San Ramon Street Sighting - 1954 Ford Crestline Victoria

One of the things I like about my job as a delivery driver is that I get to see new places I wouldn't otherwise go. One of the side effects of passing through new locations is finding the occasional interesting vehicle. Sometimes I get lucky and it's still there after work, so I grab my camera out of my car and photograph it.

Such was the case with this cool '54 Ford Crestline Victoria. This mildly customized coupe is cleanly done and finished in a nice light blue with a contrasting black roof and matching wheels trimmed with poverty caps and beauty rings. Inside, if memory serves, was what appeared to be a 4-speed floor shifter and some auxiliary gauges under the dash to supplement the standard instrumentation. Under the hood, the factory installed a 130-horsepower overhead valve "Y-block" V8 displacing 239 cubic inches. This was the first year for the Y-block, which replaced the venerable old flathead V8 first used in 1932. I can't vouch for what powers this one now. Note that this car originally came with the optional 3-speed overdrive transmission as indicated by the trunk badge. It would have been a "three on the tree" (mounted on the steering column).

I'd passed through this neighborhood once or twice before, but had never seen anything special. I think that the owners were cleaning out the garage in preparation to sell their home, and the Ford got evicted temporarily onto the street. There are many cars of this caliber in my area, but they're seemingly all hidden away in garages out of sight. It's done about as nicely as I could hope for a '54 Ford, with excellent trim and chrome all around. The only nitpick I could really find on it was the Overdrive badge which was a little crooked from a broken mounting peg. I quite like this car. I'm glad it came out of the garage long enough for others to enjoy.