1957 ranchero

I wsa wondering if anyone in here ahas a 57 besides me.Anywyas,here is a pic of it!!!

 

That's a real beauty Lars!!!

 

Lookin good Lars. Was she originaly from MN or what I know thay salt the streets up there and that is hard on the cars. (I grew up in Stillwater) truck's the same age as me, but looks a whole lot nicer!!!

 

Can't say mine's aa '57, but nice to see another Minnesotan on board, that is a beautiful '57!!!!

 

That sure is a good lookin' 57 Lars. Have you kept it close to original? I started with a 58 restoration project that was abandoned because of severe rust in the body. I got a lot of hours in my 58 and have a long way to go yet but I couldnt let it go to the crusher. Bet you didn't know these old Ranchero's bodys will fit nicely on a 92 Lincoln Town Car frame and running gear. Thanks for the pic, I love seeing the older Rancheros. Tennessee Hillbilly

 

Hey Petey, how about some pic's of your 58!

 

Gotta' get my cameras fixed or buy another one first. I'm at the point of installing the narrowed rear axel so's we can get on with building the bed floor and wheel tubs. Got the front fenders and doors back to all solid metal again and am thinking about building a tilt radiator support for the entire front clip. Lot's of ideas, not enough time to get it done.
Tennessee Hillbilly

 

Beautiful Ranchero, Lars. Love that shade of blue, too.
Jim

 

Waaaaay back in the late 60's - early 70's I had a 57 sedan delivery with a flip front clip. It was one of the best features of the car. Made doing tune-ups a real piece of cake, 'cause I could just pop the clip up and sit on the tires while I worked on it.
Another one of the ones I kick myself for not keeping...

 

Very sharp ride Lars. In a word "cherry".
One of these days I'll take time to figure out how to post pictures and put mine on here.
Mine is a 57/292/stick.

 

Hey Lars I Have a 58 and will show some pics as I get them online. Real soon Cleve from Graniteville SC

 

Here is an update.

I have never done a motor swich before, I do most of the small mechanic stuff,but never have i taken on anything like this before!!!!

I bought a 292 engine and trans off of ebay for 260$, figuring i would just put in the whole unit, figured it would save me alot of trouble in the long run, well thats where my troubles began.

first off the homade engine hoist i already had wouldnt lift both the engine and transmission,so after trying everything under the sun to keep the hoist from tipping up, I bought a cherry picker.

Once i got the old engine out, and i got the new one in, the rubber engine mount ripped in 2. I bought new ones, realigned everything, bolted the cross member back in, thats when I realized the drive shaft was 4 inches to short, well actually the trans was the thing that was short. I decided to pull everything back out and change the transmissions, since i didnt have a trans lift. I got both trans off of the motors, finding out the drive plates from both motors were way different, I had to change everything.

I bolted everything back onto the motor, put it all back into the car,and started hooking everything back up.Everything i rehooked up fought me all the way, so after alot of cussing, and at least 250$ in other parts it is now running,and not too bad either.

I have a few issues yet, one is there is an exhaust leak at the exhaust manifold, I plan on retorqueing them next. The kickdown isnt shifting right, everytime you push on the thrttle even a little,it wants to shift into first,and of course when i had 2 plug wires swiched, I blew out the muffler,duhhhhhhhh.I think the timming is still a little off, because i hear small backfires when i put it under a load.

 

Get yourself a half-moon or "obstruction wrench" from Sears to access those end bolts on the exhaust manifolds. It will save a lot of angst. Keep after your oil changes and filters. Y-blocks do not tolerate sludge very well. Sounds as though the vacuum modulator may be kaput(?). "...small backfires under load..." may be a plea for a tune up. I love the '57's. That was a milestone year for Ford. I had a Custom 300 w/ a 390 + 4 speed. When you get tired of that 292, remember an FE is a bolt in swap.