56 Customline Police Interceptor

[mercman from oz]

1956 Ford Customline - This was the only model 1956 Ford on offer in Australia together with the Utes. They were all 4 door Customlines and no Fairlanes

[Flathead]

What are those add-on brackets under the front bumper? A tow bar hook-up? A police push bumper? The mystery continues.

[slumlord44]

When I was in the USAF reserves in the late 1960’s my Seargent had a black 56 4 door mainline that was N ex Illinois State Police car. 312, stick. Eat car at the time.

[fordor41]

when we went to Florida in '72 we came back to NY up thru Tenn and Kentucky. one of the small towns we stopped at for gas had a '55-'56 Ford cop car with a red bubble light on top

[Daves55Sedan]

Originally Posted by fordor41

one of the small towns we stopped at for gas had a '55-'56 Ford cop car with a red bubble light on top

Most communities had the single cherry on top of their squad cars through the 60's. When the police needed to swap them for newer models, they would patch the mounting and wiring holes on top as well as for the whip antennae. In the case of the top, I always wondered how the patched the holes. I doubt they tore out the headliner to facilitate a metal plug underneath, then welded the plug on top and ground it smooth. Then they would need to put in a new headliner. They probably just had somebody beat the holes down a bit with a pallpeen hammer and bondo over it. A cheap repaint and it's ready to peddle.
You might also notice some additional holes in the dashboard and under the dash for special police equipment and controls which were plugged with metal hole-plugs if the holes were exposed on front or top of the dashboard.
A lot of used police cars back then went to auction and many times a taxicab company would buy the lot of them up for auction.