Styling at Ford Motor Company 1957

[STEPHEN FIELDS]

Originally Posted by Verminator

I love the Futura/Batmobile steering wheel speedo gauge setup

yeah, they ruined that piece of art when they hacked it into that freeking bat mobile. Hate that thing.....and what it did to the average non car person when they see any 50's car "hey thats like the batmobile"......no sir its a 1958 so and so, it looks nothing like the batmobile

[gyronaut]

New stylists at Ford in the '50's were indoctrinated through Alex Tremulis' Advanced Styling studio. Upon "graduation", when they were assigned to various other departments, many of them received their diploma in the hopes that they would never let mediocrity stifel their creativity. Here's Bob Pitchford's diploma, c. 1957...

[Bigcheese327]

I’ve always felt post-Shoebox, pre-Mustang (‘52-‘64) Ford styling and products were way underrated. Just gorgeous stuff, right down to the little details.

I want a ‘54 Ford or Mercury so bad...

[jimbob]

The wagon in image 23 looks very Buick inspired.

[ClearSpot]

Originally Posted by KCsledz

Love Syd Mead futurism!

Syd Mead worked there briefly sometime in the '60's.

Alot of great images here in the "CONCEPT/PROTOTYPE" section.

http://www.fordimages.com/perl/home....bfb9ed8da4c84d

[flamingokid]

I'll take the jet boat!

[Normbc9]

I was a firefighter in L.A. in 1955 and a co-workers dad was the Ford Racing guru at the Pico Rivera Special Product Division. They were serious and spent a lot of time and money on performance Y Block versions of the 272, 292, 312 and the 340. All were great competitors on the Drag Race tracks and with NASCAR. In my opinion if a good savy engine person got their hands on the Paxton Super Charged 312 they could turn it into a monster with just a few changes. Arkus Zora Duntov made the Chevy's run. A team of serious engineers and racers made the Ford engine be very competitive. I saw may a '56 and "57 Ford or Mercury bring home repeated First Place Trophies in my part of southern California. I still respect the Ford engineering. Chrysler taught everyone a lesson too in those days. Those cars when they first came out stole the show.
Normbc9

[autobilly]

Cool contribution 4t64rd.

[Rusty O'Toole]

Originally Posted by mustangsix

Have you ever noticed how in the 50's and 60's the vision of the future was bright and optimistic. Now it's all zombies, death, and apocalyptic destruction.

The future isn't what it used to be.

[Model T1]

At least in the midwest, many people who bought new Chevys every few years and had a 57 ordered cancelled and waited till the 58's came out or bought some other brand. Many thought a 57 Chevy was ugly.
Compared to the 55-56's they were.
I had a few 57's and loved them later. Of course the 57 Chevy is now one of the most loved and easily recognized cars of even non-car people.

[autobilly]

Originally Posted by STEPHEN FIELDS

I always thought the 57 Fords looked better than 57 chevys

How about the '57 Buicks?

[MrFalcon62]

Originally Posted by mustangsix

Have you ever noticed how in the 50's and 60's the vision of the future was bright and optimistic. Now it's all zombies, death, and apocalyptic destruction.

HAHAHA!

Yes, and they were in the middle of The Cold War...when apocalyptic destruction was only minutes away!

[nailhead29A]

Originally Posted by 4t64rd

Whats up with the Lincoln Futura, did Barris copy that for the Batmobile or did Ford copy him?
You gotta love that futuristic late 50's styling though, if some of these cars made production it would be easy to see people beleiving that it wouldn't be long before we were flying around 'Jetson' style.

[Bigcheese327]

Barris hacked up the actual dream car, then built several clones.

Fiberglass clones of the Barris Batmobile have since been made by others - and one was actually modified back into a replica of the '55 Futura!

[Hotdoggin DaddyO]

Love it!

[STEPHEN FIELDS]

Originally Posted by autobilly

How about the '57 Buicks?

thats hard...but I think I like the fords more

[mgbtc]

I think 1957 was a great year for many, but I am partial to Fords.

[cptncougar]

There has always been a 1957 Ford in my family since Nov 1956. My father bought a mocha/white 9-pass Country Sedan. As soon as I was old enough to drive I bought a 57 2dr Custom which I just had to put in a 361 Edsel with a 352/360 cam ,my brother bought a 57 2dr Custom 300. In the garage I worked at one or the mechanics was so impressed by my Edsel powered Ford he got a 430 out of a T-bird Isky 5 cycle cam and 4.44 gears. Talk about musle car!! The real point I want to make these cars were built with just stock Ford parts that bolted right in, by kids
To compare the drive line of a stock 57 Chevy to a stock 57 Ford is a total miss match. The base 312/245hp and higher Fords came stock with a T85 Warner Gear all 57& up Fords had 9 in rears The Chevys has the smallest trans I ever saw in a 8 cylinder car and the rear was just as bad. The T-10 4 speed was a very linited production item that was only in Corvettes and very rare to come buy in 57. The T-10 was a hand built item at that time and the few that were built all went into new FI Corvettes.
I would like to talk to the guy who designed the dash on the 57 Ford and other Ford cars and trucks. I know those guys are now designing torture chambers..
This gets me inspired to get outin the barn and get back to work on my 57 business coupe 428

[Normbc9]

Here is an original (except for the hood scoop) and it still turns heads. This is at the "Y block Nationals."
Normbc9