57 Custom 300 Takes 3rd

[lalessi1]

I don't know much about this but a 57 won third at "Hot August Nights 2018".

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2018/08/20/2018-hot-august-nights-cup-awarded-to-renaissance-roadster/?refer=news

[RICH MUISE]

I had a you tube video of that car, but somehow lost the link. One of my all time favorite '57's.  Obviously a big bucks car.........after seeing the video I thought it was one of the few .57s I've ever seen that I wouldn't change a thing. I wonder if it's had 50 miles put on it since built.

[CobraJoe]

Beautiful ride, that 1958 Continental Mk. III ain't too shabby either, I mean other than LS powerplant. 

[djfordmanjack]

the 57 is really clean and pretty, but how could they award anything to that wonnabelookalike 33 something roadster. IMHO it is plain ugly and putting down any real Model40 (33/34) and their owners. I do understand how much detail work goes into a show car but the 57 is the best example that taste, money and time CAN actually build a neat car. the Roadster Coupe is the opposite. In direct comparison to a real 33 the front of that thing looks as if somebody inadvertently stepped on a rubber toy car. maybe its from a Disney cartoon...

[Marc]

I liked that '58 Continental as well. A 430 Super Marauder for motivation would've been a good choice!

[KYBlueOval]

Did you notice that the grill has been modified...........the turn signal / parking lights have been removed. Can't see enough detail of the headlight to determine if they are incorporated there. Who makes / sells  what I'll call a "standard" looking headlight with the parking / turn signal built in?
John

[RICH MUISE]

The grille is typical of what I can see about the '57 in general.......there are a bunch of very time consuming, but subtle mods that clean up and improve  the look of the original design without straying too far. I can't tell from the pics if the original outer shape/size of the grille has been modified as it somehow looks taller than original, but I don't see how that is possible. It maybe just a optical illusion created by the changing of the original parking light and a slightly different configuration of the inner grille. Look closely at the bottom outer openings and you will see what I believe are the new LED parking lights. Wonderful Idea and sure beats putting them behind the grille.
Not trying to compare my car with that masterpiece by any means, but their overall approach and mods are very similar to what I did or attempted to do to "clean up" the original design:
The original eyebrows look to be intact, just molded in. Headlight surround seams eliminated, bumper guards removed, nosed.

Years ago I posted on this forum about headlight ring modifications. I "almost like" the frenched look, "almost like" the oem "bugeye" look, but neither is quite right to my eye. I always thought the ideal look would be a shortened version of our oem rings. I had forgotten about that mod until I saw his car, and I think that's what he has done. Now, just need to figure out how to do it, lol.

[RICH MUISE]

Edit to above post.....I went out and compared my stock grille to his, and his appears to be modified on the lower outer piece. It looks to me like he has retained the wider upper portion and replaced the lower run to make the grille wider at the center where it dips down. I have over an inch of space in that dip, his appears to be very close to the gravel pan.
Also, I noticed his headlight rings not only are shortened, they are seamless/welded to the headlight surround, so I assume that means some arrangement to replace the headlight bulbs from the backside have been made. Don't even want to think about access problems there if that's the case.
Gotta do some reasearch and see if there's anything on the net about that car....maybe the builder has a website.

[lalessi1]

Looks like the entire grill is fabricated. The bumper looks like it was narrowed and moved back. I am not sure there is a gravel shield in the center from this picture. I didn't notice these changes at first. The fenders may have been modified above the gravel shield too?

[rmk57]

Thats the sign of a talented fabricator. Making a ton of subtle changes without really changing the overall look of the car. fantastic looking 57.

The 33-34 Fords are probably one of the best looking cars ever built by any manufacturer. All I can say is I hope they started with a fiberglass body

and didn't ruin an original.

[RICH MUISE]

They said it was  hand fabricated coachwork inspired by the lines of a '33.......Kinda puts things in a whole different perspective. The car flows beautifully
I love the car, and wouldn't be surprised if the "following the '33 lines" was something the writer came up with rather than the builder. Last years Riddler winner.

[djfordmanjack]

Rich, now we have some things to agree and disagree. Without you ever mentioning it the first thing that came to my mind was that your 57 is very similiar to the green one. the single paint, clean lines, attitude and stance, as well as many cleaned up details. You know how I like your car. also great to see chrome backview mirrors on such a type Kustom car. it seems the grill is totally built from scratch and to me it it looks as if they used more horizontal bars and at a tighter pattern than the oem grille. liked the driving lights from the start. sure is a nice 57 !!!

About the 33 or what ever impersonation or deviation it is. wouldn't mind the flow from front to back so much. But if you get to love the og Model 40 body lines, this here roadster is annoying. the way they widened the front fenders for the huge radials, they have a flat spot on top of the crown and look more like 27T or 28A fenders than the flowing 33/34s. the flaring downwards to the grill peak is much too wide and at an odd angle. Now that mustache bumper is ridiculous. The leaned back grill has lost ALL of the original elegance. I can see how this could be a movie car for the 2020 Batman follow up, but in no way can it be compared with the stuff that Edsel and his team came up. I might be a bit biased though....and we would have to agree to disagree...

[59meteor]

I don`t know him, but Gary McCoy, the owner of that 57 has quite an impressive collection or rare High Performance Fords in his collection, virtually a private museum, around Tacoma WA. A buddy got to take a tour thru there, and showed me a bunch of photos. Very nice stuff indeed.