Sometimes choosing a vehicle to write about is a matter of my heart rather than my head. I want to see this truck find a good home, or I want to elevate an extraordinary example of an ordinary car, or I think a particular vehicle needs some sympathy and vision for what it could be (coming soon: a beastly 1946 Chev pickup once owned by Phillips 66). My head says no one cares about (fill in the blank) anymore – but my heart says, someone should. This 1952 Ford Crestline Victoria coupe here on eBay occupies the latter category. Bid to $4200 with no reserve, the Crestline is a running, driving barn find located in Assonet, Massachusetts. I’ve never thought about owning a ’52 Ford, but the coupe’s graceful greenhouse, swanky side trim, and vestigial fins are appealing. Speaking of the side trim: this car is described as a ’52, and it does have the ’52 grille – with a chrome circle punctuating its center – and the “intake” parking lights, but it has the side trim from a ’53. This car has a couple of other idiosyncracies which we’ll see later.
Ford’s post-war efforts evolved from the Super Deluxe – really a pre-war style – to the sleek “Shoebox” of 1949, to the Mainline/Customline/Crestline series introduced in 1952. This facelift incorporated a new wraparound windshield; a long, curved glass backlight; and more exterior embellishment to relieve the plain lines of the shoebox body. Mechanically the Crestline – the top-of-the-line version of the three ’52s – wasn’t much different than the earlier generation of Fords. The same 239 cu. in. flathead V8 rests in the engine bay, though it had a slightly higher compression ratio raising output to 110 hp. This car has a three-speed column-shift manual. We’re not told how the brakes, steering, and suspension are holding up after this barn find was found; no doubt a thing or two will require repair.
The interior requires TLC. The door panels are shot, the seat fabric is stained, the floor covering has seen better days. But the hard-to-find trim is present, the steering wheel isn’t cracked and neither is the dash. The spotlight is a wonderful vintage touch; its handle is seen to the left here. The trunk is heavily surface-rusted but seems reclaimable.
Look closely: the fender mirror is missing its “innards” – the pole of the fence shows through it like a deer in a gunsight. The left rear over-rider is a bit drunk, and take a close look at the hood ornament! This is likely another vintage accessory, similar but not exactly like this one on eBay. In terms of value, project Crestline Victoria coupes sell for four digits, while restored but original cars can reach $20k, and resto-mods… well, the sky’s the limit. Where do you think the bidding should end on this one?
Funny how some machines seem to just get in our heads and almost talk to us, make us want to look more closely, pull us inside.
Interesting car-unusual wheel/hubcap combination (aftermarket?), exterior looks great other than the outside mirror you pointed out, the mix and match trim from the ‘53 (another 1/2 year addition or something extra?) but the ad writer leaves us wondering if it’s truly a drive or if it needs piggyback ride home.
If it’s a drive away deal, best guess would be $14k max.
If it needs help getting to its new home, maybe $8500?
Condition-wise, it looks about like the one Adam covered a couple years ago. https://barnfinds.com/one-owner-1952-ford-crestline-victoria/
The market trend looks like it’s changing from the old school hot rods to newer rides; even the ‘60’s/‘70’s era is slowing down with more Fast & Foolishness type cars increasing..
GLWTS
Many moons ago, (1958,) I had a ‘53 Vickie w/auto trans. (SLOW). Stock flathead. Great car, reliable. Drove from SoCal to SanFrancisco & back.
The hood ornament link is claimed to be a hood ornament from a ’54 Ford. It’s not. The hood ornaments for Ford’s from ’51 to ’57 were stylized jet planes and not a stylized bird/eagle (this may be an aftermarket hood ornament). That aside, this seems like a decent ’52 Ford, though needing some work. I’m thinking it will sell for less than $10K as the more run-of-the-mill cars from the ’50s, like this one, can be had for cheap money these days.
This will require 20K to restore, not much wiggle room if this goes for over 8K
This car at first glance really confused me, my thought was it is a 53 not a 52. I had a 53 in college and was pretty sure, I knew what it looked like. However. I never had a 52 and back then I didn’t pay that much attention, if it wasn’t a 32, 34 or 40 I didn’t really care. My conclusion is it’s a 52 with a bunch of goofy stuff on it. Anxious to see what others think. Hate to admit I don’t know.
It is hard to get a steel dashboard to crack. The bullit in the middle of the front bumper seems tilted up. Back bumper on the left side overider looks like it was tagged lightly as it is at an odd angle too. Nice car still. My dad’s first car was one of these 64 years ago. Three speed on the tree may be an overdrive as my dad’s was.
Does the Rosary on the mirror come with the deal? It may be helpful.
My mother had a white over light blue ’73 hard top that I always thought was one of the best looking cars on the road. That short series was a good one for Ford.
Had a 53 ford Victoria 2 door hardtop black with white top in high school. My first car that I paid $100.00 for in 1961. Loved the car until someone slammed into me and totaled it. Car was a looker
For once this is one I would leave the drivetrain alone, at least for a while, had a ’49,’50, 51&’54. Soft spot. ’51 had a 327, made a big difference in traffic. No underside pix, maybe $6-7k. Going to need a ton to drive. We will see.
Exactilly like mine.FIRST car I had on the road. 53 with a 52 front end same model. same color. Loved that car until someone T boned me.
I suspect the car is a 1953 that was involved in an accident and had the front fenders and possibly the hood replaced with 52 Ford parts. The vin number will tell what year it is.
This is a 52. The 51 and 52’s had a three piece back window. The 53’s on had a one piece. Also the 53’s had some extra chrome around the dash knobs, this one does not. I don’t remember any difference in outside chrome.
My guess is that some previous owner wanted to make his car appear a year newer and added the 53 trim to the rear quarter panels. If he had gone a step farther and added a 53 grill he would have fooled most of the people who saw the car. Those wheel covers were genuine 52 Ford so a car spotter would have picked that up back in the fifties when the original owner was proudly driving it around making people think it was a year newer. You have to remember that in the fifties owning a new car was somewhat of a status symbol, a thing to be proud of. There was no leasing and financing was limited to about three months or something like that, so it was not like today. This car looks nice so GLWTS.
Buyer beware!
WAY too much rattle can chrome, not a well executed re-pop paint job, etc. The entire interior screams…if you think I look nasty in here, don’t even look at my undercarriage…anywhere!!! Older Fords will ONLY look great if you spend the required time to properly maintain them, (as well as any other vehicle this age)! This would be perfect for a father/son restoration, as a beautiful “cars and coffee” boulevard cruiser. Keep it as a complete unit with the “flattie” motor properly rebuilt/tricked out, plus Flowmaster duals…those make the flathead sound INCREDIBLE!!! This would make many father/son beginner projects, well worth time investment…especially for that “maiden voyage”…been there, done that. Priceless.👍
The flowmasters of yesteryears were great. Today they are China made and not worth buying. They are junk. They do sound good ( for 15 minutes before they fall apart).
Tail lights are off….Period aftermarket accessory tails?