John Eyolfson's 1956 Crown Victoria

Submitted by John H. Eyolfson, Rosslyn, Ontario

My attraction to ‘56 Fords began in 1956 when my older brother purchased a 1956 Ford 4 door hardtop. It was a two-tone blue and white and what a beauty it was. I was fourteen years old at the time, and he would let me drive it if I washed it rather detailed it for him. We lived in the country so there wasn’t much traffic on the backroads outside of Winnipeg, Manitoba. What a thrill that was, and all my friends were jealous because I got to do that. 

Flip the script to 1977 when I was living in another province called Ontario. Specifically, a place called Thunder Bay. While visiting a friend we were sitting on his deck outside watching the traffic go by, when lo and behold I spotted a ‘56 Ford go by with a for sale sign in its window. I immediately gave chase and followed the car to its destination. The story on the car was that it had just arrived from Tucson, Arizona and still had the Arizona plates. Needless to say, I instantly fell in love with it and put a deposit on it right away. It was an all-white Crown Vic. with a perfect body and no rust as it had never been driven in salt or snow (still hasn’t). It had a 292 4V and factory air conditioning.

The man I bought it from was named Terry Lacey and he had imported several cars from Arizona to sell locally. Needless to say, I had acquired the pick of the litter and I felt privileged to have done that. This all happened in the fall of 1977. In the spring of 1978, I was encouraged to enter the car in a local car show, and I was surprised to win a trophy for best in class. 

Due to job commitments I had to put the car in storage for the next 20 years. In 1998 I was free to take the car out of storage and then began the restoration project. First, I rebuilt the motor, transmission, and running gear. Then I drove the car for 12 years until the next phase in 2010. Consisting of all bright work: bumpers, grill, park lights, and trim. Next came the bodywork (not much as it was decent) and paint. Lastly upholstery and carpets, etc. I’ve been driving and enjoying it since then and I’ve won several more trophies including two best of show. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my buddies Gordon Wall (body work and reassembly), Kerry Pawliuk (paint), and Ron Foreman (mechanical) for their help. PS I received my 25-year pin from the club just recently and thanks for that. I have really enjoyed my membership and all the great info on my car.