The Ford Customline is an

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

model that was sold between 1952 and 1956 by Ford in North America.

First generation (1952–1954)

1952

The Ford Customline was introduced in 1952 as the mid-range model in that year’s US Ford range, positioned below the

Ford Crestline The Ford Crestline is an automobile which was produced by Ford in the United States for models years 1952 to 1954. 1952 The Crestline was introduced as the top trim level of the 1952 Ford range, above the intermediate-level Customline and base l ...

and above the Ford Mainline.John Gunnell, Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946–1975, Revised 4th Edition, pages 389-397 It was offered in 2-door sedan, 4-door sedan, 2-door

coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

& 4-door

station wagon A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...

body styles. The coupe was marketed as the Club Coupe and the station wagon as the Customline Country Sedan. 1952 Customlines were available with inline six-cylinder or V8 engines. Production totaled 402,542 units.

1953

The 1953 Customlines continued the 1952 bodies with only minor changes. Production totaled 761,662 units.

1954

The 1954 Customlines used the 1952-53 bodies with only minor changes. The Customline range now included a new 2-door Ranch Wagon. Engines were now inline six-cylinder or overhead valve V8. 1954 Customline production totaled 674,295 units. File:1953 Ford Country Sedan.jpg, 1953 Ford Customline Country Sedan File:1954 Ford Customline Sedan.jpg, 1954 Ford Customline “Fordor” Sedan File:1954 Ford Country Sedan.jpg, 1954 Ford Customline Country Sedan

Second generation (1955–1956)

1955

The 1955 Customline was redesigned with new longer, lower and wider bodies. It continued as the mid range trim level, now positioned below the new Ford Fairlane and above the Ford Mainline. It was offered in 2-door sedan and 4-door sedan body styles only, with the wagons now included in their own series which comprised the Ford Ranch Wagon, Ford Country Sedan and Ford Country Squire. Customlines were available with inline six-cylinder or V8 engines. 1955 Customline production totaled 471,992 units.

1956

The 1956 Customlines utilized the 1955 bodies with only minor changes. A Customline Victoria 2-door

hardtop A hardtop is a rigid form of automobile roof, which for modern cars is typically constructed from metal. A hardtop roof can be either fixed (i.e. not removable), Convertible#Detachable hardtop, detachable for separate storing or retractable ha ...

was added to the range. 1956 Customline production totaled 368,653 units, and was manufactured in several branch assembly plants the company had continued to operate in the United States. 1955FordCustomline.jpg, 1955 Ford Customline Tudor Sedan File:1955 Ford Customline (6135232807).jpg, 1955 Ford Customline Fordor Sedan File:1956 Ford KKP183.jpg, 1956 Ford Customline Victoria The Customline was not carried over to the 1957 model year.John Gunnell, Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946–1975, Revised 4th Edition, pages 397-399

Australian production

The Customline was also produced by

Ford Australia Ford Motor Company of Australia Limited (known by its trading name Ford Australia) is the Australian subsidiary of United States-based automaker Ford Motor Company. It was founded in Geelong, Victoria, in 1925 as an outpost of Ford Motor Comp ...

from 1952 to 1959. Cars were assembled using

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n built bodies and imported chassis kits which included all front sheet metal.Eddie Ford, The Australian OHV Ford Mainline Coupe Utility, Restored Cars #198, Jan-Feb 2010, pages 51-53 In addition to the Customline sedan, a limited number of station wagons and the Australian developed Mainline Coupe Utility were produced. The 1952 model was updated in 1953 and 1954 along the lines of the US Fords.Norm Darwin, The History of Ford in Australia, 1986, pages 126-131 All were powered by the Flathead V8 which went into Australian production in 1952. This included the 1954 model which was fitted with the older engine rather than the new overhead valve Y-block V8 which had been introduced in the US for 1954.Aussie originals: Ford Customline, www.uniquecarsmag.com.au
Retrieved on 11 November 2013 The 1955 body was used for four model series in Australia.The Australian 1959-60 Ford Fairlane, Restored Cars No. 84, pages 4-6 The 1955 model was powered by the overhead valve Y-block V8 which had entered partial Australian production with locally sourced components. The 1956 model featured the 1956 US Customline grille, 12 volt electrics and a new

Fordomatic Ford-O-Matic was the first automatic transmission widely used by Ford Motor Company. It was designed by the Warner Gear division of Borg Warner Corporation and introduced in 1951 model year cars, and was called the Merc-O-Matic when installed ...

automatic transmission option. The 1957 model retained the 1956 body but featured a large V8 badge positioned in the grille and utilized 1956 Ford Fairlane trim. The 1958 model used the 1955 Canadian

Meteor A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as micr ...

grille with a four-pointed star and 1956 Meteor side trim. The 1958 ‘star model’ was badged as either a Customline or as a Fordomatic Production ended in September 1959 with the introduction of Australian assembled 1959

Fairlane 500 The Ford Fairlane is an automobile model that was sold between the 1955 and 1970 model years by Ford in North America. Taking its name from the Dearborn, Michigan estate of Henry Ford, the Fairlane nameplate was used for seven different genera ...

, Custom 300 and Ranch Wagon models. An estimated 18,000 examples of the 1955-1959 sedan were produced.Ford Customline, www.motoring.com.au
Retrieved on 11 November 2013 File:1952 Ford Customline Sedan.jpg, 1952 Australian Ford V8 Customline File:1953 Ford Customline Sedan.jpg, 1953 Australian Ford V8 Customline File:1954 Ford Customline V8 (6044792733).jpg, 1954 Australian Ford V8 Customline File:1955 Ford Customline V8 Sedan (Oz) (8437648522).jpg, 1955 Australian Ford V8 Customline File:1956 Ford Customline (Australia).jpg, 1956 Australian Ford V8 Customline File:1957 Ford V8 Customline Sedan (Oz) (8437649278).jpg, 1957 Australian Ford V8 Customline File:1958 Ford V8 Customline sedan (Australia).jpg, 1958 Australian Ford V8 Customline with Fordomatic side trim File:1958 Ford V8 Fordomatic.JPG, 1958 Australian Ford V8 Fordomatic

References

{{Ford Customline Motor vehicles manufactured in the United States Cars of Australia