Dearborn Award winner. Low production in great colors. Loaded
with options and accessories, including overdrive, heater, and
working AM radio. Beautifully restored, drives like a new car!
This beautiful 1950 Ford Crestliner is a multiple Dearborn Award
winner with Emeritus status and comes from a spectacular collection
of extremely well-restored post-war Fords that not only look great,
but actually run and drive like new. We have extensive restoration
photos showing the body being taken down to bare metal and being
restored from there, and the results speak for themselves. Although
the restoration is now a few years old, this car could still roll
onto just about any show field and collect awards with little more
than a wipe-down. 1950 Crestliners were available in two bespoke
color combinations, Sportsman Green and Coronation Red, as seen
here, and both came with black sweep panels. You’ll also note that
this Crestliner is fully dressed with lots of chrome and a number
of accessories, including the unusual bumper and grille guards up
front, a spotlight, fog lamps, dual back-up lights, window visors,
and a dealer-installed continental kit. Fender skirts were standard
on the Crestliner, as was the dramatic bead of chrome around the
side panels. The black padded roof is in new condition and gives
the car a very sporting look.
The interior is wonderfully finished with red striped fabric on the
seats surrounded by black vinyl and carpets, echoing the exterior
color combination. The look is very upscale and surprisingly
ornate—note the beautiful little crests on the window garnish
moldings emulating a boat at speed. The lovely four spoke steering
wheel was unique to the Crestliner and offers a matching horn ring
with a stylized ‘F’ in its center and framing the familiar Ford
single pod instrument panel. Other controls are grouped logically
along the lower edge of the gray dashboard, and there a clock in
the center which ticks away reliably today. In fact, everything
works on this car, including the AM radio, the spotlight, and the
overdrive, which transforms this into a wonderful highway cruiser
that’s at home in today’s traffic. The trunk is correctly outfitted
with a black rubber mat, as original, along with a matching spare
tire and jack assembly.
Ford’s 239 cubic inch flathead V8 needs no introduction. Smooth,
torquey, and a lot of fun to drive, it shouldn’t be a surprise that
it was a mainstay on American highways for two decades. During the
restoration, it was removed, resealed, and detailed before going
back in, and today it runs like new. It starts quickly with only a
little choke when it’s ice cold, and idles smoothly without any
additional help from the driver. Get in, turn the key, and go.
That’s the sign of proper tuning, complements of noted flathead
expert Tony Gullatta, and aside from the manifolds and dual exhaust
system, it’s still quite stock. It’s wearing correct Ford Copper
paint on the block and air cleaner, the accessories have all been
rebuilt, and obviously, as a Dearborn winner, all the fasteners and
hardware are correct. There’s even a proper Ford script
battery.
The body has never been off the frame, and the undercoating on the
chassis was applied by the dealer back in 1951. No worries, because
the floors are incredibly sound, the rockers are solid, and all the
body mounts are in excellent shape, giving the car a solid feeling
that many frame-off cars can’t match. The three speed manual
transmission features factory overdrive, which provides effortless
65 MPH cruising and the system is easy to use. Standard mufflers
give it a mellow V8 burble that’s entirely appropriate for the
sporty Crestliner, and both pipes end in polished tips under the
rear bumper. The rear springs were re-arched so the car sits right,
even with the continental kit on the back, and correct BFGoodrich
Silvertown wide whites on factory wheels and hubcaps really make it
sparkle.
This car is nicely documented with restoration photos, awards, and
manuals, including owner’s manual, Quick Facts booklet, and a neat
owner’s portfolio.
This is a fantastic car, regardless of whether you want to show or
tour. Crestliners are some of the most highly-sought of the early
1950s Fords and they remain quite rare today. Fully sorted, this is
the rare award-winner that’s also ready, willing, and able to go
cross-country at a moment’s notice. Call now!
For more details and photos, please visit www.HarwoodMotors.com
