Just bought a '52 Vicky....

[Lebowski]

Last weekend I flew down to Tampa from Louisville and bought a '52 Crestline Victoria from a 73 year old guy who has owned it since 2005 and drove it back up here. He rebuilt the flathead and a friend with a transmission shop rebuilt the Fordomatic. Then he started making a few changes and improvements to it. I wrote out a list of everything he did and then had it printed on a 20" x 30" piece of paper which I put in a big picture frame to display at car shows and cruises. The text of it is below along with some pics. Let me know what you guys think...

1952 FORD CRESTLINE VICTORIA

The Crestline was the top of the line model for Ford in 1952. There were no 2 or 4 door sedans in this line-just the Victoria 2 door hardtop, Sunliner convertible and Country Squire woody station wagon.

I purchased this car in June 2013 from a 73 year old man named Sam who lives north of Tampa, Florida. I flew down there and drove it back almost 900 miles to my home in the Louisville area. This car may look pretty stock on the outside but Sam made a lot of changes and improvements to it over the course of several years. He completely rebuilt the 239 cu. in. flathead V-8 engine and had the Fordomatic transmission rebuilt by a friend down there who has been working on Ford transmissions for over 40 years. Almost everything else on the car has been changed one way or the other. Dual exhaust was installed with Smithy's mufflers. A new late model core was installed in the original radiator and the stock fan was replaced by one with 7 blades.

Sam installed a lot of parts that were either rebuilt or NOS from other makes and models. He fabricated one bracket to hold both the 95 amp alternator out of a '94 Buick and also the power steering unit out of a '92 Cadillac. The NOS fan motor was designed for a '68 Bronco. The rebuilt power brake booster is out of an '87 Pontiac Fiero. The tilt steering column came from an '89 Dodge. The stock rear axle was too wide for these newer radial tires so he installed a rebuilt 8" rear axle and differential with 3.00 gears out of a '72 Maverick which is 2" narrower than the stock unit. He also had a new driveshaft built which is 2" longer than the stock one.

The gas tank and sending unit have been replaced. The entire brake system was rebuilt with power discs on the front. A 24 circuit wiring harness designed by Sam was installed which provide 5 modern relays in several key spots.

The entire interior was removed and the dash and mouldings were repainted. Over $200 of sound deadening insulation was installed under the new carpet and then the seats and door panels were recovered in leather and cloth. A new tinted windshield was installed as well as all new felts and rubbers on the other windows.

What fun is a car without a stereo? Sam installed a Jensen AM/FM/CD unit with 4 hidden speakers. There is also a power antenna that appears out of nowhere when it is turned on. A Dolphin speedometer and 4 gauges were installed and there's a tach in the center of the dash where the clock used to be.

There are other smaller modifications and changes to the car but those are most of the major ones. The car drives great considering the fact that it was built when Harry Truman was President.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look at my car.................Dave

[jaxV8carz]

Gotta hand it to Sam. He did a great job on your '52 Vic. Beautiful car and do hope you get many years of driving and showing pleasure.

[mike42]

Hey Lebow....that is really nice. Reminds me of the '53 I had back in '62 !

Nice stuff !

Mike

[bk53]

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Nice find! nice tribute to P.O.