57 Ford Question - Why do post sedans look so good?

Question for 57 Ford experts, or auto stylists: Why do 57 ford 2 dr post sedans look so good? It is my opinon that they look at least as good as the pillarless hardtops. This is not true of any other post sedan that I can think of. No Mopar, no GM, and certainly not a 55 to 57 Chevy. Is it because the windshied and roof height is the same as the hardtop, while most others are not?

 

I agree that they do look nice, mostly because they look like a hardtop. A big fat painted door pillar sticks out like a boner in sweatpants. A nice, skinny door pillar wrapped in stainless trim blends in well. Roof height and a swoopy, hardtop-esque roof line helps too.

 

'57 Olds 88 Holiday 2 door hardtops and 2 door sedan/coupe very similar situation ...
302

 

I have the same feelin's about '59-'60 Buicks.

Some cars actually look just as cool (if not cooler) with a post. Weird huh!

Olson

 

I prefer post cars...hardtops look like they leak.

 

Used to own a 57' Custom, post car, never thought it looked better or worse than a hardtop.

 

Nice proportions, just like 36 22 36

 

I am partial, and agree 100%

 

Were you in my gym class?

I agree. The stainless trim helps diguise the pillar. Painted pillars will visually tie the roof and body together and provide a vertical element that adds height to what you see. Fewer vertical lines means less height. That's why the horizontally striped shirt my ex-wife wore made her look so fat. That and the fat.

 

They just look bitchin .

 

I love the 58 post sedans also .

 

Man, does that image bring back memories!

Black '57 Tudor post, 390, 4-speed, fiberglass nose. One of coolest cars I ever had; wish I'd kept it.

 

Hey, if you got a big one...show that thing off!!!! I think mine looks alright. Some more body mods and new paint are soon on the agenda, but I'm keeping those plans hush-hush.

You guys should specify Fairlane 2 door sedan or Custom/Custom 300 2 door sedan. The only thing they have in common is the front clip.

 

Custom! The Fairlanes just don't look "right" to me. (Sorry guys)

 

i prefer body style 70D a.k.a. business coupe, who needs a back seat?....wait

 

I think a great part of it is the perceived to be smaller fins.

Seems like the post cars had plain fins and the hardtops had a taller looking fin due to the stainless strip on top.

They are a great looking car and I'd rather have a two door post than a hardtop.

 

They didn't put a goofy bubble-esque tall roof on the Ford sedans like they did for Mopars and Chevrolets.

Compare and contrast.

 

I do too. I used to let the "hardtop snobs" get under my skin about my car....till I learned that most GASSERS were post cars.

Hardtops suck.

 

The base model has a shorter wheelbase than the Fairlanes. That has a great deal of impact on the side view.

 

You are talking about Fairlane series 118" wheelbase right? Stainless trim on all the door posts, windshield same windshield as HT and convertible, same backlite as HT. I own a FL 500, it is the "Club Sedan" body style 64B. The reason they look better (in some ways) than hardtops is the extra inch or so of stainless trim across the top of the windows, makes the windows look shorter and thereby makes the top look lower. Here's mine.

 

I always thought post cars looked more "business like." As in, "I bought the cheapest, lightest model with the hottest motor so I can blow away poseurs in their hardtops and 200 extra pounds of weight."

 

Yes, that is the one I am thinking of. Very Nice! Thank you for the illustration. Did you ever see the old movie Thunder Road? It is worth watching for the cars alone. It has been a few years since I saw it, so I don't remember which model Ford he was driving.

 

I gotta agree with you there! It's funny but I've had short wheel base 57's for 20 years and most of the people I talk to who were alive back when these cars were built don't remember there being 2 different wheelbases, let alone 27 different models.

 

You are right. I forgot about the 57 Olds AND BUICK 2dr sedans. They also share the hardtop good looks. The 55 and 56 Buick and Olds post sedans
unfortunately did not.

 

Back in the day, a post car was usually hotter than a hardtop, so we liked it more.
The post cars (all makes) tended to be lighter than the hardtops and convertibles. And the hardtops and convertibles tended to be CUSTOMS more often than rods. This only applied to the streets where weight was always a handicap -- NHRA classes factored weight by either advertised horsepower (stock) or cubic inches (Gas), so you'd occasionally see a 1949 DeSoto convertible powered by an SBC (don't laugh, it held the national NGRA record in D/Gas for months).
On the street, you worried more about the post cars than their uptown cousins. They were leaner, cleaner, and meaner.
To this day, a post car earns my respect instantly.

 

I found this buried in back of a guys property a few days back, and always liked these Y blocked cars. He said it ran, but had some electrical probs. Guy said he would take 2k, I think he’d take 1500 with out batting an eye, although I,m tapped for space. What are these usually worth? Straight no rust.

 

You mean that's not a 57 Chevy?

Hey Kevin, good to see you on here!

 

Nope! It it's a Ford. Might as well be powered by an Evinrude, a Briggs and Stratton, or a Mopar!

 

I think both look great but yeah, It's probably because the roof line is the same.

 

Why are 58's so uncommon? I see 57's and 59's often but VERY rarely a 58.Or is it like the Edsel? -Strat.