I bought this 1956 Mercury Montclair in 1963 when my father "checked it out" and approved. It came with a blown head gasket, crudded up valves, a leaking rear main seal and by the time he drove it home all the tires had ballooned because they were retreaded bald tires! It took a few months to get it on the road as I tore it down to have the heads re-milled and everything cleaned up with something called "Varsol" (undoubtedly carcinogenic), He decided I should hand grind the valves (which took forever!). It turned out that it wasn't the original 312, but rather a 368 Licoln V8. The 3 speed automatic was in great shape and once I completed this marathon rebuild, the old Merc really hauled butt. The only slight difference between this Sun Star model and mine is it's Persimmon rather than my Carousel Red.
Great starter car Rich. It certainly helped you learn a lot about car mechanical maintenance. Strange to have a replacement Lincoln motor in a relatively young car, but then, vehicles in that time aged fast.
@david-green Yeah, my old man was an old school, John Wayne badass with very little patience, but I learned a lot so I could tune and maintain my cars with just having to pay for parts and with those era cars, something always needed fixing. Everytime I contemplate buying an old car, I have to remind myself that I had to get greasy at least once a week for some ailment. Solution to that problem... a restomod!
I miss Sunstar. They sure hit some home runs.
Steve
I miss Sunstar. They sure hit some home runs.
Steve
Well, not all were home runs...a few were triples, may one was a double w/a stolen base.... 😏 😏 😏 BUT I am surprised there's nothing new other than re-paints. Surely, they have the resources for a few more 1/18 1950's "Platinums." They all sold very well.
How cool would it be to see a 1/18 1956 Buick or a 1952 Mercury or how about a 1958 Oldsmobile? MONEY is waiting Sunstar! (hint, hint.. 😏 😏 😏)
...or even tool up some 4 doors from their existing 2 door molds. Why not, right? (hint, hint... 😏 😏 😏)
My favs are their '56 Pontiac and Mercury. I still kept the '58 Buick cnvrt and have 2 Continentals in states of customization. If I'm lucky they'll be done by September.
Steve
@100ford2003 Cool! Can't wait to see them Steve.

