The Fairlane nameplate arrived on full-size Fords in 1955 as a nod to Henry Ford’s estate in Michigan. The car would hold the top spot until the Galaxie arrived in 1959, and later on it would transform into a mid-size model through 1970. The seller has a pair of 1956 Ford Fairlanes that are offered for parts, but I don’t know if you wouldn’t want to try one or two restorations. Located in Oxford, Mississippi, this duo is available separately for $5,200 a piece (any discount for taking both?) here on Facebook Marketplace. Credit for this tip goes to Zappenduster.
A signature of the early Fairlanes was the stainless steel “Fairlane stripe” on the body sides. It lent itself to two-tone paint jobs like the ones on the seller’s cars (white over deep red and white over medium blue). While an inline six was standard, a variety of V8s were available, with the list expanded in the second year (1956). The cars were little changed except for the front turn signals, and the V8s included displacements of 272, 292, and 312 cubic inches.
The seller’s pairing lives under a free-standing carport in the Deep South. We assume both are V8-equipped, though we see only one motor and the seller provides almost no details. And at least one of them has an automatic transmission, as indicated by the Ford-O-Matic script on the trunk lid. The interiors seem to be incomplete, missing seats and the like. Perhaps the seller believes those shortcomings add up to parts cars.
Neither vehicle looks to be a rust bucket, and the paint jobs are okay, though one of the machines appears to be dirtier than the other. We assume there’s a story behind the Fords and how they ended up here together. One doesn’t seem to be any better than the other, so if you bought the pair for about $10,000 to merge them, that might be a mistake. Would you take only one and – if so – which one would it be?
The engine picture is a 351 Cleveland,you can see the canted front section of the valve cover on the driver’s side which is a dead giveaway.
I see an FE. Not a Cleveland.
Looks more like an FE series big block. The Cleveland didn’t have the thermostat mounted in the intake manifold. It sat in the top of the block.
That’s not a Cleveland engine; on a Cleveland the upper radiator hose goes into the block not into the intake manifold. That appears to be an FE engine with the pent-roof valve covers.
Nope, it’s an FE big block. The Cleveland’s thermostat sat in the top of the block, not in the front of the intake manifold like an FE.
Actually it’s an fe, size unknown. You can tell by the water outlet from the intake as well as how the valve cover is bolted over the side of the intake manifold.
That engine is an FE, not a Cleveland. Check the t-stat housing
10K is over twice what I’d pay for this pair.
The red and white is definitely nicer but I didn’t realize until looking closer the white and blue is a convertible. Tough choice. When picking up the pair, if you hear any banjo music you better run.
The banjo music was in North Georgia. In Mississippi, you get lynched.
Twice as cool!
The second car I ever owned was a 56 Sunliner. An FE engine is a bolt in to one of these, as well.
I think the engine is in the blue and white convertible, the car with the missing left headlight surround in photo. That may be the more valuable car, but if I had the correct Y block V-8, I might try to strike a deal for the hardtop car as easier to restore as a driver, not a show car.
i think between 6k-7500.00 is a fair price for these 2.
Exactly because it costs a small fortune to just restore one nowadays.
I’ve looked carefully at the one picture of the engine that’s in the convertible. From the passenger side. It’s an FE. Definitely not a Cleveland 351. The chrome valve covers look like the ones that were stock on my ‘66 Fairlane GTA 390.
If you have the space, take both of them, put 8K on the table and you have a couple of projects ready to do. Mind you an inspection would be a must do. At least the 2 door has the correct bumper on the back. I’d be hopeless if I lived over there I would have too many projects hahaha, but at least I would only have what I could get under cover.
Sorry it is the convertible I see that has the correct bumper.
My Dad was a Ford Fairlane guy. I like both and personally I think it’s a more than fair price.
$2500 for both! Top money due to the condition of the cars.
‘55 and ‘56 are indeed similar, but the differences are more than an additional engine size and park lights. Obviously, the grill is different, as well as the side trim being much wider in ‘56. 1956 also ushered in a 12V electrical system- unfortunately, for reasons known only to engineers wandering the hallways back then, it used a Positive ground. (One year only) Ford embarked on a serious safety program in ‘56, redesigning the interior. Gone was the backlit speedometer. Not a difference per se’, FoMoCo pushed financing your new Ford with a $56 per month for a new ‘56 program. Wonder if that number will pencil out today?
Couple of cool cars! They would make a nice His N Hers pair. GLWTS!
$56 per month sounds really cheap. But using the inflation adjuster I like to use, it works out to $687 per month in today’s dollars. AI tells me the average new car payment is now $770 per month. So it is more today, but not wildly more.
Hard to decide. A close up and personal inspection would be required. The convert. has an automatic brake pedal, an automatic indicator on the dash and no shift lever. I have always like this body style. But have no experience with one of these. I do have experience with a couple of “Y” blocks from my high-school days and one in a ’56 TBird that a friend has. I guess I would lean towards the red and white car.