I’m partial to the blue and white 1957 Ford Fairlanes, as one of those was my Mom’s first car that she liked, so this car caught my eye immediately. But it’s actually a Country Sedan–in other words a wagon! It’s up for sale here on eBay where the buy it now price is $4,750 and is located in Rolla, Missouri.
The seller characterizes this car as an “original-project,” and that’s a pretty decent characterization. I originally was scared silly by the rust, but as it turns out the seller has panels cut from a solid car to replace most of the rusty portions. They do say that all the trim and glass are good, which is important as some of those stainless steel pieces can be hard to come by.
Here’s a close up of how bad some of the rust actually is. Yes, there’s supposed to be metal there. Ooops. This is definitely a car where it’s going to pay to be good at cutting, grinding and welding.
The seller describes the interior as being good beneath the covers. I’m guessing this is their version of good. Maybe it will clean up–or maybe this is the cover? Any Barn Finds readers know if this is original upholstery?
This is a 292 Y-block V8, presumed to be the original one. It’s currently locked up, but the seller has put diesel fuel down the bores and is hopeful that the engine will be able to be turned over soon. Looking at the engine, I would be skeptical of the 43,000 mile claim, and I think the seller is correct when they state that they are selling it as mileage unknown. I do think it’s worth saving, though–when have you ever seen another one like it? I’m afraid there’s a little too much work for me to take on right now. Would you restore it, get it mechanically fixed and drive it as is, or restomod it?
Last time I ever saw one like it was when my parents traded one in on a new 1960 Country Sedan. The ’57 my mother had was all white with a red interior. It had 3 seats and was the first in a string of white Ford station wagons she had – the ’57, a ’60, & a ’63. The ’57 was particularly stylish owing to the fancy gold trim on the sides.
If memory serves Ford actually sold more cars in 1957 than Chevrolet. IMO Fords looked just as good as the Chevys that year.
This example is one of those I think you’d be upside down on immediately. If the seller has replacement metal I wonder why that car wasn’t the one to preserve?
with a no. 1 valued at $25k and a typical showable unit at $11k there is just no way to justify this project.
Needs to be saved! If you fix it to a nice condition, you would not see another one at most area shows. You fix it up for the love of the vehicle! You will be “upside down”, but who cares if you enjoy it. Maybe a father-son project, priceless! You can’t put dollar signs on the enjoyment you will get cruising this vehicle. Who knows if someone see it all finished, they just have to have it at any price!!
Above the head lights was a bad spot for these ( ’58 too) I remember seeing so many of these with their headlights duct taped in. The ’57 Ford was so different, and that opposite opening hood just didn’t look right, to a kid. Built many models of ’57 Fords. This one is pretty rough, but try and find another. For years, yards were full of ’57 Ford’s. There was just nothing left of them. Going to need everything, but again, there must be like 5 of these left in the world. I think it’s too far gone.
Stuck engine, full of rust, no telling what the rest of the underside and suspension looks like. I’m thinking this is a $300.00 car. What is going on here?
i like the ’57 fords more than the same year G.M. an Chrysler offerings, apparently so did America. funny how that chevy of 57 is the one most people want now. this one needs a stroked 460 (540ci maybe?) and a c6 maybe some disc brakes.
I to like the 57 fords more than g.m. & dodge. It is odd the ford was more popular then, but the 57 Chevy took its place over time. I think a lot of it was g.m. was cheaper to work on, buying parts etc. Being a die hard Ford fan, the Chevys were just cheap…lol.
If you are a good DIY guy and know how to fit and weld you you could get this back to a solid car but it is going months and many hours. This is not a project for a beginner. To bad I think it is stylish car.
t’is a gorgeous old gal, not sure how much i’d fix outside cuz i like the used up look but under the skin? well now! besides dont the math add up like this, every 100lbs. of weight reduction = a tenth in the 1/4? maybe better mpg’s too
There were quite a lot of these family movers still around when I was a child growing up in the 60’s. There aren’t many survivors due to structure weaknesses in this breed, mainly in the coupes. Very nice to see a wagon though.
Yet another over priced rust bucket, and not even a usable engine, where do these people pull these prices from. I loved the styling of these cars, but you’d be upside down on this before you got it in your garage!
I have a 58 CS that I bought last year for $500 from an estate. I’ll admit its a 58 and not a 57. Rear area of the rockers is not as bad but still rusty from mud in the wheel wells and eyebrows for 40 years behind a barn while the floors are in great shape. Back story was it was being driven home right after a big melt from a snow storm on a muddy road, slip’n and slide’n and they burned up the clutch. Drove it straight to the barn as soon as the family got out.
As much as I like seeing these with this asking price, I think its way over priced.
Long roofs …LUV em.
My uncle had a 56′ Blue & White Country sedan with the T-bird engine with three on the tree with O.D. and cherry bomb dual exhausts. Dump runs were fun in that car.
My parents bought a new 59′ Blue Country sedan, 352″ V8 /Auto good for just about 105mph. First car I took over an indicated 100mph when I was twelve, I had run a Triumph ‘Speed Twin’ to over an indicated 100mph prior to the 100mph run in the CS. Loved speed from early on.
Years later I had my son run our MPV to over 100mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats, when he was Twelve. Note; The salt flats have a 35mph speed limit for the entire salt flats area. You can get an expensive ticket for speeds over 35mph unless you are a participant in a sanctioned speed event/trial.
I have had a number of wagons over the years(51′ Plymouth wagon/ 55′ Nomad/ 2-57′ Bel Airs/ 60′ Nomad/ 61′ Falcon/ 65′ Chevelle/ 68′ Nomad/ 76′ Impala/ 2001 525i, and would like to find another 50’s or 60’s wagon. Got my drivers license in a 57′ Bel Air wagon and had my first, uh, experience, in the same wagon on the 4th of July.
I love the look of this car, It should be saved, But I agree it’s a DIY job and only if you can do your own welding., and the decimal point in the price needs to be moved one digit to the left! Also if the red paint on that engine is the original color, than that would make it a 312, as the 292 would have been painted blue, and the 272’s were yellow. These Y block’s were great engines, keep the oil changed regularly and they will run strong forever. Back in the day when they were just old cars and people didn’t want to spend the money on oil they developed a reputation for oil starvation to the valve-train, But that was because of cruddy oil and poor maintenance , not a defect in the engine,
it could be a later 292 as by 61 the 292 had red valve covers, intake and air cleaner on a black block (least thats whats on my very original 61 Galaxie with 292)