Text by Patrick Bell.
Today we have a nice gallery with a variety of Fords from the fifties, along with some of their people. These were basic bread and butter vehicles that transported part of America during the prosperous 1950’s. They are very familiar to many of us, and were on the road for many years, so let’s take a look.
We begin with a 1956 Fairlane Sunliner that was glammed up with a continental kit and wire wheel covers. It also had a New Jersey license plate from the same year, and a pair of “AA” badges. Ford claimed in their sales brochure that the Sunliner was “far and away America’s favorite convertible”, and that was proven in the sales numbers. The relaxed gentleman seemed in the process of tossing something (a rock?) at the photographer, which was caught in action above his head.
A very nicely dressed lady with a corsage, which likely meant there was a special occasion going on. She was holding on to a V8 powered 1951 Custom Tudor Sedan with what appears to have been an Ohio license plate. This was 1951’s most popular model.
Ford convertibles were very popular, and this particular 1951 Custom V8 was heavily accessorized. What I can see was a radio, spotlight, outside mirror, upsized hood ornament, grille guard, fender stone shields, sill moldings, and fender skirts. I can’t say whether they were factory or aftermarket items. The tag in the license plate position says “North Carolina Variety Vacationland”.
And one more 1951 Custom V8 Tudor Sedan which attests to its previously mentioned popularity. Parked behind it was a 1949 or 1950 Pontiac Chieftain De Luxe 4 door sedan.
Here were fairly typical looking Ford owners of the mid century era, hard working, regular salt of the earth types. Behind them was a 1953 Customline Fordor Sedan, the most popular model of the year. There was no “V8” badge on the fender, which indicated it was equipped with the “Mileage Maker Six”. Options were few, if any, as I don’t even see a radio antenna. Nearly 375,000 of these were produced that year.
The 1952 model year brought a new restyle and new series names as seen on this close to new 1952 Customline with a V8 and a same year Texas license plate. It was either the Tudor Sedan or Club Coupe body style, which were difficult to differentiate from this angle. The Customline was the mid range series, with the Mainline the lower and Crestline was the upper.
A military man or two were parked on the highway shoulder in farm country. Their ride was a two tone 1953 Customline Fordor Sedan. A new grille and trim updated the style, and this was the last year of the flathead Strato-Star V8, which this car did have.
Out by the garden was a 1955 Customline Fordor Sedan showing the “new and fresh styling” introduced that year. It was equipped with the Y-block V8 that was new in 1954. The narrow band whitewalls date this image several years later, but the car still looked very nice.
The Fairlane replaced the Crestline as the senior series in 1955, and shown here was a 1955 Fairlane Club (2 door) Sedan. It was a V8 model with two tone paint, full wheel covers, and whitewall snow tires on the rear. It appears like this young family was moving to or from a house of a similar color scheme.
Here is the hardtop version of the Sunliner, a 1956 Fairlane Victoria, with fender skirts to go along with the wire wheel covers. It also had a California license plate with some sort of fancy frame. Victoria was Ford’s name for their hardtop models.
A close to new 1957 Custom 300 Tudor Sedan was looking good in its new style, and they had new names for the base models as well. It had full wheel covers, and a same year Connecticut license plate. The “FORD” letters on the front panel between the headlights were either shaved or airbrushed off. Parked in the garage was a 1955 Buick Special or Century.
Ford offered two different wheelbases in their 1957 restyle; 116″ for the Custom models, and 118″ for Fairlanes. Shown above was a 1957 Fairlane Club Sedan, with two tone paint, full wheel covers, and a few years under its belt. The other car was a 1956 Pontiac 4 door sedan.
1958’s refresh, including the “Safety-Twin” taillights, was evident in this shot of a 1958 Custom 300 Fordor Sedan. This one had two tone paint, and whitewall tires to complement the standard hub caps.
Two related luxury cars were parked together on a warm day. On the left was a 1958 Thunderbird Hardtop, the first year of the “Squarebird” style. It had a 1961 Tennessee license plate that was registered in Shelby County. Its companion was a two tone 1957 Lincoln Premier Landau 4 door hardtop.
We will close in the final year of the decade with two men who were similarly dressed and posing with presumably their 1959 models, both of which had a 1963 Ontario license plate. On the left was a first year Fairlane 500 Galaxie, and to the right a Custom 300 Tudor Sedan. The image had rough notes indicating it was taken in 1962-63.
Thanks for joining us and have a great day!
A rock? I think the guy had simply just adjusted his toupee.
Second picture with apparent Ohio plate. Probably Brown County which is rural and in SW Ohio.
Amazing how the trim on pictures #8 and #9 changed the look/character of the cars. #8 looks short and upright/uptight, whereas #9 looks low and sleek and ready to cruise on down the road! 🙂
Favourites are the 1959 Fords in the last pic. The 1957 Lincoln Premier is, as was stated in another CC post, a butcher job. Gone wrong.
That black rag top in the first photo is a real looker! Fords were popularly priced cars that usually looked pretty stylish. Their owners were proud to be photographed with their “pride and joys.”
I remember all these, nice reliable cars but not really good drivers if one wanted to Motorvate quickly .
I’ll go to my deathbed cursing the unnecessary Y-Block V8’s starter and by pass coolant hose designs, both caused on duty Mechanics serious headaches and burns by needing replacement in hot weather .
I’ve always liked the looks of the 57’s over the 55/56 models but that first one is a stunner .
-Nate