THE CAR

"Ragtop"

1956 Ford Fairlane Model: Sunliner Convertible. 

Specs:

• Engine: 312 Y-Block
• Transmission: Ford-O-Matic 
• Equipment: Power steering, Power brakes, Power windows, Power seat. 
• Radio: Town and Country 
• Color: Meadow Mist Green/Colonial White 

My father bought "Ragtop" in 1983 from the family of the original owner. He is the second owner and has now owned the car longer than the original owners. The car lived its first 25 years in the state of Utah and was always garaged. The car was assembled in San Jose, Ca. in May of 1956 and sold in June at the Marion Willey and Son Ford dealership in Bountiful Utah, just in time for summer! The car is what they call a survivor, meaning that it was all original and in very good shape. When my father bought the car the paint and body were in very good condition with no rust. Utah is a very dry state (thank goodness). The upholstery was in decent shape, but did show minor wear with some stitching coming apart at some of the seams. In 1991, my father decided to do a body-on restoration giving it new paint, upholstery, engine rebuild and new chrome. He drive the car quite regularly and still enjoys it very much!

"The Trailer"

The camp trailer we are using on this trip is based on the old school teardrop camp trailers of yesterday. I purchased a set of plans on the Ebay for about $30. Materials, including the frame cost around $1800. It only took me about 80 some odd hours to build as a winter project. I added 1956 Ford wheels, white wall tires and hubcaps to match those on Ragtop.

A teardrop trailer, also known as a teardrop camper trailer, is a streamlined, compact, lightweight travel trailer, which gets its name from its teardrop profile. They usually only have enough sleeping space for two adults with a basic kitchen in the rear.

Teardrop trailers first became popular in the 1930's, when magazines such as Mechanix Illustrated published plans. There were also a few factory built ones available also, The first teardrops were designed around the idea of using standard 4 by 8-foot sheets of plywood with hardwood spars. Teardrop trailers remained popular until the mid-1960's, after which they disappeared from mainstream camping. However, in the late 1990's, plans became available on the Internet and in recent years teardrop trailers have made resurgence and are again growing in popularity.

My teardrop trailer is about the minimum size for two people, (quite cozy, lol ) it is 4 feet in width and 8 feet in length, 11 feet overall including the hitch, And is about 5 feet in height. After the end of WW2 there was a surplus of aircraft grade aluminum which builders used for the outside skin. This made them water tight and help to hold down the overall weight. Since teardrop trailers are so light, mine is less than 1000 pounds, just about any vehicle can tow one and fuel consumption is minimally affected.