1955 Ford Mainline Factory Features

• The Mainline Ford was at the lower end of Ford's lineup in 1955, behind the Custom Line and the Fairlane. The car was produced only from 1952 through 1956. It is a two-door sedan, which made it seem like a sports car at the time. As part of the redesigned Ford for 1955, it had a modern look and handled better than some of the larger Ford models.

Engines

• The standard engine for the Mainline was a six cylinder, 223 cubic inch motor that had 100 horsepower and 195 foot-pounds of torque. The standard engine was an in-line six cylinder with overhead cams. The compression ratio was 7.5 to 1 and it used a one-barrel carburetor.

  An eight cylinder engine was an option for the Mainline. It had 272 cubic inches with 110 horsepower and 258 foot-pounds of torque. The compression ratio was 8.5 to 1. This was the V8 Flathead, valve-in cylinder engine that had put Ford out in front of competitors years before. The V8 had a two-barrel carburetor available.

Drive Train

• The Mainline had a three speed manual transmission, with gears on the steering column, as standard equipment. An automatic model, called Ford-O-Matic, and a manual with automatic overdrive were also available as options. Rear wheel drive was the only option.

  The car used a single-plate clutch that was 9.5 inches long. It had independent coil springs on the front and leave springs on the back. Four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes were used. All of the Ford cars had a 115-inch wheel base. Power steering was a relatively new option available at the time. The Mainline rode on 6.70 X 15 inch tires.

Dimensions and Performance

• The Mainline was 198 inches long, 75.9 inches wide and 61 inches tall.

  The vehicle used a 16.9 gallon gas tank. The V8 got seven to 10 miles per gallon, while the six cylinder got eight .

  The car was not terribly fast, with the eight cylinder estimated to have a top speed of 94 miles per hour and the six cylinder rated at 86 miles per hour. The time it took to get to 60 miles per hour was 11.4 seconds for the V8 and 16.9 seconds for the six cylinder. The quarter mile time showed less variation, with the V8 taking 18.6 seconds and the six-cylinder taking 20.8.

Production and Price

• Ford produced 1.4 million cars in 1955, and 127,310 were Mainline Fords. Mainline had a Coupe, Business Sedan, Tudor and Fordor Sedans, and a station wagon.

  The six-cylinder business coupe had the lowest cost at $1,759 and the Fordor Sedan cost the most at $2,112.