Much like any tri-five Chevrolet from 1955 through 1957, the Nomad two-door station wagon is a common sight at classic car shows. But relatively few of Ford’s competitor to the Nomad seem to be out and about these days.
The Pick of the Day is a 1956 Ford Parklane listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a private seller in New Milford, Connecticut. (Click the link to view the listing)
“Designed to compete, very successfully, with the Nomad,” the seller states. That statement is correct: Just one model year after the introduction of the Nomad, Ford introduced the Parklane in that segment, using body elements pulled from the two-door Ranch Wagon combined with components from the Fairlane sedan.
The Parklane’s existence was short-lived, however, lasting just one model year. The Ford lineup was soon modified for 1957, and the Parklane became the Del Rio which was designed more in line with the Ranch Wagon. One of the shortfalls of two-door station wagons was restricted access to the second row of the passenger compartment. Still, Chevrolet continued production of the Nomad under the Bel Air nameplate from 1958 through 1961, and then brought it back as a four-door Chevelle station wagon from 1968 through 1972.
This lovely Parklane was restored in two-tone blue paint and is said to have excellent paint, glass, and chrome. And there is plenty of chrome to be seen here. One of the prominent design attributes of this model was the chrome-dressed B-pillar which complements the side moldings, window trim, hood ornament, and dual polished exhaust outlets.
Parklanes could be outfitted with two different motors, the smallest of which was a 223cid “Mileage Maker” inline-six. This example has a larger 292cid V8 mated to a Ford-O-Matic automatic transmission. The seller outlines some of the upgrades that have been added including air conditioning, an Edelbrock carburetor, a newer alternator, a new exhaust, and a brake booster kit. “Excellent running, driving, and appearing car,” the listing concludes.
One last thought: According to data from the Standard Catalog of American Cars, the 1956 Parklane outsold the Nomad by a ratio of two-to-one (15,185 Parklanes vs. 7,886 Nomads were produced for that year). In today’s world of hatchbacks and crossovers, maybe a similar body style needs to come back into popularity.
The seller is asking $45,000 or best offer for this Parklane, which includes literature documentation.
To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.
That’s a beautiful example of the 56 Ford Park Lane. I believe they outsold Chevrolet, those Ford wagons were everywhere back in their era. In fact my uncle had a 56 Country Sedan in that same color combination. He drove that wagon until 1964 when he replaced it with a 64 Mercury Colony Park. A beautiful wagon, Ford’s top of the line until the early 90s. I agree with the author. We wish the American auto industry would bring back a wagon like these, with today’s technology. SUVs and mini vans are not station wagons, and that’s what’s missing from the American landscape.
WANT TO TRADE A 1995 FORD F150 SVT LIGHTING ONE OWNER RED
You need to reach out to the seller, whose link for the ad is in the story several times.