The Ford Customline is an automobile that was produced by Ford in the United States for model years 1952 to 1956.
The Ford Customline was introduced in 1952 as the mid-range model in that year’s US Ford range, positioned below the Ford Crestline and above the Ford Mainline. It was offered in 2-door sedan, 4-door sedan, 2-door coupé & 4-door station wagon body styles. The coupe was marketed as the Club Coupe, and the station wagon as the Customline Country Sedan. 1952 Customlines were available with 215 cid inline six-cylinder or 239 cid V8 engines.
The Customline was also produced by Ford Australia from 1952 to 1959. Cars were assembled using Australian built bodies and imported chassis kits which included all front sheet metal. In addition to the Customline sedan, a limited number of station wagons and the Australian developed Mainline Coupe Utility were produced.
The 1952 model was updated in 1953 and 1954 along the lines of the US Fords. All were powered by the Flathead V8 which went into Australian production in 1952. This included the 1954 model which was fitted with the older engine rather than the new overhead valve Y-block V8 which had been introduced in the US for 1954.
The 1955 body was used for four model series in Australia. The 1955 model was powered by the overhead valve Y-block V8 which had entered partial Australian production with locally sourced components. The 1956 model featured the 1956 US Customline grille, 12 volt electrics and a new Fordomatic automatic transmission option. The 1957 model retained the 1956 body but featured a large V8 badge positioned in the grille and utilized 1956 Ford Fairlane trim. The 1958 model used the 1955 Canadian Meteor grille with a four-pointed star and 1956 Meteor side trim. The 1958 ‘star model’ was badged as either a Customline or as a Fordomatic. Production ended in September 1959 with the introduction of Australian assembled 1959 Fairlane 500, Custom 300 and Ranch Wagon models.
