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Projects Watson style 58 Fairlane

Discussion in 'Traditional Customs' started by cabong, Mar 28, 2020.

  1. cabong
    Joined: Nov 29, 2005
    Posts: 881

    cabong
    Member

    I started this build several years ago, then decided I had the need for speed. I realized this Fairlane had a rather impressive 429 installed, so decided to goo racing. I quit before I screwed up the paint job..... I have decided to sell the puppy, and move on to another project. As for the custom work, we have done several things. First, the front clip is a '57, however, I have always loved '57's, but never really cared for the bulging headlights. So, I installed '58 quads in the '57 fenders. I gotta tellya, this was no small feat. Lots of mods to the area under the headlights. The hood corners were rounded, and the hood molded. The scoop is either a Ford "Big Job" truck, or a Pontiac "Super Duty".... TAKE YOUR PICK. It is functional. I have a '59 Galaxie grille, modified to fit the opening, and a '57 bumper. The rear has chromed taillight housings with lots of '59 Bonneville taillghts, cut to fit the opening. The rear bumber is a '57 Custom 300 unit. I have a set of wagon bumper guards, but have not installed them. The paint is special mixed pearl yellow, and candy green. I say special, 'cause I wanted it to be the same color as the Watson painted '59 El Camino. Even the pattern and gold pinstriping as the same. I just installed Aerostar springs in the front to bring it down. Man, do they work nice !!

    I plan on having a headliner installed, and I will install the original interior panels. They are pretty rough, but there.

    This is no show car, but really stands out in a crowd.

    Now...... The engine has a couple years of drag racing on it. No street use. It was new when I got it, never been run. I have no idea what is inside the puppy, but I can say, t hauls ass. I have installed an air gap intake and 850 Holley. The ignition is all MSD, locked out, and I run 41 degrees advance. This advance would need to be changed for street use. It has special short headers, free flowing to cutouts, and full 2-1/2 exhaust with Pro-flows.

    The tranny is a new C-4, built to last. I use a Quicksilver shifter.

    The rear is now a 9" with 350 gears, non-posi.....

    The reason I'm posting this, is because I want to sell this critter. I'm looking for input as to what I might do to make it more attractive to a potential buyer, without spending a bunch of dough.....

    So lemme know what you all think. I'm not looking to make a bunch of money. I simply want some input on selling it........ 58 fairlane 2.jpg 20200328_190419.jpg lefevre el camino.jpg
     
  2. aircap
    Joined: Mar 10, 2011
    Posts: 1,748

    aircap
    Member

    Yeah, man - I dig it.
     
    56don, lothiandon1940 and Stogy like this.
  3. manyolcars
    Joined: Mar 30, 2001
    Posts: 9,176

    manyolcars

    You didnt show us the front. I like the tail lights.
    Someone on the Hamb posted that the 'Pontiac' hood scoops had the Ford labels on them
     
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  4. BuckeyeBuicks
    Joined: Jan 4, 2010
    Posts: 2,705

    BuckeyeBuicks
    Member
    from ohio

    I always liked those Pontiac tail lights on a 58 Ford. Your car is looking good:cool:
     
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  5. Some advice to get the car sold would be to drive it to the big shows and show it’s a driver.
    If it’s not a driver. Then you should look at what is need to make it one.
    Also this era Fords are not getting much dough. You see the hard tops in a large range of prices but nobody seems to be selling them. This is why you see them. If they were sold they would be marked as such.

    With this lock down. I’m sure actual sales or going to take long. I don’t think you can register a car purchase through AAA or DMV unless you can do it online somehow in CA.

    nice car. I have 57 I have to deal with the same problem soon. Just list it here and let live in the classifieds for years to come, but if you don’t get any bites. It may not be priced to sell.
    Some sellers here don’t get it. Just the way it is.

    do your research I have seen 2 door hardtop 57-59 as cheap as 1500-2500 in crappy condition. Top at a 22-27k in fully restored.
    All day long you can find middle of the road ones in 10-15k.
     
  6. Stogy
    Joined: Feb 10, 2007
    Posts: 26,345

    Stogy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Very nice Custom...Good luck with moving it however, no fault of yours and far from being alone in this as alluded this year has really went into the Dumpster...
     
    lothiandon1940 likes this.
  7. Beautiful car, but I wonder if a dragstrip engine isn't an overkill for a custom. That would scare me off as I prefer a smooth cruiser. So maybe change it to a milder setup?
    I would finish the exterior as planned, but not mess around with the interior to much if it is not really in good condition. This car deserves a nice interior so I would leave that to next buyer.
     
    chryslerfan55 and lothiandon1940 like this.
  8. I like it. Tastefully done.:)
     
    alanp561 and Stogy like this.
  9. catdad49
    Joined: Sep 25, 2005
    Posts: 6,401

    catdad49
    Member

    I like what I see, how about some more?
     
  10. BJR
    Joined: Mar 11, 2005
    Posts: 9,817

    BJR
    Member

    I really like the taillights and paint. How about a picture from the front? Like has been said, a milder engine may be the ticket, being a custom should be a good driver, not a finicky built up drag engine. Also as said, old collector/hobby cars are not going to sell for any kind of money in our present situation. With people out of work it may take a year or more to come back, if they ever do.
     
    chryslerfan55 and Surfcityrocker like this.
  11. I love it...only thing I would do is put a posi unit in the rear end...no sense having all the power and doing a 1 wheel peel....and add some
    Chrome reverse wheels on it with a 2” white wall..if I had the $$ and the room..I’d be all over it
     
  12. cabong
    Joined: Nov 29, 2005
    Posts: 881

    cabong
    Member

    Great story, about how they became "Super Duty" scoops......
     
    lothiandon1940 likes this.
  13. cabong
    Joined: Nov 29, 2005
    Posts: 881

    cabong
    Member

    Sorry, forgot the front end.... Please note that I have just set the grille in, as well as the bumper. I will make that permanent.... I opted for the Galaxie grille, as most all mild custom 57's have a tube grille, and I hate "normal"..... And the idea behind the critter was to try and do it as it would have been done in Watson's era !!
    58 fairlane 10.jpg
     
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  14. cabong
    Joined: Nov 29, 2005
    Posts: 881

    cabong
    Member

    Thanks !!!
     
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  15. cabong
    Joined: Nov 29, 2005
    Posts: 881

    cabong
    Member


    Great advice, and the numbers are pretty accurate. I've never really figured out the infatuation with the tri five chev's, but they do go higher. My wife recently sold a '55 BA for a pretty high dollar....

    I'm not looking to get a lot, as I know there is a ton of work involved to "street" this car. It does run great on the street.

    Thanks for the input !!
     
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  16. cabong
    Joined: Nov 29, 2005
    Posts: 881

    cabong
    Member


    Hey SCR, my original intent was to yank the 429 and drop in a Y-Block or FE mill. I'm old and cannot even think about a windsor type. Actually, the 429 mellows down to a smooth runner, and the tranny does not have a manual valve body, so it shifts fine. It could stand to have a stock, or mild intake, with a 600cfm carb. The distributor is easy to "unlock" and set back to a reasonable advance. I simpply got lazy, and don't want to go through the effort of changing out the engine/tranny...... I know that I'd never get down to using it (I'm 76)......
     
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  17. cabong
    Joined: Nov 29, 2005
    Posts: 881

    cabong
    Member


    Thanks !! My buddy is about to start on a '40, as a 50's drag racer !!
     
    lothiandon1940 likes this.
  18. cabong
    Joined: Nov 29, 2005
    Posts: 881

    cabong
    Member


    Hey Poor Boy, I took the low geared posi rear out, and replaced with a 9" out of a '57 Ranchero, non-posi. I figured as a custom lowster, it would be kinda out of character to be doing burnouts !!! I used the entire rear in my new racer, a '52 Ford Salesman's Coupe, being done in a gasser style... As you can see, it has the chromes with '56 dog dishes. The narrow whites was what was on most of Larry's cars. Again, I wanted the era !!
     
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  19. ford40
    Joined: Jun 7, 2009
    Posts: 112

    ford40
    Member
    from pa

    Do you have a price in mind?
     
  20. cabong
    Joined: Nov 29, 2005
    Posts: 881

    cabong
    Member

    Just thought I'd add a couple more pic's. The panels are typical of the door panels also. The seats are rough. The garnish moldings are all in nice shape.... The tires and wheels are new, and the hub cars are in very nice condition. I will probably out this on classifieds for $10K...... 58 fairlane 5.jpg 58 fairlane 3.jpg 58 fairlane 7.jpg
     
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  21. cabong
    Joined: Nov 29, 2005
    Posts: 881

    cabong
    Member


    I was planning on putting it on the classifieds for $10K. Needless to say, the paint alone, with the body mods, cost more than that. But, as a car guy, I realize you build for youself, damn the cost....
     
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  22. Shit....if the world hadn’t gone to shit I’d seriously consider it..I love that car..
     
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  23. Didn’t notice ya had caps on chromes..and I think it would be fun to lay rubber in a Kustom...look at
    Moriartys 61 Chevy...
     
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  24. cabong
    Joined: Nov 29, 2005
    Posts: 881

    cabong
    Member


    There is a time and place for everything....... I have several trophy's for class wins....including this one !!
    giddy up go 011.JPG
     
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  25. Jalopy Joker
    Joined: Sep 3, 2006
    Posts: 31,179

    Jalopy Joker
    Member

    even though L.W. pulled off the yellow/green combo, not a popular combo - but, to enhance overall look would get rid of current hub caps and run spider caps - of course, wires would be better for the look - install the rear bumper guards to help fill the large empty area below tail lights - do some pin striping or ? around the green design above license plate - yes, to detuning motor but, keep parts that you remove to go with sale, if wanted - someone might have a milder motor laying around to replace 429 and want your existing motor for another project - higher rear gears would help it be better for street cruising - agree, no use in spending money on interior - I see a lot of white as possible so, think about that when picking out headliner material - looks like you have cheapo gray seat covers - maybe get some grey vinyl paint for door cards - that way new owner not be forced to do interior right away - detail paint engine compartment - try most any way that you can to get ads out for it - put ad in window too - never know where a buyer be - have fun with new project
     
  26. What’s it run...and would it be street able with a smaller carb and a performer intake? Run on race fuel only??? I’m love the car
     
    Last edited: Mar 29, 2020
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  27. cabong
    Joined: Nov 29, 2005
    Posts: 881

    cabong
    Member


    The lowest E.T. was 13.09... Depending on weather. I usually dialed 13.20. Speed was between 1-4 and 106.... Just a very good bracket to be in...

    Actually, it's streetable right now, it would just be better with the changes mentioned before. As to fuel, I run 90 octane non-ethanol. I ran 110 octane a couple times, and it didn't seem to make any difference. I just had the springs changed to the Aerostar units, and had the front end aligned. It tracks down the road fine, and actually rides fine. The articles I read about the springs claimed they worked well, but I had to find out for myself. It will probably settle a tad more, which is fine !!
     
    Sancho likes this.
  28. Man I dig your car...I would pull the caps...but that’s just me..
     
  29. cabong
    Joined: Nov 29, 2005
    Posts: 881

    cabong
    Member


    Hi Joker, I have '56 caps on the puppy simply because I have always like them, back to '56. I hought about wires, but figured a new owner cold make that choice. When the paint was finished, That green patch on the rear was not there. The body guys simply forgot to fill a couple holes there. So rather than try to match the pearl, I had them do the design. Some people don't have that eye for scallop design, and so the spear on the rear wheel opening was done 58 fairlane 4.jpg too narrow, so I had them widen it out to a good proportion. It too needs to be striped. Speaking of striping, Watson generally used a wide stripe, which is actually more difficult to do. The young fellow I had stripe it just couldn't quite get the hang of a wide stripe. Plus he was getting tired (lots of straight lines) so part of it does not meet with my scrutiny.....I will probably have a friend, racer, striper, redo the stripes to a proper width, and maybe add some fancywork.....
     
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  30. cabong
    Joined: Nov 29, 2005
    Posts: 881

    cabong
    Member


    I did the caps for the smoooth look. I also have '60 Ford dog dishes that I sometimes run. Spiders would be good, as mentioned. I had a set from the Dream Truck, but they were 6 lug.....
     
    Sancho likes this.

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