love those 57s... man, i have a 58 fairlane and if i could have a ranchero i'd totally trade it. do you have any of the clips for that side trim by chance left over? i took mine off and wanna put it back on, but they are all chipped and broke :/
Being a Chevy man Through and through I've never been able to explain my lust for a '57 Ranchero with a 390/tri power and 4 speed. Probably has something to do with my obsession for a '57 300 with the same drivetrain combo. Keep us up to date as you get this one on the road. It looks like it's going to be a sweetie. Frank
Awesome work man i like the direction your taking your 57, Mines completely shaved. Heres some pics just so you get an idea of the look without the side chrome
I like how disc work just don't like how they look. I like the traditional look of drums. Thanks for the info though, I am going to look into it. I might be getting ahold of you on the brake kit. I would love to know more about it. Once I get it all done you will most likely see me down in your area. I know some people in that part of the state so I will have to cruise it down there. Not sure on the side trim still. I am up in the air on it. I would give you all the clips I have but most of them are shot. I will look through them again though to see if there are any good ones and get back to you. Love your 57. I have studied it at Viva for hours. Thanks for the pictures. How was it shaving the door handles? It looks like it might be tough with way the inner door structure is. Just can reach anything.
good start, your doesnt look to bad, these had severe drainage issues and usually has lots of rust (mine did!), looking good.
Nice start... the Granada Disc work well as mentioned - I have them on my wagon and will do the same with the Ranchero project I'm working on... I'll be doing the shaved trim too since it is getting NOS fenders & quarters and I just can't see drilling them... but, we are un-chopping the windshield and I will be glad to be getting back to where you're at some point... thanks for the post!
nice project, looks like you're making good progress.. just wondering...why not cut into it more and build a custom more modified than a mild custom (custom headlights, grill, taillights, etc)
I am going to seriously check into the Granada brake set up. Looks like it is the ticket. I am going to go ahead and french the headlights. It is also going to get a Mercury front bumper/grill and a Merc rear bumper. The taillights I may end up leaving though. I can't remember off the top of my head and I am away from home. I will get back to you once I get back in a few days.
Love your 57. I have studied it at Viva for hours. Thanks for the pictures. How was it shaving the door handles? It looks like it might be tough with way the inner door structure is. Just can reach anything.[/QUOTE] Thanks man i really appreciate it! Honestly my 57 is the first car i ever learned and did body work on and since i literally learned how to shave handles (trial and error) and did it you wont have a problem at all it wasnt as hard as i thought it was going to be for the work you've already done on your 57 i guarantee u wont have a problem...Goodluck and im subscribed!
great work like the way the floor pans went in, cleans it up nice. got two rancheros 1 58 and 1 57 my vote would be trim on. just got the trim for the 57 , going to use custom 300 trim, but now i like the quarter trim . thanks for posting
Thanks man I really appreciate it. Thanks man i really appreciate it! Honestly my 57 is the first car i ever learned and did body work on and since i literally learned how to shave handles (trial and error) and did it you wont have a problem at all it wasnt as hard as i thought it was going to be for the work you've already done on your 57 i guarantee u wont have a problem...Goodluck and im subscribed![/QUOTE] I am doing the same thing on my Ranchero, learning as I go. Lots of trial and error. Look at shaving the door handle it is a project that most likely looks worse than it is. Did you use a kit on your? If so which one? I appreciate it. Floor pans came together pretty nice. For a little while I thought I got myself in way to deep but it all came together as I slowely worked through it. With the trim I am still up in the air. One idea I have is to leave the trim off, the interior is going to stay its original color when I repaint the interior which is a 58 Bali Bronze Poly (odd brownish purple, very different but unique), the exterior I think might be black, and then turn a pinstriper loose on the car and just go wild on it. I don't know might look stupid, don't know. Still can't decide.
One thing to keep in the back of your mind is that the steering box and column are different between 57 and 58. I tried to use a 57 column and shifter linkage on my 58 Ranchero and it did not fit. They changed to a better steering box in 58. I learned the hard way.
It been a long cold winter so far. I am hoping to have it done in April. We'll see. Looking forward to having the Ranchero done, nice weather, and cruising.
If you're even thinking of doing the 75-80 Granada/Monarch spindle and disc brake swap check out this link. http://home.comcast.net/~robert.lewis23/disc.htm He covers it very well, there's really no reason to buy a kit it can be sourced anywhere.
Hows a guy supposed to see what you are doing when none of the pictures show up... Aren't you a Professional Photographer? What the deal? just kidding buddy, fix those pictures dang it.
You know I am only "Professional" once in awhile. Still figuring out Photobucket for the pictures but I got it fixed now, I think..........? Glad you finally noticed the posting.
Thanks for the post... now that I have my Ranchero's roof back together... I can follow you lead on the rest... I'm going full quarters so we can work out the inner bed panels dings... projects never seem like that big of a deal into you get buried in them...
Hey Johnny...why is it you never told me about this post...??? I missed it somewhere along the lines...sorry. About shaving those door handles...ever remember seeing Dan's '64 SS...??? It's been "shaved" but it still has door releases, I can show you how to do that...and a friend of mine did the same with his '57 Ford retractable...it's not that hard to do and will only cost you less than $20.00, and of course, some time...!!! Can't even buy a kit for that price... The whole thing is lookin' good...lot of work in it, prolly more than you expected by the look of it. And I'm a fan of chrome trim...I think you should've left it on....but Buick would look good too. R-
I look forward to seeing more of your build. You can definetly get buried in one of these projects before you know it. They always end up being a ton of work. I will have to have you show me the shaved door handle trick you are talking about. Sounds cool and I am very interesed in it. We will have to catch up here so you can fill me in. I still might put the 57 side trim on but I mocked up the Buick trim and it looks really cool. I will post some pictures of it mocked up with the Buick side trim and the Merc front bumper tonight. Let me know what you think. Thanks.
The Merc bumper looks good on it...I like it... Here's a pic of the door releases I built...this one on a '64 Chevy tudor... "Shaved" but quite functional...and you can use the stock locking mechanism... R-
I really like that door release and that you can still have the stock locking mechanism. I want to try that on the Ranchero so you will have to fill me in with all the details on how you did it here sometime. Very cool and thanks for the great idea.
I like the buick trim, the bumper is great! are the dagmars removable? just wondering if it would look smoother
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