CLASSIC CAR OWNERS GUIDE
1955 Ford

In The totally redesigned 1955 Ford was longer, lower and wider. It featured a curved windshield, and the large horizontal bar of the 1952-54 model grille was replaced with a concave lattice capped at either end with two large parking lights. The Crestline name was dropped in favor of Fairlane. The Fairlane featured a chrome strip, starting at the top of the fenders, wrapping around to the side of the car and continued back to the taillights. Distinctive chrome "eyebrows" were added above the headlights. Also included in the Fairlane line was the Crown Victoria. Beginning with a steeply angled B post, a bright metal band crossed the roof, with a "roll bar" effect, although it added nothing to structural integrity. The Crown Victoria was available with a solid metal roof or with a plexiglas insert at the front of the roof. Only 1999 of these were sold compared to the more than 33,000 of the steel-roofed model. With the "need" for more and more horsepower, Ford dropped the 239 V-8 for a 272 cid 162 horsepower engine. The six horsepower was boosted to 120. 1955 proved to be a banner year for Ford, selling almost 1.5 million cars topping it's 1953 model year record. The big news from Ford in 1955 was the introduction of its two-seat Thunderbird.

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