1956 Ford Other

Station Wagon

272-CID V-8

Automatic

Salvage

For those who do not know, the Ford Parklane was the top-of-the-line station wagon in Ford’s line in 1956, above even the Country Squire. The Parklane (a name later applied to deluxe Mercury models) was intended to compete with the Chevrolet Nomad as a two-door luxury wagon. I bought this car in about 1980 from a friend who was then dealing in collectible cars. I was not sure I wanted another project car at the time, but he just delivered it one day. He said if I liked it after looking it over, to pay him and he would send the title. If I did not like it, he would pick it up sometime. Because air conditioning in cars from the 1950s is so rare, especially in low-priced cars, I was especially intrigued by this car with its many “luxury” options. The car has factory air conditioning, power seat, power steering, power brakes and automatic transmission. As can be seen from the engine bay pictures, all of the air conditioning, power steering and power brake parts are still on the car. I do not know what happened to the air cleaner or oil breather cap, if they were ever with the car. The car seemed to run fine, but I never drove it much other than around the farm and down the road a few times to see how it ran and drove. The odometer shows about 17,000 miles, so I assumed that meant the car had about 117,000 miles on it. The old 272-CID seemed to run fine so I decided to buy it and sent the money. Sadly, my friend died shortly thereafter and I never got the title. No one in his family knew where the title was, or anything about the car, so the car is being sold without a title. (Most states have a procedure for acquiring a title on an untitled car.) Because other, more valuable cars were taking up all of my available storage back then, I decided to put this car in an old, unused corn crib to get it under cover. I cut end out of one side of the crib, constructed a ramp and drove the car up onto the concrete floor of the crib. I put the end back in the crib and that is where the car has been ever since. Unfortunately, the corn crib roof eventually began to leak, and finally began to collapse. (The dark area on the hood is shingles and debris from the failing structure. I am in the process of disposing of the old corn crib so now was the time to get the car out and move it on to someone who is looking for a highly-optioned Ford Parklane to restore, or to harvest the rare options to another 1956 Ford. It was quite a project getting the car out, what with tires that would not hold air for more than a few minutes, and one that would not hold any air. I took the end out of the old corn crib, backed my car trailer up to the end, put the ramps onto the concrete floor and winched the car onto the trailer shown in the pictures. (The trailer does NOT go with the car!) Unbeknown to me, there was a two-inch hole at the front lower edge of the driver’s side window, which let water get into the car on that side once the crib roof started to leak. It ruined the driver-side door panel and probably damaged the floor, although it seems solid yet. I did not try to clean up the floor area to see for sure. As can be seen from the pictures, the body is fairly rust-free. Judging from the license plates on the car, it was last licensed in Oregon in 1979. I have tried to explain above what I know about the car, but I will try to answer any emailed questions in a timely manner. Obviously, the car is sold AS IS, WHERE IS, without warranty and without a title. I will give a bill of sale to the buyer transferring ownership. The car is located on a farm near Onawa, Iowa, which is on I-29 between Omaha, Nebraska and Sioux City, Iowa. Certified funds required within 7 days of close. NON-REFUNDABLE $500 deposit by PayPal required within 24-hours of close. Buyer must arrange to pick up or ship the vehicle. Payment must clear before the buyer can take possession. On Aug-19-14 at 08:14:17 PDT, seller added the following information: For those who have asked, the VIN is: M6LR-102234, which decodes as follows: M = 292 CID engine (NOT 272 CID as previously stated); 6 = 1956; L = Long Beach, California assembly plant; R = Ranch Wagon. The Body Code is: 59C (Fairlane Ranch Wagon). The Color is JE (J = Buckskin tan; E = Colonial White). The Trim is BD (White Vinyl and Medium Brown Woven Plastic). The Production Code is 17J-29 (J = September. 17 = the 17th day of September. I think the "29" is the sequence for cars built September 17, 1955, making this car a fairly early 1956 model.) Again please note, the engine is a 292 CID V-8, NOT a 272 CID V-8. I should have known that, but apparently was thinking of 1955 models when I listed the engine size.