Hope I'm not out of my element; just thought I'd throw some pictures on here of our 56's. Looking forward to being a part of this group! Our first 56, the Fairlane Town Sedan, has been in our family since 1996. Although bought then, I first saw the car when I was 8. It sat in a backyard here in town since 1970. When I was a kid, I used to pedal my bike three blocks from home, climb the back alley fence where it sat, and see it sitting in the yard with a "NOT FOR SALE" sign in the window. I swore one day I would own the car. The original owners bought it new, and p***ed it to their son in the late 60's. He drove the snot out of it, parking it in their yard in 1970 when he moved out of province. I never forgot the car, and growing up I developed a somewhat cordial relationship with the original owner. She finally got tired of this little kid crawling on her fence to see the car and let me in the yard to look at it. This continued until her son unfortunately lost his life in an accident in 1996. The Fairlane was put up for sale, and we managed to buy it, bringing sentimental value with it! It became our wedding car in 1998, and even though it's changed it's skin a few times, we finally did the complete overhaul in 2017 for our daughters high school graduation. We have done everything ourselves, except the seats and the bumper chroming. It's had a 302 since 2000, and has a few customizing tricks, like a 54 (cough) Chevy grille, 56 Chevy taillight lenses, mild front lowering, and a few things shaved off. In 2018, my lovely wife and I drove over 4,000 miles round trip from our home in Medicine Hat to Memphis. Other than a quart and a half of oil, the car performed flawlessly. Not bad for a car built completely at home. There is absolutely NOTHING like a road trip in a 50's Ford! Our second 56, the Fairlane Club Sedan, actually started out as a Customline that my Dad bought for $100 in 1972. It was my favorite growing up, and he p***ed it on to my wife and I in 2018 as an inheritance. He had a 390 with 428 heads in it back in the 70's, and drag raced it frequently. In 1984, he pulled the 390 in favor of a 1968 vintage 302. It ended up a Fairlane at that time too, as he always liked the trim better. It shows 84,000 original miles. In 1993, he had a friend spray it "pink" in a barn, just to cover up the primer spots it had worn since the 70's. Due to some broken engine mount issues, it was parked in his garage in 1995, where it sat until this last fall, when we were finally able to bring it home. We pulled the engine, welded in new engine mounts, and will hopefully be able to have it ready to go for our sons graduation in June (in a different color too!). I was raised around these 50's Fords, and although the 56's are my favorite, I have owned and absolutely love them all!
Welcome to the group! I agree these cars are a hoot to drive and a lot less common than the "C" counterpart.
Welcome to the group. I've been leaning towards painting mine with scallops if/when I ever get mine in paint. I'll be saving pictures of yours for future references.
I truly appreciate the response! This is the second time it's been scalloped. I walked into the garage where I painted it with an armful of tape and went at it..with no real plan. For ours, I wanted to accentuate the chrome and body lines. I will admit, sometimes I wonder if I should have done them differently. I guess I'm my own worst enemy..always thinking what if....
Always good to see another '55 or '56 with them already laid out to remove some of the guess work. Is the base color of the car a dark blue?
Yes sir, I believe it is a 1979 Dodge truck dark blue, with a 1980 Ford light powder blue for the scallops.
It's been awhile, but the 'new' look on our other 56 is getting there. Just missed out on having it done for Grad back in June, but we have lots of new memories to create now. This may or may not be the final look too. It may end up dark forest green, or?? We were happy with our splash and dash gloss black (done in our garage) to get rid of the pink it once wore. Now we have been cruising it off and on, but still working on the bugs to iron out. Hoping to start on the interior this winter along with a slight front lowering. We've done so much work this year on it. More to come. Sometimes I stare at both cars in the garage and am very thankful for what we have, never taking it for granted. Love them 56's!
Amazing change! I love it........a nice clean look. Just a touch of some pin stripping would be perfect. I also did a 4,ooo mile road trip in my 50's home-built Ford...smile on my face for 2 1/2 weeks! Congrats on yours.....obviously well done.
Thanks, appreciate the kind words! I had an old friend say to me once "You know you've lived a complete and full life if you have three things...Family, Health, and a 50's Ford." !!
The Jalopy Journal
