This 1957 Ford Country Sedan has been in storage for more than 31 years. The owner has decided that it is time that it went to a new home, so you will find it advertised for sale here on Craigslist. The car is located in Smith Ferry, Idaho, and is offered for sale with a clean title. The owner is asking $2,950 for the Ford. A big thanks has to go to Barn Finder Roger for referring this one through to us.
This old Ford is quite a solid vehicle. The rust that you can see in the lower quarter panel is about the worst of it. Apparently, there is a matching patch on the other side of the car. There are also a few small holes in the front floor, but apart from a few small dings and dents, the car is a pretty sound base for a project.
The interior will require restoration, and unfortunately, there is no front seat. However, the majority of the interior trim such as the headliner and door trims look to be in good condition. The dash will need some work, but it does appear to be complete and unmolested.
Under the hood is a 312ci V8 with a Cruise-O-Matic transmission. The engine turns freely, but the carburetor, generator, and radiator are all missing. If the new owner is not seeking to undertake a full-blown restoration but wants to create a reliable daily driver, then replacement of these items with aftermarket components should be relatively cheap and easy.
For a long time, the Country Sedan was not seen as a particularly collectible car, but their popularity has slowly grown in recent years. Whether they ever become as popular as other vehicles in the Ford range is a great unknown, but nice examples of the ’57 model are fetching prices of around $20,000 when they hit the market. This one needs some work, but then, there is also a lot of money between the asking price for this and the $20,000 that it could fetch if it were fully restored.
Nice, this is truly a diamond in the rough. What ever happens to this car the original paint scheme needs to be kept.
Happy thanksgiving fellow gear heads.
Happy Thanksgiving folks!
I love the ’57 Ford……love to find a solid reasonably priced ( hehe)manual Ranchero…….come on BF’ers………..
Woodie here’s my 57 Ranch- 390 4 speed. This wagon would make a great match!!
Cheers
GPC
Cool car, have always had a weak spot for 55-57 Fords. Being a 4 door, finding a correct front seat will be a heck of a lot easier, and cheaper, than one for a 2 door. The important thing is it appears the back seats are there since this is a 9 passenger model.
While this car did originally come with a 312, highly desirable in my book, the later valve covers suggest a 292 might now be present. Trust but verify . . .
This is a definite prospect for a frame-off! Very solid from a dry area; rust is minimal. The front missing seat is easy enough to grab; `57s are fairly plentiful. I would definitely keep this color combo; Ford Orange/white is an eye grabber. SMS might even have the nos upholstery you need; this wagon was very likely all vinyl seats. I’d swap out the taillamp lenses for a set containing the reverse lamps/chrome trim from the Fairlanes. a set of proper Coker wide whites and Ford wire wheels and you’ve got a real stunner!
I am pretty sure the 56s had emblems denoting 312 on the side of the frint fenders.
Was this dropped for 57 ?
This looks to be a pretty solid rig for resto or street rod mod.
Price seems acceptible either way.
In ’56 Ford had a front fender emblem for all V8 equipped cars. A V8 emblem when equipped with a 272 and the Thunderbird emblem for both the 292 and 312. You are correct, in ’57 ford had no emblem.
I’ve often wondered about why so many old cars, like this one, are missing their headlights?? Certainly the sealed beam units can’t be that valuable or expensive that it’s worth the time and effort to remove them, but almost always old abandoned cars are missing the lights. What gives? If someone simply broke or shot them out, there’s be remnant’s of the glass or something, but frequently they seem to be cleanly removed. I dunno, just another of life’s little mysteries that make no logical sense . . .
I can tell you that, growing up with a lot of old cars sitting around the yard, when a headlight went out on MY car, I wouldn’t hesitate to go rob one from a parts car. It’s not that a new one was expensive, just that the old one was sitting RIGHT OVER THERE, just a couple screws away from being in my hand.
As much as I love 57 Dodges, this is a far better project than the Dodge wagon we saw earlier. Yes, the color has to stay the same! I would do a disc brake front end and a 5.0 motor!
I am with you NMCarnut. That is a newer engine and the fact that in 56 if they had the Thunderbird special emblems did not mean it was a 312 a fact so many so called Ford experts like to claim. And also the fact that they had a 4 barrel did not mean it was a 312 either. These valve covers look like more what were on early 61 up For truck engines. But that doesn’t take away from the desireability. Love the old wagons and the 292 and 372’s even with a 2 barrel were pretty stout. However the fact that the writer indicates this could be a 20k car just says to me what I already know the old saying a Fool and his money are soon parted. Another example of how the hobby has been ruined for the lver of old cars. Strickly for people looking to make a buck anymore
Wait, whut? The guy is offering a pretty darn solid ’57 wagon with minimal rust, and missing only a couple of easily-sourced pieces, for under three grand. Hell, it may well even still have the original 312 – you can’t judge just by the later valve covers.The car is practically the ideal project for a do-it-yourselfer and won’t require any exotic skills or hard-to find parts to complete. It will make a very nice vintage ’50s cruiser, and you can do it in your driveway.
How exactly is this ruining the hobby for you?
I don’t get the whole “hobby is ruined” thing – if you’re not willing or able to pay the going rate for a concours level GTO, there are still reasonably priced vehicles out there looking for a new home. I see them all the time on this site! Maybe it’s time to give up on that dream car from your high school days and recalibrate your expectations.
Not bad on price and agree – better builder than the Dodge….but still say that Dodge will pull that price just in parts.
My favorite year for the Ford line of car’s, had a friend in HS with a ’57 Ford Convertible, it was two tone the factory Starmist Blue and Colonial white, this wagon is a very nice looking example with the color Coral Sand and Colonial white. I would restore to original with added chrome rim’s and baby moon’s to compliment the look and what a fun weekend cruiser you would have! Nice find!
57 ford lover here…wish that was mine it would look awesome parked in my garage next to my Fairlane
I bought it . It is on it’s way to Mass. where I have a restoration shop. We will be building it to look stock with original colors and interior but update the drive line so we can press it back into service towing a vintage Airstream cross country with it. Relatively inexpensive and solid car that looks cool and will serve a great purpose. It doesn’t get better than that in the hobby.
Cool! This looked like a great project when it came up and I’m glad to see it getting built. (My wife will kill me for not doing it if she sees it done.)
Good luck with it. If you do a build thread anywhere, please post a link here.