1951 Ford - The X-51

When this red, sectioned, large-finned ex-shoebox Ford hit small-magazine covers in 1958, people thought it might be the new T-bird. That’s just what self-taught designer/builder Courtney wanted. Eschewing custom trends and working alone at home, he redesigned his boxy ‘51 Ford into a style that still works (and exists) today.-Pat Ganahl

The X-51 was originally built by Ron Courtney in the late ’50s, and has been one of the most famous customs ever since. It’s great to see the ’51 Ford still drawing attention. Blackie Gejeian, equally as famous, brought the car to Pomona.

1951 Ford restyled and owned by Ron Courtney of McMinnville, Oregon. Ron began the restyling in 1954. He did not want to build a custom, but rather redesign the car the way he wanted it to look. He sectioned the body 5 inches. The trunk was sectioned as well, and the hood was pancaked. The body was nosed, decked and shaved for door handles and exterior trim.



The wheelwells were radiused and the front fenders were modified to accept the 1956 Oldsmobile headlights. Ron completely hand formed a new grille that was fit with a homemade grillebar and bullets. The car was also fit with radical handmade fins that housed a pair of custom made taillights. Scoops were incorporated in the body in the leading edges of the fins, right behind the doors.



The original Flathead V-8 was swapped for a 1955 Chevrolet 265 Chevrolet engine that had been fit with a McCulloch supercharger and Powerglide transmission. The interior was upholstered in red and white by Stan Jones of Stylecraft. The seats were done in white and red, while the carpets were red and the headliner was done in white trimmed with red beading.



The body was painted bright red. The X-51 hit the streets of McMinnville in 1956, the car stood out in the crowd as an unique build and was featured in several magazines. According to Dick Page, Ron drove the car nearly every day during the build, and someone once told Dick that they once saw the car on the road with only one fin. In 1957, the car was shown at the Portland Roadster Show where it took home the Sweepstakes Award, the People's Choice, First in Class and Best Custom trophies.



In 1959 Ron sold the car to a Bill Robinson who used the car regularly. The car was advertised for sale at $3,995. Original value according to the ad was $8,500. The new owner was involved in a traffic accident with the car and smashed up the right rear quarter panel quite bad. He took it back to Courtney to rebuild it, after this, the car disappeared from the custom scene.




In the early seventies, the X-51 was re-discovered. By then it was in a sad shape. John Corno of Portland, Oregon bought the car in 1974 with a caved-in trunk, stripped engine and no wheels. John restored the car back to its former glory. David Kane replaced the 265 Chevy engine with a 351-W Ford mill with a C-4 transmission. He also updated the car with power brakes and power steering. Stan Jones of Stylecraft re-upholstered the interior much the same way as he did the first time.

After a couple of years John sold it to the Harrah Collection at National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada.[6] the car changed hands several times, and at one point it fell off a ramp, as a result the front frame got tweaked. John got hold of the car once again and sold it to Bob Page of Sheldon, California in 1986.[2]


According to Bob, it looked good, but was not safe to drive. By the time Bob bought it, several items had also been changed, and the Zolotoned chassis and engine compartment was far from detailed. After attempting several fixes, Bob brought the car over to Lee Norene of Lee's Vintage Cars in West Sacramento, California to have it restored.




A Nova subframe was installed to make it drivable. Power steering and disc brakes were installed as well to increase driving performance. The Ford 351 Cleveland engine was changed in favor of a balanced 350 Chevrolet small block with a Turbo 350 transmission and a Mustang rear end. Lee repaired the engine compartment by building a new firewall and inner fenders.




The interior was brought back to how it looked like in 1958 and the red 1979 Alfa Romeo paint was spotted in where necessary. Once on a trip to Washington, he stopped by Courtney's house in McMinnville and took him for a ride.



February 23, 2013 - February 2, 2014 the X-51 will be on display at the Petersen Museum, as part of an exhibit called Fins: Form Witout Function.

website: http://www.kustomrama.com/index.php?title=Ron_Courtney's_1951_Ford

Magazine Features

Northwest Rods November-December 1957
Rod & Custom March 1958
Custom Cars August 1958
Hot Rod Magazine October 1958
Custom Cars January 1959
Custom Cars April 1959
Rod Action August 1991