1955 & 1956 Y Block V8 Badges

[mercman from oz]

The above pictures show the V8 Badge that was introduced when the Y Block V8 was introduced. Australia like Canada never got the OHV Engines until 1955, one year later than the USA, which got the Y Block in 1954.
This same Badge was dug out of Ford's Parts Bin in Australia when they offered a V8 Engine on the local Ford Falcon in 1967, which was Code Named XR for identification purposes.
Now, when this new Falcon was released, a Pen Pal in the USA asked me to buy 30 of these V8 Badges and send to him. He then sold them as NOS 1955/1956 Ford Customline Badges. That was before they were being reproduced.
At the time, he told me that they were slightly different to the ones made in the USA, but he didn't elaborate.
It is only recently that I have tried to establish where they differed, so I thought that I would take some photos of mine to compare it with the ones that have been reproduced by Bob Drake and Dennis Carpenter.
The top photo shows my NOS example, while the middle photo shows a close up of the same Badge. The bottom Badge is the Reproduction that is being offered for sale by both Bob and Dennis.
If you look closely at the "8" together with the centres of the "8", you can see that there is a distinct difference in this area?
On this basis, it would appear that Ford Australia made these Badges locally, from a different mould, as they are not identical?
Am I correct with this assumption, or am I missing something here?

 

[TedEaton]

Your assumption is a good one in lieu of any more information being available. I looked at the V8 emblem on my Dallas made 1955 Customline and it very closely matches the Bob Drake reproduction you have pictured. The Australian emblem is close enough that it would take a discerning eye to pick up the slightly wider '8' without knowing in advance there is a difference.

 

[scicala]

It looks like the spears at the tips of the "V" on the NOS Australian emblem are more pointed than on the reproduction from the USA. Is anyone sure the USA repo was made identical to original USA emblems ? I don't have an original to look at. My '55 has 6 cyl. emblems.

Sal

 

[fordy_nine]

The reproduction badges look "lame" to me; that is to say, without artistic input...probably a Chinese re-do......Bob L

 

[dmsfrr]

I agree, the shape of the spear tips and the shape of the '8' are noticeably different. From the looks of them both of these may be reproductions. (the car is of dubious origins)

 

[k1787]

The oem Ford emblems have part numbers stamped on the rear side. Do these?

 

[mercman from oz]

Here is a photo of the back of my original Y Block V8 Badge showing the Part Number BM-16237-A
Question:- Is this Part Number the same as the USA Badge?

 

[mercman from oz]

I have managed to track down two original 1956 Ford Customlines that originated from both sides of the Pond. The badges on both cars have never been removed, so are completely original. The top photo on the Black car is the USA Badge, while the Grey car is a local Australian car. You will see that they are different, especially in the area of the "8". On this basis, it would appear that Ford Australia did their own Artwork for their Badges, as it is not a direct copy of the USA Badge. On that basis, the Badges sold by both Bob Drake and Dennis Carpenter are correct copies of the Badges originally fitted to cars made in the USA. It is hard to believe that Ford Australia made these changes to the original design.