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john charlton · 10-12-2021, 04:30 AM

Hi Mercman from OZ Your avatar looks like a 1956 Mercury Montclair . This was a very high end car in my home town of Cape Town . You had to be a real dude to own one of these !!! . In the very early sixties my ship was berthed in Matadi up the Congo river .The Congo had gained independence from Belgium in 1960 the Belgian nationals left the country en masse. It was a hurried exit and they drove to the dock with all they could carry to be evacuated by Belgian ships . Their vehicles were left at the dockside mostly Mercedes farm trucks and some passenger cars . One was a 1956 Mercury Montclair the same colour combo as your avatar . The car was unlocked and would have been an easy roller . We were homeward bound with space on deck so I begged the captain that we could easily "liberate" it . We had all the lifting gear on board . The plan was to bring it aboard during darkness just before we sailed and cover it with a tarp . The dockside security would not have cared the car had not moved in a couple of years and there was no chance the owner would ever return . My captain sadly point blank refused it would be theft etc etc I said we could maybe find the owner or I would keep it . So we sailed and left it sitting on the dock facing a bleak future .

John in Suffolk County England .

10-12-2021, 04:30 AM	#9
john charlton Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 1,304	Re: The Restorer Sept/.Oct . Hi Mercman from OZ Your avatar looks like a 1956 Mercury Montclair . This was a very high end car in my home town of Cape Town . You had to be a real dude to own one of these !!! . In the very early sixties my ship was berthed in Matadi up the Congo river .The Congo had gained independence from Belgium in 1960 the Belgian nationals left the country en masse. It was a hurried exit and they drove to the dock with all they could carry to be evacuated by Belgian ships . Their vehicles were left at the dockside mostly Mercedes farm trucks and some passenger cars . One was a 1956 Mercury Montclair the same colour combo as your avatar . The car was unlocked and would have been an easy roller . We were homeward bound with space on deck so I begged the captain that we could easily "liberate" it . We had all the lifting gear on board . The plan was to bring it aboard during darkness just before we sailed and cover it with a tarp . The dockside security would not have cared the car had not moved in a couple of years and there was no chance the owner would ever return . My captain sadly point blank refused it would be theft etc etc I said we could maybe find the owner or I would keep it . So we sailed and left it sitting on the dock facing a bleak future . John in Suffolk County England .