History and profile of Ford Fairlanes - Mid-1950s through early 1960s (Part 1)
In 1955, Ford introduced a beautiful line of full-size cars called the "Fairlanes." The Fairlane was re-introduced in 1962 as an intermediate muscle car. Because of its lighter weight than that of the full-size Galaxie and the same powerful engine, it was able to compete both on the street and drag strip. Fairlane spinoffs were the Cobra and Torino. Here's a look at the Fairlanes throughout their early production years.
1955: Ford Fairlane is introduced
The year 1955 was the birth year of a fantastic car - the Ford Fairlane. The name Fairlane came from Henry Ford's "Fair Lane" mansion, which was located in Dearborn. The Fairlane was introduced as a new top-of-the-line full-size Ford, and was available in six unique body styles. There was the rare plastic-top Crown Victoria, a convertible Sunliner, a steel-top Victoria coupe and there were also traditional sedans.
Each body style featured gorgeous styling with the well-recognizable Fairlane stripe on the side trim. Each also came with an option of flashy, two-tone paint. Their fashionable styling and flighty V-8 engines helped to push Fairlanes to the limelight.
Available engines included the 223 inline-six with 120 or 137 horsepower and the 272 V-8 engine with 162 or 182 horsepower. Production numbers for 1955 were as follows: Two-door Club Sedan, 173,311; Four-door Town Sedan, 254,437; Crown Victoria, 33,165 and plastic top - 1,999; Victoria two-door Hardtop, 113,372; Sunliner Convertible, 49,966.
1956: New V-8s and a new Victoria
In 1956, Ford introduced a new four-door Victoria hardtop to its Fairlane line. Also for this year, two new V-8 engines were introduced. They were the 292-cubic-inch V-8 and the 312-cubic-inch V-8. Performance-minded buyers were thrilled, of course.
Available engines for this year included the same ones as the previous year plus the addition of the new V-8s. The 292 V-8 could produce 200 horsepower while the 312 V-8 could produce 215 or 225 horsepower.
Production numbers for 1956 were as follows: Two-door Club Sedan, 142,629; Four-door Town Sedan, 224,872; Crown Victoria, 92,209 and plastic top - 603; Victoria two-door Hardtop, 117,735; Victoria four-door sedan, 32,111; Sunliner Convertible, 58,147.
1957: The Fairlane 500 is released
For 1957, a new Fairlane came on the scene with a distinctive top trim. It was the Fairlane 500 Skyliner, which was the world's first and only retractable hardtop convertible in production during that time.
Though the model seemed to be a winner, there were problems. It was expensive for starters, at $400 more than the Sunliner convertible. The 500 Skyliner roof was styled to be shorter than that of other models. Its front was hinged so it could fold, providing more compact storage for the large trunk area. With these features, the Skyliner still had a higher and longer rear deck with a bulging rear panel. This model was different from other Fairlane models in several ways. It came with a standard V-8 engine. Its gas tank had been relocated to behind the back seat instead of under the trunk floor, and it had little luggage space when the retractable top was down.
All Fairlanes for that year were built on a 118-inch wheelbase, which was longer than the junior Custom models by two inches. The new style was longer, wider and lower - a typical 1950s style. It resembled the styling of the 1955 Mystere show car.
With the new design, the Fairlanes were weightier and bigger. They had the low-profile cowbelly frame, aft siderails and a dropped rear floorpan. The cars were two inches shorter because of these design features. Also this year, an improvement was made to suspension with swept back front lower control arms and rear leaf springs that were longer as well. The engines were carried over from the previous year, but made with just a little more power.
Available engines for this year included the 223 inline-six with 144 horsepower, the 272 V-8 with 190 or 205 horsepower, the 292 V-8 with 212 horsepower, the 312 V-8 with 245 or 270 horsepower.
Production numbers for 1957 were as follows: Two-door Club Sedan, 93,756; Four-door Town Sedan, 193,162; Victoria two-door Hardtop, 183,202; Victoria four-door sedan, 68,550; Sunliner Convertible, 77,726; Skyliner hardtop Convertible, 20,766.
