Are there any "F" code Sunliners or 300s out there for sale?
TARTC in Detroit sifted through all the Detroit gate release invoice copies for 1957. They kept all t-bird records and all the E and F passenger cars records. They missed a few in the process but pretty much got everything. All "F" data plated cars and Thunderbirds were manufactured in Detroit. The "D-F"s were built in 4 different plants. Although I can't verify officially, the word I got from my t-bird sources said that only 6 "F" convertibles were manufactured however 25 "D-F"s were distributed to dealers that supported racing. To the best of my knowledge none of them have surfaced. One was listed in the 57 ford.com list but appeared to be to early to be legitimate. The earliest manufacture date I know of for an "F" t-bird is Don Antilla's on July 10th. Passenger cars should follow the same pattern. All "F" passenger cars and t-birds should be late enough to have the late small data plate. Good luck and please let us know if you find one.
Also, apparently quite a few 300's were manufactured as well as a number of retractables, the rarest would seem to be the one ranchero although two are out there. Both of them belonged to a friend of mine, Bruce Johnson at one point. Bruce has passed and the cars have all moved on and I have lost track of them.
On the Sunliner check with Jerry's Classic cars in Springdale Ark. seems he occasionally comes up with a d or f code to restore. He's got a link on our suppliers list
Has anyone come up with the number of E Code Sunliners made?
I know about one, 'cause I'm lookin at it. I think it will be very hard to track as they were built in virtually every plant. My current one was Dallas, the retractable I used to own was Kansas City, I've seen them from Detroit, Louisville, Richmond, Mahwah to name a few.
Here's an interesting update. Apparently, Jack Fitzgerald In Saint Louis has found and purchased one of the 25 Phase One convertibles that was sent to a dealer in North Carolina. That would be significant in expanding the knowledge base on Phase One cars.
I would love to see some pics and info on that car, and talk to him.
Sorry, my bad. Jack Anderson in Saint Louis. He apparently has a lot of interest in 57's. T-birds as well.
further update on the D-F convertible. Apparently Mr. Anderson purchased a D-F system (fairly complete) from Dennis Carpenter some years back. Recently he asked Dennis where the parts came from and tracked the owner down from that information. The car apparently comes with a lot of documentation.
I think you really need documentation with a D/F code. If it wasn't built in Detroit, I don't think you would have access to any factory invoice. I wonder if any other Phase 1 convertibles are out there without their original supercharger and just have the carb, or are missing the engine entirely. Do you have any details of the color combo, transmission, or condition of Mr. Andersons car?
NASCAR had a convertible class back then. That is probably where most of those cars went to.
Ron.
Absolutely correct Ron, when I get a chance, I can post what dealers they went to.
From my data plate research, There were 6 "F" convertibles built, and 20 "F" retractables built.( I have the data plate info on all the retrackables) On April 15 & 16 , 1957 16 suppercharged "D" Thunderbirds built along with and unknown number of Ford cars. Late in the day on April 16, 1957 Ford started stamping the "F" engine code for suppercharged cars. All 1207 suppercharge t-birds and cars were built at Dearborn.
FYI ::The city of Minneapolis had 50 suppercharged police cars. I assume they were Customs tudors.
Lou, not to get into an argument here but I think your 6 convertible estimate is on the money from what I know. I am under the impression that more than 20 retractables were built as well as more than a thousand passenger cars. Did you get these figures from TARTC or some other source? It would be interesting to know what the sources of these statistics are. Thanks.
I had thought that all of the D code supercharged Tudors (65), Convertibles (20) and T-Birds (15) were built in January 1957 to meet the NASCAR homologation requirement of 100 vehicles. I would also be interested to find out about the supercharged D codes built in April.
Most of my information was collected in the 1980s when I started my research in 1953 to 1960 Ford data plate information, the majority being 1955 to 1958 (about 30,000 listings) The info on 20 "F" retrackables came from TARTC (they refused to give me any info on the convertibles) Bruce Johnson was the person who told me about the 6 "F" convertibles and the 2 "F" Rancheros as he owned one of the rancheros at the time and was looking for one of the convertibles. (He also had the only"F" station wagon too)
The 1207 suppercharges came from one of the Granatelli (I'm sure I spelled that wrong) brothers as they had just bought Paxton and were kind enough to look thru Paxtons files for me.
The 16 "D" birds info came from Ford Johnson over lunch in 1983 along with info on 2 430 factory powered 57 t-birds.
As for suppercharged Fords being built for NASCAR it seems unlikely as only a single carburetor was allowed in the stock class as I was told by Russ Truelove who was racing his 56 Mercury and in his book "Highspeed at Low Tide".
In or around 2000 I got a chance to speak with Ned Jerrett at the Ford Nationals he autographed a picture I had of him with his 57 Ford convertible race car and told me and interesting thing, they were not convertibles but hardtops with the tops cut off.
NASCAR allowed Superchargers, multi carbs and fuel injection early in the season later the rules
changed to single 4 barrels only.
The 2 57 T-Birds were 368" Lincoln Y's.
Ron.
Very interesting, I knew Bruce Johnson quite well as I was living in Minneapolis when I bought my first little bird. I purchased my Gunmetal "F" T-Bird from him shortly after I moved to California. He was the source of the 6 convertible story for me as well. Bruce had 2 Rancheros but one had an early data plate which contraindicates validity. Also, Jim Weatherly told me at some point that there was only one Ranchero. Bruce had that car. The earliest "F" data plate date T-Bird we know of was a car That Don Antilla had in Connecticut. That car was built on June 10th. The list of T-Birds that Shields started has grown to 197 of the 213 cars as a couple have come out of the woodwork since he did the original list. It will be interesting to see if Jack Anderson's D-F convertible is a cut down hard top.
Ray, thank you for responding, I checked my list and the earliest "F" bird I have is June 12, F7FH 310741. The earliest Ford car I have is May 22, F7FG 294564 a custom sedan 70A.
Bruce Johnson bought that "F" Ranchero from a guy I knew in Alabama (I can't remember his name) he also told me it was 1 of 2 ordered by the DePaolo brothers thru their Ford dealership. This was the guy who first found and restored the only "F" station wagon. Bruce found the wagon some years later in California minis the supercharger and restored the car again.
Ron, Do you have the data plate info on the 368 powered T-birds? Would you share it with me?
In 1963 I was working at a garage in Bridgeport, CT one of are customers had a 57 bird with a 352 in it, he swore it was the original engine, but the car was painted a dark purple and the guy was sort of a A--hole, plus I knew he didn't buy the car new so I didn't believe him. I often wonder if it was a 352 factory powered car.
The former Jerry Capizzi "F" code Skyliner will be going up for auction at the Auctions America Auburn venue Aug 31-Sept 3.
Don's F was F7FH310743, Black exterior, Red interior, built on the 10 of June. An overdrive car. Jerry Torchner's 4 door country sedan is still the only station wagon known. I believe Jerry bought it off a used car lot in San Francisco in the day. As for the "battle birds" one was powered by the 368, the other was powered by a supercharged 312. I believe Gill Baumgartner restored the supercharged car years ago, it's around and the 368 car has not been found. I have a friend that was close to the DePaolo family, I might be able to get some more info.
What about the 300hp green 2dr wagon "Sounds of Silence" and the yellow "Parham & Payne " 4 dr wagon that were raced back in the day? Were they C or D codes with an "F" motor transplant? I remember seeing pictures of them on the 57Ford.com site.
I don't have data plate info on the 368 Bird but, it was probably a transplant by Special
vehicles garage at Ford.
I read about these cars decades ago in mags and later in books.
The drag cars were transplants. There was a 4dr hardtop also raced, maybe by P&P.
Ron.
Has anyone seen or heard any details of the recently found D/F Sunliner ?
D/F Sunliner....Three years ago, for a client, just before I retired and sold my antique auto appraisal business I looked at what was being told to him was one of the early factory supercharged convertibles, I found the car to be a fake.
Re: the drag wagons. I am good friends with both Bob Bayles (Sounds of Silence) and Gordon Payne. Gordon's car was a 2 door wagon, not 4 door. Neither car was a factory F code. Bob sold his car years ago, Gordon is currently restoring a replica of a '57 Fairlane 500 he drove on the street in the '60s. He has installed an F engine in it, a D car. John
There was only "1" 1957 Ford Custom 300 "F Code" Built...... I use to own it. I sold it an it is now a guys daily driver. We all heard about the F Conv and Ranchero, never seen one or prove.
I purchased an F code Fairlane 500 that was formally owned by Don Miller retired President of Penske Racing. It came with a 3 ring binder with bulletins from Ford Motor Company to dealers talking about the 312 supercharged engines. One bulletin dated January 4, 1957 states that:
The number of these engines available in the month of January will meet the requirements necessary to qualify this engine for the Nascar Daytona Beach Speedweeks on February 3, 1957. It was not feasible due to manufacturing start up problems, the limited time available, and the limited initial production to place these units in all districts. They were placed therefor in districts where they could be utilized to the company's greatest advantage to insure the largest participation possible at Daytona Beach.
Installation of these new engine for January production only has been restricted to Custom Tudors, Convertibles, and Thunderbirds with standard transmissions.
Although sale of these units is definintely not restricted to race drivers, it has been suggested that the dealers receiving these January units please endeavor to place them with buyers who intend to compete at Daytona Beach.
If your district did not receive any of these engines in January and you feel you have a buyer interested in Daytona Beach participation, it is suggested you contact Mr. J. H. Mackay, Special Programs Coordinator in the General Sales Office immediately.
There is also a list from 12/26/56 showing dealers where the cars with superchargers were sent- 65 Custom 2-dr. , 20 convertibles, and 15 Thunderbirds.
Also found a letter from Ford Motor dated April 16, 1957 to a gentleman wanting to buy a supercharged car that the supply has been exhausted and will not be available again until the middle of May. He should contact Bob Reece Motors to make arrangements to obtain a supercharged unit or any other car of your choice.
Great info, Thanks for posting it ! ^^^
I just wanted to follow up on the D/F code Sunliner that was supposedly found, whether that was just a rumor or if true, any more details on the car. Thanks
Definitely true, it is currently undergoing restoration and should be done this summer. The owner has said that it came with all of the original documentation proving the authenticity of being a D/F code.
After searching for 25+ years, I finally found and purchased an "F" code Sunliner. I consider myself very lucky! It needs restoration, but has the original data tag, and correct #s on the frame.
A big Congrats!! Some more info and pics would be appreciated by all, I'm sure.
Thanks Rich. A friend informed me that he got a call from a guy in Alton, Kansas ( population 301) who had an F code Sunliner. The fellow had bought the car after he saw an ad in the local car trader, since his wife wanted a 57 Ford convertible, preferably red. It turned out to be an amateur resto, but was good enough as a local cruise car. After he bought it, he checked the data plate, looked up the engine code, and discovered he found a "jewel in the rough." He inquired as to who was into supercharged '57s, and wound up calling my friend.
The car will need a correct "F" engine and a full resto to bring it back to its former glory.
Now I need this motor and a HD automatic trans.
Contact Jim Weatherly, (714) 525-9477. Weatherly Classic Cars or through ebay (olddudescarparts). I'm sure Jim can supply everything you need. He is a little difficlut to get ahold of as he is pretty much retired at this point but he will get back to you.