Gary Coe's 57 Ford Altered "Gun Fighter"

I have GOT to stop reading this thread! It's making me want to dig up another '57 Custom two door and re-create my old bracket racer. One of the few cars I should have hung on to...

 

Thanks, Skatefink. this is a great thread. It's cool to see some other 57 FORDS in the drag racing world. I built my 57 Custom to be street/strip, but I just picked up another old 57 with no drivetrain, needing everything, especially quarters. The first car that came to mind, while planning its build, was the Gunfighter, at least the altered wheelbase part of it. From the pics, it was one of the coolest looking 57's. I can't wait to start building a full race, light as I can get it, 57 that uses some of those ideas. On some of the other drag car pics you guys have added to the thread, what are those ram-air styled headlight inserts? Anyone know?

 

That car ran out of Canada with a Tunnel Port 427. They mounted
velocity Stacks in the head light openings to feed air to the carbs.
I believe the family still owns the car.

 

After seeing all yhese pics it's no wonder why Ford outsold Chevy in 57

 

Have to include this one from a 1970 Rod & Custom:







Young So-Cal gal owned it and it was FE427 powered.

 

Yep, my buddy with the blue/white hardtop has that one hanging on the garage wall too.

 

Man those Fords are COOL!! Almost makes me wish I was a Ford man

Clyde

 

neat!

 

Here she is, and a couple more

 

Now for a really bizarre turn of events, go check out and early thread than this one call "Found out my car is for real, now I don't need the motor".

 

The blue alteredwheelbase car was built by a friend of mine, Al Schaper. He has about 3 or 4 '57s, this one by far the most radical. It was patterened after the Gunfighter. The last post, the maroon straight axle '57 is another buddy, Mark Degroff. Plenty tall, and should be done by now, with FE power.
Mine at present still has the stock suspension, was raced some in the late 60s early 70s. Sat in a field for years, I bought it last year. Now slated for an Econoline axle. Here it is in its present semi-sorry state.

 

How 'bout a '56 AWB -- 427 powered. Built by Southern Indiana racer Gene Heidorn in late 60s.

 

I sold my altered wheelbase 57 to somebody here on the HAMB. It had a Hilborn injected Lincoln 430 but I sold it off separately. I think it belongs to Mike in Arizona now if I remember correctly. I think I bought it from Vintakes maybe? It's been a while...

This picture is when it got delivered over to Tom Culbertson's shop. That's one of the old Watson panel job style t-birds I had behind it. I sold the 57 to build the 54 Glasser Gasser as I recall.

 

Great thread,love them 57's
Here a pic of one I owned and raced for alot of years.
Where is now you say? The new owner has it setting in a barn covered with 4 inches of dirt and four flat tires,what a waste.

 

Ya I seen the short wagon there too. I think John Haskil still owns it (427 FE 4speed)

 

I lined up against the "Gunfighter" one time at Woodburn Dragstrip (in practice) I was running a '61 2dr Galaxie 406 tri power 4speed. When the green lite came on,he was gone! But it sure was neet lineing up against it,and seeing it go down the track beside me(for a second)

 

It looks like in the first photos of the car, they moved the rear wheels ahead, making it a shorter wheelbase.
Anybody want to enlighten me as to why they did this?

 

What an odd thread to have pop up again and for me to find.

I met Gary a few years ago. He was in Saint Paul for (I believe) the Car Craft show here. I was out in the parking lot at my shop when I saw a pretty rough- although pretty dropped and with nice wheels and tires 57 F100 rolling in towards the lot.
It was just some guy in kind of a crusty older F100. It was dark green with gray primer spots and a nice stance. He said he was having a problem with the right front brakes. Always eager to get my hands dirty on an older vehicle I pulled it into the shop to have a look at it. As I was jacking it up he came around and mentioned that he was in town for the car show where he was showing his other F100 also. He told me he brought this one to show as the "before" model to help illustrate all of the work done on his other truck. I kind of figured, 'whatever- just another older guy with some bucks that thinks he has a cool truck.'
A minute later he reached behind the seat and pulled out the current issue of (I think) Custom and Classic Trucks magazine with the very truck I was working on and his other F100 both on the cover.
I was pretty blown away.
It didn't take much to fix the brakes on the truck and he was very grateful. He even gave me tickets to the show and told me I should go and find him.

The next day the wife and I went to the show and found both of the trucks. We sat and talked with Gary and his wife for a while and they were both VERY nice, friendly people. Unlike so many people in the hobby he had no ego about (probably) having a 6 figure truck there and was just as easy to talk to and laid back as somebody you'd park next to with a $200 car.

I wish I had known about his racing history- I would have loved to have heard some stories from him about those days.
Just saw his name here and thought I'd take a minute to make mention of another good person out there.

Jay

 

Just google Gary Coe. He's in the towing business in Portland Ore.

 

Too many cool old Furds to point out just one in this thread !!

Dig the salmon/ white 55 or 56 one ,what the hell does it have for a axle in the rear ?

 

It's all about weight transfer. More weight on the rear wheels=more traction. Search for pics of Thunderbolts and early Funny Cars, and you'll see the evolution of altered wheel base technology.

BTW-Altered wheelbases are what gave Funny Cars their name. They looked funny!

 

A lot of guys back then would use un-narrowed 3/4 ton Dana 60s so they had to cut the wheel wells out. In 64 I had a 427/425 Fe powered Custom 300 57 Ford but no altered wheelbase or cutout wheel wells for me, too ugly. Dont let anyone tell you that you cant put 64 427 cast iron exhaust manifolds on one either, I did it. Email me and Ill tell you how

 

i just found this old photo of gary coes gunfighter , this was taken with my box brownie in around 1967-8

 

Great thread!

 

People ask me; "Do you like '57 Fords?" "That's a dumb question; what else is there?"

 

That photo was taken at the origional Mission Raceway in Mission BC Canada.The road the car is on doubled as the return road, as well as the access road from the "Hot Car" pits near the finish line, to the staging lanes. While most of the regular Stock, Super Stock, and Modified Production cars pitted behind the tower and staging lanes, the dragsters, Funny Cars, Altered and Comp. Eliminator cars pitted by the finish line. I still remember watching the front engine Top Fuel dragsters being push started down that road, in front of the grandstands , as a kid in the late 60s. Luckily I got to race at the origional Mission Raceway from 1974 when I was 16, until the track closed at the end of 78. I don`t recall seeing the "Gunfighter" race in person, but I do have some old 8mm home movies from 1966 that show Coe racing his 57 Ford at Mission, Arlington, and Van Isle. My cousin was racing a new 66 Fairlane in C/Stock in 66, and his parents shot the movies. Cool stuff.

 

I raced at all the Bremerton All Ford Drags from the first one around 82 or 83, until the late 90s, whenthey were 2 day, Ford only events. John Haskell only brought his shorty 57 Ford wagon out one year, likely 84 or 85, and I was his first round victim in the 4 speed class they had that year. My mid 12 second 428CJ 4 speed 70 Mach 1 was no match for Haskells high 10 second 427 powered wagon, I know somewhere I have a shot of that run.

 

heres more at the same area and day, anyone know the event/date?