MR. Sandman by the chordettes

It's nice getting to see one of these old cars still in good condition.

You know Ive been watching your channel for awhile now and thoroughly enjoy each and every one of your videos. Appreciate your thoroughness in going through all the unique features and body lines. Also appreciate the way you treat the cars with the positive respect they deserve no matter the condition. Your video quality and over-all presentation is excellent. Thank you and keep um comin!

Outside the blue portion originally matched the dash and door trim. That's how Ford did it in those days. The blue is sharp, though. Very nice survivor, refurbished, not restored. Fine, impressive daily driver.

First car I remember in our family, 2dr light turquoise. Dad was strictly a Ford man and only ever had a V8. Stood out because it smiled.

One of my favorites , makes a good black and white as might be seen on 1950s TV classic "Highway Patrol".

This car was originally teal or turquoise, but the blue/white looks so good on the Ford and Mercury cars of their unique 1955-56 two-car series.

You're right about these cars being overshadowed by the Chevy. I agree that these cars have aged fairly well and aren't all that bad looking.

Thank you for this great information video. I’m a GM man born in 1954. I would not turn down any of these cars. My wife was born in 1957, her dream car was a 1957. These vehicles were built when people took pride in their work.

My Mom bought herself one of these in 1955. She ordered dark blue over light blue. Beautiful. Parents said it was a great car. It was a fast car them.

I started liking Fords after my dad bought a 55 Crown Victoria in 1957.

Love the all around design of the 55 Ford. The 58, 59 and 61 are also beautiful designs. Also always loved the 55 Plymouth. Enjoying your videos, Thank you for posting!👍🏼🙏🏼

Always enjoy '55 and '56 Fords. I had a grey and colonial white '56 Club Sedan (2-dr) back- in the day with the Fordomatic transmission You are correct about how it operates as a two-speed in Drive! However, it is a three-speed transmission. You must put it in Low for 1st gear. Here's something you may not know. Shift into Low and accelerate, then shift into Drive long enough to shift into 2nd gear, then shift back to Low to HOLD 2nd gear and keep on going - shift back to Drive for 3rd gear. All of this to simulate a stick shift with a Fordomatic. :)

Story is my first ride home in '59 was in a '49 Rocket 88, but the first car I remember was a 1955 2-dr, in the lovely teal. Mainline, no chrome, but it had the Y-block. A happy car, it smiles!

That place with these cars you show IS worth the international trip ! Good lord yes ! Cheers from New Zealand 🇳🇿

Back in the day Ford was known for new improvements in vehicles. The 55 ford had a new design but still,had the 6 volt operating system until the 56 model year .

Great analysis as always. Showing all the 55 Ford lines (you forgot farm tractors)....and I lived in this time frame.... I always was amazed by the 55 Chevy (which I owned) how it gained soooo much more popularity than the Ford, which was a very good looking car and even a bit more stylish. Your showing the analysis of the cosmetic changes front and back was very eye-opening. And the memory of the ridiculous exhaust connector, which was designed to burn wrists and forearms...which helped sell Vaseline and gauze. Though I had the Chevy... I'd take the Ford both times.

I had a '55 Fairlane, 2 door 272ci V8 Y-block 3sp w/overdrive and had dual exhaust (no funky exhaust crossover in front of the engine). Kinda miss it. The combo fuel pump/vacuum pump was a real PITA to source (and the vacuum pump was poor, at best) and the three bladed fan was a guillotine just waiting for a victim (every single one I saw has tossed one of the blades, usually right through the hood). 6V POSITIVE ground...

If only I had 16,000 saved up... I'd definitely buy

I love the way the adds were worded. New Trigger torque power. LOL What ever that was. Great looking car.

55 Fairlane 55 Rambler These Fords were somewhat overlooked by the success of the tri-5 Chevys. Which are considered by many to be the epitome of styling for 55,56, and in particular the 1957 Chevy. In reality Ford sold more vehicles than Chevrolet in 57. I've always considered the 55-57 Fords to be some of the best looking automobiles Ford made during the 50s. Also Jay, as you mentioned. I also agree with you that the styling has held up well. At first look there's something about these years of Ford cars that makes them look small but when you are next to one or sitting in one it's actually a big full size car. Having friends who owned these years and having helped them work on them. I can say from first hand experience that burns from the exhaust pipe up high in the front of the engine were real If you weren't careful. What were they thinking?

Hi Jay!: The 1955 Ford! Another of my favorites! Our family actually had one in the 1960's when I was a LITTLE shaver! Dad let me sit on his lap and help him "steer" the 1955 Ford Station Wagon! (Car seats? we don't need no stinkin' car seats!) It was light yellow and the same off-white two tone that the NICE one you showed had. Somewhere in the family photo pile is a photo of tiny me toddling around the driveway at Uncle Kenny's Service Station, with the '55 in the background. WYR#1 This one is VERY hard for me, actually, as all three of those cars are NICE. Going Ford only because we had one. #2 I'm not gonna' guess! I want ALL of those! They are SO COOL!!

My father bought an almost exact duplicate of the displayed auto, just did not have the fender skirts. He traded it not long after he experienced a break down on the Indiana Toll Road. I was 5 years old. Car had its engine issues, which is why he traded it. But I remember it as a very nice ride. I still like the styling to this day

That front suspension was adopted by Checker and was used in their cars until they stopped production in the 1980's

I love what Ford did to the 55's from the 54's. My favorite feature is the the one year only radio that matches the rest of the instruments. Unfortunately, Chevy was a little better overall, and the sales proved that. The only that sticks out with the Ford was the 6 volt electrical system. Chevy went to 12 volt in 55.

While reviewing the Ford Town Sedan, I noticed a slightly custom 55 Chevy Nomad.

That's a cute (if a tad rusty) '55 Fairlane in a great color combination. And I'd take it over the other two choices.

I was born in 1957, so these cars would have been around when I was growing up. Thanks for reviewing this one. My mother had a white Fairlane (1959 I think), so I am a bit biased towards Fords for this era. Just for that reason, I would choose the Ford over the other cars. However, when I was in grammar school, my dad had a 1956 BelAir that he let me drive sitting in his lap - so I love the Chevrolet a lot as well. Could I please have one of each?! LOL

My parents had a '55 Mainline tudor, with a 6 cylinder and a 3 speed. The '55 Fords sold well considering it had a freshened 1952 body, while Chevrolet and Plymouth were all-new that year.

These were nice looking cars and this is my favorite color combination for them. In my opinion it is superior to the forgettable 1954 Ford in every way. This is a nice solid and affordable example. I love that radio! I would rather have the 1955 Bel Air in the first and the 1955 Fairlane in the second.

I like the 55' better because of the paint job and color choices. 🐋😊 Riding past Ron's junkyard there were so many of these 55-59 cars, and often just minor problems, but people wanted new cars. Unfortunately most were crushed, but what a treasure was lost, if only someone would have had a crystal ball 🔮

The '55 and up Fords were eye catching, but I hated to see how fast the eyebrows of the '57 and '58 models rusted out (MOPAR's too). Loved the '57 T-Bird! My Dad was an Oldsmobile man (always used, as he was a school teacher and didn't have the dough for a fresh one) - Good wheels.

One of my all-time favorite cars 😊 The rounded styling is now changing toward straighter lines, there's more chrome trim than before, tail-fins aren't too pronounced, and the concave grille emerges which Ford would continue with on some models into the future. The headlights look good and the taillights are great in style and size. Gotta love the 'round' styling of the dashboard modules even down to the radio and heater. The valve cover trim panels look sharp, but the exhaust crossover is universally hated by every mechanic and the Y-blocks generally suck but were better than the flathead. With the 6-cylinder you had a good car here. WYR both go to this car, but I do like the Rambler.

No doubt, Ford had an exterior styling win here. However, in 1955, General Motors started painting its cars with a new acrylic paint that required the cars to be baked, and it produced a superior finish. I think it took Ford almost 4 years to catch up.

Radio design always fascinated me. One year only and I don't think I've ever seen another round dial presentation from any other domestic postwar manufacturer. My Dad was a Ford guy and probably just this side of greaser. He had a 56 and 57, and drove others. I know he dropped a transmission at least once. The ad campaign in 56 was $56 for 56. Lee Iacocca's brainchild. 20% down and $56 a month would put you behind the wheel. WYR - nostalgia wins - the Ford both times.

These 55/56 were everywhere. They seemed huge to kids but I saw one at a car show and they seem absolutely tiny! And the sure way to figure out which year is, round stuck-on turnsignal in front vs fit-in-bumper. That's probably the fastest way to find out.

I'd love a modern Fairlane as a true crown vic replacement

Interesting to notice that the Soviet Volga was inspired by the Ford models in that it also has a plastic transparent dome for the speedometer. Also the general appearance of the Volga is American.

Thanks, nice work.

I like the '55 🇨🇦 Meteor version. Mercury and Meteor wagon tail lights are interchangeable with the Ford

I love the 55 Ford Victoria. That's the 2 door hardtop, right? Mine in dark blue please Jay..... always dark blue or dark green mate ! Thank you mate 👍 Cheers from New Zealand 🇳🇿

I love these Fords they are beautiful, it was the Y block v8 that let them down. Insufficient oiling to the rockers. Still very sweet looking cars.

My parents bought a brand new ‘55 Customline Tudor V-8 automatic. I remember that car vividly. My father wore it out on his insurance debit.

Ooh... Sin restaurar . Gracias x mostrar ✔👍

The presentation with all the details makes me appreciate what went into the design, thnx J. . . :>/

The "Thunderturd"

that was great Justin, I like the circular radio.

WYR 1: All of them. WYR 2: All of them. You should keep the longer hair for a while. It looks good.

The Wagon was Great Styling to Me.😊

For WYR, I'll go with the Ford Fairlane for both scenarios, although I also like the Chevy BelAir. This looks like a nicely-kept unrestored survivor car. You usually aren't too crazy about the rear seats of mid-fifties Fords, but I guess this one's not bad. It looks good, anyway.

I've always thought the 1956 Chevy seemed to be awfully Ford looking after the clean yet radical lines of the 55. I think it was GM somewhat going to a bit of a safer place styling wise for 56 before going to that amazing 57 Chevy.

I believe the '55 was just a heavily facelifted '54. They even managed to jiggle in that wrap-around windshield. If memory serves, a truly "all new from the ground up" ford came in 1965.

The '55 BelAir and the '55 Fairlane are my picks.

Great vid!!!!! 👍👍

Song is Mr sandman

never seen that brightwork under the tail lites

You know, the T-bird wasn't meant to compete with the Corvette. The T-bird was meant to be a personal luxury car. The Corvette was meant to compete with the British sports cars. The tri-five T-birds had a single bench seat whereas the Corvettes had bucket seats. There was room in the T-birds bench seat for 3 people. You could put 3 people in a Corvette, but like in the "Route 66" TV show, someone would have to sit on the console. Wow! All that visible rust would make me run for the hills. If you took off that rocker trim, I'd bet that rust would have perforated the rockers. I can see the rust near the front top edge of the rocker trim. I can see the perforation about the fender skirt. Scary man!

Maybe I’m biased, for 55 was the year of my birth, I think this was the most attractive version of this Fairlane line made. Great video, appreciate your research and attention to detail, including the original promotional period film.

Chuck us a Willys please Jay. You know its gotta be "dark blue or dark green " cheers cuz. Cheers from New Zealand 🇳🇿

I have actually driven the next model year, a '56 Ford Fairlane. 10:07 When you open the front doors, the protrusions made by the curved windshield into the door spaces were colloquially called "knee knockers," Auto makers abandoned knee knockers about 1960.

OMG Where did you buy that Hair Piece? It’s so COOL!

We had a relative who brought one just like this. It might be his. Although brand new we never really admired this car.

I really enjoyed this video as when I was about 17 my dad had a base model 55 Ford with the 6 cylinder with the 3 speed Manuel. I loved driving that car a lot. When you were shooting out the rear window, there was a cool looking chevy wagon in the room behind the Fairlane. Is there a video on that car, if not I'd love to see you do one.

the "all NEW trigger torque" means you will be TRIGGERED when it doesnt start,,and TORQUED when you get the bill to fix it! lol

Looking at the engine this was in the days when the average guy with a set of socket wrenches, torque wrench, comealong, assorted minor tools like box wrenches screwdrivers, feeler guages etc. could look at the manual and basicly do most of the repairs himself. Might want to send the heads out to do a valve job but that was it. Unfortunately rust was a big issue here in the north. Still as a teen ager you could buy a car on what you made in your summer job. There was not much in the way of safety. That heavy bumper did little to protect the occupants. That steering wheel was especially dangerous. These were the days when drunk driving was all too common. From that era in the ford lineup the fairlane 500 and thunderbirds were my favoriites though i was personally more of a british sports car fan. I guess reliaubility was not an issue then for me.

My Parents had a 2 Door Sedan 1956 3 speed with overdrive and the T Bird 312 mom little sister use to sneak it out and race it.

In 49, the Fords were a completely new designed car from scratch. The 52s were again completely redesigned from scratch. In 55, the car design was new, but every part of the body was tweaked rather than completely redesigned. Thats why the car seems to be the same as the 54, until you start looking at the details. So it is a newly designed car that is similar to the previous generation. In 56 they tweaked the grill and parking lights and some trim. Then starting with the 57 model year the cars were completely redesigned every year into the early seventies. As for the scenarios, I would rather have the Ford in both, but if I could have two cars, I would take the Plymouth also. Interesting thing about the Plymouth when you look closely at it, it is almost too similar to the Ford. It kind of looks like Chrysler might have stolen some of Ford's blueprints an copied the design with a few tweaks.

I was surprised this was a 6v system. I looked i up and it seems FoMoCo was last to the 12v party. This was a beauty! WYR: 1) I'm really torn... I like the Ford, but the Plymouth is sah-weet too... 2) Ford!

Mr. SANDMAN BY THE chordettes. I'll go with the Fairlane.

QUESTION, and I hoped you'd mention it but didn't.. As you look thru windshield from outside, top of speedometer... what's that? maybe a window to help the sun illuminate the speedometer?

When I was 3-4 that wasn't a parcel shelf. It was a toddler bed!

If you got a radio in a 1955 ford car it was round!

The music you just featured was Mr sandman

The car where me and my wife conceived our first baby.❤🎉

These plenty-classy mid-century works of art became the pride and joy of so many middle--income families when '55 rolled around, as were the contemporary offerings from Plymouth and Chevrolet with their bold styling, which was a far cry from the conservative & downright dour models that came in the three years before them. The new V8's were a big step forward, as were new options available for "the low-priced three." Like the '55 dashboard better. WYR: -1- '55 Belvedere because that was my first car way back at age 20 -2- '55 Bel Air

I thought the radio was cool looking. They integrated it into the dashboard like today’s cars have.

Wow ! The fro, bro ! Ya know, it can't go ! Fvck now..... Cheers from New Zealand

Hello good buddy

Your malaprops are hilarious. The Fairlane script is a " badge" and the hood ornament is a " mascot"?

Not too far from this 1955 Fairlane I noticed a '55 BelAir Nomad with the same 2 tone paint colors as this Fairlane. My picks here would be the '55 Belvedere & the '55 Bermuda. Willys used the Bermuda name for 1955 only, as Aeros were no longer produced. These Willys sedans were no longer sold on the North American after '55 , but were sold on the export market through1962.

Beautiful cars but remember they were all death traps.

Ford, and Rambler

Both look good but 54 Gets👍

Plymouth Belvedere and any of the last three never owned a Willy's Car .. like to try one out 😉👍 Ive had a 55 Chevy 210 Granny had a 55 Ford Crown Victoria we put a 312 in it 😊 55 was a great year for Cars 👍 Great Episode 👏👏👏 Happy Motoring ✌️🤠

I've never understood Ford using that odd crossover pipe up at the front of the engine.

The Ford both times. Way better looking.

What's the black car next to this car ?? Please Jay...it's fricken gangster... and it's black....cheers from New Zealand 🇳🇿

The ‘55 Ford would have been a much more attractive offering if they came equipped with the FE engine. Poor Fords were crippled by that raggedy Y-block until the ‘58 model year. Sad …

How did you break your left little finger mate ? Cheers from New Zealand 🇳🇿

Great presentation Jay, as usual. I like the '55 Ford Fairlane a lot, but for WYR I'm afraid I'm going to have to choose the Chevrolet Bel Air and the Nash Rambler Custom sedan. But the Ford Fairlane comes in an easy second in both instances. 😉

The 55 is a much better looking car than the 54

Mr Sandman/ the Chordettes

Ford did a fantastic job with the '55 design IMO, but then so did Chevrolet, so both have always been some of my favorites, the Ford having a more formal look, and Chevy just total style, so I'd be happy with either, but if the Bel-Air was the beauty in the clip, I'd definitely pick it!🤩 In the second, provided i already had one of my first scenario choices, I'd go with the Rambler which I really like alot! Cool video 😎

Belaire,Rambler

55 Rambler metro

The year I came on earth 😅

When did Ford switch to 12 volt?

Any except for the two off brand cars.

Mr sandman

55 chevy fo me