Vehicle Description
1955 Ford Fairlane Sunliner
"By 1949, the convertible was now the second most expensive body
style. Only the wood planked Country Squire cost more. The
convertible's climb in the pricing hierarchy was complete in 1955,
when the Ford Sunliner finally eclipsed the Country Squire. The
1976 Cadillac Eldorado was to be the end of the line; the last
classic American convertible. Proposed federal rollover
regulations, (that never fully took effect), also had a role, but
car makers couldn't justify spending the money to tool up new
models when sales had dried up." Thx curbsideclassic.com
For consignment, a 1955 Ford Fairlane Sunliner with a title
verified 44,901 actual miles, is a classic color combination that
is quintessentially 50's. This near flawless example probably
excited its first owner in 1955 and has been exciting people ever
since. And here's the opportunity to own a fine piece of American
culture.
Exterior
You can call it pink and black, but Ford gave it more creative
names with Raven Black and Tropical Rose, a combination that would
become popular in the 50's and adorn everything from dresses to
bathrooms to a future king. It's black over pink on this car with
the colors being separated by a distinctive trim piece that rides
the front fenders before diving down on the body, creating a wide
V, then firing back to the edge of the rear fender. This adds
visual interest to a shoulder line that is arrow straight, but your
eyes are drawn to the rounded pink form in the front and silver
point of the V. Fender skirts add some sleekness to this big car
and obscure most of the back wheel and its lovely white wall tires,
but the wheel openings in front allow us to see the Ford branded
wire covers. This car sports a spotlight which was mainly used to
locate house numbers at night, especially for travelling salesmen.
Its black canvas top is in excellent condition and the plastic
window is clear as ice. A Continental kit dresses up the back which
is an attractive collection of round tail lights with cone shaped
reverse lights above, a full chrome bumper with topper bar, dual
exhaust with chrome tips, and grille like ventilation panel. This
is a high end restoration and as such, we could not find any
imperfections on the exterior.
Interior
The colors flow into the cabin of the car and this time, we add
white with the low panel of the door, separated from pink and black
with a canted piece of metal trim, is white vinyl. Electric
switches are situated on the pink armrest which doubles as a door
pull. The split bench seat is White vinyl surrounding Magenta tuck
and roll inserts in very good condition and matched by the back
seat where that V from the door is reflected in the middle trim
piece which the seats contour around. A white steering wheel fronts
a two tone dashboard in black and white with a domed speedometer
wearing white digits that's a great design cue to pick up on the
white mid-dash which houses black knobs and round control panels
for vents, radio, and the clock. Black loop carpet is in mint
condition and covered with matching mats, all protected by dealer
type plastic film covers. The trunk is clean and covered with a
plaid mat cut to flow around the upright spare tire.
Drivetrain
If thoughts of Concours level perfection have entered your mind at
this point, you won't be disappointed by the engine bay, looking
very original and clean and housing a 272ci V8 with a 4-barrel
carburetor and rated at 182 horsepower. A Ford-O-Matic 3-speed
automatic transmission is hooked to it and sends power to the rear
axle with 3.31 gears. Power drum brakes are found at all four
wheels.
Undercarriage
The underside is very clean but a bit closer to driver quality
rather than showroom fresh. There's some residual oil on the
transmission pan and some missing paint there, but the rest of the
underside is clean and free of surface rust. There's fresh red
grease at the zerk fittings, no harm there. The dual exhaust
travels through glasspack style mufflers before finding their way
to the chrome tips stretched beyond the extended bumper and
Continental kit. Coil springs occupy the front and leaf springs
span the back.
Drive-Ability
We were afforded a spectacular fall day to take the car on the loop
and did so with the top down. Not many rides are cooler than big
convertibles from the 50's and one dressed in rose and black ups
the cool factor substantially. The clean machine ran wonderfully
and provided limitless visibility of course. Plenty of power is
underfoot for the chore at hand and we found all functions on this
pampered car to be working as they intend. While Classic Auto Mall
represents that these functions were working at the time of our
test drive, we cannot guarantee these functions will be working at
the time of your purchase.
If you've been waiting for a show ready, near flawless Sunliner to
purchase and enjoy, your wait is over. Nearly 50,000 Sunliners were
produced in 1955 and to think they all started life with this level
of detail is a mind boggling thought. Are there any cars produced
today that we'll admire 70 years from now? The 50's was one of the
golden ages of car design and this Sunliner is a shining example of
everything we love about the era. We look forward to meeting the
next owner!
M5PC165859
M-272ci 4bbl V8
5-1955
P-Twin Cities, MN Assy Plant
C-Fairlane Sunliner
165859-Sequential Unit Number
WARRANTY PLATE
BODY 76B-Fairlane Sunnier
COLOR ZAS-Raven Black, Tropical Rose
TRIM AS- White & Magenta Vinyl
PRODUCTION CODE 25E9351A-May 25th
Classic Auto Mall is home to more than 1,000 classic and
collectible vehicles for sale via consignment in a climate
controlled 336,000-square foot showroom (that's more than 8
acres!). The largest single location consignment dealer of classic
and collectible vehicles in the country is located in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, just 1-hour west of Philadelphia off Exit 298 of the
I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. For more information visit
www.classicautomall.com or call us at (888) 227-0914. Contact us
anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.
There is no guarantee of mileage. A $299 Dealer Administrative fee
is not included in the advertised price.
With so many great cars, you know we have a lot to talk about, and
we do that each week on the Classic Auto Mall Podcast with host
Stewart Howden. Stewart discusses new inventory as well as trends
in consignments and car prices, while interviewing celebrities and
automotive professionals about amazing cars and their history. Tune
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