1954 Ford
Today VanDerBrink Auctions is having a car sale for Country Classics in Staunton, IL. That auction has a 1954 Ford, pictured at the right, for sale. I believe this car was designated a Mainline. With the addition of some chrome (mainly a strip front to back on the side) it becomes a Customline.
My dad bought a new ’54 Customline two door, with a V-8 and three speed manual transmission and the same green as the picture. This must have been popular back then, as you see quite a few Fords this color.
My older brother inherited it first and drove it to high school his senior year and then off to college. At that time I had the 1953 Chevy that I wrote about in the last entry to car talk. My brother decided he wanted a 1954 Ford convertible that the dealer in his college town had for sale, so after talking it over with my Dad, it was all “OKd.”
Knowing the trade was going to happen, I asked if we could check and see what the dealer would want in trade if we swapped my ’53 Chevy instead of the ’54 Ford. It turned out to be an added $75 which I paid. I had to sell my price farm calf to do it, but hey, I got the family car, and a V-8 in the deal.
I drove the ’54 Ford through high school and left it behind when I left for the Army in 1963. Not the best year to volunteer for the Army, but then that’s hind sight. I had a 312 cubic inch ’56 Mercury engine in the car at the time. My older brother brought it to Missouri to pick me up from boot camp. On the way back to Nebraska I blew it up. Dropped a valve, ate a piston and cracked the block. Dad came down and put a rebuilt 239 in to get it running.
During that particular leave, my best friend and I put a 1955 Pontiac V-8, automatic transmission and rear end into his 1950 Chevy. That was a pretty hot ride for 1966. He still has the car.
At that point it became my younger sister’s school car and she drove it till I came back to the states in 1966 and took it off to Fort Carson, CO. Oh, and a side note, I was married with my son on the way. He rode home later in 1966 stuffed between the front seat and back seat on the floor. We thought it was the safest place in an age before car seats. (And what about those early car seats? We had one in 1968 that was a couple of chrome tubes with a fabric seat and back, you just hung it over a seat back and stuck the kid in it. I wonder if anyone tracked how many kids were tossed about from those seats?)
Well, enough!! Back to the shop, but if you see anything that interest you please e-mail or call.