Hello everyone, I am a new member,My name is Wayne Williams. My age is 80 and i would like to tell you a story about my love for the 57. In July of 1959 i owned a 1957 Fairlane 500, black and white, it was 2 years old and beautiful. I decided to join the U.S.Army and was inducted that same month and year on the 17th. in Roanoke, Va. I parked the car in front of mom and pops home, gave the keys to mom and told her i would return after basic for the 57 if my next duty station was in the states, i returned in late Sept. to pick up my car and drive to Ft. Meade, Md. A taxi dropped me off at the house and i saw no car. Mom was upset and told me pop went on a drunk, got in a crap game and lost my car. Took some weeks to get past that. Took a bus to Ft. Meade. After 10 years in the military, wife and kids, and grand-kids i finally got around to looking for another 57, been looking for around 4 years and in July of this year i found a black and yellow one in N.C. i picked up the car on the 17th., 60 years to the day that i left the other one. My new one is nice but i will save that story for another post.
Welcome aboard Wayne. Cool story, yet sad at the same time. Glad you were able to get back in the game.
Post up some pics, we'd love to see it.
If you are not sure how to post pictures you can try this : http://57fordsforever.com/smf/index.php?topic=7624.msg65489#msg65489
Thanks for the welcome, will post pics. in a few days.
Welcome Wayne! That is an interesting story and shows a lot of dedication. We never get tired of seeing 57s over here either! Guenter
Welcome in Thumper.
Welcome Wayne. Thanks for the intro. Glad your perserverence paid off! I've got a friend here in Texas that has a black and white Fairlane he's had since it was a year old. Got another friend here in town that has a black and yellow one. He bought it in '60 if I remember correctly.
The majority of us here are in the 60-80 age group (I'm coming up quick on 73), so your in good company.
Welcome to the site Wayne. We like 57 stories. It's amazing how many guys left their favorite cars at home when they went off to serve, and somehow the car managed to disappear.
I'm very happy for you that you have a new 57.
We also like pictures of 57's. Jay
Thank all of you gentlemen for your kind remarks. I will be posting a few pics of my 57 soon. Wife does that, I am not in that pay scale, can give a few details about the car. It had a frame off resto. that was completed in 2003. I do have all the receipts and pics. The car is somewhat needy, seems as if the owner became ill a year or two after finishing up the rebuild, the car sat in the garage until Jan. of this year. My understanding is that for the entire time his wife let it sit with no attention given to the car at all. No start ups or movement of any kind. It was donated to a local charity in N.C. the charity then contracted with a local car dealer to sell it. I saw it on Facebook, called about it and drove down to look at it. 124 mile trip. I bought the car on the 3rd. trip after some haggling. Never took if on a test drive because dealer said it had a braking issue. they had paid someone $600.00 to work on the brakes and on the trip back to the dealership one of the rear wheels started to smoke. Do not know why they did not make the mechanic fix his work. They swore up and down nothing else was wrong with the 57. I bought the car for $5000.00 less than the asking price of 12K. Trucked it home and worked on the brakes. The guy had replaced the master cyl., 2 wheel cyls., and 1 front flex hose. Why not the other hose and 2 wheel cyls. anyway the left rear wheel that was smoking was the 1st. thing i looked at, the shoes were on backwards and i would have bet that was the problem, pulled other 3 wheels and found one more the same way. Fixed those issues and drove it up the street maybe 1/4 mile. Got back to the house and brake pedal was at the top and hard as a brick. it has power brakes. I cracked the fitting at the master cyl. with no pressure on the pedal and fluid spewed out. After removing the master cyl. i could tell the rod was too long so shortened that with the under the dash adjustment. Also the outlet bolt and fitting that both have holes in them were no where near being lined up. Have started the car several times and pumped the brakes, they seem to work just fine. Gonna drive it tomorrow. A bunch of other stuff is wrong mostly because dumb a-- drove after it sat for 15 years. Will update as i go along. I love reading all these posts on the site.
WOW!!!!
Someone paid $600 for a brake job and ended up with all those problems. How do people do that kind of crummy work and manage to get away with it?
The best part is............it found the right home! Keep the info coming.
Welcome Wayne!
You know, i thought the same thing. Why they accepted that lousy work, i have the invoice and have given a thought or 2 about calling this person, but i did'nt pay the bill. He must not have even given the car a test drive.
Am I the only one that googled "S. Boston, Va" to see if thumper had ties to both Boston and Virginia, lol? There IS a S Boston, Va!
Rich
I'm glad That you are putting all that blame on some other Boston and not our Boston in Mass. HAHA
Also check your email.
JA
Quote from: RICH MUISE on 2019-09-06 10:45
Am I the only one that googled "S. Boston, Va" to see if thumper had ties to both Boston and Virginia, lol? There IS a S Boston, Va!
Yup, couple of NASCAR fellows from there......The Burtons....
That's right about the Burton's and we have a nice track here, well attended, sold out events. It's a
racing town.
Welcome aboard Wayne. You have found the best home for 57 lovers and your car has found its best home. There are a few young ones on here (I?m only 61).
Welcome Wayne...Thumper eh? There HAS to be story behind that nickname! We are ALL ears!
I too have been out of the game for a long time. I think other than Gunther...I am the kid in this place. I am a mere 66 years old. Been hauling my 2 '57 Couriers around behind me for over 40 years. Finally began working on one of them. Slowly!
Good story about the acquisition of your ride. Never too late to fill in the dream column is it?
A lot of guys here are full to overflowing with knowledge...especially Gunther! We have all been captivated by some of his restoration projects he has taken on. Rich just finished replacing his motor and others here have been a wealth of info for me personally. You hit the Mother lode of guys with info willing to share. Like everyone else, I look forward to the pics! :003:
Hey, thanks for your comments, as a newby here i am just getting my feet wet and you are correct there is a huge amount of knowledge on here. I grew up with these 50's cars and worked in the old gas stations that also did repairs on these vehicles and i pretty much know my way around them including the particular problems they all had. What i like here is the vast knowledge of engine swapping, tranny issues and the technical issues as to upgrading brakes, steering and the like. As to the nickname i was given that in the military by my buddies. My Dad and one of my uncles were boxers and by the time i was 15 i had been taught how to perform the sport, it served me well in school dealing with bully's, it went into the service with me and after a few altercations in the bars around Baltimore not of my choice, i was given the nickname because none of the incidents lasted very long. I am also not that person now but i do like the nickname.
My new 57 had a frame off resto that was complete in 2002, shortly after that the owner became sick and the car sat 17 years with no start ups. Most all seals,and anything made of rubber had dried out, i have gone over all of that, it runs nice and tranny was serviced before going out on the road. While going through the receipts of work that was done i came across and engine and trans rebuild. Mileage shows less than 2000 since the rebuild, i do have a question that someone might help with, the engine work shows .060 thousands over on pistons. By my math that indicates around 302 cubes. Is that even close.
Not being even remotely knowledgeable about bores and such, I will leave that for one of those more educated than I.
Sounds like you scored a good deal though...outside of the less than stellar brake job. Hard to understand doing them so poorly...one of the easiest things to do on a car. Weird.
I calculate 301 (300.98) CI. (Bore x Bore)/4 x 3.1416 x Stroke x 8. Bore 3.81, Stroke 3.30.
Thanks for the answer, i was pretty close.
As to that lousy brake job, i can not understand it either. This person had new shoes backward, master cyl. incorrect, this 57 has power brakes and takes a cyl. with a 1 and 1/8th bore, this was a i inch. He replaced 3 wheel cyls. and not 4. He also monkeyed with the rod adjustment that can be adjusted under the dash. Lucky for me my old brain remembered how to correct all of this. Wife is not to happy with me crawling around on a creeper under a car sitting on 4 jack stands. have been getting up dated on here with all the nice new updates that can be done, like disc brakes and dual master cylinder. I am wanting to find out the easiest engine and trans. swap.
I have always looked at wheel cylinders a as "pair" thing. If I do one...then I do the matching one. Especially nowadays, when they are a purchase item rather than a rebuild item.
As for the master...why not buy the same thing he had? And fooling with the rod is kinda nuts to begin with.
And shoes on backward? I think he would be better off watching reruns of Tom & Jerry than working on cars!
Your wife should be happy youi are on a creeper in the garage...instead of elbows on a bar in some tavern! LOL!!! Mine is!
Believe it or not, they were backwards. The people i bought the car from had this work done in Denton, N.C. I purchased the car without driving only because it was a deal.After repairs to brakes it runs very good. Please notice i have added three pics of the car
VERY nice!
Great looking Fairlane. Why an engine trans change?
Nice looking car, I like the color combo !
Thanks for the nice comments on my 57. as to the engine change i am not sure about that yet, the car runs nice and i need to service the tranny. There is only a couple thousand miles on both since the rebuild, however, it sat for 16 years without being started or moved and i am not confident that the seller did the right things before running the car. There is some valve train noise ( not bad ) and the trans. shifts pretty hard. I know those both have adjustments. But i also remember back in the day when i worked on these cars the Y blocks had issues with oiling to the upper valve train. I like the idea of a nice running 351W or even a 302.
Quote from: thumper on 2019-09-20 12:16
There is some valve train noise ( not bad ) and the trans. shifts pretty hard. I know those both have adjustments. But i also remember back in the day when i worked on these cars the Y blocks had issues with oiling to the upper valve train. I like the idea of a nice running 351W or even a 302.
For the valve train noise...I am guessing the rockers probably need adjusting. Or after sitting for so many years you may have stuck lifters.
Tranny...all my cars with the exception of my two trucks and the '68 Buick Le Sabre I inherited from my grandparents have sticks...so I will defer to those much smarter than I.
Sounds like small annoyances that will be easy to bring up to snuff though.
As for the car...WOW! Nice looker! I be jealous! Hope when I finish mine it is as grand! :003:
That's a great story Wayne. Welcome from Minnesota. Happy you got another 57!
Thank you all for the nice comments on the car. I adjusted the valves today, cranked it up and watched for some oil to start finding it's way up and it did, not copious but nice and it was nice and quiet, tomorrow i will change the oil and filter, also will add some Lucas zink additive in as well. The engine is very clean internally and this will be my 2nd oil change since i obtained the car. looks like only 2000 mile on the engine since rebuild. They bored it 60 over so i have a 301, i'll just call it a 302.
what a sweet car ! This must be one of the most beautiful color combos on 57 Fords ! Great Model also with the chrome door glass frames!
Glad that you managed to stop the valve train noise with a simple adjustment. a little oil up the rocker shafts sounds great already and is all that is needed to keep the rockers from wear and squealing.
Although a 351 is a good engine choice for a 57 ( had one in the Del Rio), from what you tell us, there is ABSOLUTELY no reason to pull the Y block from your sweet and original car. Let me be the first this time, to say 'DON'T PULL THIS CAR APART !'
The boys on here kept telling me that and I didn't listen and still blew the Del Rio apart and it has been in a thousand pieces for 4 years and will be for many further. A transmission overhaul doesn't necessitate a drivetrain swap. For a beginning, who knows what ATF is in the trans. Why not just drain, and refill with correct type ATF and see what happens. cheap insurance before you dig any deeper. JMHO. Did I already say this is such a sweet, SWEET car ! :001:
Thank you for your comments, nope, i am not gonna tear it all apart, it just needs some TLC, from setting idle for so long. Horn does not beep, put new sending unit in tank, needle still flies past full mark when key goes on. it has electric wipers and they try to work only move about an inch and a half back and forth. Am going to replace all 4 shocks, anyone have any suggestions on a good shock in today's world. I used to know all this stuff back in the 60s. Engine is running great, took it for a spin today, temp stayed around 170, oil pressure was over 60 at 55 mph, holds at 35/40 at hot idle, 14.4 on charging. I have installed a 3 gauge set-up for those items. I have also installed an aluminum radiator, it does great.
Did you match up the sender's ohms range to the oem gage's ohms? Can't remember offhand what the range is, but I can check real quick.
I checked.....it's 73-10. Here's a link to a great troubleshooting guide for fuel senders/gages, and they go into what to check if your gage reads a certain way, like always full, etc.
https://www.tanksinc.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=results/category_id=159/mode=cat/cat159.htm
Thanks for tips on fuel gauge settings, much appreciat
My wording on my last post was ambiguous. What I was saying is that new sender you put in won't work unless it's pre-set ohms range matches that of the gauge. I'm assuming stock gauge when I gave you the 73-10. The Tanks inc troubleshooting guide comes in real handy when everything matches up, but still doesn't work.
Don't throw away your old sending unit. On some aftermarket sending units, like the really well built/sturdy Tanks Inc one, the mounting flange is not compatible with the '57 tanks, so the old unit can be cut up to donate it's old mounting flange to be adapted to the new unit.
Thanks for the great tips on the gauge ohms, I worked on these old Fords from the late 30s all the way up to 59, when i went in the service in 59 these 57s and 58s were just a couple of years old and i don't remember ever having a gauge issue to deal with. The new fuel gauge was identical and fit right in, so your info should be correct. Maybe you could offer some input on wipers. Mine are electric, the wipers are only making an inch and a half swipe up and down. The cables are tight, i have not looked at the motor. I only ever worked on the vacuum type and i remember wrestling with the cables.
Thanks,
Wayne
I'd start by pulling both the wiper arms off and seeing what the pivots do without them on. Maybe they were just installed when the wipers were not in the park position. A great tool for removing the wiper arms is a hose plier that's just a bit bigger that the pivot. You can close them up under the wiper arm's hub and pull. If I remember correctly, the circular fingers of the piers will also depress/push the little lever thingie that keeps them from coming off.
Easier than prying them off and chancing scratching the paint.
If that shows not to be the problem, I'd pull the motor and see if it goes thru the normal range of back and forth. I vagley remember reading those motors having an adjustable stop/park. That may be something to look into.
I'm guessing the more likely culprit is the cable and pulley assy. Good luck with that, lol. Does it look like they've been off/played with? I do know that the diagram showing the cable routing in the Ford Manual shows the cable wound the wrong way on one of the pulleys. Others will have to help with that because I've never messed with them, and I don't even have the cable and pulleys on my car anymore to look at. (Yes, I do have wipers, but you won't want to get into what I did)
Others with an electric set up like yours may have had similar issues and chime in.
OK, thank you sir, this will keep me busy for a bit. I have a really nice car, interior is redone to original, exterior is nice, has a nice set of radials, after some routine work on engine it is purring like a kitten. Engine and trans. were rebuilt in 2002, odometer at that time showed 34k it now shows just over 36k and it works. As i have mentioned before the car sat inactive for 16 years. Front end parts seem nice and tight but need lube job. I figure that through the winter months i will have it ready for the street this spring. Oh, i forgot to mention------it has an air conditioner-------in the trunk !!
The hard shifting is probably the throttle pressure adjustment. It's the rod from the trans up to the linkage at the back of the intake manifold.
The p/b master cylinder is very hard to find so somebody probably thought they could just use a regular one. If you can find a core it can be sleeved back to 1.125" bore.
2X on leaving the drivetrain stock, Y-blocks have good torque and run well. A pair of T-Bird aluminum valve covers look great on them too.
Good luck,
Ron.