After the refreshing new post war designs of 1949-51, Ford took it up a notch with a radical new look for 1952-1954 that led the way into the fifties.
Crestline led the way and was top-of-the-line with five smart body styles. The Fordor Sedan, Country Squire Station Wagon, Sunliner Convertible, the Skyliner (with transparent roof) and the Victoria 2-door hardtop that you see here.
External changes for 1954 included a new grille with central spinner and round parking lamps replacing the rectangular ones. At the rear there were slightly larger taillights.
Rear view
Inside there had been a restyle with a new Astra-Dial Control Panel and speedometer with a transparent lid that allowed more light in during the daytime to illuminate it. The block pattern door panels were also new and unique to the Crestline.
Interior with the new Astra-Dial Control Panel
Under the hood of this Crestline Victoria there's a, "new for 1954" 239 cubic inch "Y" block V8 engine replacing the older flatheads. Despite the same displacement figure, horsepower was up outputting 130 horsepower which was up 20 hp from the year before. It is paired with a Ford-O-Matic automatic transmission. The latter costing an additional $260 of the base price of the V8 cars.
239 Y block V8
Note the plastic bag reservoir under the hood for the windshield cleaning fluid - Ford were the first to do this, replacing the easy to break glass containers that had been used previously.
Ford sold 95,464 Crestline 2-Door Victoria Hardtops for the 1954 model year. If you wanted a V8 one then it would have cost you $2,131 plus any options.
The Crestline would have been up against cars like Chevrolet's Bel Air and Plymouth's Belvedere for sales. Although Chevrolet sales were better, Ford's Crestline beat the Belvedere by a wide margin.
This 1954 Crestline is currently for sale on eBay. (follow the link for even more photos)
The hood and trunk look awfully bare without the factory badging and hood ornament. Other than that, just about perfect!
I absolutely LOVE this car…. Had it for about three years and traded it…. boy was I NUTZ ! ~Mine was Light Green with the White Top. ….Shoulda kept it!!! Thanks for sharing all about it! 🙂
1953 and 54 Fords and Mercuries had a bad habit- The hood had no redundant safety latch and with age they tended to come unlatched while driving 60 mph. The wind would blow them right back over the windshield! My 54 Mercury did this and a good friend’s 54 Ford did it. It was pretty common to see Fords of this vintage driving around with the back corners of their hoods all bent out of shape due to flying open while cruising the freeway.