Text by Patrick Bell.
Fords of the fifties were some of my favorites, and today’s gallery has a good selection of both the popular two-door models that everyone wanted, and the not-so-popular four-doors that everyone had. Let’s take a look.
Our lead image is a sharply dressed gentleman leaning on a sharply outfitted 1956 Fairlane Club Sedan. It was equipped with one of the Thunderbird V8s, fender skirts, full wheel covers, and rocker panel trim. The ’56 was in the second year of a two-year styling cycle. To the left was a 1955 Chevrolet Two-Ten, and attempting to hide in the background behind the Ford was a 1954–1956 Cadillac sedan.
Here, another sharp dresser was posing with a 1950 Custom Deluxe Fordor Sedan with a 1951 Ohio license plate. The 1950 Ford was in the second year of a three-year design cycle, and was available with either a 95 horsepower six or a 100 horsepower V8, both of the flathead variety. The sales brochure claimed “It’s Ford for ’50 – 50 ways New!” — signifying the upgrades over the 1949 Ford, which was popular, but suffered many quality control problems.
Here’s another 1950 model, this one a Custom Deluxe Club Coupe with an aftermarket two-tone roof treatment. The Club Coupe, along with its Deluxe Business Coupe kin, had a shorter cabin with a larger trunk. The Club had a back seat, while the Business Coupe did not. The Club was advertised as “a smart car for personal use — ideal, too, for the smaller family.”
1952 brought a new restyle, which made it, in Ford’s eyes, “The only completely modern car in its field.” That claim did have some merit, since both Chevrolet and Plymouth did not restyle until 1953. The above car was a V8-powered Crestline Sunliner convertible with a grille guard and non-original wheel covers, along with a damaged fender and door. Other big news for 1952 included an all new overhead valve 215 cubic inch “Mileage Maker” six cylinder with 101 horsepower. The old V8 was boosted to 110 horsepower.
1953 was the second year in the design cycle. It was essentially a carryover with a few upgrades. The car pictured above was a 1953 Mainline Tudor Sedan with six-cylinder power. It was your entry-level, no-frills model, with a base list price of $1497.
Here was another 1953 model, this one a six-cylinder mid-level Customline Club Coupe from California. Like the 1950 model above, this one had a shorter cabin than the Tudor Sedan seen in the previous image. Here, a military man was posing with (presumably) his daughter outside of what appears to be a military base. In the background was what looks like a 1949–1951 Mercury Coupe. For a different view of this one, go HERE.
1954 was the third and final year of this style cycle, and the big news was a new overhead valve Y-block V8. It was 239 cubic inches with 130 horsepower. The six-cylinder received a boost in size to 223 cubic inches as well as a horsepower boost to 115. The car pictured above was a Customline Fordor Sedan with the new V8 and a custom two-tone paint job. (The factory application was only on the roof in 1954.) The location was Durham, North Carolina; a previous image of this scene is HERE.
Another restyle came in 1955, as shown above. This was a V8-powered Customline Fordor Sedan with wheel trim rings. Powertrain changes included a V8 displacement increase to 272 cubic inches. Both Chevrolet and Plymouth also got major restyle and new V8 engines for 1955, so the horsepower race in the low-priced field was now on. This photo may have been a mother watching her child driving the family car.
It looked like everyone was having fun on the beach in this 1955 Fairlane Victoria 2-door hardtop with a V8 and fender skirts. “Victoria” was Ford’s name for its hardtop models in the 1950s, which began with the 2-door in 1951. A 4-door came in for 1956. They were always very popular.
The captain was showing off his 1956 Thunderbird, which had either a 1958 or 1960 Texas license plate. The Thunderbird was Ford’s answer to the Chevrolet Corvette, except they went a different direction and put the emphasis on luxury instead of sport. Since the Thunderbird was easier to live with, it sold much better, but the 2-seater version only lasted three years. Among the second-year 1956 upgrades were a standard Continental kit and optional porthole windows in the hardtop. Parked in the driveway on the right was a 1955 Chevrolet One-Fifty or Two-Ten, and in the street was what may have been a 1940 or 1941 Lincoln undergoing a paint job.
This gentleman looked like a traveling man, as his 1955 Fairlane Victoria had a clothes rack in the back seat and, from the looks of the rear, a load in the trunk. The car was V8-powered and had the optional tinted glass and full wheel covers. In the background may have been a 1950-1953 Oldsmobile Holiday Coupe.
South Dakota was the home of this 1956 Customline Fordor Sedan, according to the license plate. It had the 272 cubic inch V8, but otherwise was very basic. The only option showing was a radio antenna on the right fender.
Another full restyle came in 1957, bringing two different sizes of cars. All the Customs and station wagons rode a 116-inch wheelbase, but the Fairlane series was up to 118 inches. The car pictured above was a Fairlane Town Victoria 4-door hardtop, equipped with a fender-mounted mirror and full wheel covers. The “Mileage Maker” six was now up to 144 horsepower, while the “Thunderbird Special” 312 V8 offered up to 245 horsepower. The red license plate may have been a 1957 Illinois issue, but I have no clue what the driver was holding out the window.
This happy-looking couple was posing by a 1957 Fairlane 500 Sunliner convertible with a 1960 issue New York license plate and a 1961 tab. It had a coat of dirt from winter driving and a homemade license cover. This was a banner year for the Sunliner, with over 77,700 units produced.
A facelift in the styling department for 1958 included the “Safety-Twin” headlights and taillights, which meant two on each side. Bigger news came from the power plant department, with the new “Interceptor” (FE-series) V8s: two 332 cubic inch engines (240 and 265 horsepower), and a 352 with 300 horsepower, all which replaced the 312 V8. Plus, the new Cruise-O-Matic automatic transmission was available on the larger V8s.
The car pictured above was a 1958 Fairlane Town Sedan from California. It was a plain one on the outside, as the only option I see are backup lights.
The 1959 restyle simplified the line, as all series and body styles now used the 118-inch wheelbase. The engine selection was also simplified, trimmed down to four choices: the “Mileage Maker” 223 cubic inch six-cylinder, the 292 Thunderbird V8, one 332 Thunderbird Special V8 with 225 horsepower, and the 352 Thunderbird Special V8 with 300 horsepower. The car pictured above was a 1959 Fairlane Town Sedan, with what appeared to be a California license plate. The ladies were visiting some sort of tourist attraction out in the desert.
Thunderbird’s second generation ran from 1958–1960. It is commonly known as the “Squarebird.” It was still a “personal car,” but it now had four seats and front buckets with a center console, and was available as a 2-door hardtop as well as a convertible. Standard power was the 352 cubic inch V-8, but a bigger 430 Special engine (shared with Mercury and Lincoln) became optional for 1959. This car was a Colonial White 1959 hardtop with a California license plate. In the background across the street was a 1957 Buick Special.
Thanks for joining us and have a great day!
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I still like the 1957 Fords, they look lighter to me .
-Nate
Need a Chrysler article – as seen in the above pic – Chrysler was way better designed than ford
My parents always bought Fords,starting g with what i think was a 55 or 56 4 door, then a 59 wagon that we usec to take many trips up and down the East coast. That’s why I am a Ford Fan Boy nowadays!
Your excellent eye has caught some of my mistakes, but today I’m going to disagree with you about the white ’53 Club Coupe. That’s a 2-door sedan; the Club Coupe’s rear section and rear side windows was significantly shorter, as seen in the photo below shot from almost the same angle.
You very well could be correct. I debated on that one a while before I made my call. I compared it to the green one in the previous image, and the white one’s quarter window seems shorter to me. Thanks.
Wow, tires were really skinny back in the ’50s!
and the “60’s”..
My first car was a 1959 Ford that I paid $100 for in the late 1960s. Worst car I ever owned. I splurged $400 on a 1963 Chevy and was much more happy.
My brother and I were the “order fillers” at my Dad’s feed store in the early 60’s. This job consisted of having the order yelled at you from the office, then scurrying around with a hand cart collecting 3 or 4 bags of feed, and then loading same in the customer’s car. We had to know what vehicle everyone drove and how to load certain makes. Many farmers were still driving 52 – 54 Ford cars. The trunk latch on these was opposite of most other cars. The protruding plunger was on the bottom edge of the trunk and the receiver part of the lock was on the overhead lid. That plunger would rip open a bag in a heartbeat. We quickly learned to lift up and over on those Fords. I will also never forget the several farmers who used the car trunk as their tool box. What a mess.
My Dad owned a Black and White 56 Crown Vic and I talked him in to putting dual cherry bomb mufflers on his when I was 8 years old.
He didn’t know about the mufflers loud noise with that flat-head V8!
MUSIC TOO MY EARS!
56????Last year for flat head was 53!!!
51 1952 started the new generation of Fords
1956 did not have a flat head it probably had a 312 quibic inch V8
But you’re right nothing like the sound of a flat head V8 with cherry bombs or Smitty steel packs.
The sharp gentleman with the Ohio plate indicates it was probably licensed in Southeastern Ohio, the terrain pictured is consistent with the topography there — but the picture wasn’t necessarily taken there. My dad had a 1954 Ranch Wagon, it got a “Thunderbird engine” transplant about 1959. Later he had a 1958 Custom, probably, decommissioned highway patrol 2 door model — which he bought at a household auction. Well-to-do friends of the family had a 1956 Ford Crown Victoria with the classy looking side pillars. And some spinster sisters in our town had one of the late 1950s Ford Skyliners. Pictured is my mother with the Ranch Wagon and the license plate is Hardin County, Ohio.
The green ’58 is a photo by Charles Cushman. His collection of 14,000 slides taken from 1938-1969 all over the US is at the University of Indiana and can be found online here
https://digitalcollections.iu.edu/collections/2801pg36g?locale=en
Our 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 in Manila, Philippines in 1968
Andy Griffith Show fans( me) will recognize the 2 tone ’54 Customline as Barney Fifes 1st car. In the show, he buys his 1st car , with $300 life savings, from a kindly Mrs. “Hubcaps” Lesch.( Ellen Corby) Barney is unaware she runs a car chop shop in Mt. Pilot and the car was a junker. When Goober begins to tell everything that was wrong, Barney sinks lower and lower with everybody repair. We’ve all been there. The car featured here was from NC too, hmm, I wonder, Barneys car?