Old cars can certainly turn up in some interesting places, and this 1955 Ford Fairlane Town Sedan has been calling a railway boxcar home for the last few decades. It has emerged into the light of day, and it does show some promise as a project car. It might also turn out to be a cheap investment, as bidding has only reached $895 in this No Reserve auction. The Ford is located in Pueblo, Colorado, and is listed for sale here on eBay.

In amongst the collection of photos that the owner supplies of the Ford are a few shots of the underside of the vehicle. These actually look quite encouraging. The frame appears to be solid, and the floors don’t look too bad either. There is a fairly consistent coating of surface corrosion present, but little if any rot. Likewise, the body looks fairly clean. There is some rust present in the rocker and lower fender on the passenger side, but the rest of the car looks to be quite solid. It also appears that all of the external trim is present, and while some of this might require a visit to the local plater, the vast majority of it looks really encouraging.

Under the hood is the 272ci V8 engine, and in this case, it is hooked to a manual transmission with overdrive. I’m sure that none of you will be surprised to learn that the car doesn’t currently run. Apart from a lack of a radiator, the car is also missing the driveshaft, the carburetor, and the oil pan. It’s probably a reasonable assumption that the engine will need some work before it fires a shot in anger, and the rest of the mechanical components will need some attention after sitting for so many decades.

The interior condition of the Fairlane is enough to make you whimper just a bit. Time has not been kind to it, and there are a number of minor switches, knobs, and handles that are missing. All of the upholstery is pretty heavily trashed, so new carpet, seat covers, door trims, and a headliner will all be on the shopping list. However, it’s encouraging to see that items like the original radio are still present, and in fairly good condition. It may look like a mountain to climb in there, but it really is no worse than a large number of the project cars that we’ve seen here at Barn Finds.

I look at this ’55 Fairlane Town Sedan, and while there is certainly some work to do, it appears to be a car with strong bones. The thing that I find really encouraging is how solid the floors and frame appear to be. On current trends, this is not a car that is going to be worth mega dollars when restored, but if done properly, it could still reach a value of $16,000 or more. I know that it doesn’t leave a lot of scope for this making economic sense as a project, but if the floors and frame are solid, then the vast majority of the work required could be performed by a competent person in a home workshop. If you are that type of person, then this might be a project that’s well suited to you.