Tatraplan was a streamliner design rear engine car that came with 1952cc inline 4-cylinder air-cooled engines placed in the rear between the axle. The body had a coefficient aerodynamic drag of 0.32, which was great for that era.

Overall, some 4,200 T-600’s were sold from 1947 through 1951, but in late 1951, the Czech Department of Defense, which controlled the production of the cars, informed Tatra they would now build trucks, and that all cars would be built under the Skoda brand. Skoda was one of the other car companies in the country at the time, and also run by the government. The third car company in the Czech Republic was Praga.

In 1954, Tatra re-joined the car building with a large passenger car, and featured an air cooled V8 engine and transaxle. The V8 T603-engine had previously been developed and tested on the racetrack in Tatra experimental and race cars. It was used for the Tatra-603, and went on sale in 1955 and remained in production until 1975. In its’ 18 years of sales, a total of 20,422 T-603’s were built. Hope this all helped, Arnie.

Ford versus Chevy, 1957

Q: Greg, I get tired of hearing about how great the ‘57 Chevy was. I think the ‘57 Ford was both better looking and is more rare. What’s your opinion? — Clem L., St. John’s, Florida.

A: Clem, I feel the ’57 Ford is equal to the ’57 Chevy in styling, but the ’57 Chevy, with the 283 V8 Fuel Injected option or the highly popular Nomad Station Wagon, is far ahead of the ’57 Ford in collector demand and values. That’s a proven fact, but still doesn’t mean the ’57 Ford isn’t desirable.  

I’ve been answering questions from car enthusiasts too long to make a big mistake in taking sides in a Ford versus Chevy question. However, I agree with you that the ‘57 Ford is indeed a much more rare breed these days than the ‘57 Chevy. Additionally, Ford offered more uniqueness with the hardtop convertible, which ran from ’57 through ‘59, and its ‘57 Ranchero car-based pickup, which was two full years ahead of the Chevy El Camino.

Thanks for your letter.

(Greg Zyla is a syndicated auto columnist and welcomes reader questions on collector cars and auto nostalgia at greg@gregzyla.com.)