Here’s a find I had been hoping to come across for a while: a 1953 Ford Ranch Wagon, which I had previously seen listed on the local FB Marketplace. A nice, partly restored survivor, dating from a brief period in the early all-steel wagon era when 2-door models, if offered in a carmaker’s lineup, generally outsold 4-door ones.
So a nice lucky meet while the car was getting a last wash in San Salvador, as it was soon to be sent to a buyer in the US. A find that gives me a chance to talk about early fifties Fords, that period’s fascination with Jet Age motifs, and the 2-door wagon’s heyday. And well, one chance to highlight this American-built survivor before its planned return home after decades in the tropics.
As previously told in our pages, the arrival of the all-steel wagon in 1950 was a market-defining moment, moving the format away from its previous commercial focus to a family-oriented one. In the low-end of the market, Ford was last to join in with their all-steel models in ’52; with the Mainline 2-door Ranch Wagon, 4-door Country Sedan and Crestline 4-door Country Squire. The 4-doors could be had in 6 or 8-passenger setups, and in the case of Country Squire, with their distinctive fake wood-trimmed exterior treatment.
For ’52, Fords had arrived with all-new styling; wheelbase had increased one inch to 115″ and the styling further elaborated on the Jet-Age looks the ’49-’51 “shoebox” models had worn. At this point, Ford design was still in flux, and the ’52 line was the result of work done by George Walker and his associates. As such, the ’52’s general styling theme is credited to have been done under the guidance of Joe Oros, one of Walker’s closest collaborators.
Oros, among a few other Detroit designers at the time, had been pushing for Jet Age inspired cues in the company’s designs, as he felt that was where car styling was heading. Against what was to come, the aviation-derived elements of the ’52 designs are modest, but well, you can’t go ’57 Turnpike Cruiser wild without a few steps in between. About which, around the time the ’52 line was being created, further Space Age ideas were being closely explored on the Ford X-100 concept car. Another product done under Oros and team, the X-100 vehicle would have a significant influence on later Ford designs.
It may have taken Ford a little bit longer to offer an all-steel station wagon, but from the looks of sales figures, Ford buyers had been eager to get their hands on one for a while. In ’51, Ford’s 2-door woodie wagons had moved about 29K units. For ’52, the new all-steel models shot the numbers to 49K total, with 33K being 2-doors; figures that surpassed those of Plymouth’s 2-doors* and Chevy’s 4-doors. The Bowtie moved just about 12K units that year, solely with 4-wagon models (No 2-door wagons anywhere at GM at the time).
For ’53, the year of today’s find, numbers would climb to about 67K units for Ford’s 2-doors and 39K for the 4-doors. In total, almost twice the number of wagons sold by Chevy, Ford’s closest rival in the segment. ’54 would see further gains for Ford, with about 80K 2-doors, and 40K 4-doors sold. Once again, Chevy moved only about half that amount in the same period, with Plymouth showing a strong third place in the segment.
The 2-door’s luck would change swiftly after that, with the 4-door models becoming the best sellers at Dearborn in 1955. For that year, the difference would be about 40K units in the 4-door’s favor. A trend that would remain, with dwindling numbers for the 2-doors from then on. So much so that the 2-door chapter would close for good in Detroit by ’65.
As tends to happen with family transport, most 2-doors from the era are now mostly gone. As for the styling of the ’52 Ford wagon’s body, it’s credited to Gordon Buehrig, of Cord 810 fame.
The ’52’s original grille “round intake/spinner” was lost on the ’53’s restyling, updated to a bullet shape. Part of the then obligatory yearly updates, but one that did the job of looking fresh enough without spoiling the overall look.
And here, the rocket-inspired hood ornament. Pure ’50s Jet Age.
Neat jet-exhaust taillights, a Ford design element that would remain around, in one way or another, for a few years in an on-and-off manner.
Look at that side window; that’s ventilation, 1950s style. About which, as told in a previous post, the idea of a 2-door wagon, with rows where passengers had to climb over, sounds odd today. But as pointed out, people were limber then, and also took on tasks we don’t seem to put up with anymore. Additionally, the price difference between the 2-door and 4-door lines was a consideration at the time with buyers.
I believe these “whitewalls” are hand painted. But hey, you know how costly it is to bring real ones to Central America? At least the hubcaps look period correct.
In matters of styling, I find the embossed simulated fenders at the rear somewhat retrograde against the previous “shoebox” design. Still, an appealing element, but it tarnishes, just a tad, the older slab-sided look. Perhaps a response to “too much newness” in the earlier design?
Now, for the different lives of cars in parallel universes. In the States, this was Ford’s entry-level wagon model, in what was an entry-level brand. Meanwhile, in Central America, any Ford was a luxury vehicle back in the 1950s. The wagon was probably purchased by an upper-class family back when it arrived in this region, either by hacendados, doctors, or the like. Or so I theorized on my earlier post about this wagon…
Well, turns out I was sort of close with that guess, as a Salvadorian doctor did buy the car. But in the early ’90s, directly from its first owner. Here is the wagon in 2011, with some of the doctor’s relatives posing for a wedding photo. Sometime in the mid 2010s, the wagon changed hands once more after its engine became seriously faulty.
The new owner paid for a new respray, though he kept the earlier non-original two-tone theme. This makes for a somewhat thick finish in places when seen up close. On the other hand, most trim seems original.
I believe the current upholstery job comes from the recent ownership as well. That work aside, the dash and instruments are pretty clean. And it’s hard to tell in the photos, but that’s three pedals on the floor.
Last, yes, the fuzzy dice… makers of those have nothing to worry about in the near future, if we go by what we see from this car and other car shows.
The recent owner also went through the trouble of getting the wagon’s flathead V-8 refurbished, with work on the block and heads done in the US. Something that must have cost a pretty penny. I’ll take his word and believe him on that effort. The flathead is certainly an exotic beast to our local mechanics; creative and all, but with a more focused expertise on Asian 4-cyl. mills.
This, by the way, was the last year for the Ford flathead. In ’53, that was a 239.4CID displacement, offering 110 HP. Upon inspection, some creativity has been taken to get this one running, so who knows what its output is? Then again, considering our location, nothing looked too out of place or too creative. Or that couldn’t be reverted by another buyer.
Proud of the work done, the owner turned the ignition key for me to hear the flathead running. The wagon quickly roared to life, settling into a fairly nice idle; not car show restoration like, but good and alive, without hiccups or lumpy sounds.
Photos done, I thanked the owner. As I parted, he told me the wagon had been sold to a US party and would soon be leaving El Salvador. One thing about this, with stories like this over here, it’s hard to tell if a car guy is bragging, being truthful, or BS’ing. Then again, the Marketplace ad is gone, and the wagon seems to have disappeared from these streets. So, perhaps it’s now enjoying a new life back in the US?
If so, I hope this Ex Pat gets the love and attention it deserves. I know that retiring to a warmer climate is more of the norm, but being away is hard, and returning home sometimes is just the right thing to do.
Note: * Exact figures for the ’51-’52 Plymouth wagon production numbers are a guess, as they’re lumped together on my guide, showing a total of about 75K units sold between the two years.
Related CC reading:
The Short And Odd Life Of The Two-Door Station Wagon
CC For Sale: 1953 Ranch Wagon & 1956 Country Squire – Ford Wagons Down South
1950 Plymouth All-Steel Station Wagon – The First Modern Station Wagon
MY 54 METEOR NIAGARA HAD A 255 FLAT HEAD AND THE MOTOR EXPLODED, APPARENTLY IT WAS NOTORIOUS FOR DOING THAT
And It’s been converted to 12volts with alternator.
We climbed over seats all the time in the ’70s and ’80s, and I bought a new ’93 two-door VW Fox coupe which had rear-seat passengers a few times, but wow, it’s been a long time since I saw anyone do that. My ’87 Fox wagon (which I got in 2009) never saw rear-seat passengers, and I just folded the seat down to make it a big hatchback. These earlier domestic wagons were a bit bigger, of course, so it shouldn’t have been too hard to get back there, but yeah, we just don’t do that anymore.
What’s odd about the ’53 is that the front end “bullet” reverted to the globe style in ’54 as was seen on the ’52. The ’53s always looked like they were missing something up there.
Nice wagon, and good to know it’s got another chapter of its life ahead of it.
I always assumed that the 1953 grill was trying to evoke a propellor, thus the spinner.
I hope the rear fender lip rust and right front fender lumps are not indicative of the entire car’s condition .
Agreed that it will hopefully be cherished by the new owners .
-Nate
So while I am sitting in Reno, letting my wife enjoy herself gambling and winning, I would really like to know what the deal is with those darn fuzzy dice. Why? What is the background? In the meantime I spotted a 59 and 77 during my early morning photo walk of downtown Reno. For Cohort later.
“I find the embossed simulated fenders at the rear somewhat retrograde against the previous “shoebox” design.” – Exactly!
The first time I saw a ’49-51 I was confused – the smooth sides looked newer yet the split screen and smaller rear glass was definitely older. I can only assume the ‘simulated fender’ was done to give a sense of motion; the earlier design was very static.
One thing that looks ‘off’ to me is the placement of the front fender V8 badge – I know it’s factory correct for a Mainline, but it seems an odd place to put it. On the other hand, score points for the contrast paint on the headlight rims; these always looked a bit plain/cheap in body colour.
Ford ranch wagons were fairly popular way back in NZ we got them new, but 2 door wagons were a common body style well into the 70s on smaller British cars,their all steel wagons began arriving in the late 40s, there was a loophole in the finance regulations that let 2 door wagons be sold as vans with the rear seat removed cheaper finance and a longer payment term on new and ‘used’ commercials and of course the dealer for the brand you bought would refit the stripped out parts as extra cost options,
Ford used the same 1/4 panel stampings for the Mainline ute which were more common that commercial finance loophole was ignored for 25 years or more the motor industry lobby group my dad belonged made very sure of that
I like wagons we had wagons when I was kid and consequently I started buying them 3 door 5 door dozens of them still have one its on daily duty.
Attractive and awkward all at once. Bet it goes kind a fast.
The first car I remember in my family was my mother’s ’55 Ranch Wagon. Two doors. Red. Very faded red…haha…I recall at least one trip to Earl Scheib (Sp?) for a respray. Mom told me that it had a T-bird motor and it did have dual exhaust, which again I recall being replaced…maybe twice. Rubber floors. They traded it in 1963 for a ’64 Chevy Bel Air 4-door wagon, blue this time. My dad drive sports cars.