V8 cruiser
Pitched as as price-competitive family saloon, the Ford Customline series from 1952-on carved out a significant niche for itself in our local car culture.
In our review of the Customline series, author Joe Kenwright commented: “The ’52 Aussie Customline V8 at $2800 was a value-packed alternative to the $2100 Holden, with its extra size and grunt. When the four-cylinder Austin A70 cost $2740 and the Dodge/DeSoto/Plymouth side-valve sixes cost at least $3200, Ford’s Customline was soon etched into local ‘Big Country’ culture and became a force in local motorsport – way beyond its base US family car origins.
“The plan was to then apply extra pressure on Holden with locally-assembled British Fords until Ford Australia was ready, in 1959, to build a home-grown, six-cylinder rival. A last-minute switch from the Zephyr to the Falcon delayed this until 1960.”
For many, the Customline represented owning something that was a cut above the average car, and developed tastes that later branched out into the likes of Galaxie and Fairlane.
This example is a 1952 restomod, featuring a 302 Wndsor V8 in the nose and C4 auto. ocated near Hervey Bay in Qld, it’s priced at $35,000.
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