BULLET NOSE WAGON, 292 Y BLOCK V8
This 1954 2 door Ford Ranch Wagon delivers a vintage feel with sporting a hot rod style. Load up your surf boards during the day and hit the cruise nights in the evenings.
Door gaps are all in line with shaved door handles and chrome trim. Paint and bodywork are well done and this car is a great driver.
A pair of bucket seats up front and a 4-speed manual gearbox. All the seats are upholstered in red cloth and black vinyl, with pleated inserts that resemble the factory upholstery, and it's all-day comfortable. Factory pieces like the steering wheel, instruments, and hardware make it feel right. There's good space in the back seat and the cargo bay is massive, finished with some varnished plywood that is a practical choice for a car designed to move stuff.
For vintage performance, you can't beat a Ford Y-block V8, with this one being a 292 cubic inch "Thunderbird Special" variant. Rebuilt a few years ago, it runs extremely well and doesn't deviate much from the original specifications. There's and oil bath air cleaner up top, a 2-barrel carburetor for reasonable efficiency, and those block-hugging cast iron exhaust manifolds that control noise and heat pretty well. A big radiator up front keeps it cool and jaunty yellow paint makes it stand out in the engine bay. Turn the key and it starts easily and there's plenty of torque available at just about any speed, making it fun to drive. The T-10 4-speed manual transmission is a later addition that simply makes it more fun to drive, and with a Dana 44 rear diff, it's a useful highway cruiser. A true dual exhaust system with glasspack-style mufflers gives it a vintage V8 soundtrack, and chrome smoothies with baby moons and staggered 215/70/14 front and 255/70/15 rear blackwall radials add a traditional look.
This is just a fun car and certainly an attention getter on the street. If you want to hit the streets incognito, then this is not the car for you. Be prepared to get compliments from onlookers as well as hearing stories of the “Good ol’ Days” from folk reminiscing about riding in one as a kid.
