Love the car...hated the article/photography on it. Looks like a highly detailed big money build, but the photography on it was anything but enligntening. JMHO Thanks for posting it Rui....glad your taking the time to looks at '57's!! lol When I saw the ***le, I immediatly thought it was going to be about a 1957 F code car....FACTORY supercharged! EDIT !!!...not enough coffee yet this morning...missed the fact there was a video, lol. Thought it was just the1/2 dozen photoshopped pics. Video was great. It may be the same basic engine as mine, they had conflictiong info with the stated 320 something cubic inches vs. the stated 4.6 actually converting to 281. Could have been bored out, but that would be a first time I've heard of that on these engines.
Well, I gotta say I DIDNT take time to look for 57 Fords, It just came into my mailbox this morning via the rodauthority newsletter. Anyway, I also dislike the big money builds since things tend to get away from the essencial and that is function (reliable, fast) and form (stance, slickness or bulkness you choose, well proportioned). But I kinda like the theme and the stance.
I don't dislike big buck builds at all. My favorite 3 or 4 1957 Fords are ALL done by upper end shops. I was commenting on what I originally though was a lack of the pics doing it justice. That being said, I got to thinking it would be a neat concept for a article to compare two same model cars side by side...one an open wallet upper end build and one like mine that was a slow "best I could do on a limited budget" completly done at home. Example...his steering wheel/column I believe may be the Flaming River one I originally was going to save up for, but at around 1600 back then just wasn't in the budget. Very tasteful, quality car in the article by the way. I like it a lot, but I have something he'll never have with his..the pride that comes with the "I did it all, and with lots of salvage yard stuff!!" Our two cars are different, but also share a lot of common ground at the same time. Mine definetly a bit more resto-moddie
Doing it yourself holds a lot of weight. I have never been a fan of the open checkbook builds. They are usually too over the top and impractical. Even if I could afford to have one built I'd choose to do it myself. In my opinion that's what it's all about. On a side note I really appreciated the babe of the month link in the article though. Thanks for sharing Rui.
I like the car, definitely sits right, looks great but very much over the top. I'd guess there's $100k in that.... as opposed to my $19k car. My favorite Fords are the '57, '59, '61, '63 & '64. I CAN really spend whatever I want on my cars, but have to put it all in perspective with what I want to do with it. A car like the '57 in the article, you really have to be careful and never let it out of your sight and watch everyone that gets within 10' of it... no fun.
I have no idea what I have in mine, but a wild guess would be about 30-32k. That's a lot of money for me, especially with my income where it was over the 10 years when I built it. My two favorite 57's ( that I lost the links to or I'd post), wouldn't surprise me if they were 10x that amount. Comparing a DIY to a shop built, I've had the 6 bedroom house in the mountains of Colorado when I owned art galleries and framing shops, and could have had a high dollar car built for me, but I wasn't happy, I was working 7 days a week with two vacations in 23 years. Now I live in a 2 bedroom house in the poor section of a Texas town, getting my hands dirty, and I'm COMFORTABLE and happy. No worries, no bills to speak of, no stress. Had I had an interest to have one built back then, it would have been just another toy, and certainly not near the source of pride
My income is surely lower than what you guys get and I cannot even think about that kind of money being put into a car. Portugal is a small country with limited natural resources besides the ocean and the inheritant tourism. I've got a little one to raise and she is naturally my main concern . The only financial obligation I have is towards my house. At presente time I couldnt be happier. Everyone is in good health, My new garage extension is almost finished. The Ford is reliable. Good surf forecasts for the weekend. Happiness is in one's little daily achievements.
How I justified it....When I closed my businesses and sold my Colorado house I bought and paid for an almost new Jeep Grand Cherokee cash. Drove it for 11 years. No car payments. My 57 is an 12 year project to date. Take that 30 grand or so I put in it and spread it out 12 years and it's less than a new car payment. From an investment standpoint a build is not something you'll make money on, but they'll maintain a value that a new car won't.
The way I see it is the hobby needs all levels of enthusiasts. A certain build may not be your cup of tea (and this one isn't for me), but I respect the effort and intent, if not the dollars spent.
I am keeping in on a budget of sorts, I spend the $$ wisely, do it right once and make the car reliable. I don't like going back and doing something a 2nd time, although I have here and there. I have 2 car payments, Malibu is paid off in August, the other in 2 years. My mortgage and taxes are $2700 a month, other costs to run the house are reasonable. I have very little credit card debt. I'm pretty frugal with whatever else I buy. I have a good paying job, hate it at times but the income is steady. Have a good retirement lined up and I may retire next year at 62 if the planets line up. Love to go out 15' with the back of the garage so I can move the machine shop equipment and get a 2nd bay opened up. My brother is talking about a project, he's more than welcome to use anything that I have.
Like I said, I can go out and buy or build a $100k car tomorrow and not even blink. But that puts me in another level of car owner. These are not people I'd normally ***ociate with. I get a ton of satisfaction out of the research, parts gathering, making things myself instead of buying them. People see the car go from the bare shell I started with and where it is today. I help my friends out too, but they're next to me in a cold garage in January at 11 PM helping me out. I know guys who simply do not work on their own cars, they pay to have shops do it, they don't have friends with that type of skills.
I like driving my pile of junk to go buy artisan made $4 doughnuts. I'm not sure what that says about me. I'd rather have four $8k cars than 1 $32k car though. (for toy cars)
There is a sense of ease driving a car that already has dents and scratches. If I spent $20,000 on paint and body work on my car I'd be afraid to drive it. Now if I get a rock chip it doesn't matter too much.
I'll do my interior up first, probably over the winter. Take the seats and panels to a shop. The outside can wait. I drove primered cars for many years. A few more won't hurt.
Perfectly said...lol, I'm just not sure if you're talking about the supercharged subject of this thread or mine. Either way, I agree100%. We need the trailer queens and the rat rods. Well, maybe not so much the rat rods, and neither would be what I'd want, but can appreciate them.Serously though, I have seen some rat rods that have been well done and show alot more character than some no thought factory restoration.
Tex, sorry, I was not speaking of your build. Yours is one I really dig. I hope the repairs are progressing nicely.
One of the best '57 Fords ever... and not built in the best of conditions, making do with what he had. This is what a true hot rodder does.
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