1952-59 Ford 54 Victoria - progress updates

Hey guys! Just wanted to introduce myself.... been lurking on The Hamb for a while but just recently bought a 54 Skyliner! Love the car and my family is thrilled. (especially my two boys)

As you can see from the pics its a pretty good starting point. I'd like to just do a few things heading down the mild custom direction.
Lowering the thing is the first order of business. Going to use the Aerostar method up front and 3" blocks in the back
The wife is already asking about seatbelts (ugh) so I'm sure that'll need to at least be on the list.
At some point I would like to nose and deck the car as well as maybe shave the door handles... but... the car looks like it was resprayed at some point in its life and it still looks pretty good.. so I might wait on body mods for a while.... Anyway like I said just wanted to say hello so that when I start asking you guys questions you'll know I'm a real person.
Thx
JSmitty

 

Looks like you found a very nice example…I had a gl*** of top 54 for a time when I was 16.. I added front belts then in 1960 and in the 56 we bought 14 yrs ago as I found them is the correct color. Concours in Carson City NV.

Made the wife comfortable, “remember happy wife happy life”. That means a lot with old cars. Ford didn’t install better latches until 56…hint hint..

If yours still has the original 239 and 6 volt not a lot of the 272-292-312 good parts fit. A 255 1954 Merc did have a small 4 barrel but the 57 up distributors will need the correct 1954 gear others can chime in here.

Not knowing your style but a 1954 gl*** top is a low number manufactured so you might keep that in mind before customizing but it’s yours to do with what you wish. Personally if it were mine the Connie would gone to a new owner and I would have the $$ to do the things I wanted. Have fun and enjoy it with your family.

 

A 302/AOD combo is a good option. At least that's what I did for my '54 Ranch Wagon. Lots of good info here on the 52-59 social forum.

 

Welcome

 

Jimmy- Thanks so much for the welcome and the info.... Mine has been converted to 12v system which i'm thinking will make a few things easier.
One thing I find interesting is I see a lot of talk about how rare these gl***tops are being a 54 only model. Besides the one I now own there were 3 others within a 150 mile range of where I live! Which seems crazy to me....
Clarification needed... you say the Connie would go to a new owner... do you mean the continental kit?
Anyway... again thanks for the welcome and the info!

 

It seems like there are a lot of '54 Skyliners still around and this is because people generally saved 2 door hardtops from the crusher "back in the day" and especially the "gl***top" which was a novelty ( only 13K made). '54 was not the only year for the Skyliner "gl***top' which was continued into '55 and '56 in the Crown Victoria Skyliner model although production was further limited. Canadian models also featured a "gl***top" in the '54 Monarch series through '56 (very rare). Finally the '54 Mercury Sun Valley featured the same plexigl*** insert as the Ford but I don't think that Mercury continued their gl***tops into '55 and '56. As you can see, there were lots of additional gl***tops in addition to the '54 Fords. The continental kit on your car was not a factory offered accessory but is an aftermarket add-on. '55 was the first year for the factory offered continental kit. I agree with Jimmy Six as I am not a big fan of the continental kit either.

 

55 Merc gl***tops were indeed a rare thing, however I had seen two in person over the years. Locally, there's a 54 Mercury gl***top that has been for sale for some time, including a parts car. I don't know why it hasn't sold, but maybe not everyone around here gets it!

Very nice 54, will make a great custom!!

 

You are correct "Gearhead". Mercury did indeed continue the Sun Valley gl***top into '55 and '56 although I have never seen one. ( I owned a '54 Sun Valley many years ago). Does anyone know how many were Mercury Sun Valleys were made in '55 and '56?

 

Wow Alan thanks for all that info...! Based on the cars you have owned and restored you seem like the right guy to ask my next question...... The door trim right under the window..? Where there is writing in script... Should mine say Skyliner? Currently it says Victoria.....
And the conny kit... I can go either way.. since I just brought the thing home and we are lowering it next week I figured I'd stare at it for a while and then make the decision....
Thanks again for the info!

 

Yes, Smitty, the stainless moulding just under the door gl*** should say "Skyliner" not "Victoria". The Victoria model was the regular 2 door hardtop without the plexigl*** roof insert. I think that you need to check your VIN tag. Under BODY the code should be "60F" for Skyliner not "60B" for Victoria. Also, the 4th digit in the VIN # should be "F" for Skyliner not "V" for Victoria. I say this because I have known of several cases where complete roofs from junked Skyliners were grafted by clever owners to convert an ordinary Victoria into a Skyliner!! I also notice from your pictures that the roof moulding just behind the rear quarter moulding looks to be stainless ones from a Victoria rather than the correct gold plastic mouldings that the Skyliner is supposed to have. I have owned my Skyliner for 40 years since I restored it. I have also done frame up restorations on a '54 Ford convertible and a '54 Mercury convertible as well as a '54 Ford California Highway Patrol car (all of which I still own) so feel free to ask me for advice on any Ford questions you have.

 

Yep I will check the vin when I get home this evening... but yes Alan you are correct .. my moulding is FOR SURE not gold... it's regular chrome... coupled with the fact that the door moulding says Victoria .
Either way... I love the car and I didn't buy it with the intention of it being an "all original skyliner" but it will be good to know what it is for sure....
Again thanks so much... be prepared for more messages from me as I go along this journey!

 

Well I had my wife send me a picture of the vin and sure enough...... I have a V as the 4th digit in the Vin.... So I own a Victoria and not a Skyliner.... a Victoria with a really cool plexigl*** roof!!! Hahaha

 

Yes, it is always better to know.....Keep in touch if you need help or have any questions. This Ford group has a bunch of real great members who have always been there to help me when I have needed it.

 

Well.. based on the new info from Alan I decided to change the ***le of my introduction to 54 Victoria instead of Skyliner....... and..... there has been some progress to the car.
My brother and I decided that the Conny kit wasnt the look we were going for so... off she came.. if anyone is interested in one and you are in Washington or Oregon.. or are willing to pay for shipping I would be happy to sell it.
We also started the lowering process by putting the 3" blocks in the back... (we ran out of time or we would've put the Aerostars in the front but... time...
Here's a couple pix.... if you look close you can also see that the exhaust was still hanging out back there as if the conny kit was still on! We drove it around town to make sure the blocks were feeling correct and laughed at how funny the exhaust must've looked to people....
Anyway... enjoy!
(maybe I should stick this in the "taildragger" thread for a few days?!

 

Good start….if you lookin for subtle tail lights that fit pretty easily by removing your lenses…. I believe early 50’s Oldsmobile 52-54 look good and custom

 

Amazing what a few inches of lowering can do. Looks GREAT

 

Yeah Jimmy I agree! I think it's going to come down between the 54 Olds or the 56 Olds tails... we will probably also drill out the center of the taillights we have and put blue dots in them... cuz.. I think blue dots are awesome!! It may not be period correct for a mid 50's mild custom... but...

 

Technically illegal where I live but many have them. Personally I do nothing to give a rookie a reason to stop his grandpa. I think 56’s needs the whole tail light ***embly since they are stepped on the 98 for sure. 55 had side coves and 54’s had multiple knotches. You could cut out your centers and super glue 50 Pontiacs over the hole. A lot to look at and get measurements first. A lense change is simple and mild custom as done in the 50’s.

 

These are 55’s I think on a 53…I can see the cove….

 

Nice and kool stance !!!

 

The Aerostars are in! Also used the recommended Gabriel shocks. Seems like the ride is worlds better.. much less body roll.
It seems that the front came down about 1.5"..... can I expect to see it come down further after it all settles a bit? The car still has the original Y block in it which is pretty heavy..

Here's some pix cuz everyone likes pix.

Any suggestions on wheel covers?? We were thinking of just painting the wheels and sticking with the baby moons and adding trim rings... What color to paint the wheels if we go that direction?

 

Your Ford looks great….If you want true 55-62 style …… leave the wheels black and get the moons that fit over the 3 bumps on the stock rims. 1/2 the cars in my 1962 high school cl*** in SoCal were that way. Or no caps.
Any 49 thru 60 Ford caps will do with 60’s being the best. Beauty rings make the rim/tire combo look smaller.

I’m in the process of taking off the American Torque Thrusts/blackwalls off after 8 years and going back to widewhites stock color wheels and 1951 Ford hub caps. (New repo Stainless) for something different. Waiting for stock color paint. Already have wider US Wheels that take the the old caps!

 

The look of body-colored rims and small hubcaps look cool as far as my two cents. My buddy did his 55 Fairlane like that, with mint green rims on WWW and moon caps. Looked great! I'm also partial to the full disc 55 Merc (not 56) hubcap too. I also ran small 57 Ford hubcaps for awhile with black rims and WWW on my 56.

 

I agree….Cherry or NOS 57 caps are getting really hard to find!

 

Do you guys think the front will come down a bit more after it settles?

I saw some old posts by Jimmy Six and Dos Cincos about having dropped spindles AND Aerostars to get another couple inches.... The thing is that Butchs Cool Stuff is closed Fatman Fab is closed .... where can a guy find this stuff in 2025? Or should I just take a chill pill for a few months and see how she settles down?

I have always driven static lowered cars and am ok with keeping this one static... don't want to bag it (yet)

PS.. thanks for all the help fellas! I know I'm new and asking a bunch of questions you all have probably answered before.

 

PPS... what I'd like to achieve is the fender just touching the white wall or just a tad more...

 

On my 55 the "Aerostar" springs brought the car down about 3 inches. Don't have whitewalls but you can see where the fender well ended up on the tire sidewall. The springs I used were Moog CC850 if I remember correctly and were supposed to fit the Aerostar. I think the price has more than doubled since I bought mine for $74.99. Mark

 

Driving it will let it settle a little bit more. Maybe another inch or inch and a half. It's looking great

 

Mine settled also after about a year.

 

I also put 1” blocks sandwiched on the lower A arms and had to cut the rubber snubbers because they were hitting