Classic 1955 Ford Customline Packs Modern Power and Performance

Classic 1955 Ford Customline Packs Modern Power and Performance

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SEMA 2019: 1955 Ford Customline by Hollywood Hot Rods

Timeless, traditional looks conceal a thoroughly modern street rod underneath in one of our favorite SEMA builds of 2019.

Believe it or not, Ford built some seriously cool iron before 1964. This 1955 Ford Customline we spotted at SEMA follows in the tradition of many classic Ford hot rods and customs.

Built by Jerry Dixy of Hollywood Hot Rods, he started by ditching the original Y-block V8 for modern Coyote power. According to Hot Rod, the car was built for Street Rodder Magazine‘s Road Tour, a quarter-century old tradition of building an awesome custom car, and touring around the country for several months along with some of your best buddies.

SEMA 2019: 1955 Ford Customline by Hollywood Hot Rods

We can’t think of a better modern powerplant for a street rod than a Coyote V8 — if it’s good enough for a Mustang, it’s certainly good enough for a classic ride like this. For a long-haul cruiser like this, a modern, fuel-injected powerplant that delivers great power and decent fuel economy can’t be beat. That’s especially true when you factory in niceties such as air conditioning and cruise control.

The chassis is similarly modernized, with a CAD-designed custom frame from the Roadster Shop. Up front is a modern interpretation of the classic Mustang II IFS; out back you’ll find a beefy Ford 9″ suspended by a four-link and a Panhard bar.

SEMA 2019: 1955 Ford Customline by Hollywood Hot Rods

None of that modern hardware is visible on the surface, however. Everything about the style and stance of this 1955 Ford was influenced by the southern California car culture of the late 1950s and early 1960s. The subtle custom grille, wild two-tone paint, and chrome reverse wheels at each corner evoke a time period when dinosaurs roamed the earth — just a few years before the muscle car era.

Inside, you’ll find the same sort of classic treatment, white white tuck and roll upholstery sharing space with a two-tone green dash and matching carpet. Understated gold trim rounds out the package, matching the exterior pinstriping — as well as the gold pinstriping seen on the tires.

SEMA 2019: 1955 Ford Customline by Hollywood Hot Rods

Sometimes, when hot rod builders attempt to combine the old with the new, the result is an anachronistic disaster. That’s not the case here at all. In fact, we’d say that this 1955 Ford Customline is just about perfect.

Photos for The Mustang Source by Derin Richardson

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Cam VanDerHorst has been a contributor to Internet Brands' Auto Group sites for over three years, with his byline appearing on Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Corvette Forum, JK Forum, and Harley-Davidson Forums, among others. In that time, he's also contributed to Autoweek, The Drive, and Scale Auto Magazine.
He bought his first car at age 14 -- a 1978 Ford Mustang II -- and since then he’s amassed an impressive and diverse collection of cars, trucks, and motorcycles, including a 1996 Ford Mustang SVT Mystic Cobra (#683) and a classic air-cooled Porsche 911.
In addition to writing about cars and wrenching on them in his spare time, he enjoys playing music (drums and ukulele), building model cars, and tending to his chickens.
You can follow Cam, his cars, his bikes, and his chickens at @camvanderhorst on Instagram.


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