Customs Images of tri-five Ford's...

Looking at this thread to get some ideas for a '55 Fairlane 4 door that my parents bought new. 272 and 3 on the tree will stay. It's the car I learned to drive on. Car was originally white with green interior. It was painted a '68 Ford metallic gold in the late '60s. Black roll and pleat interior done at the same time still cleans up and looks good (ol' Horace Shelton at Dallas GA was an artist with the upholstery), so Horace's nice work on the seats and headliner will stay. Doing some very mild custom touches--mainly shaving the hood and deck lid. That trim piece that goes across the bottom of the deck lid is pitted real bad, and I think the Customlines and Mainlines looked better without it. Already figured out a junkyard solution for a solenoid to pop the trunk latch, forget what the donor vehicle was, think it was a big GM vehicle in the '90s, but the solenoid pulls the same linkage that the key and lock cylinder used to operate and pops the stock '55 Ford trunk latch. Found me a pair of '56 Fairlane/Tbird backup lights, the ones with the little round reflector at the top. Found a pair of blue LED indicator lights the right diameter to go in where the reflector was to have me some blue dots. I like the '56 backup lights better than the '55 ones, and they are a bolt-on swap. Thinking of taillight options. I like stock '55 taillights and I may keep them. I know '60 Dodge and '59 Buick taillights are bolt-on swaps. I saw a picture of one car in this thread with the '60 Dodge taillights and honestly don't like them as well as the stock '55 Ford lights. Don't want to get carried away and change stuff just for the sake of changing it. Does anybody have a picture of a '55 or '56 with the '59 Buick taillights to help me see what they look like on a car before I take the plunge to buy a pair. So far I think the '56 backup lights (with the blue dots in the reflector holes) and '55 taillights is an attractive combination. Up front, the stock grille stays unless I can come across a '55 Canadian Meteor grille. I always liked two-tones on '55 and '56 Fords. Never saw the "bumblebee" yellow/black on a 4 door, but I know Ford would do any two-tone you wanted special order. Mine will probably spend some time in black primer until I can afford to make it a bumblebee. My father worked at the Atlanta assembly plant 1952-1982, so if there are any Atlanta-built '55/'56 Fords out there, he probably leaded the seams on them. ("A" as third character of serial number indicates Atlanta assembly plant.)

 

We need photos!

 

Mine was built in the Atlanta plant and has been in Atlanta ever since. Oh, and it has 59 Buick tail lights.

Evening Drive.3 by Dos Cincos posted Jul 13, 2020 at 8:21 AM

 

With 1960 Dodge Dart tail lights...

 

Picture stolen from St.Eriks post...

 

Love that car. It would look soooooo goooood sittin' next to mine in my garage. The perfect color, but I am biased. Two of Ford's best ever.
I wonder what's up with his front license plate? If both pieces said 56 I'd understand it.

 

I hadn't noticed until you mentioned it! The car is from Sweden, could that have anything to do with it?

 

I had forgotten that my grandparents owned a 56 Ford that was two-tone green. It was a 4-door and several years old when they bought it.

 

Photo by Dan Greenberg

 

Photo by Dan Greenberg

 

Alright, I admit it. I am personally responsible for the demise of both an absolutely cherry '56 ( see post # 107 ) and an equally clean '57 Custom 300, with parts used up from at least a dozen other cars in the process of dirt track racing at the California bull rings. The #17 '57 shown is coming out of turn #4 on a qualifying lap at Santa Maria Speedway, CA in the summer of '69. The bumper sits a little lower and that's all new sheet metal up front because a damned 56 Chevy spun at the now nonexistent Atascadero track the previous weekend and met me head on.

 

One of my favorites...

 

This one paid me a visit last week

 

One of my favorites