Craig Cole's 1951 Ford project car

This looks like a disaster on wheels, but it's actually very solid.

After all these years the original key is still there.

You can't beat that cool 1950s font.

If there was any doubt what this car has under its hood.

Ford's venerable flathead V8 motivated untold millions of vehicles over its long production run.

In the Crestliner, this small V8 should deliver around 100 horsepower, though as it sits, this one currently delivers zero. 

I picked up an extra engine for peanuts when I purchased this car. 

As a bonus, that extra engine came with a 4-inch Mercury crankshaft, which means more displacement plus additional horsepower and torque.

Yeah, things look rough but they're actually not that bad, nothing I can't fix.

For more photos of this 1951 Ford Crestliner, keep clicking through this gallery.