'57 Whitebelt

[Swank]

howdy,

just wanted to throw out an introduction before a duck back into the shadows for some serious reading.  had a '64 Fairlane 500, affectionately named the buzzbomb, that I kicked around in and was able to keep on the road through the 90's.  but since then, been mostly out of the cool car scene, ...until i ran across this '57 Fairlane, and well, ...I guess it chose me.  it just looked all excited, but like it maybe wanted to try to bite me too.  had the workings of the '64 down pretty good, but I don't know anything about a '57.  masterplan is to drive it, all the time.  I want to do stuff right, but not going to be afraid of winging it as a backup plan.  i'll try not to pester everybody too much.  looking forward to hanging around.

Mr. Swank

[lalessi1]

Welcome to the forum! You are in the right place. There are guys here that know every nut and bolt on these cars, guys who even built them at the factory. My first car was a Fairlane 500 4 door.... no radio, 292, 3 spd, I loved it. Good luck!

[Ecode70D]

     X2 what Lynn said.   
     We like our 57 Fords and you will find that the guys here are very helpful. Don't think that you are pestering us.  So fire away with the questions because you will find out someone here has already ''been there and done that.''  I was one of the kids that was there back  in those days  watching the new 57 Fords getting unloaded at the Ford dealerships in Boston.  We also like pictures of your project.   Jay

[RICH MUISE]

Welcome. Thanks for posting pics. What are your plans? Don't worry about pestering us, we like it, lol. Also don't worry about asking questions that have been asked before. Unlike other sites, you'll rarely be directed to previous threads.....unless that topic has some past coverage that should be seen. We're only about one year of one make here. If we didn't get redundant we'd have little to talk about.
Rich

[Ford Blue blood]

Welcome aboard.  No pestering here, just lots of good info from a bunch of great guys!

[Swank]

Appreciate the welcomes. 
So far it's a pretty solid car and seems like everything is there, ...no obvious omissions.  If it's not there, it looks like it's not there on purpose, like the heater, all plated off, no core, nothing.  My current plan is to just get the moving parts moving again, and to get the rust off before it gets real bad, but basically keep it like it is.  (although my son is adamant about it having flames, ...we'll see)  After I get going some, i'll start a build thread and throw some photos up, regardless of whether it's an actual build or not.
Off hand, I have a couple whitebelt questions I haven't found answers for yet.
1. Does my side trim version have a name or designation?
2. What's the grille made out of?  Stainless, chromed steel, aluminum, ...?

Alright, catch yall later.

[clusterbuster]

Welcome aboard! I can answer your question about the grille. It is chrome plated and the reason I know is mine had some dents and thinking it was stainless, I straightened and filed it. Turns out I filed off the chrome plating. A re-chromed one costs around $600, so I have been delaying getting one.

[djfordmanjack]

Welcome !
You have a Fairlane base model and it seems to have solid chrome door glass frames, which makes it a Fairlane Town Sedan.
In my opinion these are more rare than the Fairlane 500 Models ( which came with the gold anodized side trim).
I just love the looks and og paint! IMHO I would not spend 2 days of putting flames in it while it took mother nature 60 years to create what's before you Possibly a lot of the surface rust can be polished off and then a good protecting wax might keep what could be fantastic patina on an all og car. more pics please !

[hiball3985]

Great looking Fairlane, you will have lots of answers to your questions and fun here, welcome to the forum.

Welcome aboard! I can answer your question about the grille. It is chrome plated and the reason I know is mine had some dents and thinking it was stainless, I straightened and filed it. Turns out I filed off the chrome plating. A re-chromed one costs around $600, so I have been delaying getting one.

Sorry to get off topic but that seems expensive, my friend just had his done here in LA and it was $380, no repairs, just plating..

[Ecode70D]

Welcome !
You have a Fairlane base model and it seems to have solid chrome door glass frames, which makes it a Fairlane Town Sedan.
In my opinion these are more rare than the Fairlane 500 Models ( which came with the gold anodized side trim).
I just love the looks and og paint! IMHO I would not spend 2 days of putting flames in it while it took mother nature 60 years to create what's before you Possibly a lot of the surface rust can be polished off and then a good protecting wax might keep what could be fantastic patina on an all og car. more pics please !

Mr. Swank
X2 what Guenter just stated.
Jay 

[Jeff Norwell]

Mr. Swank
X2 what Guenter just stated.
Jay 

Welcome Mr Swank!
X3 what Guenter and Jay said!

[SkylinerRon]

Looks like someone primered it and didn't followup with sealer or paint and surface rust
busted through. Looks like a solid body to build.
Goodluck,

Ron.

[Swank]

thanks for the info, especially on the grille, good to know.  i'll NOT get to grinding on it.

I do like a nice worn look on a ride.  was at the Cajun Nationals as a tire-kicker a couple years ago when those rat-rod fellows were hosting it. a lot of cool cars there.  ive seen some real nice patina, and if I would have caught up with this fairlane a few years back...,  but im feeling this one mother nature didn't quite have her heart in it.  it also has a few break thru's in the nose and headlight panels that need some fixing/replacing, etc.

the one photo is from a few years ago, and I absolutely would have kept that look and only polished it up some.  in it's current state, it's just looking kinda dirty instead of road warrior cool, and im feeling I want to even it up and let it patina out again over the next 50 years or something.  afraid the humidity is going to be pretty hard on it as is, too.  but I will have to get out there and let it talk to me before I flat out decide.

anyways, I've been out of town, so I haven't done jack.  ready to get on it.

[Ecode70D]

I always liked the side stainless on that model.  They must not have made many like that because
back in the day I didn't see much of them.   You have a cool car and I like that patina.