Vehicle Description
1953 Ford Sunliner Convertible
There is something wonderful, disquieting, and in the end,
embarrassing about America's cars in the 1950's: the lunkers, the
dreamboats, the befinned, the be-chromed behemoths that lurked in
the driveways of our suburban ranch homes in the burbs... only
because they were too big for the garage! These were so American it
drove Europeans to the brink of envy with their excesses in
horsepower, and gadgetry. Throw caution to the wind as gas was
super cheap, and was sold by the gallon, not the liter, so drive
on! -Thx to Karl Ann Marling from Autoeroticism
1953 was Ford's Golden Anniversary year celebrating 50 years in the
car business. The new body shell introduced the previous year
continued untouched as it would over the next several years. The
newly-designed cars were lower and wider. The Crestline became a
top-of-line V-8 series. Ford Division built 1.2 million cars in '53
which put a serious hurting on the independent manufacturers of the
day. For consignment, the example so defining of the era of car
manufacturing it would be an example in the dictionary under the
word excess. This restored and kustom example of a 1953 Ford
Sunliner is certainly dripping with all the trappings of the era,
and then some. Presentable condition, and an amalgamation of
various models all put together for this total custom creation
begging the question "Who's your daddy?!" Henry!!
Exterior
Up front and center we start with a toothy grille, (possibly from a
Corvette), all mirror-like, framed by marker lights on the sides,
and below is the bumper, showing off just as nice as the grille.
Floating within the leading edge of the front fenders are single
headlights embedded smoothly into the steel. These are side by side
with a bulbous long rounded hood with large pink scallops, which is
a very nice contrast to the aqua paint seen on all the straight
steel panels. More scallops in pink are seen on the side
highlighting the beltline and curving back at the front of the
fender before diminishing into the middle of the doors. On the
rockers are lake pipes with single dummy outlets, all in a
background of nicely applied aqua paint. Another scallop
accentuates the rear quarter panel body line and fins have been
grafted into the trailing edge of these panels. Fender skirts hold
the curved line from the lake pipes to the rear bumper and show
just a hint of wide white sidewall. Up top, chrome trim highlights
the passenger compartment and a white canvas top with a plastic
rear window is on. On back are Packard Clipper pointy taillights
and another pristine bumper. Residing behind the trunk lid is a
continental kit with a spare tire and some pink flames and "I Love
Lucy" painted onto the holder. A few rust bubbles and evidence of
prior bodywork are noted on the lower panels but nothing requiring
immediate attention. 14-inch steel wheels with Lancer style hubcaps
and wide whites on all 4 corners and sport more pink
highlighting.
Interior
Not to be outdone by the exterior, a mixed use of aqua and white
vinyl covers all the door panel surfaces and seats. The seats are
in white vinyl with tuck and roll inserts with aqua piping, and we
note a large front split back bench in front and a solid bench in
the rear. The original steering wheel has been retained and in the
center is the Ford crest badging. The steering wheel is black
bakelite with a few notable cracks. Upfront is the original dash
with an arched speedometer with various gauges arching above it
within the aqua steel dash top. Shiny chrome bezels throughout
house black topped knobs and the factory AM radio remains in its
original location. On top of the dash in a center pod is the
factory clock and beautiful black carpet floods the floors and
floats all this 50's splendor and excess.
Drivetrain
Cleanly restored is the term for this engine bay. Lurking between
the satin black fenders and firewall is a 239ci V8 painted top to
bottom in Ford Blue. Topping it is a 2bbl carburetor under a small
chrome air cleaner and on the back is a 3-speed manual
transmission. Putting the power to the asphalt is a 3.90 geared
rear axle.
Undercarriage
A mix of patina, undercoating, road dirt and light surface rust
greet us with this kustom up in the air. The flooring and frame are
structurally solid as a rock and present well. Independent coil
spring suspension for the front, and leaf springs for the rear,
along with drum brakes all around. Sound construction topped off
with clean rust-free exhaust pipes combining with the headers, and
Smithy mufflers to give this car a low rumble upon approach of
it.
Drive-Ability
Following our consignor's instructions, we checked and topped off
the oil which is necessary due to a rear main seal leak. After some
cranking the engine came to life but audible evidence of a stuck
valve is heard. In an attempt to keep our drive short, I had my all
around good guy and crack decoder drive to the test track. Even on
the way there he noted that the clutch felt weak and would need
replacing. A short drive was had to check functions, which were all
functional but otherwise mechanical repairs are needed.
This writer is a sucker for these 50s pieces of Detroit iron, and
with all the trimmings and custom touches I'm in LOVE! A fantastic
older build producing a Crestline Sunliner for the ages even with
the needed TLC. A must see if you like this stuff, as there are
none others even close to this one in our massive mall. Trust me
between me and my cohort, we've driven them all...
VIN DECODE
B3SC112291
B-239ci V8 110hp
3-1953
S-Somerville, MA Assy Plant
C-Crestline Sunliner
112291-Sequential Unit Number
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 650 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia
on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is
www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914.
Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the
vehicle in person.
