Just bought a 57 Fairlane

[Buckaroo]

Hi everyone.  My wife, Dena, and I just purchased a 1957 Ford Fairlane.  It has a 390 FE engine and newer transmission. Holley 4 bbl. The car has had the frame painted and body is in great shape.  It was a restoration that ended up stopping for various reasons.  The wiring needs to be completed.  The seats are already to an upholstery shop for padding, etc.  Inside trim pieces around the windshield need to be installed.  Also need carpet installed and my wife wants power steering.  Tires look like new but are dated 2004. Looking for help here once I get started on the electrical work.  Will be installing gauges.  Our last project was a 1958 Thunderbird and the Squarebird website was very helpful in us getting the car completed. 

[Swank]

You're in the right place.
I pretty much went from field to freeway with this site.

Somebody on here will know the electricals.

[RICH MUISE]

Welcome to the forum! Pics and all...that's great. Good looking car you got there. from what we can see, it looks like it was done right. Make sure you get it aligned before driving it too much. I noticed there are no shims at the upper control arm.
On the wiring, we have a few members here that are really good. When I did mine, FordBlueBlood (Bill) here was my go to guy.
My recommendation:  You may have already found out from your past projects most aftermarket wiring kits are GM oriented, and universal, so you have to figure some stuff out on your own for a Ford. Myself and others here are big fans of Ron Francis wiring. They are one of the few, if not the only one, that is/can be Ford based. They are a bit pricey, but quality is number 1. Instructions are so clear and well written, if you can read, you can wire your car. They have lesser kits, but the Express kit is specifically made for YOUR car. It will have a serial number on it that they can poke in their computer should you call with questions. That serial number will tell them exactly what they made for you. If you have add-ons like air, power windows, etc., this is the way to go imho.I was doing a late model efi engine with 93 wires to the computer at the same time I was doing the chassis harness. I had to call them only twice, and the questions I had were answered in minutes. Both questions I had were about interfacing the efi wiring harness to their chassis harness.
Others may have different opinions. My recommendation is based on the assumption that with the '58 hood and 390, you're not looking to do a factory correct rewire, but want to modernize with a fuse panel etc.

[djfordmanjack]

Welcome to our site !  a Sweet Fairlane, appears to be Hardtop Cpe ? is it a 500 or base model Fairlane ?
That radiator with the polished factory looking tank looks great ! While you are at the electrics you might want to think about an electric windshield wiper motor conversion for your vacc driven og unit. depending on what cam is in the 390 and whether or not your fuel pump has a vaccuum unit on top, the original wiper might be marginal or not working at all under certain conditions. You could use a 57 Chevy or 57-59 Corvette wiper motor, but there are new aftermarket motors available, that might be cheaper and more reliable.
Good luck with the build and please keep us posted with your progress!

[RICH MUISE]

That's a pretty engine compartment! I'm curious about the battery location. The heater hoses are running across/mounted where the battery normally goes. were the plans to relocate it to another area?
If you're so inclined, fill us in on where / how you found the car and what you know about why it got so close to finishing without the final touches. Haha..curious minds need to know.
Rich

[Ford Blue blood]

Welcome Buckaroo,  I think you will find everybody here willing to share the good, the bad and the ugly they have encountered while building or working on their cars.  Don't be afraid of asking questions no matter how trivial you might think they are.  I do not recall as single judgmental person here, ask for an opinion and you'll get many, if you don't ask everyone will keep their opinions to themselves.  Honestly the only way you could get on the "wrong" side of things is putting or asking about installing "that cookie cutter for hot rods" engine....:<) in your car!

Very nice looking car!  Looks to have been thought out, well assembled and straight.  We do like pictures and there is no such thing as too many!  Might look at starting a build thread, many stumps have been pulled in that section of the forum.

[Buckaroo]

Here are some answers to some of the questions:  It is a Fairlane 500.  There is an updated wiring harness already in it.  New from 1999.  Everything isn't wired up.  I do have the manual that came with the wiring kit.  The battery has been relocated to the trunk with a master cutoff switch.  Plans are to get an electric wiper motor.  I changed the one in our 58 Tbird as well.  Story is the restoration/upgrade started about 20 years ago.  Then health issues arose to halt the build.  It really just needs a lot of little stuff done.  I am not certain what was done to the engine.  But it is LOUD.  390 with very small chrome mufflers.  Actually that is one of the reasons we bought it.  It just sounds great.  We do have a 65 Mustang coupe with Flowmasters, but this sounds much better.  This will be our "hot rod".  Our other cars are a more conservative build.  I really like Edelbrock carbs but we will keep this on for now.  I have to investigate and see what model Holley is on it.  I am concentrating on the interior and wiring so the wiring will be done by the time I get the seats back from the upholsterer.  Plan is to add radio antenna to the middle of the trunk.  Also need outside mirror.  I love the 58 hood.  I have the 57 hood if any one is close to Madison, WI and needs one.  Thanks for the warm welcome.  Car people are the best people!

[lalessi1]

Welcome to the forum, a great place with awesome people!