1956 Ford Fairlane Victoria 2dr Ht

Ford Fairlane 1956 Description

Model 64C, 1956 Ford Fairlane Victoria 2dr Ht (NOT a Crown Victoria). Hard to find these nowdays, and this one was my dream car and I can't fulfill that dream. Make it yours now. First off the..car and all parts will sell with no reserve but with a New Mexico Bill of Sale. I have verified as far as I can the history of this car and I found no record of theft anywhere, therefore I am willing to stand by investigations. Feel free to investigate for yourself as the photo clearly shows the untouched Ford dataplate. The frame number under the battery box is the same though it is eroded by time. There is no doubt the frame is not changed, so the secondary number will also be correct to the body. Along with this car goes the original aircooled Fordomatic that was in the car. The fluid is clear and no bad smells at all. Original Y-block is long gone.
Inside the car are MANY restoration parts and also many original and rare original 56 Fairlane parts. You also have the option of accepting the front suspension from an 1987 Mercury Marquis that will graft directly into the 56 frame at the firewall. If I could have completed the car I would have done this because of the far superior suspension and steering plus it will allow a direct bolt in of the offered driveline package that also goes with the sale.
BRING YOUR TRAILER!! You (or your shipper) will be picking up a lot of parts, including the back half of the Club Sedan in the last photo usable for replacement metal, various parts that are shared with the 64C body, and a spare good differential. The 87 Mercury Turbine wheel on the front left is actually a full set and also go with the sale. The front seat from the 87 Merc also goes. Also are at least 6 original 56 Ford 15" wheels..all of them usable in case you prefer to restore this car. The floor pans are rusted out in front, the rockers eaten up to the thresholds and there are dents to be sure. One exterior piece of stainless on the passenger side is missing. The glass is not in too bad of shape. The passenger door glass is cracked but the car has a replacement. Door latch on the passenger side will not hold the door closed but there is replacement for it also. Like I said.. LOTS of parts.. some new and repo..and also rare original in good condition (for instance, original Ford fender skirts...)
Now to the engine offerings. Only ONE choice of the two goes with this sale. Both have known good AODs on them. Either one will mount in the 87 Merc front suspension without problems because they are both AOD and both small block Ford based. Doing this permits power disk brakes, power steering, solid ride and certain steering on the road to be sure.
The 87 Merc Marquis was a perfect driver. It was my Mom's car and she babied it to the extreme. When she passed away in 2004 I inherited it. Later that same year I bought the 56 Victoria and intended to graft the two cars. The paint on the Merc was of course burned off from the New Mexico sun. Anyway..the 5.0L V8 offered with the Vicky ran smooth and has no...like as near to zero..blowby, but it should be re-ringed and new bearings simply because it had over 100K on it when I dismantled the car and shredded what was not needed for the 56. As mentioned the AOD attached to the 5.0L is a known good transmission, however, any knowledgeable Ford street rod builder would also know that the innards of the later 4R70W from a 5.0L Ford, Lincoln, Mercury will install in the case and with the same valve body without modification, and ding this will take this same transmission up to the level to accept many more of a horsepower rating than any stock AOD/AODE can. I have the original 87 Merc with the 4th band fried AOD that also can be included if you like.
The second engine offered, and this one is what I intended to build as 408 Stroker and install, is a 1978 Mercury 351 CLEVOR It has the now hard to find aftermarket Street Boss 351 Clevor intake cast in Fort Smith Arkansas (see photo). This engine has a stock lower end flat top standard bore pistons but uses 1970 351 Cleveland 2bbl heads. No EGR ports in the castings! The heads have hardened seats installed already. Along with this engine goes a new Crane mild street cam with lifters and the parts to swap over to big block chevy rocker arms so the lash is adjustable. Even in stock form, probably 8.5 to 1 compression ratio, this engine was a real torque monster! I installed it in a 50 Ford F100 and drove it for some time, then swapped in a 289 and sold the truck but kept the Clevor for the Vicky. I used the Quadrajet shown in the photo of the engine but also have a Holley 750Cfm vacuum secondary that would be better for tuning reasons. I've built and owned a few performance cars in my time (had the tickets to prove it) and the torque from this package is impressive even without it being a stroker with the much better cam and carb. The headers inside the Vicky fit Boss 302 ford Mustangs. By installing the 408 kit and using 302 Boss pistons and the cam mentioned this drivetrain package would be THE talk of the car show, and on the hiway. How often have you seen this combo? Imagine the tire smoke rolling out from under the rear fender skirts!! This Ain't no Honda roller skate, son!
Either of these engines would be outstanding in this car. The 5.0L being the 87 version Merc motor is easily upgraded to a roller cam (it will have the bosses cast to accept the roller lifter retainers in the lifter valley). The castings of the 87 vintage had well known reputation in the machine shops for stability on an overbore. This engine could easily be built to a stroker supercharged with nitrous.. but I suspect the stock 56 differential gearset would be blown right out on the street the first time the hammer was dropped.
If you go this route better to install a cut Dana or built Ford 9 inch. The Ford 9 inch in 57 to 60 Full size cars will bolt in with the correct tire spacing less 2 inches to the fender lip within the 56 leaf springs. I've done this on a previous 56 Fairlane. Drum brakes in rear or opt for upgrade rear disk is a common swap. If your a gearhead like I am you know how this is done.
I'll try to work with you on pickup of the car but I must limit the time to 30 days after winning bid on site here. After that I will not be obligated to offer free storage. Be ready
to move this and all included!
The car is also restorable back to original Y-block if that is your choice. Because it is an aircooled Ford-O-Matic this proves this was an early 56 build car. In fact it was a February car..and it was in Dearborn when I bought it back in 2004. Originally it was sold and titled in Minneapolis, which explains the rust present. After burning a valve in 1964 it sat in the same barn for 4 decades with no heads or intake until I purchased it. No title. The front cross member is of course shot from rust as most of these Fairlanes are from the North country but there is nothing on the frame or suspension cut as of yet. This was a T-bird 292 4bll engine option car, but lacked any accessory power or the A/C options. Original seats are in the car and could be re-worked to original tree cloth if you like. Headliner is rotted away but the bows are in place exactly as installed in 1956. You'll need to track down a "C" casting 292 Y-block if your going the restoration route. Driveshafts are included. Transmission is complete from driveplate to extension housing. Torque converter appears in good condition. I have no reason to suspect the automatic is ill.
About payment. I do not accept Pay Pal (I call it "good luck getting paid pal") and so the options are two. Obamabux on the day you arrive with your large trailer for everything in person or cashiers check in advance in case you plan on having this shipped to you. A U-ship vendor might be the best for you but my spinal health is lacking so Doc said I can't be lifting a lot of stuff anymore. Remember this is a roller chassis but the engine nor other items will not load themselves! I have engine hoist to use and not a problem to use it. Keep in mind ONE driveline selection for this money.
Feel free to ask questions.. I'll do my best to inform. Thanks for looking at my auction and consider the value of what your getting is years of searching and keeping the parts for the build. More than that, complete this dream either as a street rod or restored and take her on the Mother Road from Chicago to the Pacific as I dreamed of doing. Money is not as difficult to get as something this special is. Just the chats with other gearheads with a cold one in hand is worth every hour and busted knuckle.
How much is your pride at the car show worth? To me quite a bit as you can see but my physical won't allow me to do now.

On Jun-07-16 at 07:09:22 PDT, seller added the following information:

Update: I added two photos to show that indeed the Victoria does have the passenger side exterior pillar Stainless. As shown set in place. I remember I removed it in order to prevent damage. In fact there is an extra piece for the 64C for the drivers side also so you can choose which is the better during restoration. The car has all stainless trim, though there are dents in some, which is common on these old cars. This sale also includes the stainless trim for the Crown on the hood lip. My intention was a mild trim change and adding the Crown piece on the hood was in my plan. You could of course sell this part and the others not needed for this project.
Also..the other photo I added shows the pair of new in the box replacement exterior rocker panels. These are heavy gauge metal formed to the correct profiles. These pieces are the start of replacing the inner and floor pans. Work from the outside in while still on the frame so the body profiles stay correct. Along with the rockers is shown the chevron for the trunk which also includes a new in the box repo black fairlane insert, and two near perfect aft trim stainless pieces for both sides (I bought both even though only the drivers side needs replacement). And yes.. the 1956 Harvey County Kansas License plate in the photo stays with the car. Inside the car are new replacement lenses for both forward and back. The back lenses are the type with the decorative ring, not just the plain red lenses. In the trunk are several pieces of stainless from the green town sedan for the roof rails. Fender skirts, and trunk hinges also. Sedan roofrail pieces have a different arc than the 64C roofline but the fact is that the stainless is workable and a skilled body worker could tweek the thin sections to be at the correct arc. On these old Fords the metal was thick and soft compared to the steels today so working the metal is easier as is welding in new panels. There are a total of four bumpers, both rear bumpers have the exhaust opening but these parts will need to be stripped, metalworked and rechromed to keep the original 50's shine. In short, all the trim parts are there or have extras included in this deal. As you can see your getting decades of painfully slow acclimation of parts for this build all in one place.