What month in 1954 were the '55 models introduced?

[JimNNN]

I understand that the Thunderbirds and trucks may have had their own different schedule. I'm really mainly interested in finding out what month in '54 the standard passenger cars were introduced for the '55 model year. I'm trying to find out how late in production my '54 Ranch Wagon was. (According to the production code, it was made on June 3rd, as far I can tell.)


Thanks, and feel free to contribute helpful info about the T-Birds and pickups, too, as it may help someone else out.

[Dobie Gillis]

Most new model intros were in September back then for all manufacturers. That's not to say there weren't exceptions such as special models (T-bird) and half year models ('63 1/2 Galaxie 500). June would be fairly late production as the plants would have been beginning to tool up for the next model year.

[JimNNN]

Thanks Dobie. I thought it was probably around about that time, but thought I might be misremembering. It's literally been at least 40 years since I've paid attention to the release of the new model year cars within the American car industry. I know that my '61 Merc was made in Nov. of '60, so I figured the new model year probably started before Nov. back in '54 and '55.

[mercman from oz]

1954 Ford Mainline Ranch Wagon

[mercman from oz]

1954 Ford Customline Ranch Wagon

[dmsfrr]

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'55 Thunderbird....
A pre-production/example '55 Thunderbird was introduced to the public at the Detroit Auto Show in February of '54.

Regular production of the '55 Birds began in Dearborn on September 9th of '54. A few examples made before this date were used for testing or advertising purposes.

In an apparent effort to get their featured new model to more dealers sooner, the Dearborn assembly line was dedicated to Thunderbirds for the first 1000 cars.
http://www.tbird.info/first-1955-thunderbirds.htm

'55 T-Birds on showroom floors available for purchase is listed as October 22 of '54, at this link.
A couple weeks later than I would have expected.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_T...rst_generation)

For production of other models and at other assembly plants I have no idea, never looked in to it.

[mercman from oz]

Great old B&W Photo showing the all new 1955 Ford Thunderbird on display with the 1954 Ford Sunliner and 1954 Ford Customline Sedan.

[58Yeoman]

I really miss the new car showings like they used to be at the small Ford dealer where I worked part time in the late 60's. Showroom had room for one car. When the new cars came in, the owner would hide them in different places around town (pop. 1000). We would clean the shop and have the new car showing with all the new cars brought in and cleaned up ready for sale. It was an actual party, not like today.

[JimNNN]

Originally Posted by dmsfrr

'55 Thunderbird....
A pre-production/example '55 Thunderbird was introduced to the public at the Detroit Auto Show in February of '54.

Regular production of the 55's began in Dearborn on September 9th of '54. A few examples made before this date were used for testing or advertising purposes.

In an apparent effort to get their featured new model to more dealers sooner, the Dearborn assembly line was dedicated to Thunderbirds for the first 1000 cars.
http://www.tbird.info/first-1955-thunderbirds.htm

'55 T-Birds on showroom floors available for purchase is listed as October 22 of '54, at this link.
A couple weeks later than I would have expected.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_T...rst_generation)

For production of other models and at other assembly plants I have no idea, never looked in to it.

Thanks for the info, dmsfrr. The wiki link says they planned to build 10,000 T-Birds for the '55 model year, but ended up building over 16,000. It also said that they took orders for 3500 in the first week and a half of sales in October. That makes me think they weren't "pre-selling" the very desirable T-Birds in 1955 like Chevy did the exciting new mid-engine Corvette in 2021. If that was the case, it's curious.

[JimNNN]

Originally Posted by mercman from oz

1954 Ford Mainline Ranch Wagon

Thanks for the Brochure pics, Mercman. The Mainline Ranch Wagon is what I have. I wasn't aware that the Mainline was available with a two-tone paint scheme (such as it was.) Or maybe they just drew that up for the brochure?


Does anyone know: were Couriers available in '54 with this kind of two-tone? That might've been interesting.

[KULTULZ]

I have some old reference materials packed up in the basement that might contain that info. Give me a few days.

I too miss new car intro. It was always a big deal to see what was new. They usually kept them under car covers until intro date. Now I can't tell one brand from another.

[Daves55Sedan]

Originally Posted by JimNNN

I wasn't aware that the Mainline was available with a two-tone paint scheme (such as it was.) Or maybe they just drew that up for the brochure?

That type of paint scheme (offset color wrapped around the windows) was very common for the '52/53/54 Mainline wagons. "54 was the last year the factory used this paint scheme.

Originally Posted by JimNNN

Does anyone know: were Couriers available in '54 with this kind of two-tone? That might've been interesting.

Not sure but I doubt it. All the 54 & earlier Couriers I've seen were one color. There may have been a few '55 and later Couriers with a white top, and those may have been dealer modifications at customer request. The Courier model wasn't produced to appeal to the general public. They mostly went to Mom-and-Pop grocery delivery, Newspaper and parcel delivery, Post office, Coroners office, Police, ambulance services and some to the military. They didn't need to be flashy.

[JimNNN]

Thanks for the info, Dave. Good to know when looking at original cars.



At your convenience, KULTULZ. And thanks.

[KULTULZ]

Rattle my cage Jim if you don't hear anything within a few days.

[KULTULZ]

Originally Posted by KULTULZ

Rattle my cage Jim if you don't hear anything within a few days.

... sheesh ...

Still trying to find the info ...

[rotorwrench]

Somewhere in the late 40s or early 50s, the model year introduction changed from November back to September of the year before any given model year. I figure that this had to be accepted legally in order to avoid some form of legal action. The term "model year" is just that. It is defined by law. Now days it has a lot to do with VIN characters that are required by all cars sold in the US and Canada. The modern VIN system had its earliest beginings in 1954 for Ford Motor Co. Before that, it was basically just a serial number.
https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/model-year

Wikipedia even has a model year page that helps to define it.

Ford generally always started to designed a basic model several years before it ever went into production and they likely still do. Ford Motor Co learned from the Edsel that it sometimes becomes necessary to change things well before the model year begins. If a company plans too far ahead, it can come back to bite them in the tail pipe.

[JeffB2]

When I changed my '54 over to 12 volts and took apart the heater blower assembly I found a stamping of "OCT 54" inside it, my Customline 2 door was made in the Chicago plant. Is it possible that some '55 models were made in other plants and that some plants did not have the newer parts to build the '55 cars ? It is known that old Henry being frugal liked to use up the older parts first so as not to waste them.

[KULTULZ]

I have a FORD HISTORICAL TEXT somewhere ...

If this info was released it will most likely be in there.

It's just like PREGO, it's in there somewhere ...

[KULTULZ]

Originally Posted by JeffB2

When I changed my '54 over to 12 volts and took apart the heater blower assembly I found a stamping of "OCT 54" inside it, my Customline 2 door was made in the Chicago plant.

The 1954 and 1955 used the same blower motor(s).

Do you know the PRODUCTION DATE of the car?

[KULTULZ]

Originally Posted by JimNNN

Does anyone know: were Couriers available in '54 with this kind of two-tone? That might've been interesting.

Can you post the BUILD INFO from your PATENT PLATE?

[JimNNN]

Originally Posted by KULTULZ

Can you post the BUILD INFO from your PATENT PLATE?

I'd be glad to, KULTULZ. I'll be going out of town for a while and the car is in storage, but I'll try to remember to do that when I get back.



Went to a car show recently and had great conversations with other Ranch Wagon owners. Hope y'all are getting to see some nice old Fords out there.

[KULTULZ]

Originally Posted by KULTULZ

I have some old reference materials packed up in the basement that might contain that info. Give me a few days.

- BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK -

Well, I finally found the reference text -

STANDARD CATALOG of FORD
Krause Publications - Iola, WI - 1998

No show room date given.

It gives PUBLIC PRESENTATION of JAN 6, 1954.

- Why JAN 06, 1954 when the car line was released in SEP/OCT 1953?

Then gives 1955 car line production start of OCT 25, 1954.

The correct answer has to be out there on the net. I will keep an eye peeled.

Sorry about that.

[JimNNN]

Thanks a lot for digging out that info! Very helpful and revealing. It looks like my June '54 production date wasn't quite as late in the model year as I would've thought.



I just got back into town so I'll get that patent plate info photographed and posted in the next couple of days, KULTULZ.

[Herman Munster]

I know the discussion is about '55s but for example my '56 has a build date of Oct 21, 55. According to the s/n I presume it was already the 16039th Ford on the assembly line.

[KULTULZ]

Here we go. Seems I had a little time frame dementia bubbling.

This is 1959 EDSEL PRODUCTION SCHEDULING

* Production of the 1959 line was started on September 23, 1958

*Introduction of the 1959 line was made on October 31, 1958

*The last 1959 model Edsel was assembled on August 26, 1959

So I was off about a month? Ask my creditors and they will tell you the same ...

[KULTULZ]

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Originally Posted by KULTULZ

- BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK -

Well, I finally found the reference text -

STANDARD CATALOG of FORD
Krause Publications - Iola, WI - 1998

No show room date given.

It gives PUBLIC PRESENTATION of JAN 6, 1954.

- Why JAN 06, 1954 when the car line was released in SEP/OCT 1953?

Then gives 1955 car line production start of OCT 25, 1954.

The correct answer has to be out there on the net. I will keep an eye peeled.

Sorry about that.

I've been wondering ...

If the release date was JAN 54, did it have something to do with the KOREAN CONFLICT (production delay)?

[JimNNN]

KULTULZ, I have definitely heard (somewhere...but I can't remember where) that the Y-Block was supposed to be introduced in '53 (model year), but it couldn't happen because of the Korean conflict. The story given was that some type of metal used in the engine was being used for military purposes. Kind of like copper not being available during WW2. I have no idea what the metal was or if this is accurate or not, but I heard it. If true, I believe it's probably connected to what you're talking about.


BTW...speaking of copper and WW2, if you ever get a COPPER penny made in 1943 KEEP IT! Supposedly they only made steel pennies in '43, but a handful of copper versions were made by mistake.They're supposed to be worth unbelievable amounts of money.

[KULTULZ]

Correct on the FYB, intro held back one year.

Never knew that about the penny. Only saw steel.

THANX!

[Grumpy Rick]

I just tried to register my '55 Bird on the registry. It said mine was already registered by R back in 2012, showing mine was one of the first 1000 (partial VIN...100221) and it was important to update it.

I filled out the form and sent it back, but the computer would not accept it, kept asking if it was already registered, and gave me no way to continue. I rechecked my work, and confirmed that I had entered the registration number, but gave up trying to update it.

Am I right in assuming it would be #216 built, after the 5 prototype numbers that apparently don't count?

[dmsfrr]

Originally Posted by Grumpy Rick

I just tried to register my '55 Bird on the registry. It said mine was already registered by R back in 2012, showing mine was one of the first 1000 (partial VIN...100221) and it was important to update it.

I filled out the form and sent it back, but the computer would not accept it, kept asking if it was already registered, and gave me no way to continue. I rechecked my work, and confirmed that I had entered the registration number, but gave up trying to update it.

Am I right in assuming it would be #216 built, after the 5 prototype numbers that apparently don't count?

Their registration form webpage may or may not be compatible with some web browsers. I've had 'special moments' with it before.
You can contact John (the T-Bird Registry owner) directly with your updates by using this "Contact" page on their website.
http://www.tbird.info/thunderbird-registry-contact.htm

Yes 100221 would be the two hundred and twenty first '55 Thunderbird scheduled to be built.
Due to various supply and assembly line issues they were built in close but not exact numerical order for the first 1001.
http://www.tbird.info/first-1955-thunderbirds.htm

Numbers 100001 thru 100004 were considered prototype/test or pre-production Thunderbirds.
The first 'production' Thunderbird is considered by most folks to be number 100005.
Yours would technically be the 217th Thunderbird scheduled for regular production, which began on Sept. 9th of '54.
However, the last three (or four) digits of the actual serial number of the first 1000 are most commonly used, which saves having to do the 'minus 4' math in the middle of a conversation and reduces possible confusion.

[Lamar Wadsworth]

My father worked at the Atlanta assembly plant at Hapeville GA from 1952-82. We always took our vacations in August when the plant closed for model change. So new model production normally began in late August/early September.

[dmsfrr]

Originally Posted by Grumpy Rick

I just tried to register my '55 Bird on the registry. It said mine was already registered by R back in 2012, showing mine was one of the first 1000 (partial VIN...100221) ...

Another distinction your car may have...
On the front underside of the hood near the hinges are two places that are recessed to clear the top corners of the radiator.
For the first couple hundred(+) '55 Birds the interference in these two areas that wasn't discovered until nearly too late. They had to be hammered by hand before assembly, so they're fairly lumpy.
It's a unique original feature of the very early production '55 T-Birds.
The stamped frame ribbing for the hoods had this problem corrected after the first few hundred.