1957 Ford Del Rio Rock'n'Roll Ranchwagon

[djfordmanjack]

Hello to everybody on 57 Fords International !
My name is Guenter, 40 yrs old and I am from Austria, Europe. I found your cool forum while surfing the HAMB and I am glad to be here and share our common interest.
I?d like to introduce myself a little: I have been wrenching on American cars for 20 yrs now and among others I just love and have owned a lot of Fomocos from the 20s to late 60s. It was about  1997 when I was originally looking for a 1955 Victoria Coupe, when I first saw a 57 (Courier Delivery sedan) in the flesh and I immediately fell in love for the big taillights, perfect fins , smooth hood and the giant wraparound windshield. 2 yrs later I was able to buy the Courier and had it for about 5 yrs, adding a lot of miles and beautiful summer holiday and RocknRoll  festival trips. At that time I got my nickname DJ Fordman Jack, I guess you all know my big idol, the Wolfman.
Even while I had the Courier I always wanted a Del Rio and after selling the Courier I just kept thinking about the 57 again and again, started collecting old ads and after  full 2 yrs of searching I finally found my Del Rio on the Yuma Craigslist in Jan, 2013. A decision was made to pick up the car in person with some of my friends in Az and drive it to Cal and the LA based shipping company.
The Del Rio is now in the middle of old Europe and awaiting a full frame off resto. Here it is at my place in Graz, Austria


Just a few hundred yards away at my friends place and his 57 Sierra D500 wagon:

With another friend?s 57 Oldsmobile Wagon

This is me  :

I have a lot of other pics and if you are interested I will post some more of the wagon?s journey.
Regards G?nter

[hiball3985]

Welcome to the forum. Thats a nice looking wagon. Are the other cars yours too? I really like the Oldsmobile wagon too.

[junior58]

A frame off resto, you say? It looks pretty cool just like it is.

[robhaerr]

Nice...welcome!

Love the Oldsmobile wagon roof line.

I am of the rock n roll persuasion, too. My wagon hauls my drums now and then.

Rob

[Frankenstein57]

Welcome, sure looks like some fine rides you have there, Mark

[Ford Blue blood]

Welcome aboard!  Very nice ride!

[electricalan]

Nice looking rig.Thanks for all the pics,thats a long drive to see it for most of us.Welcome to the site.There are a bunch of really helpful great guys on here. Al

[57AGIN]

djfordmanjack:

Welcome aboard Guenter.  You have a beautiful Del Rio, as a 12 year old I used to throw news papers from the back of my parents yellow/white Del Rio when it was raining too hard to do the route on my bike.  At the same time I was getting into my love for Rock & Roll and listened to Wolf Man Jack on "The Mighty 690," broadcasting from Tijuana, Mexico.  We could hear that AM radio station from the North end of Mexico over 200 miles to Los Angeles, CA, because Mexico didn't control their broadcast wattage.  It was a great time to grow up and yes, the first car I bought was a 57 Ford.  34 years after I traded my 57 in on a 1965 Mustang, I bought my second 57, the one I have now and still love it.
Once bitten by the 57 bug, I guess you just stay bitten.

Bob
57 AGIN 

[junior58]

I love the look of the wide whites on chrome rims. I have the chrome rims but with narrow white walls, which is ok, but after seeing yours I'm seriously thinking about going to wide whites.

[RICH MUISE]

That is one sharp looking wagon! Welcome to the site. Glad to hear we hauled in another one from the Hamb.You asked about if we were interested in more pics, and of those when you start the restoration. YES, by all means, we never get tired of seeing pics. Well, LOL, the guys are probably tired of my pics, but everybody else's we want more of.
Spent many a night listening to the Wolfman, btw.

[djfordmanjack]

thanx everybody for the hearty welcome ! I have become a complete addict to the 57.  love all the little details on the car. And although I will be hotrodding/customizing it a little more I want to keep all the factory details.
@57AGIN
maybe your parent's yellow/white is mine  mine started out as an Inca Gold/Colonial white and it was rolling in the Ontario/Cal area. Unfortunatley a guy from Huntington Beach had the car from ca 2000 to 2010 and he had it parked within a mile from the ocean, so this took its toll on the drip rails, doors, quarters, floorboards aso. It might look sharp on these pics but it is a sad heap inside.
I will post more details and pics of it soon. It is the car that I plan to keep forever and I want to restore it properly, but it will be a daily driver ! I am restoring cars professionally, mostly German stuff, but also building Customer Hotrods, currently a 34 roadster. A lot of the cars in the pics are mine, but not all (whish they were) the Cad, Camino and 911 on the truck are my friend's.
I have started collecting parts for the Rio, mostly NOS. I extremely dislike the modern Asian repro stuff, it is just bad quality built for maximum profit. And in addition I love the old FoMOCo boxes and bags,and it will fit the applications right out of the box.
At the moment there is a nicely souped 351W/C6 in the wagon, but I am building a bored 292 with an AOD for milage.
When I first saw American Graffiti at age 16 I got struck by the excellent music and fun comments of the Wolfman rather than the story or cruising action. I loved RocknRoll since I was a kid, listening to Bill Haley or even some Gospel songs. The music is always first and then the cars. But for me there's no better way to listen to some old RnR,C&W or Blues than while cruising in a vintage car

[RICH MUISE]

We all seem to talk a universal language...quote: "I extremely dislike the modern Asian repro stuff, it is just bad quality built for maximum profit."

[djfordmanjack]

Here are some more pics from last year's wagon roadtrip, we had a blast

Az and Cal deserts through the wraparound windshield of a ford


Salton Sea, Cal.


Bob's Big Boy Broiler, Downey



Boyds good bye, hello to white donuts and reverseds at Performance Plus, Long Beach



Ruby's, Orange


Doughnut Derelicts, Huntington Beach



Anaheim


Tony's Coral Reef Surf, Beach Blvd


Long Beach Swap meet, 6 am


Laguna Beach



Ruby's, Laguna


Chino



Walter's West Coast towing, Buena Park


Rinkens Shipping, Paramount

[Frankenstein57]

Nice shots, hard to imagine that car is that messed up, it looks to good!

[57AGIN]

djfordmanjack :

Nice photos, a good number of the places you took photos are right in my neighborhood.  Well within 10 miles of it anyway.  I bought my Cragar S/S rims & tires at Performance Plus in Long Beach.  The Coral Reef wet suit store is where I bought my last 2 wet suits.  I believe the Big Boy Drive-in you were at is the old Harvey's Broiler on Firestone Blvd. in Downey, CA.  Shortly after it re-opened as a Bob's Big Boy the Car Hops actually took orders and delivered food on roller skates.  I don't think they still skate at that Drive-in, though.  Another photo in your sequence looks like it was taken in Newport Beach on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in front of an art deco building.  The Donut Derelict car show you went to is held every Saturday morning, but in order to get a parking place you pretty much have to be there by 5:30 a.m. or you might not get a parking space.  No trophys just coffee and donuts and you are done by 8:00 a.m.  Every now and then I still go up to Hollywood and cruise Hollywood and Sunset Blvd.'s.  If you remember the Mel's Diner from American Grafitti, my son was an Assistant Manager at the one they opened in Seal Beach, CA.  It was a great venue for having local car shows and car club meetings.  It really is a small world sometimes and neat when someone from another country shares his experiences in a familiar area with other enthusiasts having a similar hobby (57's).
Bob
57 AGIN