If you’re a fan of those “I’ve never seen one of these” kinds of cars, this 1956 Ford may interest you. It was converted into a flower car for use with serving the needs of the dearly departed. We don’t know if someone did it as a one-off, or if it was done by a coach builder (we found one in Canada that built a few). This 1956 Ford Crown Vic looks like an early Ranchero, and it’s said to be in great shape due to an earlier restoration. Located in Piedmont, Alabama, this rare find is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $18,900. Thanks for the Ford tip, “Moparman”!
We’ve seen Cadillacs and Lincolns used as flower cars, but this is my first Ford. They picked the top-of-the-line model to do it with in the Crown Victoria. So, if you were going to base this on a Ford, it would be the one to pick. The Fairlane arrived in 1955, and the Crown Vic was the top trim level on that car, only offered as a 2-door hardtop. It came with unique B-pillars, which had a wide stainless-steel band whose “crowning” led to the model’s name. The 1956 edition had minor changes with turn signal lenses and taillights.
Specialty vehicles like this would not have been built by Ford, who would have outsourced the custom work. Often, they were based on lower models, like the Sedan Delivery. One such coach builder who is thought to have worked on some of these was J.J. Little in Ontario, Canada. Whether they had anything to do with this build isn’t known. This Ford may have hauled a lot of flowers in its day, as it has 136,000 miles to its credit.
We’re told this rarity has only had two owners in its 70 years. It comes packed with a 312 cubic inch V8 and a Cruise-O-Matic automatic tranny. The seller says it has been restored, but we don’t know how long ago that was. It’s said to be a great runner and would be perfect for making the car show rounds. Chances are, if you show up with it anywhere, yours will be the only one.
Nice! Some may gasp at what someone did to a “glass top Vickie”, but did an outstanding job. Love the “big footie” gas pedal. There’s not much consolation in seeing these wonderful creations paraded away as some object to bolster finances, but these were much more than that to the builder/user, and I suppose we can can take solace in knowing, whoever made this had a vision, and followed through, and enjoyed it. Can’t argue with that. Fun to see what neat cars some folks had.
Howard I didn’t see where it was mentioned that this conversion was a glass-top. And if it is, that’s just plain sacrilegious! Only 603 of those were built in `56, so they are the scarcest Ford offering that year. To hack up an original for this I would frown on, personally. It’s nice for what was done to it, but I hope this was a steel-top Crown and not a glass-top! (Seen a `55 glass-top done like this in a super tacky bright yellow & white! Urp!)