1956 Ford Country Sedan for Sale

For Sale

1956 Ford Country Sedan

Located near Kansas City

Currently for sale on eBay:

For Sale: 1956 Ford Country Sedan Wagon. This car is a nicely optioned, very original and complete, "survivor" car.

We bought it on ebay to be restored as an occasional daily driver for my wife. Since then two reality based issues cause us to want sell it. First of all I have too many projects, even though I really like the car it will be years before I can spend much time or money on it. Secondly after finishing another old car project my wife came to realize that, while she loves old cars she likes them best when I'm in the car and my toolbox is handy.

As far as the history of the car, it came from Wyoming by way of Montana. The previous owner bought it at an estate sale in Wyoming. He said the car had been stored inside since '74 which is the date on the Wyoming plate it came with. There is also a October 1974 dated Wyoming inspection sticker on the windshield. I also don't think it was driven much toward the end, it currently has 92,800 miles on it. There is a 1969 dated oil reminder sticker on the door which says 90,200 miles, so I figure it only had 5000 miles put on it from '69-'74.

The car appears to be completely original and nicely optioned. I believe it has the original paint which still shows some shine. Color code is WE which decodes to Springmist Green over Colonial White. I think this is a beautiful color combination, from blocks away you know it's a 50s car. Body is 79B which is an 8 passenger Country Sedan, the 3rd row seat is in nice condition, the split folding middle seat is there and correct also. Here is a great movie showing how to use this feature. 1956 Ford Wagon Promo The vin starts with P6RX which specifies the engine to be the 312 4V with 245 HP and it has factory dual exhaust. I have no reason to believe anything has ever been done to the engine, there is a cardboard inventory tag still on it which most people say indicates it hasn't been extensively worked on. The trans is the 3spd Fordomatic and shifts fine. Rear axle is the integrated carrier type (which all station wagons had) with 3:54 gears. No power steering or power brakes but it drives nice (or would with decent tires). Overall the car is what I would call well used but unmolested.

The frame, floors and rear tire well are solid. I honestly think it is in great condition for restoration. The only rust through places are on the bottom corner of both front fenders. The bad news bodywise is that I think towards the end the person who owned it was driving mostly by feel. All 4 corners are rounded off. Front and back bumpers are pretty bent up. There are some pretty good dents in the lower left rear, behind the rear bumper, and both front corners of the front fender are bent in such that the paint cracked. Both rocker panels have dents in them. Everywhere else there are scratches and dings you'd expect on a well used car. One minor dent in the roof above the drivers door, but other than that it's very straight. Glass is good except there is a small rock chip in the windshield and right rear side glass is cracked. Also there is a broken hinge on the drivers side rear door, it needs to be drilled out and have a new pin / bushings installed. The stance is a little high in the back because someone reversed the shackles, I tried to flip them with a bar but couldn't do it, I think you'd have to remove them.

I have not done much to it since January when we got it. I did want it running better so we could drive it occasionally around the neighborhood, when we got it you had to dribble gas into the "teapot" carburetor to get it to start. So at the advice of some great people at Y-Blocks Forever I replaced the distributor with a 1957 style rebuilt one from NAPA and replaced the Holley Teapot with a modern Holley 4V carburetor. That really woke it up, it now starts right up and runs good. I also changed the oil and filter, gas filter, and adjusted the valves. I've also fixed a few things around on the body. The lift gate hinges were mangled such that the back window would not completely close. I found one NOS (new old stock) and one good used hinge and spring and fixed that so that now it works properly. The original owner was also kind of an artist in bailing wire, which was holding on quite a few things on the car. As time permitted I have been fixing and removing the bailing wire "accessories". I put new hold down clips on the headlight bezels, and put in a reproduction battery box and correct group 29 battery and cables. Also included in the sale are some parts I have not put on yet, 4 reproduction window cranks, a casting to eliminate the exhaust flapper on the passenger side, and a set of plugs. I will also provide the original teapot carburetor if you want to rebuild it. There are 2 spare tires, 2 jacks and a jack handle that go with the car.

I don't want to deceive anyone, the car will eventually need everything done to it. It does run and drive and shift and all that. The major barriers to driving it that I know of right now are the tires and exhaust. The tires hold air and they probably once were round, but they aren't any more. The exhaust needs at least one muffler and both tailpipes. It wouldn't be a bad idea to do all the exhaust, and I would eliminate the flapper, in my opinion it causes the passenger side exhaust to rust out because of water condensation. I have not looked at the brakes or wheel bearings, the car does stop and doesn't leak, that's about all I can say. It probably needs a radiator as there is a gouge in it but it doesn't leak, maybe a cat? The engine runs and doesn't smoke out the tailpipe like it's burning oil. There is a fair amount of smoke coming out of the breather however. I don't know how common or excessive this is, I know most people fit a pcv valve system the the y-blocks so maybe they just do that. I have not cleaned out the road draft tube either. Still, I would consider rebuilding the motor and maybe the transmission as long term goals.

I think that's it, I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.