1956 Fords - Lifeguard Design
by David W. Temple
1956 Ford Customline |
Production of
1956 Fords began October 17, 1955. The basic styling of the big Fords, this
time consisting of 18 models, did not change very much. Up front a new grille
and a wraparound parking light arrangement were distinctive differences. The
roof panels were altered to reduce overall height (by 1 ½ inches in Victoria
models and 1-inch in sedans) yet retain the same amount of headroom and the
1955 Crown Victoria’s sleeker roof slope was applied to all two-door hardtops.
A less noticeable change was the removal of the chrome “eye brows” from the
headlight doors. In back, the deck lid molding and Ford crest was deleted from
the Fairlane series; a new trunk handle appeared on the Fairlane sedans and a
“V” molding incorporating the trunk lock and Fairlane nameplate was applied to
the Fairlane hardtops. A revised Fairlane sweep was used to update the profile
of the Fairlane series. This trim was also used on the new two-door station
wagon model, the Parklane, and the eight-passenger Country Sedan. The
Style-Tone paint option was expanded to include the 8-passenger Country Sedan
as well as the Parklane. The six-passenger Country Sedan received the
Customline body side molding. A two-door hardtop was added to the Customline
series. At mid-year Ford added one more model to the Fairlane line, the Town
Victoria Fordor. This was a four-door pillarless hardtop model offered to
counter the 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air four-door pillarless hardtop.
312 V-8 |
Various
improvements were made in the Y-block to keep in stride with the horsepower
race. These included additional cubic inches and better breathing through
enlarged passages in the heads and intake manifold along with a higher lift
camshaft. The Thunderbird Special this year was the 312 rated at 215 hp when
coupled to a manual transmission and 225 with the Fordomatic. A dual-quad 260
hp 312 became available as a dealer-installed option later in the model year as
well. Horsepower ratings went up in the six-cylinder and the 272 2-bbl. thanks
to a small boost in compression ratios. The 272 4-bbl. was dropped. Gaining a
few additional horsepower was the 292 4-bbl. now rated at 200 hp with the
manually shifted transmission or 202 with the automatic. All V-8s now had an
automatic choke. Minor revisions to the carburetors, distributors, and
differentials were made in the interest of improved fuel economy and in some
models the transmission was modified to withstand higher torque. Upholstery
patterns were altered and the instrument panel was redesigned.
1956 Crown Victoria interior |
1956 Parklane |