I think this is a bit too much.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1957-Ford-Pass-312-Y-Block-E-Code-Holley-Carburetor-and-Manifold-Thunderbird-/330711847095?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item4cfff650b7#ht_500wt_1204
It all depends on how bad you want something. A good deal is when both parties are satisfied with the transaction. Money really has no bearing on a good deal. Since I can't see trying to go cross country reliably using two teapot four barrels on a 312 engine, it wouldn't be a good deal for me either. Jim PS A rich guy restoring a 57 T-Bird will come along and think it's a good deal.
Yeah you have a valid point right there about the rich guy thinking he's found a good deal.
Twin teapots double the odds of an engine fire, no thanks at any price.
Zap- :unitedstates:
I paid $3500 10 years ago for a similar set up with out the trash can gas filter. Another 2x4 car set up I pieced together the cost was manifold $300, correct carbs including rebuild $1800, Air cleaner $1000, trash can gas filter $500 repoed, linkage $50. Valley cover for 2x4 $200. It was worth it a correctly restored "E" Ford car brings good money as found out and they are a lot harder to find than the T-Birds.
FYI The 2x4 Air Cleaner used on a Ford car will not fit the T-Bird, but the T-Bird air cleaner is being repoed.
I've owned a lot of Fords with teapots 55/56 and only had trouble with one, and that was because the guy who rebuilt it didn't know what he was doing. I've had more problems with 4100s including my 63 XL.
Lou has a point. You can spend alot of time & money chasing down all the correct parts for that combination.
Good original stuff (rare) is going to cost big bucks. Factory air is a good example. The door badge typically sells for 2 - 300. The dash board vent can hit 3 - 400. Funny part, factory air is not a good system, does a marginal cooling job is highly sought after and will bring top dollar!
Nostalgia performance parts, factory or aftermarket are through the roof and will probably go higher and rare factory options as well.
The factory AC thing. AC just is not going to work unless the car is prepped for it. I put Vintage Air in mine. It hide up under the dash so well that it wasn't noticeable. But without pulling the interior out and sealing and insulating way beyond what the factory would have done, the results were very disappointing. As I am reassembling the car, I am applying Lizard Skin, body foam, extra seals and in a few areas DynaMat.
gasman you are 100% correct with respect to the AC. The older cars do need major prep work for AC to be really good. Back in the day I suppose the AC was a really high cost item when making a purchase. Today it is standard, go figure. I guess we are getting soft, I didn't have central air until 1987, lived in Memphis, TN, Brunswick, GA, Lexington Park, MD, and Norfolk, VA with just fans and certainly no air in the car or the truck.
AC has become a necessity. Pull the vent knobs on a '57 and wind rips through the car. Select vent on a late model and you hardly feel a draft.