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Fifty Four, Final Fling, Fords Fabulous Flathead Farewell

By Trevor Poulsen Restored cars 148 Sept - Oct 2001

The 1949 Ford was introduced in the USA on June 10, 1948, it was the model that saved the Ford Motor Company.  If the 'all new' 1949 Ford hadn't been produced, the Ford Motor Company as we know it today, a very large company with ownership of such marques as Jaguar, Aston Martin, Mazda and Volvo just to name some, may not be in existence.

Ford Motor Company founder and President, Henry Ford, died on April 7, 1947 at age 83. After introducing the V8 to the low price field in 1932. under Henry's rule and reluctance for change in such items as hydraulic braking and independent front suspension, market share continued to decline. After such a good start in 1935, Ford regained the coveted number one position in sales, but after that period it was all down hill. While Henry's only son, Edsel, was named president on December 31, 1918, at the age of 25, it seemed little more than a title, as Edsel still had to get his father's authorisation on any change he wanted to push through. It was only through persistence that Edsel was able (finally) to get hydraulic brakes for the 1939 model year. For example, when Chrysler introduced the rival Plymouth for the 1928 model year, four wheel hydraulic brakes were standard equipment. Chevrolet took a little longer to be convinced that hydraulic brakes were superior and waited for the 1936 model year to introduce this feature, and in doing so promptly outsold the 1936 Ford, reclaiming the crown that Ford had won in 1935.

Edsel was under continual pressure from his father, his decisions were almost always overruled. It took a toll on his health and he died on May 26, 1943, of stomach cancer.

THE FEATURE CARS

Our feature cars are a pair of 1954 Australian Ford V8s and are powered by a 239cid flathead engine. For 1955, the new Customline would be powered by an OHV V8 of 272cid, commonly referred to as a Y- block. These 1954 Fords were known as 4A models. As the new 1955 Fords didn't appear in showrooms until mid 1955, the 1954s continued to be sold in 1955. Say for example that you bought a 1954 style Ford in April 1955 and you decided to sell it a year or so later, you would advertise it as a 1955

Photo right

The 1954 Ford is often mistaken for the 1952 Ford . Both have slots in the grille side bars but the 54 has small teeth in them. Australia used black hubcap centres and the US red. The 54 has more chrome above the grille bar and a more elaborate shaped park lamp

Photo left

photos from Australian sales literature showing the main line load space which tucked in under the cabin parcel shelf. The Customline sedan incorrectly shows the red hubcap centres like the USA models.

Quite often sales literature (which is produced earlier) show things that are not on production models. Note the larger and flatter rear windows on the mainline compared to the rear thing.

Above, The proportions in the color rendering of the Australian Customline for 1954 are not totally correct, also a common fault as quite often the artist of the time did not have a finished car or photo to make an accurate comparison.

    1954 Ford Customline & Mainline

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