1957 Monarch

When you walk inside any dealership, chances are you will find more than a couple of car-crazy guys working there. It is just natural that some gearheads will try to to find a way to make a living out of their passion.

During the time I worked at Stouffville Nissan, in Ontario CA, I had the satisfaction of befriending a few good examples of those maniacs. Starting with the fixed operation manager, Ian Phillips, who is a former race driver and two technicians, Sebastien Roxborough and JP, who are classic car aficionados.

All of them have cars and life stories that I would love to publish here at TCM, but there is a tale about a very interesting car that caught my attention. Sebastien recently bought a 1957 Monarch Turnpike, a car that I’ve never seen or heard about, even after all those years involved in this business.

First of all, we need to know what “Monarch” is and what it represents.  In some countries where the auto market seemed promising enough, American carmakers tried to establish unique brands that could more deeply relate to the local customers. Perhaps one of the most popular of those brands is Holden, the Australian subsidiary of General Motors.

In 1946 Ford introduced Monarch, a distinctive brand for the Canadian market. The vehicles were built by Ford Canada as badge-engineered Mercurys, with some exclusive styling features to set them apart from other cars from the company.

The Blue Oval guys were feeling pretty confident with the post-war prosperity in North America. They didn’t seem worried that this new brand would clash internally with other cars from Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury, which continued to be sold in Canada.

The Monarch became the luxury Ford brand in the country since Lincoln/Mercury had their own dealerships. The idea proved to be a winner and more often than not, Monarch outsold Mercury during the time they shared the market.

When Ford released (with much fanfare) the Edsel in 1958, the company shut down the Monarch’s assembly line, avoiding unnecessary confrontation. Since the new Ford fell short of expectations, the Monarch brand was back in 1959.

At the beginning of the 1960s, the American automakers were systematically scaling down the opulence of their cars. Models were being downsized and the assembly lines were reworked towards efficiency. In this new scenario there was no longer a place for a brand like Monarch and 1961 was the last production year.

Seb’s Monarch

This Monarch is a 1957 Turnpike Cruiser four-door hardtop. Seb bought the car in June 2023, right after he sold another classic, a 1958 Edsel.

The car was built at the Ford assembly plant in Oakville, Ontario. It came equipped with a 368 cid V8 engine, which was the largest displacement “Y” block ever produced, rated at a respectable 290 HP. The engine is attached to a push-button automatic transmission.

The Monarch was sold new at Mel Newman Ltd in Atikokan, ON. The production numbers confirm it is a very rare car indeed, it is one of 336 four-door models produced that year (185 two-door models were built). Seb was told the first owner was a doctor in the area and the car was driven until 1969 when it was then left to rot in a field.

The Turnpike was rescued in 1978, when it was sold for $300.00 to Gerhard (Gary) Mantey, a farmer from Dryden, ON. Mr. Mantey began having the car restored in the mid 2000s and it was completed in 2012. The restoration includes repairing the rusted-out body, rebuilding the engine, and new upholstery.

The total cost of restoration was just above $65,000. Unfortunately, the car was used very little, and in 2021 Mr. Mantey passed away and the car was inherited by his daughter.

When Sebastien got the car, it was in a non-running condition. He spent the summer getting it ready to live up to its name, Cruiser.

He rebuilt the fuel pump and the carburetor. Parts that were replaced include the generator, voltage regulator, fuel sending unit, and speedometer cable. He also replaced the instrument cluster, re-installing the factory vacuum wiper motor. To finish the job Seb performed a complete tune-up returning the ignition system to stock, and installing 4 new white wall tires. He got the car ready just in time for some summer/fall rides.

The American dream

The world after WWII was an interesting mixed scenario, while the whole European continent was struggling to recover from the hardships of the war, North America experienced a period of unprecedented prosperity. The strong blue-collar, middle-class families in the United States and Canada, with some good money in their pockets, wanted to buy nice stuff. Cars in particular.

The 1950s was, perhaps, the most glamorous period of the American auto industry. Designers and engineers went above and beyond to create magnificent cars to lure customers into their dealerships.

Sebastien’s Monarch is a perfect example of the machinery built during those magical years. It is a gorgeous car, with a striking design and powered by one of Detroit’s finest V8s of the time. To make it even more special, it is a car that not many people know outside Canada.