Wandering Eyes ...

[Admiral]

In the not-too-distant future I'm thinking about getting a shoebox Ford, or even better, a Mercury of this period. I love the look of these post-war cars, though I also appreciate how groundbreaking they were. Price-wise many of them seem to be VERY reasonable.

Between the 1949, '50 and '51 model years is one significantly better than the others? Aside from styling what are some of the major differences between these cars? Are there common problem areas?


Thanks!

- Craig

[Seth Swoboda]

'50 & '51 crestliners are good looking cars. I got to see a '51 crestliner last saturday when we met up with some other V8'ers for a cruise. I was pretty impressed with the car.

[corvette8n]

My very first car purchased in 1964 was a 50' Ford 2 door custom for the handsome sum of $5.00. My Dad also owned a black 53' Merc 2 door auto, in about 1959, I always liked the lines of that car.

[Pat/Ohio]

Craig, I like the shoeboxes also. You might look for one with the overdrive transmission. I have a '50 Tudor Sedan with the overdrive...love it. These overdrives were available all three years. If you prefer an automatic...you would be looking at a '51. Some folks prefer the coupes over the sedans. Either is fine with me. The hardtops came along also in '51 (no posts). The convertibles look great in all three years....expect to pay more! All three years had a 6 or 8 cyl. I like the sound of my flathead 8 with dual exhaust. Good luck, Pat

[ford38v8]

Craig, aside from styling being your question, I can say that the '49 Ford being the first of the postwar cars suffered from being rushed into production before all the kinks were ironed out. Front suspension problems topped the list, and wan't corrected until the following year.

I'll second the recommendation for Overdrive. A three speed with Overdrive is a way better choice than an Automatic in my opinion.

[Tinker]

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The 3 on the tree + overdrive setup was very similar to my 53 and it had no problem cruising 65-70mph all day long. Can you go wrong with 49-50 ford, always liked the grill on those years. And a 1949-51 merc... well ya, any of those would be a great to own. Happy hunting!

I know this is not the 49-51 shoebox but... I had a later 53 customline. 50th anniversary car. Every piece of the car had a plane/jet influence. The taillights, the jet on the hood, the jet over the rear wheel, the propeller grill.

Picts of it at a commercial shoot and a photoshop version of what I was going to do with it. Sold it to buy a 42 sedan et, 28gow, et 36 coupe....

[sidevalve8ba]

Originally Posted by ford38v8

Craig, aside from styling being your question, I can say that the '49 Ford being the first of the postwar cars suffered from being rushed into production before all the kinks were ironed out. Front suspension problems topped the list, and wan't corrected until the following year.

I'll second the recommendation for Overdrive. A three speed with Overdrive is a way better choice than an Automatic in my opinion.

I could not have said this better. I had a '49 Tudor several years ago but what Ford38 says is very true on both counts. The overdrive is almost a must in my book.

[tubman]

I'll agree about the overdrive as well; the first shoebox I had in high school had a good working unit, and it is good for cruising and has a better final drive ration for better in town performance, a win-win situation. I have a couple of overdrive setups for my current car, but at my age I'll probably never get one installed. Just for the sake of argument, I'll give you my take on Crestliners. In my opinion, they are overtrimmed, and being based on the regular two door sedan, the have the faux quarter window in the rear sides that I always thought looked awkward. If I had my "druthers", it would be a '51 Victoria for me. Even though they were an afterthought for this series, they looked just right, and have the panache' of the name "Victoria". Other than that, I prefer the club coupe (but I'm prejudiced). As mentioned above, quality got better over the three years (Ford itself advertised "the new Ford for 1950, better in 50 ways"). Of course a convertible or station wagon would be nice, but they are getting expensive and I would hesitate to use a nice one as a daily driver in the summer like I do my car. I have used my car extensively over the last 25 years, and even took a trip from the twin cities to St. Charles, IL with zero problems. I would also really like a Mercury, but again purchase price for a nice one rears it's ugly head.

[amodel25]

I'm partial to the '51. Most of the start up issues of the '49 were gone by then. My modified 6 cylinder with overdrive will run 70 all day long.

[mrtexas]

Originally Posted by Admiral

In the not-too-distant future I'm thinking about getting a shoebox Ford, or even better, a Mercury of this period. I love the look of these post-war cars, though I also appreciate how groundbreaking they were. Price-wise many of them seem to be VERY reasonable.

Between the 1949, '50 and '51 model years is one significantly better than the others? Aside from styling what are some of the major differences between these cars? Are there common problem areas?


Thanks!

- Craig

I've got a 49 woodie. Major difference between the years is different grills and front parking lights. Dashes are slightly different. Steering wheel on 51 is way different. Get the 49/50/51 book for more details!

[JT FORD]

I have a '49 and a '50. The '49 is a convertible and the '50 is a tudor. I have had both, a '49 and '51 back in the l950's. All have had overdrive, wouldn't have one without it. All have been V-8's. I like the looks of the 49 & 50 better than the 51, but that's just me.
Which ever one you get, put wide white radial tires on it...........

[waterboychuck]

I had a 50 wagon back in the 70's. Loved it.

[D. Jones]

The wife has decided to give her Corvette to our youngest son so now I'm going to have to replace it with some sort of car. I had thought shoebox, but recently decided on a 52-53 Victoria, I'm afraid she is thinking another C car. Either way it will have to wait for couple of years until the finances recover from a trip we're going on next year.

So many wants, so little money.

[Brendan]

when I was in high school I drove this 51 Merc. it did not have overdrive in it . but it was a nice riding car. it belonged to my Dad, I think I put more miles on it then he did. that's me about 30 years ago!

[Ralph Moore]

Sweet high school ride Brendan, mine was a 55 mainliner. I bid on a shoebox last fall but missed out. Kinda glad , I don't have the time or ability to explain it to the wife.

[Tinker]

Now that's a high school car Brendan! Nice

[wga]

San Francisco Beat: about 1:30 in you will see a shoebox - '51. That stuck in my mind.
My choice is the 49, as the grill bar and turn signal lights are on the same bar. The front
grill has the real airplane propeller look to it.
And for the woodie, the door handles are unique for that year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLoMTT7JT3c
I really enjoy driving mine, has the overdrive and factory installed turn signals. The front suspension needs to have the usual wear parts replaced...so you know what I am doing
during the winter months.

[Planojc]

Overdrive is a must in today's traffic.

[Admiral]

Originally Posted by Brendan

when I was in high school I drove this 51 Merc. it did not have overdrive in it . but it was a nice riding car. it belonged to my Dad, I think I put more miles on it then he did. that's me about 30 years ago!

That's a beautiful '51 Merc! I might have to get me one of those .

Ok, so it sounds like they're all pretty good cars but perhaps 1950 and onward is a better option since they had a year to sort out some of the initial problems with the '49 car. Also, overdrive is a MUST.

How do these cars ride and handle compared to the earlier Fords with transverse springs and torque tubes? Much better I'd imagine, though my '36's ride is really quite good, especially over bombed-out surfaces.

[Planojc]

World of difference in the ride. My 51 rides as good as any modern car. I also recommend radial tires.