I have this exact 53 with the Ford-o-matic in the Customline style, same color with a dark blue top, in a four door, same tire/wheel set up. Recently swapped the generator for a Powermaster 6V alternator, wow, big difference for the flathead. We enjoy it
Great video. Reminds me of my Dads 53 that he let me drive everywhere, anytime. I felt like it was my first car. Flathead v8 and 3 on the tree. I remember the 50th Anniversary on the horn button. Thank you so much!
Here in Australia the mainline is a ute my son and I are restoring one ATM just dropped 10g into a total engine rebuild firing the beast up tomorrow can't wait to hear ìt roar ...
Just came across this video. Back in the early 90’s I worked at a travel plaza. An older man had the same car. He would stop in a couple times a week to get gas and stop in the restaurant to eat. Car looked new.
This was the same car my Dad had when I was born in 1957.Same colors in and out. He bought it when it was a year old and unfortunately Ohio rust really got the best of the body. He always said it ran like a top and that he would never buy another Ford because they stopped using the flathead 8. He drove it until 1962 and sold it to a co worker who drove it until the body became nonexistant and he drove it to the junkyard where somebody bought it and we saw it around for several more years.
Just a hint of a Canadian accent there I think,.....and I am Australian....... Beautiful car and lovely video. Ford stylists were supreme in the 50s/60s .....wish we could buy cars like this in Oz.....and American engineering had no peer then. Thanks for the video. Les Griffiths
Nice car to actually drive instead of over restored and rides around on a trailer. When I was a kid my great grandfather had one of these. I don't know what trim level it was but from what I can remember it looked very much the same and was green also but a little brighter like the color of the engine in this one. It had a sun visor on it that I thought was different at the time. He drove it locally until he was 89 or 90 years old. He went on to live to the age of 101.
I owned one like this in 1959 when I was in high school. The water pumps were a real challenge. There was a nut on the inside of the pump as well as the outside. I replaced both water pumps. If you did not know that there was a nut on the inside of the pump you could not remove it. The flathead V8 has a unique sound that I miss to this day. It was a nice car to drive. It did not have seatbelts. There were ashtrays in the front and on the back of the seats for the people in back.
My neighbors on Long Island had a '54 Ford Mainline in a very similar color. I think it was closer to gray. It looked similar to this '53. They drove it until 1963. It had the Mileage Maker Six and 3 on the tree. It sounds crazy that a heater was a $65 option. Where was this car first sold? Probably not the northeast or midwest. The Ford Mainline was very popular with police departments in the early 50s. Ford was the #1 choice of law enforcement agencies throughout the 50s until Chrysler overtook them around 1960. All that said, this '53 Ford looks like it just left the factory! It looks better than anything Ford is putting out today.
I had one, but it was an overhead valve V8 . May have been a late 53, pretty sure, not positive, it wasn’t a 54. A drunk ran a red light. Hit it at about 50 mph .totaled it. No injuries. This one is sweet. 👍🏻
Ford always put the ignition switch on the left side of the dash until the 1964 model year. Probably because the choke control was on the right. They went to auto chokes on all models in 64.
I adore 50's cars. They we're works of art. One problem they had was that most 50's cars had poor rust proofing. So they tended to rust out rather quickly I believe.
A neighbor in my old hood in the southwest side of Detroit worked just 2 miles away at the Ford Rouge. He owned a '53 Ford 2 door hardtop, V8 with a stick and never drove the car to work due to soot and hot ash from the foundry. The only time I saw the car was on a sunny Sunday for a few hours in front of his home. I swear it never saw rain. He traded it in on a '68 Mustang. At the time I was in the Army and found out it was gone when home on leave. There were a lot of old, spotless "Grampa" cars in that neighborhood and the only time you'd see them was on a sunny Sunday.
Friend got one of these for 50 bucks in 70s. Still had flathead 8. He was beating hell out of it. I told him take it easy on it somebody with an old rod would love that flathead. Seen him about month later, said he sold it for like $400
I had the anniversary model in Australia when in my (sigh) teens. It was called a Customline. I learnt a lot about cars after owning them. Not in pristine condition .. as you might imagine.
It was the final year of the flathead V8 in American Ford cars (Canadian models kept it a while longer), it was Ford Motor Company's fiftieth anniversary, and a Sunliner convertible was pace car at the 1953 Indy 500.
GORGEOUS old Ford. I love these mint lower-line models. The clean simplicity is even more appealing than the weighed down top of line models. The 3-on-the-tree is typical for these, but having the V-8 option is not. They usually have the inline 6 "mileage-maker". That little beauty must fly down the road with it's lighter weight, 3-speed manual, and the flathead V8 upgraded to it's peak performance in '53 (it's final year). It's basically an early factory "muscle car". My father had the same car, but a '54, black, and a six. He put full hubcaps on it, skirts, and dual antenna's on the rear, as was common in the mid--'50's. He loved it..
I have a '52 Customline V8 coupe, same color. The linkage in the steering column went out and I replaced the trans with a T5, 5 sp. Stock gearing was 4:10 which is too low for modern day highways, so the overdrive in the easy shifting overdrive T5 makes this hugely fun!
My maternal grandfather had a '53 in the dark blue top/light blue body. It was equipped just like this beauty, save that it had the electro-mechanical Overdrive. After my mother inherited it (non-running condition), my stepfather rebuilt the whole power train (a project my mother suggested to him mainly to get him out from underfoot), and brakes, steering, wiring, interior, etc were restored, they had it repainted all one color, like the subject of this video. One Yuletide Season, visited them for two weeks, and used the '53 every day during that time -- hadn't had that much fun driving in years. The 52-54 Fords, all three trim lines, were such great cars.
Bought,a 1953,same as this,only black with a white top!Bought it in 1963,I was 15 years old,for hold on 50 bucks!Drove it from Chicago,to Toledo Ohio,the next day!Flat head V8!
My father had a 1953 Ford bought it used I remember you used to say it was the best car ever owned he said he was sorry that he traded it in for a new 1958 Ford nothing but trouble with
Very nice car, I had the Victoria model right after High School. That was a real nice car as I remember I just.turned 16 !’m 70 now. I’m actually thinking about buying it.
My Grandpa Drove an identical car to that one My whole life. He bought it used from a Friend of Mine's Grandpa used and never really had any major trouble with it. I think just a battery once in a while, maybe a water pump.
This was the base model for sale Mainline Customline Crestline was the order This was the stripped down model hence the little chrome This is a gorgeous utilitarian car
Not as stripped down as it might have been. First of all it has the 239 Flathead V8, an AM radio and a heater, not to mention a clock. A nice compromise between totally utilitarian and the tricked out. Beautiful car!
My Dad gave me his 53...I changed it from Fordomatic to manual when I was 17...because the Fordomatic kept eating check valves...also put in a 4:10 OD rear end...I didn't tell him I had changed it and when he needed to move it one day I watched from the window....he looked down, just shook his head a little, then drove off...these engines could be ruined only by an atomic bomb...it ate door strikes...these cars were said to have a lot of vapor lock but the real cause was fuel tank dirt and no good fuel filter...
In the mid 1950s automakers were developing the over-head-valve motors. This was the last year of the older flat head design but it was reliable. It would run and run but you had to be happy with about 110 hp.
To fords chagrin They found out their new inline 6 with over head valves made more horse power that their old flathead v-8 That was the real reason for the 10 hp increase in horse power in 1953. They worried that the public wouldn't buy the V-8 if they knew the smaller 6 made the same horse power. All the spec between the 52 and 53 were the same.
.....I had a '53 Customline for about 15 years, up to about '96...The color was the same, Glacier Blue...wanted to add Polar White to the top but never did...Positive was ground on the 6 volts back then...Vacuum operated wipers worked off intake manifold vacuum...Mine had the optional metal sun visor...Had some fender skirts in my hand once at Rose Bowl flea market but didn't buy 'em....
on a car with a frame I would call it a body off restoration I would use a rotisserie mostly on a unibody car like a Mopar or something just saying that's the nicest 53 I've ever seen
last of the flathead .. had one same color .. blew 1st and reverse .. drove it in 2nd and 3 rd for 6 months ..ran hot when soft lower hose were sucked closed . at idle they would open and look ok ... carried 10 gals of water in back ..
YES HEAT WAS. OPTIONAL I WORKED AT THE CHEVROLET ASSEMBLY PLANT IN TARRYTOWN NEW YORK FROM 1957 To 1960 And We made cars with no radio, heater ,or defroster not many but cars came down the line with the order sheet on the windshield clearly stating non of the afore mentioned was to be installed.
Back when Ford quality was still in place. Someone wrecked Ford along the way. Henry and Edsel would be as upset as Moses to see what happened to the company. Ahhh!!!
It looks like it is something special to us today but back when this car was made this model was almost as bare necessity as they put on the market. Everything you needed and nothing extra that was not an option that you paid for. A really good survivor but that's probably because it was as basic as you could get. You would need to drive it like the age it is. It was born in the same year I was born. At this time in his life, my Dad drove a Chevy Bel Air, but my Mom had a Crestline Victoria.
Correction, price was $1,995 CAN, but in 1953 the exchange rate was around 2 cents difference. The Canadian dollar was at times, in the 1950's and 1960's actually worth slightly more than the USD.
Mainline was the most basic model customline was in the middle Crestline was the highest most luxurious model , Crestline became Fairlane in 1955 and mainline and customline were dropped after 1956 for the new 1957 models
Now that is how a classic should look!
I have this exact 53 with the Ford-o-matic in the Customline style, same color with a dark blue top, in a four door, same tire/wheel set up. Recently swapped the generator for a Powermaster 6V alternator, wow, big difference for the flathead. We enjoy it
Great video. Reminds me of my Dads 53 that he let me drive everywhere, anytime. I felt like it was my first car. Flathead v8 and 3 on the tree. I remember the 50th Anniversary on the horn button. Thank you so much!
Three on the tree was a great transmission. Plus the overdrive.
Here in Australia the mainline is a ute my son and I are restoring one ATM just dropped 10g into a total engine rebuild firing the beast up tomorrow can't wait to hear ìt roar ...
Back in the day. Made of steel
AWESOME CAR...
Gorgeous!
My Dad had a 53. I love it. I’d drive it everyday. What a nice car.
I had 53 Crestliner four door flathead V-8 3 speed on the column.
My Grandpa drove one of those for years. His was 4 doors, but same color and engine.
Just came across this video. Back in the early 90’s I worked at a travel plaza. An older man had the same car. He would stop in a couple times a week to get gas and stop in the restaurant to eat. Car looked new.
This was the same car my Dad had when I was born in 1957.Same colors in and out. He bought it when it was a year old and unfortunately Ohio rust really got the best of the body. He always said it ran like a top and that he would never buy another Ford because they stopped using the flathead 8. He drove it until 1962 and sold it to a co worker who drove it until the body became nonexistant and he drove it to the junkyard where somebody bought it and we saw it around for several more years.
Just a hint of a Canadian accent there I think,.....and I am Australian....... Beautiful car and lovely video. Ford stylists were supreme in the 50s/60s .....wish we could buy cars like this in Oz.....and American engineering had no peer then. Thanks for the video.
Les Griffiths
Nice car to actually drive instead of over restored and rides around on a trailer. When I was a kid my great grandfather had one of these. I don't know what trim level it was but from what I can remember it looked very much the same and was green also but a little brighter like the color of the engine in this one. It had a sun visor on it that I thought was different at the time. He drove it locally until he was 89 or 90 years old. He went on to live to the age of 101.
I owned one like this in 1959 when I was in high school. The water pumps were a real challenge. There was a nut on the inside of the pump as well as the outside. I replaced both water pumps. If you did not know that there was a nut on the inside of the pump you could not remove it. The flathead V8 has a unique sound that I miss to this day. It was a nice car to drive. It did not have seatbelts. There were ashtrays in the front and on the back of the seats for the people in back.
I had one of those in 1961and it was a good car.
My neighbors on Long Island had a '54 Ford Mainline in a very similar color. I think it was closer to gray. It looked similar to this '53. They drove it until 1963. It had the Mileage Maker Six and 3 on the tree. It sounds crazy that a heater was a $65 option. Where was this car first sold? Probably not the northeast or midwest. The Ford Mainline was very popular with police departments in the early 50s. Ford was the #1 choice of law enforcement agencies throughout the 50s until Chrysler overtook them around 1960.
All that said, this '53 Ford looks like it just left the factory! It looks better than anything Ford is putting out today.
its mine now i purchase this car 3 weeks ago
It’s good to see a car, that’s as old as me.
That’s a 239 CI flathead V8. This was the last year for the flat head.
They used the flathead for one more year in Canada.
My first car was a 1953 Ford flathead. Bought in 1963 when I was a freshman in college.
Наверное золотые времена были для вас сэр
I had one, but it was an overhead valve V8 . May have been a late 53, pretty sure, not positive, it wasn’t a 54. A drunk ran a red light. Hit it at about 50 mph .totaled it. No injuries. This one is sweet. 👍🏻
My Dad had one, same color. Nice car.
looks a lot like the Crown Victory of that same year. my momma had one when I was growing up. Miss that beauty everyday
Ford always put the ignition switch on the left side of the dash until the 1964 model year. Probably because the choke control was on the right. They went to auto chokes on all models in 64.
last week i bought a hoodornament off of that modelyear for my 1959 Volvo PV544 hotrod......Nice car man!
I adore 50's cars. They we're works of art. One problem they had was that most 50's cars had poor rust proofing. So they tended to rust out rather quickly I believe.
A neighbor in my old hood in the southwest side of Detroit worked just 2 miles away at the Ford Rouge. He owned a '53 Ford 2 door hardtop, V8 with a stick and never drove the car to work due to soot and hot ash from the foundry. The only time I saw the car was on a sunny Sunday for a few hours in front of his home. I swear it never saw rain. He traded it in on a '68 Mustang. At the time I was in the Army and found out it was gone when home on leave. There were a lot of old, spotless "Grampa" cars in that neighborhood and the only time you'd see them was on a sunny Sunday.
My dad came home with an identical car in 53 or 54 used, same color everything, ,I was 8.
Friend got one of these for 50 bucks in 70s. Still had flathead 8. He was beating hell out of it. I told him take it easy on it somebody with an old rod would love that flathead. Seen him about month later, said he sold it for like $400
I had the anniversary model in Australia when in my (sigh) teens. It was called a Customline. I learnt a lot about cars after owning them. Not in pristine condition .. as you might imagine.
It was the final year of the flathead V8 in American Ford cars (Canadian models kept it a while longer), it was Ford Motor Company's fiftieth anniversary, and a Sunliner convertible was pace car at the 1953 Indy 500.
one of my dreamcars i wishd id had red 1953 and blue 1956
I WISHD ID HAD CAR LIKE THAT
The 1953 Ford 2 dr hardtop Victoria, Ivory over Black, was my parents first NEW car. Very nice car.
GORGEOUS old Ford. I love these mint lower-line models. The clean simplicity is even more appealing than the weighed down top of line models. The 3-on-the-tree is typical for these, but having the V-8 option is not. They usually have the inline 6 "mileage-maker". That little beauty must fly down the road with it's lighter weight, 3-speed manual, and the flathead V8 upgraded to it's peak performance in '53 (it's final year). It's basically an early factory "muscle car". My father had the same car, but a '54, black, and a six. He put full hubcaps on it, skirts, and dual antenna's on the rear, as was common in the mid--'50's. He loved it..
Yep, 1957 chevs make me sick nowadays.
I have a '52 Customline V8 coupe, same color. The linkage in the steering column went out and I replaced the trans with a T5, 5 sp. Stock gearing was 4:10 which is too low for modern day highways, so the overdrive in the easy shifting overdrive T5 makes this hugely fun!
This was my highschool car. Even the same color but mine had a dark blue top.
Terry Thompson I had a 1953 Ford convertible in this same “Robin’s egg blue “ color
during my first three years of college.
My maternal grandfather had a '53 in the dark blue top/light blue body. It was equipped just like this beauty, save that it had the electro-mechanical Overdrive. After my mother inherited it (non-running condition), my stepfather rebuilt the whole power train (a project my mother suggested to him mainly to get him out from underfoot), and brakes, steering, wiring, interior, etc were restored, they had it repainted all one color, like the subject of this video. One Yuletide Season, visited them for two weeks, and used the '53 every day during that time -- hadn't had that much fun driving in years. The 52-54 Fords, all three trim lines, were such great cars.
I would drive this car everyday 😍
BUG OFF
You and me, both, Mr. Alblooshi.
Bought,a 1953,same as this,only black with a white top!Bought it in 1963,I was 15 years old,for hold on 50 bucks!Drove it from Chicago,to Toledo Ohio,the next day!Flat head V8!
A beautiful car!
My father had a 1953 Ford bought it used I remember you used to say it was the best car ever owned he said he was sorry that he traded it in for a new 1958 Ford nothing but trouble with
Very nice car, I had the Victoria model right after High School. That was a real nice car as I remember I just.turned 16 !’m 70 now. I’m actually thinking about buying it.
You might have missed this one..the video is from 2016
My Grandpa Drove an identical car to that one My whole life. He bought it used from a Friend of Mine's Grandpa used and never really had any major trouble with it. I think just a battery once in a while, maybe a water pump.
She's a beauty!
This was the base model for sale Mainline Customline Crestline was the order This was the stripped down model hence the little chrome This is a gorgeous utilitarian car
Not as stripped down as it might have been. First of all it has the 239 Flathead V8, an AM radio and a heater, not to mention a clock. A nice compromise between totally utilitarian and the tricked out. Beautiful car!
Beautiful ride...
I just love the non rotating propeller in the grill.
Thats a real Ford
53, the most refined Flathead of it's lineage. Would'nt it have been great if that engine remained as an option, along side the Y-block ?
Amazing ❤🎉 very beautiful
Yes, it's a repaint, what's underneath? Didn't see you checking for BONDO. Careful what your buying!
Your good friend Vinny in good old Fla.
My Dad gave me his 53...I changed it from Fordomatic to manual when I was 17...because the Fordomatic kept eating check valves...also put in a 4:10 OD rear end...I didn't tell him I had changed it and when he needed to move it one day I watched from the window....he looked down, just shook his head a little, then drove off...these engines could be ruined only by an atomic bomb...it ate door strikes...these cars were said to have a lot of vapor lock but the real cause was fuel tank dirt and no good fuel filter...
In the mid 1950s automakers were developing the over-head-valve motors. This was the last year of the older flat head design but it was reliable. It would run and run but you had to be happy with about 110 hp.
To fords chagrin They found out their new inline 6 with over head valves made more horse power that their old flathead v-8 That was the real reason for the 10 hp increase in horse power in 1953. They worried that the public wouldn't buy the V-8 if they knew the smaller 6 made the same horse power. All the spec between the 52 and 53 were the same.
Two carbs, duals, and a mild cam could add about twentyir more ponies.
I LIKE IT
BEAUTY!!!!
.....I had a '53 Customline for about 15 years, up to about '96...The color was the same, Glacier Blue...wanted to add Polar White to the top but never did...Positive was ground on the 6 volts back then...Vacuum operated wipers worked off intake manifold vacuum...Mine had the optional metal sun visor...Had some fender skirts in my hand once at Rose Bowl flea market but didn't buy 'em....
The key is on the left because the manual choke is on the right.
I bought one for $125 and drove it for years and never did anything but lap the valves
The flatheads did run HOT!
on a car with a frame I would call it a body off restoration I would use a rotisserie mostly on a unibody car like a Mopar or something just saying that's the nicest 53 I've ever seen
Nice car
Interesting, the only Mainline we got down under was a Utility [pickup to you] not a 2 door sedan type body.
December 2021. For sale?
NICE ONE I LIKE IT
Sharp looking car!
last of the flathead .. had one same color .. blew 1st and reverse .. drove it in 2nd and 3 rd for 6 months ..ran hot when soft lower hose were sucked closed . at idle they would open and look ok ... carried 10 gals of water in back ..
Had a 59 with no 1 st gear. Also drove for 6 months.
Had a 52 same color mine was a customline bought in 62 from a neighbor for 200.
The mainline in Australia, was just, only a customline Ute.
YES HEAT WAS. OPTIONAL I WORKED AT THE CHEVROLET ASSEMBLY PLANT IN TARRYTOWN NEW YORK FROM 1957 To 1960 And We made cars with no radio, heater ,or defroster not many but cars came down the line with the order sheet on the windshield clearly stating non of the afore mentioned was to be installed.
We lived in Honolulu in 1960; most of the new cars were shipped heater delete; didn't need it.
NICE
My 67 F100 has the ignition switch on the far left of the dash as well. I guess Ford did that until they started putting them on the column.
Point of order , If it has been painted and restored and has a electric fuel pump, how can you call it original condition?
You can't. Original cars have never been restored.
I hate to say like new for cars, But this is like new :O
239, not 235
Muito lindo. 👏👏👏
They ALL rusted out fast in the Road Salt States
I got my 54 Ford at a sheriff's sale for 30 dollars. 5 dollars for a new timing gear and off I went.
That’s a Y Block!
1995 dollars would be worth 21,199 in 2022. Last year for the flathead, the next year Ford would go to the Y-block.
Keys’s on the left like my Porsche. See my other toys and motorcycle?
Same color as my '52 Customline V8. Put a T5 trans in it! Best thing I have done for it.
Cool
I added an electric fuel pump on mine because when I moved to Nebraska it would vapor lock.
Even though the vapor lock was an issue, I loved my 53 Ford.
It’s not a VIN sticker, it’s a VIN data plate!
Back when Ford quality was still in place. Someone wrecked Ford along the way. Henry and Edsel would be as upset as Moses to see what happened to the company. Ahhh!!!
It looks like it is something special to us today but back when this car was made this model was almost as bare necessity as they put on the market. Everything you needed and nothing extra that was not an option that you paid for. A really good survivor but that's probably because it was as basic as you could get. You would need to drive it like the age it is. It was born in the same year I was born. At this time in his life, my Dad drove a Chevy Bel Air, but my Mom had a Crestline Victoria.
Cool car)!
In 1953 heat was optional? Was GM that cheap?
GM tf? And yes not every car had a heater until late 60s
Every car in Minnesota did.
ROFLMAO! Poor Jed, bless his heart.
All cars, not just Fords.
He didn't mention the overdrive. Might not have had that.
This car was probably $1200 when New in 1953!
Price was $,1995 USD. Average (median) family income in 1953 was estimated at $4,200 USD.
Correction, price was $1,995 CAN, but in 1953 the exchange rate was around 2 cents difference. The Canadian dollar was at times, in the 1950's and 1960's actually worth slightly more than the USD.
brian evans SS recently as fifteen years ago, the Canadian dollar was worth more than the US Dollar. Google it.
Heat was an option...lol!
Mainline was the most basic model customline was in the middle Crestline was the highest most luxurious model , Crestline became Fairlane in 1955 and mainline and customline were dropped after 1956 for the new 1957 models
This is a museum piece and not for driving.
Ford made it to drive.
239, not 235 110 HP! I had a '50 Fordor Custom. The flathead 6 put out 5 more horsepower. Beauty, eh!
У меня три вопроса:
Зачем у Волги оторвали оленя, заварили задние двери и зачем-то приделали шильдик Форда? 😁😁😁
Они тоже растянули Волгу и добавили еще два цилиндра.
Nice car....but I got dizzy watching it
😍😍😍
it recently sold for 3500$
Bonito
$1995... I'm willing to double that !!!
no radio?
Mike Kallas Yes, Mainline was the base model. It would have had black wall tires - something I’d consider changing if it were my car.
Yes it does.
I WOULD LOVE TO CHANGE TO OIL THEM AND SIT ON IT AND LATER DRIVE IT