Beschreibung
‘Barney’ is an American V8 130hp petrol 4 door Ford Crestline model, it was made in 1954 - most likely in Michigan USA. Reg – 779 XVF
About the car:
The car is 69 years old and all things considering is in good shape. It runs well and everything works and importantly there are no missing parts. There are a lot of valuable chrome details on the car, they are all intact. There are also 2 sets of original keys! Mileage is 140, 000, probably. (The odometer is working, but it has to have been around the clock once . . . ?)
Legal information.
The car is legal in the UK, has a V5 document, and is classified as a Historical Vehicle and therefore there is no road tax to pay.
It’s not just a car.
The car comes with some incredible historical documents and collectables, these include.
• A 1954 original Ford sales brochure featuring the Crestline range.
• An original 1954 Owners manual
• An original 1954 Ford Engine choice brochure
• An original 1954 Ford Travel Games booklet
• 2 original magazine adverts from 1954 showcasing the range
• An original 1954 Paint colour choice dealer card
• An original 1954 Motorola car wireless brochure
• An original 1996 Flamingo casino $5. 00 buck casino chip
• A reproduction 1953 ford shop repair manual
• An original “how to fix your Ford’ 1954 repair manual
• An original Brooklands Book featuring Ford Autos 1949 – 1959
• Both original metal Texas licence plates
• A rare period Crestline wind up model car (large)
• A rare Dinky toys Crestline metal car (small)
• A modern Welly collectable Crestline model (Large)
Some mechanical information.
I saw the car in La Grange, Texas in 2018 and imported it in. The owner of the car dealership, Timeless TX Classics, had had the car for over 30 years in his collection. I have been lovingly working my way through it over the years, still things to do that’s for sure. As a brief summary I have stripped out the interior and soundproofed and re carpeted. The seats and roof linings were re done in 2016 so inside looks fresh . . . for a 69-year-old car. All the window winders work and vents all open. There is some delightful patina on the interior paint work. All the dash switches work, the binnacle and speedometer work, I had the fuel tank removed and a new sender fitted, this now works. The temperature gauge does not, that’s next on the list. I put 5 new white wall tyres on in 2018.
Mechanically I put a new clutch in early 2019, drained all oil from axles and engines and replaced, an electrician went over the car and replaced and repaired anything and everything that needed some love. It is a 6V system. We removed the cooling system, flushed the radiator and replaced with all new hoses. We replaced all the shock absorbers in 2021 and de greased the underside of the car. We gave him a thorough service replacing the air filter oil, the spark plugs and generally anything else we could get our hands on. I found 2 replacement exhaust manifolds in America and they arrived late last year, these need putting on. One manifold has a hairline crack which I want to replace. I replaced all the fan belts, headlamps and light housing rubber seals. Yes the siren and red light work, the siren is horrifically loud! (The sound is best described as an air raid siren style noise)Some interesting stuff.
The car was in the Brad Pitt movie The tree of life as a police car, with Wako police branding for the film. The Tree of Life is an 2011 American drama film written and directed by Terrence Malick, and featuring a cast of Brad Pitt, Sean Penn Hunter McCracken, Laramie Eppler, Jessica Chastain and Tyre Sheridan. I found the movie and found the cars part - It was a small part but they all count!!
The police Motorola CB radio in the car was once owned by the famous Texas police sheriff ‘Big Jim’. In 1946 Jim T Flournoy took office as a sheriff in La Grange TX and the radio was in his squad car. Big Jim was infamous as being part of the closure of the Chicken Ranch in LaGrange, immortalised as the movie The best little Whorehouse in Texas. I have not tried to get the radio to work.
I tried to track down some original records and info about the car. It has a dealer panel on the rear saying Boriack Motor Sales – the company has long gone but I did get a letter back from a chap called Newton Boriack who confirmed that the car was sold in Texas from his fathers brothers dealership of the same name. I also have a colour copy of the original Texas Certificate of Title, sadly in the UK when you apply for a V5 they take the original.
And finally.
Since owning the car it has started first time every time, and we don’t use it often! I have done 3 weddings for close friends which was delightful, nearly outshone the bride. We have attended half a dozen car displays and he is always the star of the show. We attended the Bicester Heritage Scramble in 2022 and he was picked out to be the car of the show by Startermotor.
