38 replies to this topic

[Brett Barrow]

Now I'm a total tri-five nut, but I really love the looks of the low-level 57 Ford Custom. Lots of folks don't realize that Ford actually outsold Chevy in 57 (only the 2nd time after WWII).  Chevy was on the third and final year of the tri-five platform, but the 57 Ford was all-new.  But it's the 57 Chevy that's considered the iconic American car now (I think that the 57's legacy in 60's Junior Stock racing is as big a factor for that than the styling...)

 

Both are great models and make for a really cool comparison.   

[bbowser]

Brett makes a great point, Ford outsold Chevy in '57 so why do you never see 57 Fords at shows?.  Great models, and indicative of what was on the street back in the day.  The Custom and 150-210 were much more prevalent than the Fairlane or Belair.

[crazyjim]

Marvelous duo and both so SHINY .  Wasn't the Chevy fuelie logo on the front fender though?

[rmvw guy]

Nice job on both, like the color combo

 

Is that and Ivory white, or off white, egg shell white, or a cream color?   It's actually Wimbeldon White from Model Masters on the Ford and I don't remember on the Chevy but, I was using a lot of Dupli-Color paint back then, so it might be one of their whites.

 

 

Marvelous duo and both so SHINY .  Wasn't the Chevy fuelie logo on the front fender though?  Jim the logo was on the front fender on the Bel Air model,  the Widow had it on the rear fender.

Thanks everyone else for all your comments, I am truly overwhelmed.

[transmotion]

get a 57 plymouth to slip in there.....they look great

[Custom Hearse]

I like them! great job!!!

[rmvw guy]

get a 57 plymouth to slip in there.....they look great

I wish they would make a low level Plymouth to ad to this collection and yeah, I would have to do one in black and white.  Thanks for the compliments guys.

[RatRod]

Love 'em both Ron!!! The black and white paint scheme is just perfect!!!

[Joe Handley]

Brett makes a great point, Ford outsold Chevy in '57 so why do you never see 57 Fords at shows?

 

I had heard that the those had a horrible rust problem, that might be some of it.

[Tony T]

Both are very nice!

[Scalper]

What a cool looking photo shoot .. both cars look incredible together, I like a lot.

[Brudda]

Both are super!!!

[DustyMojave]

Growing up in LA I saw more Fords of that era than Chevys. Fords seemed more popular with families. When a 57 Belair went by, it was uncommon enough to catch your eye. My brother's 1st car was a 56 Ford. Later he got a 64 Plymouth Max Wedge, then replaced that after totaling it in a crash at Lions Drag Strip, with a 55 Chevy. He still has the 55 Chevy, but it hasn't been driven since 1973. The Fords had a push rod V8 which was developed earlier than the Chevy. The Ford Y-Block had motor mounts under the crank pulley and on the sides of the bellhousing. To upgrade from a Y-block to a later Ford engine which has mount bosses on the sides of the block, one had to fabricate the mounts on the frame, as well as replacing the engine, bellhousing, trans and driveshaft. I've seen no evidence that Fords rusted any worse than any GM or Mopar vehicles of the same time frame. Materials and protection (or lack thereof) were virtually identical in the day. In the mid 60s, around my area, Fords of the mid-late 50s sold for more at used car lots than similar age Chevys. Even when I was in High School in the early 70s, my friends recommended that I get a Chevy because they were cheaper. That suggests the Fords of the era held their value better and the less expensive quality of the Chevys may have contributed to their seemingly greater popularity with racers and hotrodders. Oh...I started with a VW! Belairs and Fairlanes don't make good Baja Bugs and don't get 30mpg.

[rmvw guy]

Richard I'm with you on the VWs even though we don't have a desert close by, I still love the Dune Buggies.  My Uncle moved to California from Ohio in 1957 with a brand new '57 Ford wagon and 5 boys along with is Wife of coarse. I always loved the '57 Fords.  In the late '60s in High School Auto Mechanics I repaired all the rust panels on a '57 ford two door custom owned by my student teacher.  And there was a lot of rust, this was in 1967 when the car was 10 years old. I painted the car white, the original color and the teacher was very pleased.  You probably didn't see the amount of rust we get here on cars in the rust belt.  My Uncle returned here in 1967 after a divorce, in a little '67 Datson two seat sports car, I can't remember what model it was.  I drove it to school and the kids went crazy over it. Nobody here had ever heard of a Datson.  It began to rust after one winter here.  The bumpers pitted real bad.  He drove that car over 170 thousand miles and never changed the oil, just added oil.  One of his girl friends wrecked it, and that was the end.

[charlie8575]

What a pair. Perhaps AMT will get the idea and update that deformed '58 into a correctly-done '57 Plaza 2-door sedan.

 

Charlie Larkin

[rmvw guy]

What a pair. Perhaps AMT will get the idea and update that deformed '58 into a correctly-done '57 Plaza 2-door sedan.

 

Charlie Larkin

Thanks Charlie, I'm with you on this one too, about the Plymouth......  I forgot to mention above,  I live in a big GM town here,  We had a Chevrolet plant here that employed over 6000 at one time.  You've probably heard of Muncie 4- speeds and also Borgue Warner began here. Any way we saw a lot of Chevys here and a lot of '57s.  The next town over Newcastle, had a Chrysler plant and Chrysler cars are still everywhere in their town. I think that's how it worked back long ago when people were loyal to the products they helped make. I don't know where the closest Ford plant was, probably Indianapolis but, they weren't very popular here.

Edited by rmvw guy, 11 March 2013 - 09:24 PM.

[gpugh1976]

Nice lookin' pair! My money is on the Chevy though. Those fuelie cars ran real good. ....until they had to be adjusted and rebuilt.

[throwback]

Thats really cool. I like the black widow kit. ...someday...

[Nxr]

I am going to have to go with the ford.. the round tail lights are awesome, also the ford probably outsold chevy in 57 but most of the fords were probably used the hell out of for fleet and commercial services, just like what modern fords are good at... getting used a lot for work

Edited by Nxr, 21 March 2013 - 06:20 PM.