I had a '57 Mercury 2 Dr Hardtop many years ago. I don't recall the model but the Trim Insert was Factory Gold that looked like Engine Turning and it had single Headlights. I've seen a bunch of '57 Mercs on the HAMB and other places with Dual Headlights. Can anyone walk me through the differences? Thanks very much.....Centurion9
Dual headlights weren't legal in all states when they were introduced in '57, so some states got a single headlight version. By '58 they were legal everywhere... Shelby had a similar problem with his '67 GT Mustangs. He mounted the driving lights in the center of the grill close together but that wasn't legal everywhere so you'll see some with the lights mounted further apart.
The fenders were the same stamping between the dual and single headlight models, but the dual light fenders had a special stamped insert in order to mount the dual headlight ***emblies mid year, if the buyer so desired. The gold anodized inserts were a trim package option to dress up the car, available on all models at extra cost. These were stamped aluminum with embossing, rather than engine turned. ---John
The Jalopy Journal
