Figured I have posted a few pics on different threads it was time I start a build thread..don't expect fast updates as I'm doing a little at a time, family and work keep me busy...which by the way we have another baby due in June..a boy! Anyways, I had been trying to pry this off my friend for quite some time and this summer he finally sold it to me! It has a 351 Cleveland backed by an AOD trans, granada disc brakes and cut coils followed by a block in the rear. He owned it for 20+ years and towed many boats and a few cars with it. The car has quite a bit of rust which is most likely from its numerous trips to Bonneville. My plan is to fix the bodywork the best I can and drive the snot out of it. So far I have bodyworked up a drivers side fender for it..used 2 fenders to make one good one. Tonight I got a decent tailgate for it. The car is going to be painted a dark satin grey and unsure on what wheel/tire combo I will run.. Anyways here are some pics of it in its prime, to when I bought it, to current.
Here in Minnesota when those 57 Fords were 4 years old, the headlights would fall out of the fenders due to rust.
Subscribed... I'd drive it... I was looking for a '57 or a '61 before I got my car. I missed out on a nice '63 box-top 2-door sedan that was ultra clean. I was lucky though, missing lots of stuff but zero rust.
I've always liked the '57 Fords...and a Ranchero project, I'd be all over that. Cool project, keep us up to date on it.
Back in about 1980 I bought a wrecked (front end) '58 Ranchero for $25. Replaced front end with '57 sheet metal. Even though the '58 was only 22 years old, it was already a "rust bucket".
back in the 70's Dad and I were working on a 58 Ranchero project for me. It never got finished and sold off. I moved on to other OT projects and still kinda regret not finishing it. I always liked them.
Love them 57 Rancheros and a nice running gear to boot. EMS repros some nice patch panels for 57 Fords if you need to go that way.
Kind of sad seeing how the car got neglected for many years, but nice to see you are planning to get it back to being a nice car. Has a great starting point.
Very cool and I will be following along. And, I understand the life and kids deal. I am just now getting to the point that I may be able to work on my own stuff again after raising 4 kids.
Back in the 70's I had one that was a 6 cylinder 3 speed car. The engine was blown but it wasn't rusty. I sold the rear end out of it and never did anything with it. It went to the dump. I feel sad about that now. I had no place to store it. So much for hind sight. You've got quite a project. Good luck and hope there's no surprises.
Due to the recent weather (freezing Temps and rain) and now flooding..been out of power since saturday progress has halted...
The icy pic reminds me of a line in a song by the Tradewinds, "my woodies outside, covered in snow, where will you go now".
21 today on Long Island... everything is encased in ice. Since Sunday, my biggest trip outside has been to the mail box.
I remember, as an almost ten year old, poking my fingers through the fenders of my dad’s 57 2 door wagon in the spring of 1961, just before he traded it in for a 61 Ford sedan. The rockers were in about the same condition.
man, that was very nice at one time,...what I like about this thread is that this car was "used" as it should be, not a trailer queen, and now it gets a second chance to be great again. Good luck with it.
The Jalopy Journal
