Discussion

57 continental kit

ozzie — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 17:12:40 GMT

I purchased a continental kit for my 57 ford and the kit is missing the bracket that holds the tire verticle.it is also the release handle to move the tire out for access to fuel and trunk.the guy I bought the kit from swears he gave me the part.can someone gguide me in the right direction to get one.

57 Gasser ???

hoopity — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 06:12:01 GMT

Good day gents. Allow for a quick intro. I handle as hoopity and am a car character from the land of Dorthy and that sexy wicked witch...Kansas City, Mo. I own a full service repair/fab shop and do service work mainly on airline type equipment. I am "one of the other guys..." I own several cars and drive a 86 Ford Pick up with a 300-6 and c-6 with over 300,000 on the clock. I served a 10 year stint drag racing Chebbies and have since found better ways to blow my doh... I am 53 and have been an ASE master tech since it was NAISE in 1974.

Now, I have a 57 2dr post car that was a local hotrod in the 60's, complete with the god awful teardrop hood. The car has a gennie e-bird 3123 with 2x4 bbl and a homemade floor shifter. I have had this car sitting in the barn since 1980. Anyway, I recently gained access to purchasing a 57 Ranchero and will pick it up this weekend. Now, trhe post car is finally going to see project status. I have questions regarding the installation of a straight axle and I want to install a 427 so with 3x2bbl carb. Car will recieve a t-10 4 gear and a set of 373 gears. This will be a "criuser/gasser" and I have little desire for more that a sun supoertach and the old sun 3" gages trhat are in it now.

1) Anyone hane any 1st hand knowlege of the straight axle set up? I have seeveral axles on hand and can have my local spring shop make the macic happen.

2) What will be required to replace the 312 with the fe? Bolt in? Fab mounts? Trans mounts? Scattershield mounts?

3) I will be running an old school set of ansen sprints on the back. How wide can I run w/o hacking the body? (hint, I want to run the fender skirts if possible)

4) Anyone have a set of fender well hedders for this application?

Thanks in advance. PS, I have a 57 Fairlane convertable 100% stock and beautiful, and will not harm the ranchero. The post car has little value as a resto car and I will make all parts minus intake and valve covers available to the members of this group. Any midwest boys?l

Bogus Buyer?

Ol Ford Guy — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:00:07 GMT

I received an email from a Martin Gray wanting to buy my car that was listed for sale on this site, which it wasn't. I emailed him back saying that my car was not for sale. I received a response sounding like we had a deal and his shipper would require advance payment, but he would send me a check with money added for shipping and insurance. This person said he was in Astoria, NY and had two email addresses associated with our brief correspondence. Has anyone else received anything like this where your email address was obtained from this site? Paul

1957 custom 300 fordor sedan

guvnor99 — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 20:15:12 GMT

whats one of these worth? I can get one for 5700.00 Unrestored original, great condition

hood release

new2ford — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:19:20 GMT

I just pulled my brother-in-laws 57 out of his garage after 32yrs. I needed something to play with.

Does anyone have a suggestion as to how to get the hood to release? The car is rusty and the cable will not pull. Thanks for any suggestions .

1957 ford wiper linkage

rackman — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:45:50 GMT

Is it possible to use 1958 or 1959 ford wiper linkage to replace the cable system used on 1957 fords? Or is there something available that is easier to use and better than that spaghetti cable system used in 57?

manifold/carb question

simonsonb — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 05:25:21 GMT

I have a 57 63 A Victoria. It is a D code car meaning it has a 312 thunderbird special. It has a 2bbl carb on it. My research on 57.com tells me these should have been 4bbl's. Were any sold with 2bbl option?

2nd question- Was the 4 bbl manifold and carb on the 312 interchangeble in 56 and 57 or were they different?

MSD distributors

arcy 57 — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 08:20:44 GMT

Just for info, since they are advertised on this site. On some Ford models they will not fit unless firewall mods are undertaken. So inquire about clearance, if you plan to buy... There are other alternatives for electronic ignition for Y-blocks - Paul

Fenderwell headers for an FE

fast57ford — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 14:05:43 GMT

Hi: I am looking for information on fenderwell headers for a '57 300. It has a straight axle and so has good clearence. I'am sure this is the right place to be asking this question. Thanks for any help.

interior part needed...

texasmark1 — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 00:39:04 GMT

looking for "windlace"... the cord-like material that goes along the edge of the door openings in the car... seems no one stocks it; any ideas would be appreciated.

Mark

1957 Ford 2 dr Fairlane 500 Club Victoria vs the Club Sedan

steve's 57fairlane500 — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 07:08:05 GMT

Hi my name is Steve. I am new here, I was reading the Models section of this website and was looking at the 2 door Fairlane 500 Club Victoria photos vs the Club Sedan photos. I can't seem to find any visual differences except the Club Sedan was more expensive in 1957. My question is which of the two is the sought after car? The Club Victoria or the Club Sedan? What are the differences, is it wheelbase, trim, or the some sublties in design? I would really appreciate your responses to my questions, thank you.

Victoria vs Sedan

JohnG — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 00:56:24 GMT

The Fairlane "500" Club Victoria is a Hardtop, No post between front and rear side window. The Fairlane "500" Club Sedan has a post between the front and rear side windows. They are called hiddin post because the post sets back so far. All other trim is the same. You could get the same trim options on either car. The same is true for the Fairlane Club Victoria and Fairlane Club Sedan. John

lowered suspension on 57 wagon

robhaerr — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 21:56:38 GMT

57 Ford Country Sedan...

I think the previous owner cut the front coils to lower about 1 1/2". It took a lot of work to get it to drive straight...but now the camber is causing uneven wear on the inside of the front tires.

Manual steering.

I am wondering if it would be better to get new stock front springs and get dropped spindles. I put front disc brakes on...probably should have done this then. I also need to redo the rear suspension, bushings since those are still the original.

I like the stance...any thoughts?
Suppliers for front coils and rear leaf springs? I seem to find the bushings/shackles etc in catalogs from Carpenter's, Concours Parts, Mac's.

Thanks!

Rob

Keep our 57's original engine !

arcy 57 — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 08:07:29 GMT

While I applaud any effort to keep our 1957 Fords on the road & recognize that the owners have the right to replace the original engine in their car, if they wish. I find this an unfortunate trend, which harms the originality of the cars. There is no need to write off the Y-Block engines. Due to a set of unfortunate curcumstances, the engine in some circles has gotten a largely undeserved negative reputation. Probably, the Y-Block engine is the most underrated of just about any of the V-8s of it manufacturing period. Ford management of the late 60s had a hand in this, as they dropped any further performance development of the engine after 1957, in favour of "big block" development. This was a huge mistake, as while they got side tracked, their nearest competitor, establishes it self as the "darling" of the small block performance set. By the time they replaced the Y-Block (which had been detuned in later years) in 1962, they had missed the boat! Now to my point, there is renewed interest in the engine in recent years, and even a bi monthly magazine about it and related matters. Y-Block Magazine, is probably the only regular publication, now 10 years old, about any engine other than the ubiqutious SBC. Also, there is an excellent site about the engine with some very helpful registered members. It's been said by some that it's the best engine site on the web, and I believe it! In recent times their has even been some new parts & performance items brought on stream. The Y-Block, sometimes referred to as the Thunderbird engine, is a tough reliable engine which responds well to thought out upgrades. So, don't tear out your Y-Block engine without giving it some thought, & if you must, don't just scrap it! Adveritise the parts in the magazine or on the www.Y-Blocks Forever site. Oddly, many of the Y-Blocks engine replacements, are also discontinued engines!.. And remember, properly tuned their is no better sounding V-8 engine.. - Paul

eng swap

two deuces — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 01:08:22 GMT

looking at a 57 ford conv, has a 312 in it, would rather have a 302 or 351, would there b any problems, and any other ideas u might have, thanks

1957 ford fairlane 4 door hardtop roof rail weatherstripping

voodoo57 — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 18:05:07 GMT

I have been looking for about a year now for roof rail weatherstripping for my 57 ford fairlane 4 door hardtop. What is the deal why doesnt anyone make this part? Anyone have any idea if I can use any other roof rail weatherstripping for this car?

Interior Paint Color

mrocketscience — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 20:45:31 GMT

Hi... I need some interior paint for my 57 wagon. I don't know what the color is called, but it looks like a sort of metallic brown or taupe color. If anyone knows what it is and knows where I can get some spray cans it would be much appreciated... Thanks, Mike

Looking for a little help

Johnny T — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 06:20:38 GMT

What a great site here. I'm finishing up restoring a 1957 2 door wagon. I'm looking for some help on some finishing pieces. I need to get all the weatherstripping for the car. Can anyone give me an idea of where i might be able to find ALL the pieces i need? Is there a diagram which shows an exploded view somewhere. Thanks in advance for everyone's time.

Regards and happy holidays,

John

Part Numbers

voodoo57 — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 14:07:26 GMT

Hi, I am looking for part numbers for 4 door hard top roof rail weather striping.

Ceramic Coating on Manifolds

coolwind57 — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 13:56:50 GMT

Gentlemen:

I am part owner of a ceramic coating business. I recently coated the exhaust manifolds of my 312 with our "ColorGuard Cast Iron Grey", which came out looking great. I was really tired of painting them each year and I wanted something that would last and make them look like factory fresh cast iron. I'm a true believer in ceramic coatings, and that's why I started the company. It will be a long, long time before my manifolds rust and look nasty again.

It risk of sounding like a cheesy salesman, I thought I'd run our services past you because our exhaust manifolds are so prominent in the engine bay, and I'm so happy with the results of coating my own. Rusty manifolds really ruin the look of an otherwise show-quality engine compartment. The price on V8 exhaust manifolds of these sizes are $150 per pair. I'd be happy to offer a $30 discount for my fellow Y-Blockers.

We're located in Southern Indiana. Check out our website at: www.thecoolpenguin.com

Thank you,

--Perry (502-500-3718) or Alan (812-292-4172)

disc brakes

meatpies — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 02:44:03 GMT

recently purchaseda 57 wagon which has ssbc disc conversion- for the life of me i cannot find the website or phone number to order new pads for them. also i was told 57 glass is the same as 58 is this true

gas tank

oldfordguy — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 21:40:05 GMT

I am building a 57 ranchero and I want to put in a new fuel tank. Recently when I visited 1957ford.com I believe I saw a new replacement tank advertised for about $350 can anyone give me the best place to buy one of these. I'm not sure where I saw this on this site. By the way it is great to find a forum dedicated to the 57 because I will need a lot of advice going forward with my build.

Oldfordguy

windshield

drped1964 — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 23:03:47 GMT

need help finding windshield for a 57 custom 300, helium ballons with a 3/4 in nut flying out of a chevy pickup took out old one.

312 vs 292 Exhaust Exit Argument

gfunaiock — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 03:24:11 GMT

Can someone settle an argument. I am told that the dual exhaust 312 engine cars in 57 have the exhaust pipes exiting the rear bumper in a wider distance than the 292. I believe the 312 are on the outside of the frame and the 292 are on the inside of the frame. My 312 is wide on the outside.

Can anyone confirm this and possibly know why Ford did this?

Interior

Coral Sand 57' — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 14:58:11 GMT

Am interested in locating a few names to restore the interior of my car. (1957 Ford Fairlane 500)

Located in Portland, Oregon. The exterior of the car is coral sand with the interior codes of either #504 or #604, choice was offered that model.

Seek high quality craftsmanship.

Don