I spotted what appeared to be quite the survivor at a local cruise this past weekend. I'd never seen nor heard of these cars coming with superchargers so I poked around a bit to see what I could find. Appears that there's a reason why I've never seen one before... http://blog.cardomain.com/2009/05/2...king-lot-the-1957-ford-supercharged-f-series/ About 3/4 of the way down the page on this link. http://www.vs57.com/history.htm http://www.hemmings.com/hcc/stories/2006/01/01/hmn_feature9.html This info may be old news to some of you guys...I just wanted to share it with anyone else that might find it interesting.
That's a very rare car, but that dude runs around with a guy that has a black one AND a red one. I saw all 3 of them together at the Moonshiners Run in Dawsonville, Ga. a couple years ago. I love '57 Ford's. Especially the 300, stripped down model with the big engine. Kevin Ooltewah Speed Shop
I had one in the 60's 4 speed and 4.57 ass end rated at 300 horse. Ford made them for 2 years 56 and 57. this was when NASCAR was really STOCK CAR racing and the factories had to release at least 250 to the public ( usually specific racers were the public) sure ran hard. A 57 ranchero still held the Super Stock record at Pomona in the early 60's quite a feat with all the factory hot rods
ya could get a factory Paxton on the T-bird in 57 also...but the setup was a bit different due to the lower hood. dj
that's awesome.. i want a McCulloch for my 292 Y-block but i'm a poor bastard.. did the guy have the the factory invoice to prove it though.. i don't think dealer installed options showed up on the VIN so the invoice would be the only sure-fire way to prove the cars rarity
Back in the '60's factory blown '57 Fords were popular and fairly common in NHRA Junior Stock classes. Since the Paxton supercharged 312 was theoretically available in any Ford body style in '57, even station wagons, sedan deliveries and Rancheros were popular in certain classes. mart ================================================
Kevin, I did the muffler work on the black one. The same guy owns a 57 wagon and a 57 406 four speed car. His name is Jerry. Super nice guy.
Opens the supercharger up .....when the butterflys in the carb close you can't be huffing so it closes too.
.In the mid 50's you could order any thing they had at the factory as to color,engine,transmission or interior. I had a 56 ford Fairlane with a blower. The first McColluch was red in color and had an electronic solenoid activated hi speed. basically it was a variable pitch pulley as I remember it and they worked well. A major bearing problem put them out of business then Andy Granitelli bought out the company and found and corrected the problem and the rest is history. I later on built a box to house 3 duce set up and was able to pressurize the carbs and was an awesome configuration for the time. The 50's proved to be good for the hotrod of the time and horsepower was growing by leaps and bounds
My friend bought a 57 2 dr. with the 300 horse supercharger back in 57. He wanted to beat is friend that had a 57 injected Chevy. The Chevy beat him every time.
Is that the same unit used in the Studebakers? IIRC they share oiling systems with the engine. The Stude units were prone to fail spectacularly.
Really nice car. Love '57 Fords. I believe the sc Ford was intended to compete directly with Chevy's '57 Black Widow...and as was previously stated here, the Chevy usually won. Correct me if I'm wrong...I learned some of this stuff a long time ago, and it's fading...faaaaaaading.
I didn't talk with the owner but there was a gent sitting back by the wall in a folding metal chair that was really grinning while we were checking out the car. I feel like an ass for not asking if it was his and seeing what else he could tell me about it. My Ford history is pretty much zero. Sure, I can pick out certain models and years but as far as having any knowledge about these rarer cars and options...I'm an idiot. The reason I refered to it as a "Survivor" is because that's how it appeared to me in person. The thin paint across the tops of the fenders and interior wear combined with what looked like 50+ years of bumps and scrapes in the trim and paint. I'm not knocking the car, I really dug the look. If this car wasn't a survivor it was definitely a very old restoration with a lot of use and miles on it. If he has it out again at next months cruise (and I make it up there) I'll see what I can learn about him and this awesome car.
The wonderful thing about a Ford VIN# is that the engine code is part of the VIN# A Blower 312 Had an F in the VIN, a dual four 312 had an E. I was lucky to be able to hang out in a local garage in the late 60's and early 70's that belonged to John Feistritzer and his partner George. John started out racing M/S with a dual four 56 T-Bird then built a supercharged 57 Custom 2dr sedan and then a 57 Fairlane. The Fairlane (Hoosier Hurricaine) he still races today running in the 11's with some very vintage Y-block stuff.
That's why we're here to learn.... I did know about Thunderbirds with S/C's.I did not know about them being installed on other body styles.So I learned something else today.
Bad driver ! The ford at 9 lbs of boost would outwind and stomp the FI 283 Both were good rides but ford out sold chevy for a reason
Correct on the vin code "F", there was one ('57 T-Bird) here on Long Island a few years back that a family member of a friend/customer owned, not sure what happened to it, but it's most likeky still in the family?? Needed a full resto but was complete. They were labeled the "F-Bird" years ago! Thanks, Gary in N.Y. P.S. I would imagine one of these today would go for some substantial monies?
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