The Mercury Voyager was a station wagon sold for the 1957 and 1958 model years. It sat between the base Commuter and the woodgrained Colony Park, was built only as a pillarless hardtop and could seat up to nine people.
Mercury Voyager at a glance
| Model years | 1957 and 1958 |
|---|---|
| Class | mid-range station wagon |
| Position | above the Commuter, below the Colony Park |
| Bodies | two-door and four-door pillarless hardtops |
| Chassis | body-on-frame, 122-inch wheelbase |
| 1957 engines | 312 cu in Safety-Surge V8, 255 hp; 368 cu in V8, 290 hp option |
| 1958 engines | 383 cu in Marauder V8, 330 hp; 430 cu in option, 360 or 400 hp |
| Gearbox | three-speed Merc-O-Matic automatic only |
| Seating | six, or nine with the forward-facing third row on four-door cars |
| Two-door output | just over 7,600 cars in 1957–1958 |
The article is based on one source, the English Wikipedia page on the Voyager.
History of the Mercury Voyager
A separate wagon range
For 1957 Mercury created a range of station wagons distinct from its sedans, following Ford and later Edsel. The Voyager was the mid-range offering, above the base-trim Commuter and below the woodgrained Colony Park. Following the 1956 introduction of the hardtop station wagon by Rambler, Mercury became the first American manufacturer to build its entire station wagon line in a hardtop body style. The Voyager was trimmed between the Monterey and Montclair sedans.
Body and chassis
Like the Commuter, Colony Park and Mercury sedans of the time, the 1957–1958 Voyager used a body-on-frame chassis and shared the range’s 122-inch wheelbase. It was offered only with V8 engines. In 1957 the standard engine was the 312 cu in Safety-Surge V8 with 255 hp, with the 368 cu in Turnpike Cruiser V8 and 290 hp as an option. For 1958 Mercury introduced the MEL-series V8: the 383 cu in Marauder with 330 hp became standard for the Voyager, with a 430 cu in Super Marauder producing 400 hp as an option. The Super Marauder was the first American mass-produced engine to reach 400 hp. All four V8s used a three-speed Merc-O-Matic automatic.
For 1957 Mercury offered mechanically activated push-button transmission controls in answer to the Chrysler TorqueFlite buttons of 1956. The system, called Keyboard Control, had five buttons: a long Drive button on top and smaller Brake, Neutral Start, Hill Control and Reverse buttons below. For 1958 the Drive button was split into Performance and Cruising and the system was renamed Multi-Drive. A separate push-pull Park lever below the buttons locked them out until it was released, and the panel sat to the left of the steering wheel. The keyboard control was dropped in 1959 in favour of a steering-column selector.
Equipment and the end
The Voyager came in two body configurations, two-door and four-door, both pillarless hardtops. A forward-facing third-row seat was offered on four-door Voyagers, expanding seating from six to nine. The rear window retracted electrically into the tailgate, which folded flat against the load floor, a design that was modified on later Ford and Mercury wagons. For 1958 the exterior received a minor revision: quad headlamps became standard, the front styling was made more conservative to integrate the grille and bumper better, the pie-wedge tail lamps gave way to a rocket-style design and extra chrome trim appeared on the C-pillar.
The two-door sold only just over 7,600 units across 1957 and 1958 and was dropped from the 1959 range. For 1959 Ford consolidated the station wagon nameplates of its non-Lincoln divisions, and the Voyager was combined into the Country Cruiser series while the Ford Del Rio, Edsel Roundup and Edsel Bermuda were discontinued.
Design and features
- Hardtop only: the Voyager was built as a pillarless hardtop wagon, two- or four-door.
- Nine seats: a forward-facing third row on four-door cars.
- Retracting tailgate window: an electrically lowered rear window in a folding tailgate.
- Keyboard Control: push-button transmission controls in 1957 and 1958.
- Super Marauder option: a 400 hp 430 V8 in 1958.
Mercury Voyager versions
- Voyager two-door hardtop (1957–1958): just over 7,600 built in two years.
- Voyager four-door hardtop (1957–1958): available with the nine-seat layout.
- 1957 cars: with the 312 V8 as standard and the 368 as an option.
- 1958 cars: with the 383 Marauder V8 and the 430 option.
The Voyager was part of the same 1957–1958 Mercury range as the Monterey, Montclair and Turnpike Cruiser. More cars are in the Mercury collection.
Video: Mercury voyager two doors 1957
Video by Jean-Jacques Llt Zelkam models on YouTube.
Sources
- Mercury Voyager, English Wikipedia: wagon range, chassis, engines, equipment and the end of production
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