57.5 or 58 ranchero???

[electricalan]

    Thought I would ask this question now that I have access to you all knowing 57 ford beings.When I was young my father had a 58 ranchero.In my 20's I had one 57 custom and three 58's.So I know what 58 tailightes look like.I remember my Dads"which he bought new off the lot",had the 58 nose and the 57 tail.I liked the rig'since I kinda like the nose of a 58,but the 58 cheros i've seen with the actual 58 tailights,not so much.Also his had a police intercptor engine,was that a 352.I dont know enough about exactly what was available,but I bet i will real soon. 
                               
                              Thanks AL                                       

[hiball3985]

The 58's had a 58 front and a 57 rear. If you saw one with 58 tail lights it was probably some custom job or a wagon with the top cut off.  In 58 I believe the only FE was a 332, 352 came in 59 unless there was a late year change I'm not aware of..

[RICH MUISE]

I had a '58 Fairlane 2 dr hardtop in '63 or 4. 98% sure it had the 352 Interceptor. Hiball is correct..'58 Rancheros had '57 tailights...not sure why since the '58 wagons had the '58 tailights, so they had the tailgate and rear quarter to do it. Maybe they just had too many left over '57 parts to ignore.

[electricalan]

Wow,I personally viewed one with the 58 tailights and it was not restored "so I thought" Maybe a older customization,but it sure fooled me.




                 
thanks for the reply jim
 
THe one I saw had part of the oval lense on the wing and part on the tailgate.In other words the lense would have been cut in half .

[electricalan]

Thanks rich I was not sure if 352 was the right number,but I do recall a sticker on the air cleaner.I will check back in later.Gotta head off to a company x-maas party.
              Thanks Al

[Ecode70D]

Electrician
    I agree 100% with Rich and Hiball.  People were always asking me if my 58 Ranchero was a 57 with a 58 nose on it.   Yes it is true that the 58 wagons had the double tail lights.  Most likely we will never know the real reason they did it that way.

[hiball3985]

1958 add showing new Interceptor V8, 352 cu in and a 332 cu in, so I guess both were available.  FWIW

[hiball3985]

I had a '58 Fairlane 2 dr hardtop in '63 or 4. 98% sure it had the 352 Interceptor. Hiball is correct..'58 Rancheros had '57 tailights...not sure why since the '58 wagons had the '58 tailights, so they had the tailgate and rear quarter to do it. Maybe they just had too many left over '57 parts to ignore.

I'd almost be willing to bet they took the short cut on the Ranchero being a low volume seller and concentrated all their time and money on the Tbird that had to be designed and tooled from the ground up.

[Frankenstein57]

This comes up every time I go to a cruise night or car show, I can predict what the questions will be when I see a group by my car. Last summer I was at a lions club show, a guy comes up and introduces himself as "an el camino guy", then procedes to argue the 57-58 thing. He swears he remembers 58's with the four tailites. I have never seen one, nor have I seen a picture of one, if anyone has pictures I'd like to see them. I believe Ford did this for production reasons, being a utility type vehicle. Change cost's money$$$$$$, the 58 body is different than the 57. The only difference I know is the inboard wiper motor. I was going to ask Edsel Ford when I met him, but time did not allow.  Mark

[hotroddonnie]

I'm no expert, but look what I found.

[hiball3985]

Nice find Donnie. But that's a clay model done by the design engineers. So it was a thought in the beginning and possibly a prototype may have been built but it was never put into production unless some one can prove me wrong

[hotroddonnie]

Reading the small print your right. But I did produce a picture like asked.

[hiball3985]

Reading the small print your right. But I did produce a picture like asked.

Yes you did, we need to find you a prize 

[hotroddonnie]

Thank you guys, I'm glad to see that I'm appreciated   

[hiball3985]

This comes up every time I go to a cruise night or car show, I can predict what the questions will be when I see a group by my car. Last summer I was at a lions club show, a guy comes up and introduces himself as "an el camino guy", then procedes to argue the 57-58 thing. He swears he remembers 58's with the four tailites. I have never seen one, nor have I seen a picture of one, if anyone has pictures I'd like to see them. I believe Ford did this for production reasons, being a utility type vehicle. Change cost's money$$$$$$, the 58 body is different than the 57. The only difference I know is the inboard wiper motor. I was going to ask Edsel Ford when I met him, but time did not allow.  Mark

Besides the wipers, the steering box, column and wheel and the FE option. And maybe more I have forgotten.