I worked out a deal with a seller for a set of 5 NOS beauty rings.  Below is a couple photos, want to know if I got a good deal or not on it.





From the photos it appears that all 5 beauty rings are in excellent new condition, he was asking $295 plus $49.51 shipping then there was a tax fee when I was going to purchase of some $40 which put the total almost at $400 which I felt was too much as it was something like $380 which made each trim ring $76.  I started my offer off at $175 which was $35 per trim ring as brand new reproductions are $30/ea.  He came down to $275 which I counter with $225 which is $45 per trim ring and informed him that is the most I could justify considering I can get US made stainless steel reproductions from C&G Ford Parts for $27.95ea.  He accepted the offer and I walked away with this set for $297.16 including shipping and tax.  Was this a good deal or not?  I feel I might have went a bit higher than I should have but this is the first and only set of NOS beauty rings with that part number I could find and it is the part number listed in my 1956 Accessories booklet  and it appears to be the same beauty rings my grandfather had on my '56 back in the late 50`s early 60`s below and my goal is to put the car back as he had it when new.




1956 Ford Fairlane Town Sedan - 292 Y8 - Ford-O-Matic - 155,000 mi

Basically, your bargaining netted free shipping. Considering the size and weight of the rings, I think his shipping quote was high. On the other hand, if you are happy with your purchase, that's worth something. My only advice: keep away from curbs while parallel parking. 

Thats the thing, I do think I paid a little more than I really wanted to I felt $175 for the set of 5 was fair but I did want to get the NOS ones which is why I raised my initial offer slightly.  I do think the shipping was high as well.

The amount I saved was $70 on the sales price.  The sales tax from what I figured was 10.065% which resulted in $29.69 sales tax on $295.  Then shipping is $49.51 which comes out to $79.20 including sales tax.  So I basically ended up paying $9.20 for shipping or $9.20 for sales tax either way.  Why I was shooting for $175 as that would have made my total $242.12 instead which would have had me save $132.08 from the full price, I ended up only saving $77.04 from the full price by paying $297.16 with tax and shipping vs what I would have paid $374.20 with tax and shipping if I hadnt haggled with the seller.

I dont parallel park around here and I dont get close to curbs either so I should be fine.

1956 Ford Fairlane Town Sedan - 292 Y8 - Ford-O-Matic - 155,000 mi

NOS parts are becoming more difficult to locate each year. As people like us leave this earth there will be less demand for such parts, not to mention the cars and the beloved Y block. If you can find a set of what you are looking for - then pay the price you can afford. I think you got a good deal on these things. I saw the listing too I believe, and I want to get a set of beauty rings for my 55 when I get another set of wheels painted up and some wide whites. Since I drive my car quite often though I will go the reproduction route. 

Enjoy your find. Keep them as long as you can. 

I was the guy who purchased the last NOS 55/56 Ford Passenger Car Y Block mounting bracket for the VS57 (from Paradise Wheels who bought out the Paxton McCulloch inventory - the guy was Craig Conley). I put a whole 55/56 passenger car set up together and got too many offers from guys who were wanting to install it in their car. Oh well - it ending up paying for quite a bit of orthodontal work for one of my girls! LOL

Daniel Jessup

Lancaster, California

aka "The Hot Rod Reverend"
check out the 1955 Ford Fairlane build at www.hotrodreverend.com

Sacrificed for a good cause. Hope you are loved and appreciated for it.

Sometimes when you are buying something for a hobby that you really want or need price is not the issue. I have paid way over market for things I wanted bad enough. If you hadn't bought them you would have regretted it. 

They are becoming quite hard to find.  I have the holley 4000 choke thermostat part number saved on ebay to notify me when ever a new NOS one is listed if its with in reason on price I plan on buying them to stock them up cause they will eventually cease to exist.  The beauty rings which I didnt know these fit as far back as 1949 I been looking the last year and a half or so for that part number, I got close with a different suffix of the part number and they were considerably different in look than these.  Im just glad I finally found them cause I dont know how well the reproductions offered by C&G Ford would be.  They are stainless and they appear right and they are only $27.80 a piece but still I prefer NOS where possible.  Me I do personally plan on driving my '56 after restoration, but at the same time I wont be using my '56 as daily transportation though to the grocery store for example that should reduce risk of damage to parts such as this in the long run.

Only thing I cant decide on is for the tires, part of me says go reproduction Firestone biasply like came with the car when new, but the other part says to spend more money and get the bias look radials that coker now offers which just has a generic pie crust edge shoulder and doesnt have a name on it really.

I also understand about the piecing together, I pieced together an OE exhaust system for my '56 that involves used tailpipe bumper pieces which are slighly damaged from the one removing them taking and using a grinder to cut the heads of the bolts off.  Till I can find a NOS set or a set in better shape I will use these as the OE setup used a rubber gasket that the tailpipe just simply slipped into.  Reproductions require you to clamp the tail pipe onto the bumper extension piece and just didnt care for the thought of another clamp that could leak.  Cost me some $80 for the pair of those used pieces.  Then I picked up a NOS choke thermostat cost me some $90 after shipping but was the cheapest I was able to find in a year long search every other one is price at $115+ for a thermostat that is a one year only part number and most people dont even run this carb anymore, many upgrade to the 57 and up layout.

1956 Ford Fairlane Town Sedan - 292 Y8 - Ford-O-Matic - 155,000 mi

Of course I do the same thing all the time.  I just like to know how badly I over paid just so in the future if I come across another I know a bit better on pricing.  I only went with this final offer of $225 because I really wanted the NOS ones but didnt want to let the guy know I really wanted them cause then he might would have stuck firm to his $275 counter offer.  I know there is a aftermarket reproduction in stainless steel for under $30 that I could have got for cheaper but its a question of how tight do they fit to the rim, will they be of a thick enough material to not dent during installation, and will they try to corrode.  For me NOS is preferable if I can get it, next one I am watching thats been for sale for 3 years now is a NOS padded sun visor in the correct blue for my '56, its wrinkled but its in the original box and I am contemplating if its something I can use to get a paint match for as I believe the sunvisors are the medium blue that the dashpad on mine would have been painted but they only come in black today.

1956 Ford Fairlane Town Sedan - 292 Y8 - Ford-O-Matic - 155,000 mi

Rusty, I recommend looking at Coker Tire's reviews before purchasing tires. If you are using only NOS parts, you probably want the tires that come closest to what was on your car when it rolled out of the factory. That's fine for a show car, but it's not necessarily the best choice for a driver. 

I put Goodyear Assurance radials on my 55 T-bird. They are the same tires, same size, that were also on our family's Venture van and on my brother's Tacoma. In other words, their road-worthiness and longevity have been proven. No doubt there are other suitable options. I guess it's not a big concern for parade/show cars and cars that are seldom driven or driven very far from home. 

Coker Tire is who I keep going back to.  I was looking at Diamond Back Classics as they take modern production tires and vulcanize white rubber then cut it down for the white wall size.  I just couldnt justify the cost of those tires as they look no different than the Coker Classic tire at $227/ea or the BFGoodrich Silvertown Radial at $279/ea.  Where as Diamond Back has the Auburn Premium with 2 5/8" white wall for $234/ea, the Diamond Back I at $209/ea, or the Diamond Back II at $234/ea.  Where as Coker has their American Classic Bias Radial tire for $277/ea.  Only other option for a period look bias tire would be an actual bias ply tire Firestone Champion Deluxe in the recommended 670-15 size for $211/ea.  I will have to go digging but I could have swore one of my booklets from 1956 stated mine should have the larger 7.10-15 tires since it has the optional 292 Y8 and the automatic transmission.

But needless to say the options I have are the following designs.

This is the closest Diamond back offering in a bias looking radial which is their Auburn Premium but it has tread styles for 60s through 80s cars which might be why they just dont have a full original 50s feel.


Then Coker with their Classic, American Classic and the BFG Silvertown all pretty much look like this which looks like a basic radial tire with just the white wall slapped on.


That leaves me with two choices from Coker, either their reproduction biasply Firestone Deluxe Champion tire which would be correct for my car as thats what Ford used in '56.


Or their fairly new Bias Radial American Classic that is a radial tire from the ground up designed to mimic the look of a biasply.  It doesnt look exact as the legit biasply above but it is the closest radial I have seen out there and this is the one I keep leaning towards but it is pricy so I keep leaning back to the legit biasply as a cheaper alternative.


Ideally I would love to take my car to a concourse car show and show her off at least once and hopefully win a trophy then after that I want to drive the car so thats why I keep leaning towards radials since they will be the safest especially on the highway at 70 - 75 mph.

1956 Ford Fairlane Town Sedan - 292 Y8 - Ford-O-Matic - 155,000 mi