Spending three glorious days in Scottsdale, Arizona for auction week, you would naturally expect to see about a million Fords. The auctions I attended didn’t disappoint, though if you don’t count Customs, Mustangs and ’55-’57 Thunderbirds, the numbers are a lot smaller. Here are the Ford cars I found the most interesting. I’m planning a separate post on Lincolns and possibly Thunderbirds. Click through to read about 13 classic Fords and Mercurys.
One of the first cars I saw on the first auction I attended was this 1954 Ford Customline 2-door sedan. At Russo and Steele, walking from the entrance to the main car tents, you pass the auction staging area. When I saw this cheerful little Ford in the sun, I said to myself that this is going to be a good week!
The Customline is actually the mid level model in 1954, though it looks pretty basic. The Mainline is the base model and doesn’t have the chrome side strip or chrome window trim. Whitewall tires were available on any model.
On most of these cars, my photos are supplemented by photos taken from the auction house websites.
Here’s a hood-closed photo off the R-S website. The seller states this is a one-family vehicle, which explains why such a modest car was treated to an extensive restoration to stock specs. It doesn’t explain why it is being offered for sale, but maybe that’s why it was a No Sale. They probably didn’t want to sell it cheap or maybe even for market value.
What impressed me about this car was its original 215cid Six and three on the tree transmission. You don’t see a lot of fully restored six cylinder cars from the ’50’s. It even still has 6 volt power, though that probably works fine with the small engine and no accessories. For 1954, Ford replaced the flathead with the new “Y-block” OHV V8 which wasn’t enough to motivate the original buyer to upgrade from the base engine. 1954 was also the first year for ball joint front suspensions.
Another charismatic Ford product from the middle of the decade: a 1955 Mercury Montclair convertible in a really flattering yellow body with yellow and black interior. This restored car sold at Barrett-Jackson for $34,100.
This photo captures the color a bit better. Convertibles were only available in the Montclair series, which was mainly distinguished by the trim around the bottom of the windows surrounding a small area of contrasting color. The black one on this car really pops with the black in the interior. All Mercurys came with a 292cid V8 while Montclairs had a slightly higher 198hp version.
A perennial collector favorite is the 1940 Ford Deluxe. With some of Ford’s most graceful prewar styling, it’s tough not to love this car. It sold for $45,100 at Barrett-Jackson. Convertibles are always cool, but the Coupe was the real looker, of course.
These three things I love: convertibles, maroon and 1949-51 Mercs. Naturally, a ’49 Mercury convertible like this made me stop and look. It went for $34,100 at Barrett-Jackson, which apparently is the standard price for Mercury convertibles (see ’55 above).
You most likely know that for 1949, Ford introduced all new cars (besides engines) from all three divisions and that Mercury moved from the Ford body shell to the Lincoln. You might also know that Mercury only had one trim level on four body styles, including a suicide door sedan and a super cool 2-door metal bodied, wood-trimmed wagon. A 255cid, 110hp flathead V8 was the only engine. They sold really well and earned Mercury sixth place for U.S. sales for the first time while setting a Mercury sales record up to that point.
Convertibles are great, and this restored-to-stock-original-condition example is certainly a sweet car. There’s a good reason why it’s a convertible, though, which you are probably well aware of. The stock ’49-’51 Mercury coupe is an endangered species, since it has been a favorite platform for customizers since the fifties. There certainly weren’t any at the three auctions I attended in Scottsdale. According to the Barrett-Jackson website, out of the 75 ’49-’51 Mercurys sold in all their auctions nationwide in the last 15 years, only 3 have been stock coupes.
Personally, I think 1949 Mercurys and Lincolns are great looking cars, probably my favorite of all the first new postwar designs from all makers. Strangely the Ford has never done much for me. I know the ’49 Ford has a lot of fans, I’m just not one of them. Admittedly,this 1950 Ford Custom convertible at Silver looks pretty good here. As with all the Silver cars, I don’t know if it sold.
An internet photo of these lovely ladies heading for a girls’ night (or day) out in their new Ford might be better to make my point. While the ’49 Ford is a clean design, I think it might actually be too clean. Ford went a step too far in the slab sided look. Every other first generation postwar car that I can think of took an evolutionary approach with the front fenders and hood. Even if they actually had full width bodies, they acknowledged the styling transition period by having a least a slight appearance of separate front fenders with a raised hood and a certain amount of prow from nose to cowl. I also don’t like the center “bullet” grille. It just seems like a kind of ungainly car to me. Other than that, they’re great! My apologies to any ’49 Ford fans out there. Feel free to set me straight.
Not the least bit ungainly, IMO, is a 1956 Ford Fairlane Club Sedan. Appearing meticulously restored, it sold for $39,600.
A few things set this car apart for me. Foremost was the single tone black paint job. Most ’55-’56 Ford sedans that one sees at auctions or car shows are two tone, as well as being hardtops (Club Victoria) or Crown Victorias (large chrome band over B-pillar and roof). This one is a post (Club Sedan) two door, and also doesn’t have the commonly seen rear fender skirts. It all adds up to an unusual and appealing Ford.
A promo photo off the B-J website shows rear fender skirts, so it looks like they come with the car if the new owner prefers them. The Fairlane was the highest trim level for 1956. Presumably wire wheel covers were originally options on the Fairlanes like they were on Thunderbirds. Regardless of whether they are original to this car, I think they look good. They give it a fancy, high-trim appearance to balance the single color, post sedan look.
The car has it’s original engine (according to the seller), which is the 292cid “Thunderbird” V8 good for 202hp. This was the top engine option at the beginning of the model year, though later in the year the 225hp “Thunderbird Special” 312cid engine was available.
1956 was the year Ford first promoted safety with “Lifeguard Design”. All cars came with double-grip door latches, breakaway rearview mirror and deep dish steering wheel with recessed hub. This car has the optional padded dash and front seat belts. The seat belts only cost $9 and were commonly ordered, but Ford’s seatbelt supplier ran out and only 20% of cars got them.
All that safety equipment is important in case the car ends up like this. Don’t know if this car had the seatbelts, but the driver looks like he walked away with just a dirty shirt.
This was scanned from a book called Vintage Car Wrecks by Rusty Herlocher. I love it because it combines two of my interests, EMS and old cars, in one entertaining book.
Ford’s increasing styling flair culminated in the 1957 models, like this Fairlane 500 Sunliner convertible at Russo and Steele which sold for $18,000. This wasn’t the most perfect example ever, but I shot it because I just dig these. Ford really hit a home run, style-wise. Buyers apparently agreed, as Ford beat out Chevy in sales for the first time in at least 20 years. The grille is tasteful, the side spears luscious and the tail fins as perfectly executed as anything in the ‘50’s. Ford screwed the car up for 1958, then recovered a bit of taste for 1959, but neither compares to the ‘57. They went off in new, mostly good directions starting in 1960, making this the pinnacle of ‘50’s styling for Ford, IMO.
Barrett-Jackson had 1957, 1958, and 1959 Skyliner retractable hardtops that you can click on if interested.
I believe Ford’s next high point for styling is represented here in a 1966 Galaxie 500. True, they copied some Pontiac cues, but that’s awfully good material to copy from. The ‘66 revisions on the ‘65 design really worked to make a graceful, athletic looking car. They’d lose that image completely by 1968, when they went all in on the LTD luxury image.
I ran into this car on my first day, at Russo and Steele. I only took one photo as it has aftermarket wheels, driver condition and isn’t very special by Scottsdale standards. Also, the seller describes it as an XL, which it clearly isn’t. Still, it looks really nice in silver and painted black (probably not original) roof.
I was just reading an article in the January issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines before the trip about ’65 generation full size Fords and how they were actually quite well engineered with stiff, solid bodies and stiff, capable chassis. The chassis was well enough regarded that it was used as the basis for many NASCAR racers into the ’80’s. I was hoping I would see a legit stock big-block XL or 7 Litre but never did. This car was a No Sale. Barrett-Jackson did have a mildly hot-rodded ’66 7-Litre which was pretty cool.
Another styling winner in my book is the ‘66-‘67 Fairlane. Obviously, I’m a sucker for pretty much anything with stacked headlights and “coke bottle” sides. I’m also a sucker for ’60’s Fords in dark green. A Deep Moss Green 1967 Fairlane GTA pushes a lot of my buttons, as well as somebody else’s to the tune of $30,800.
The GT was the muscle version of the Fairlane, coming with the top 335hp 390cid V8 in ’66. They made that engine optional in ’67 when a 200hp 289 was standard, though in fairness they did drop the base price by $4! This has the optional 390, as well as the C6 automatic, which made it a GTA (A for automatic). Interestingly, the monster 425hp 427 was not available on the GT, only on the regular Fairlane. This is because that engine was aimed only at competitive drag racers, who didn’t care about trim. Barrett-Jackson did have a 1966 427 Fairlane inside in the glamour tents which sold for $137,500. That’s only $2,884 per additional cubic inch!
At Silver was one of my very favorites of all the cars I saw at the auctions in Scottsdale. It’s a 1966 Mercury S-55 convertible. While I like ’60’s Mercurys, particularly the full sizers, they are not generally at the top of my lists. Built on the same body as Fords since 1961, they are a nice alternative with their own unique styling and interiors. I wouldn’t have thought of this car as one of my favorites before, but seeing it in person made a big impact on me.
The S-55 is the equivalent of the Ford Galaxie 500 7-Litre, coming with the same new 345hp 428cid V8. The base price was actually a couple hundred less than the Ford, though optional front disc brakes that are standard on the 7-litre Ford might account for that.
The wheelbase is 4 inches longer and weighs about 100lb more than the Ford.
As with the Ford 7-Litre and XL, bucket seats and console are standard. It could have either a 4-speed manual or Merc-o-matic C6. I don’t know the numbers, but I’ll bet the 4-speed is a rare beast. All full-size Mercurys had temp, oil and amp gauges, with a tach optional on S-55.
The 428 introduced for 1966 was the last and largest version of the FE engine series first made in 1958. It replaced the 427 as the top engine choice in Mercurys. Its output was not as high as the 427, but was set up more for driveability than power. Mercury called it the Super Marauder. Great name!
The seller stated that this car is mostly original, with original paint, interior and engine. These Firestones may be reproduction, but they definitely look the part. The aura of originality gave this car an irresistible lure for me. If I could afford it, I’d put this car in my garage in a heartbeat.
Silver had another ’66 S-55 convertible available as well. Pretty impressive considering that Mercury only made 669! This one had more work done to it, though the seller still claimed the interior was original. Both cars had perfect, un-cracked transparent plastic steering wheels.
Spinner wire wheels are added on, of course. Not my preference, but not bad looking. Unfortunately, I don’t know if either car sold or for how much since Silver doesn’t have auction results available yet.
Finally, here’s a couple latter day survivors should warm the hearts of many Curbside Classic readers. On the back field at Russo and Steele were an assortment of misfits and oddballs that didn’t fit in with the muscle cars, sports cars and hot rods that are supposed to be the focus of their event, including this 1988 Cougar . It has a 5.0L fuel injected V8 good for 150hp. Not perfect condition, but a well-preserved survivor of a once common car that is rarely seen on the streets any more. It is 31 years old already. You could have taken it home to park on your curb for $2000.
For you Panther lovers, a very clean 2002 Crown Victoria LX Sport was at Silver, which had its own back lot area for misfit vehicles. The LX Sport was made from 2002-2006 as a “performance” package. It had dual exhausts and slightly more powerful (239hp) version of the 4.6L SOHC modular V8, leather bucket seats with center console and floor shifter, upgraded (cop) suspension, body color grill and special 17” wheels with wider tires. It’s somewhat like the 2003-2004 Mercury Marauder, but not as extensively modified as that one was, primarily with its DOHC engine. It looked to be in excellent condition, though I didn’t see the mileage.
Other articles in my Scottsdale 2018 series:
Cadillacs-part 1 restored cars
Cadillacs-part 2 unrestored cars
I love that Mercury S-55, it reminds me of the fact that my maternal grandfather’s ONLY new car was a Ford XL. He spent over a decade buying savings bonds with every paycheck to sock that money away.
The one I want to take home though is the Crown Victoria LX Sport. Why? Because I could drive it everyday and not worry about its value, plus you don’t have the “this Marauder is an INVESTMENT” guys slobbering all over it. 😉
That 1967 Fairlane GTA resonates with me. I had the generation of Fairlane/Torino right after (1969 Torino GT) with the 390. It was a fairly pleasant car to drive, quick but not fast and hard on fuel. Especially when I owned it in the early 80’s.
This gen of Fairlane seems a little smaller, a little trimmer and much more muscular. I especially like the chromed styled steel wheels on this car. A very nice example.
The 88 Cougar is another car that I would have liked. At that time, I owned a 1986 Mercury Capri 5.0L, which was a great car for me. It had all of the things I liked. Shortly after, Mercury released the 20th Anniversary Cougar XR-7. I really thought about trading my Capri, but somehow resisted the urge.
I love articles like this, if only because it reminds me that not every antique car out there has been resto-rodded into oblivion, or had a small block Chevy shoved under the hood. Thank God real antique cars still exist.
Nice mix of cars here. I never cared much for the ’52-’54 Fords. They look pudgy and stubby compared to the cars that came before and after. I do agree, however, that the ’66 Fords represented a styling high point.
Some fine looking Fords here. Looking back on the ’49 Ford, it really was a styling innovater with its sheer, slab side look, a design feature that exists today. It was also a very important car for young HFII and the company, which had been driven close to bankruptcy by senile old Henry after the death of son Edsel. It was a sales success, saved the company, and catapulted HFII, Ernie Breech and the Whiz Kids into automotive lore.
Good point! Absolutely, I’m not discounting the significance of the ’49 Ford to the company or the industry. Personal preferences in classic cars aside, it was a landmark car.
Some nice stuff! Yes, a stock 49-51 Mercury coupe sighting is as rare as one of Bigfoot or Nessie. I actually saw one once at an Auburn auction eons ago.
The 66-67 fairlane was a nice car. Neighbors once had a 67 convertible that the wife bought new and took with them when they moved away in the late 70s. I would have been just as happy with one of those as with the Galaxie convertible I got for my first car.
I still want a CV LX.
Mmm. The ’54 is the prettiest thing I’ve seen in many moons.
The six was probably the better engine in both torque and economy, but people didn’t buy a Ford to have a six. V8 was the purpose of a Ford.
My father had a ’54 Ford. It was replace before I was born but he’s always seemed fond of it. It was the only Ford he ever owned though. His next car was a 1956 Bel Air convertible and he was pretty much a GM man from then on.
I’ve always like the 1940 Fords from the headlight bezels to the chevron tail lamps. One of the first scale model cars I built was a ’40 Ford coupe. I often received scale model kits from relatives as birthday or holiday gifts. I’m sure those selected by aunts and uncles reflected what they liked or had fond memories.
I also was given a kit for a 1949 Ford coupe. I assembled the car but didn’t really appreciate what it represented as a new direction in automobile styling until I was an adult. It was given to me by a neighbor lady. She told me it was “just like her first real car.” Looking back, I think that was kinda cool.
That ’54 Ford is a carbon copy of my dad’s ’54 Customline company car, he had it for four years until 1958. White with a blue interior, it had the Y-block V-8, but a manual transmission, no radio, but curiously a clock. How fondly I remember riding in the front seat with him, always fascinated with the new for that year Astra-dial speedometer. He would occasionally let me sit in his lap and try to steer the car into the garage, I remember thinking how gigantic that big ol’ steering wheel was, and how my little arms could barely budge the non-power steering. One of those dad/son warm and fuzzy interactions that will always remain with me. Thanks for a great article and for bringing back such wonderful memories.
Our first car in the US was a six-year old ’54 Ford Fordor. It had the new 239 Y Block V8 and Fordomatic. It seemed so huge compared to the tiny cars we used to stuff ourselves into in Austria.
Nice overview of cars not commonly seen on the streets anymore.
Among the oldest in the group the 56 is my fav, the 55-56 Ford looked equally as good as the 55-56 Chevy’s in my eyes. The 57 I have never liked, it’s headlight eyebrows and clunky grille, and just overall detailing just never did it for me, so much so I actually think the 58s we’re an improvement (I truly don’t understand the universal hatred of that year). Similarly the 54 wasn’t a favorite of mine either, but I don’t really like ANY cars made between 51-54 for the most part, they all looked alike in that timespan.
The 66 Galaxie looks great, it’s concave roofline is so distinctive and is probably my favorite of all the stacked headlight Fords/Mercurys made. The Fairlane however is nice enough from the front and sides, but the rear end treatment just so boring and tinny. The 88 Cougar I love, of course, owning a white 94, the condition looks exceptional to me, this generation suffered greatly from headlight cataracts and replacements are nonexistent, so the fact that this one looks so fresh is a very good sign of it’s overall condition. If it were mine though those wire covers/steel wheels are getting swapped for the optional 15″ 10 hole alloys(or better yet XR7 Turbines), wires just looked wrong on these aero bodies.
If you click on the link in the Cougar description, it shows a car with the alloys. At first I thought that meant the owner has both sets of wheels, but looking at it more, it’s obvious that it is a different car altogether. Not sure what’s up with that! Guess those $2000 cars don’t get much attention from the auction house.
Heh, THREE different cars, the interior shot is from the 1987 brochure! The one with the 10 hole alloys is an 88 XR7 model based on the body colored trim and grille, which means the wheels are wrong as well – 88s used turbines, 87s used 10 holes.
The actual car is an LS, but it’s condition is far more flattering than the pictures used.
That CV Sport is a sharp looking car! I’m so used to seeing poseurs in their ex-squad cars that I forgot what a looker those were.
$2000 for that Cougar is surprisingly reasonable. Hopefully it won’t become another hacked together “race car”.
The period photo of the Ford two door (um, Tudor) is a coupe model, which is like a business coupe with a back seat so it has a shorter roof. The normal Tudor sedan has the same longer roof as the four door sedan.
I never got the Shoebox Ford either until I saw one next to a 1949 Chevy (which I always disliked actually). I realised that the Ford was the only modern shape of the Big 3 postwar designs. It’s kind of too bad they went with split flat glass on the windshield. I think curving glass was expensive then – the Chevy windshield is curved, but also split. Ford knew about one piece curved windshields as the Lincoln Cosmo had one. But otherwise everything sets the pattern for sedans up to today. In plan view you would see that the Chevy is straight sided (plus tacked on rear fenders) while the Ford is curved. And the non-prow hood, no tacked on fenders, etc. The Chrysler cars were even more like their pre/postwar models.
I think there’s enough going on. Ford did add a two tone model with swoopy chrome, and in 1951 chrome spears leading to larger tail lights, so there was some call for more going on.
Good point about the Tudor, I forgot about the different 2 door styles. I corrected it in the article.
Although they were not common, 1 piece windshields were not unheard of by 1949. Studebaker had used them in the big cars before the war and certain models of the small Champion got them in 1947. All body styles used the 1 piece by 1951.
Those 1954 Fords are among my favorite Ford cars ever, and they sure beat the 1953 & 1954 Chevys by miles. While the tri-five Chevys beat the Fords, the Fords aren’t a bit shabby in their own right.
I agree, 1966 was a great year for Ford. Seems all good things were made in ’66, including myself.
I have always loved the looks of the 1949-51 Mercurys. My uncle, my father’s younger brother, had a ’51 Merc four door sedan (with the suicide rear doors) when he returned home from the Air Force in 1957. For the longest time I thought this was the coolest car in the world, and it was, when compared to the six cylinder bottom feeders that my dad drove. I found out later that this particular Mercury (if not all of them) was a total POS; it apparently consumed water pumps voraciously, refused to stay in tune and drank fuel like it had its own personal oil well. The Mercury was replaced fairly quickly by a 1955 Olds Super 88, also a much cooler car than a six cylinder Plymouth.
Fords and more Fords! A lovely way to start the week. My favorite is the all black ’56, which looks so much better without skirts. I also love that purposeful looking ’02 Crown Vic. But you know, had I been there, the ’88 Cougar might have forced me to reach for my checkbook. So many grins for only two thou, and such nice shape! It’s a great Cars and Coffee cruiser.
Loved the ’66-67 Fairlanes. I happened to own one of each. The’67 was the best, a dark moss green 2dr XL with saddle tan interior. Had a 289 with automatic. Was quick enough for my taste. Sharp and reliable, wish I still had it.