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1954 Ford Skyliner: Fully Loaded and once FBI-Owned 

3/21/2016

 
Picture
THE CAR AND ITS OWNER
1954 Ford Crestline Skyliner owned by Stephen Siben
 
WHAT MAKES IT INTERESTING
Since Ford produced almost 1.2 million 1954 cars in an epic sales battle with Chevrolet, it’s hard to imagine that any of its models could be rare.  Yet the top-of-the-line Crestline Skyliner – with its Plexiglas roof insert – accounted for just 1.1% of production.  And if that’s not enough, the word among Ford enthusiasts is that only 200 models, including Siben’s, featured a factory-made and dealer-installed hood with a see-through display window to show off the company’s new “Y-block” overhead valve V-8 engine to prospective buyers.  Siben says his car may be unique because it includes a total of 27 factory- or dealer-installed options, including power steering, windows and seat; “Magic-Aire” climate control with air conditioning; scads of chrome-trimmed items, both inside and out; and even a “Coronado” deck lid, a fake metal spare tire carrier that attached to the trunk.  It was highly unusual for these plebeian Fords to carry this many options, he notes. “Most of them wouldn’t be on anything but a Lincoln (Ford’s luxury brand). The older people see it’s a Ford and look down on it.”
 
HOW LONG HE’S OWNED IT
Since 2014
 
WHERE HE FOUND IT
Siben bought it through an online auction.  “I love shopping online,” he says, “and there was an auction in Washington, D.C.  Every once in a while, they have a car that was owned by the FBI.  I was the high bidder.”  Siben says he has confirmed the car was owned and stored by the FBI for two decades in an air-conditioned garage in Quantico, Virginia, but he has yet to find out how the agency obtained it.
 
CONDITION
“It was almost perfect,” he says.  “There were just a couple of scratches, but on this car, I didn’t have to do very much. I’ve never seen a glass top in as good a shape as this one.  It’s like brand new.  It was said to block around 60 percent of the sun’s heat and 72 percent of the glare, all while providing an open-air feeling.”
 
TIPS FOR OWNERS
“A ’54 Ford isn’t an expensive car,” he advises, “but you’re not going to find one like this.” Because it’s a Ford, he says, parts are easy to come by.
 
VALUE
“I don’t know,” says Siben.  “The right guy might pay $50,000 to $75,000 for it.”  Hagerty, the classic car insurer, places a value of $47,100 on a pristine ’54 Skyliner without all the options and special hood.
 
THE BOTTOM LINE
“It drives beautifully,” he says, “and it’s unique.”  Among the Ford’s records is a 1954 speeding ticket issued to the original owner.


1932 Ford B400 'Deucenberg':  Ridler's Choice

10/20/2015

 
PicturePhoto: D. Cooper
THE CAR AND ITS OWNER
1932 Ford B400 “Deucenberg” hot rod owned by Doug Cooper
 
WHAT MAKES IT INTERESTING
For over seven decades, American hot rodders have coveted the ’32 Ford as the basis for some exceptional custom rides, from scruffy “rat rods” all the way up to finely crafted, unique, award-winning street rods, such as Cooper’s “Deucenberg.”  The name combines “deuce” -- the hot-rodder’s term for the ‘32s -- with Duesenberg, considered the finest American car of the last century.  Cooper’s Ford blends the same power and elegance, uniting a 405-horsepower Chevrolet LS6 V-8 engine and hand-built mechanicals with an unusually high level of craftsmanship and fine design throughout.  “This car is unique from bumper to bumper,” says Cooper.  “It is like a ’32 Ford, but nothing is the same.  It’s a 100-percent, handmade, one-off designed car.”  

HOW LONG HE’S OWNED IT
“The build started in 2005 and was completed in February 2009,” Cooper says. 
 
WHERE HE FOUND IT
“This project started with a very nice ’32 Ford Tudor (two-door) sedan” found in Alabama, he says.  It was handed over to noted Alabama hot rod builder Alan Johnson, who retained very little of the original body.  Johnson redesigned the upper section to closely resemble the most valuable and rare original ’32, known as the B400 convertible sedan.

CONDITION
“There are literally thousands of handmade parts,” says Cooper.  “The body panels, tail lights, running boards, roof moldings, interior, suspension, engine parts, differential – almost every single part has been made, modified or improved in fit, finish or other detail.”  There’s a lift-off aluminum top covered in cloth and a rich leather interior done by another Alabama craftsman.  The custom front beam axle was machined on Long Island.  Cooper has retained the blueprints to show the complex major changes made to the body and highlight the “tremendous undertaking this project presented.”
 
VALUE
The “Deucenberg” is insured for seven figures, he says.
 
THE BOTTOM LINE
“I love ’32 Fords,” says Cooper.  “Currently, I own nine.  Our goal was to create the most elegant street rod ever constructed.”  Top hot rod experts apparently agreed.  In 2009, Cooper’s car received their highest and most prestigious honor, the Detroit Autorama Ridler Award.


1937 Ford Panel Delivery: One hot express package

9/15/2014

 
PicturePhoto: B. Nowakowski
THE CAR AND ITS OWNER
1937 Ford Panel Delivery street rod owned by Bob Nowakowski

WHAT MAKES IT INTERESTING
These rides were the workhorses of the Great Depression, serving as ambulances, police wagons and delivery vans.  Ford was so proud of this model that, for 1937, it built 42 Model 78 Deluxe Panel Delivery vans as an educational fleet to promote sales of Ford parts and accessories to dealers. Only one is known to have survived and it sold at auction in 2006 for $170,500.  The rest were stripped of their special equipment, given a black paint job and sold as used Ford fleet vehicles.  Nowakowski says his customized Panel Delivery "still has many of the original features, such as a crank-out windshield.”

HOW LONG HE’S OWNED IT
Since 2006

WHERE HE FOUND IT
“I purchased it on Long Island (New York) and was able to insure it and drive it home,” he says.

CONDITION
“The original 85-horsepower drive train has been replaced with a Chevy 350-cubic-inch engine and automatic transmission," Nowakowski says. "The truck has been repainted to a bronze color used on the Plymouth Prowler.  I’ve been able to refinish an old oak floor that I found under the carpet.”  

VALUE
He values the street rod between $30,000 and $35,000

TIPS FOR OWNERS
“Buy something pretty much completed and add your own touches to it," Nowakowski advises.

THE BOTTOM LINE
““The truck has been owned by a few different owners on Long Island," he says, "including a brewery company, a collector and a restorer. Everybody along the line has added a few features.  I have added a mural of an old repair shop on the side and pictures of the vehicles I have owned in past years.”


1956 Continental Mark II: Going topless

8/27/2014

 
Picture
THE CAR AND ITS OWNERS
1956 Continental Mark II convertible owned by Glynette and Barry Wolk

WHAT MAKES IT INTERESTING
American luxury cars were riding high in the 1950s, but not high enough for Ford, which decided to target Rolls-Royce by offering the sumptuous Mark II sport coupe for $10,000, about double the price of a Cadillac. “It was actually built by a separate division of Ford Motor Company called the Continental Division,” says Barry Wolk. “Production ceased in late ’56 with just over 3,000 of the cars made.”  A single prototype convertible went to the Ford family, while two others – including the Wolks’ stunning blue ragtop – were commissioned by Ford’s marketing group from new coupes that had been damaged in transit.  “They were to be used as dealer-demonstrators in the Chicago area,” Wolk says. “No one knows what happened to them between late 1955 and late 1962.”

HOW LONG THEY’VE OWNED IT
Since 2002

WHERE THEY FOUND IT
The Wolks were searching an online auction site for a 1960s Lincoln when they saw the Mark II.  They bought it directly from the owner after it failed to reach its reserve price.  

CONDITION
“The car was treated to an off-frame restoration ending in 1994,” Wolk says. “As many NOS (new old stock) parts as possible were used to make it in like-new condition. No expense was spared in restoring the chrome and painted surfaces. The engine compartment was restored to exact specifications. The mechanical aspects carry forward to modern cars so it’s a very capable driver. It will do 80 miles an hour in quiet elegance.”

TIPS FOR OWNERS
“The Mark II is an expensive car to restore,” Wolk cautions. “The massive bumpers and the rest of the bright work take 150 pounds of chromium to cover them to original specifications.
The drive train was right out of the Lincoln parts bins, making parts availability a dream.”

VALUE
The Wolks decline to put a current value on the car.  “The Mark II convertible was actually offered by Ford for $18,000,” Wolk says, “but there were no takers for a production vehicle.”

THE BOTTOM LINE
Wolk says the Continental has been displayed at Ford’s Michigan headquarters and has won trophies at most of its 40 car show appearances.  The car turned heads at the 2013 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and the couple has also met Ford family members. “When I bought the car, I told my wife that we had just purchased a new social life,” he says. “That turned out to be quite true.  We’ve made more long-term relationships in the last 10 years than the 30 before. Car people are special.”


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    Author

    David Fluhrer has been the classic car columnist for Newsday since 2008, and a new car reviewer for Newsday's auto section since 2018. 

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