The sedan delivery, a car-based panel van, first appeared in the Ford line in 1932. Based on the two-door sedan, it had blank rear quarters and a hinged door at the back. By the late 1930s, the rear profile took on the look of the truck-based panel delivery models. The sedan delivery disappeared, however, after 1947. The 1948 model year was short, presaging the introduction of wholly new designs. The new George Walker-designed 1949 Ford was of “notchback” design and did not lend itself to delivery vehicle design, and the composite 1949–1951 steel-skeleton wood-sided station wagons were not suitable, either. The all-steel station wagons of 1952, however, enabled a revival of the sedan delivery, a type favored by merchants like florists and high-end retailers.

Named “Ford Courier,” the new model was based on the Ranch Wagon, as Ford called the two-door wagon. Like earlier sedan deliveries, it had blank panels where the Ranch Wagon’s side quarter windows were located. For 1957, the Ranch Wagon’s liftgate and tailgate were modified into a single large upward-opening panel. Production continued through 1960, after which the Courier was supplanted by a version based on the compact Falcon. After 1965, the popularity of the cab-forward Econoline vans resulted in the discontinuation of Ford sedan delivery vehicles.

The preponderance of Ford Couriers were built in basic trim with the Mileage Maker six-cylinder engine. This California-built 1957 Courier was restored for the current owner to top-level specification by Jerry Miller Classic Cars & Restorations in Springdale, Arkansas, one of the foremost experts on ’57–’59 Fords. Stunning in base-clearcoat paint in Ford’s Raven Black, it sports gold anodized Custom 300 side trim with correct bias-ply whitewall tires on Kelsey-Hayes chrome wire wheels with spinner caps, a concours-correct red and black vinyl interior with heat seams from LeBaron-Bonney, the optional padded dashboard, and a Town & Country signal-seeking radio. The very rare Select Aire factory air conditioning has been fitted, along with power windows and a four-way power seat.

The professional body-off restoration included installation of a 212-brake horsepower, 292-cubic inch Y-block V-8 with Ford-O-Matic transmission. Power steering and brakes were also installed. Other equipment includes twin accessory spotlight mirrors, full bumper guards, and the “hockey stick” rocker panel moldings. The undercarriage has been detailed to concours standards, and a complete photo album of the build accompanies the car.

Just 6,178 Couriers were built for 1957, and most of them were used hard and then discarded. With only test mileage since restoration, this superb, fully equipped example is one of the finest extant and highly presentable wherever it may be shown and driven.