Family 4-door complete Custom 300 or snag 2-door fairlane?

I have had the 57 custom 300 fordor in the family since day one and always had dreams of fixing it up as a kid. I just had the car towed from my dad's this past sunday for my 27th birthday.

Tonight I found a black fairlane 500 looks to be missing a lot of stuff but has title and best of yet is a two door.

What to do?

My buddy with a 70 road runner and other mopars says the family car is a "Great Parts Car" lol

 

my current fordor car has the 312 and I want to put a 460
.

 

no brainer...Use the 4 door as a parts car for the tudor....simple.

 

What do I say to my dad and grandpa? lol it was my grandfather's sister in laws car brand new I think and then my dad drove it through college. man i always liked the tudor and post-less.

 

Say "Thanks for the great parts car, Pops! It really came in handy for my tudor."

 

No, seriously...if it's been in the family since new I'd probably keep the 312 in it, drop it down and run steelies and dog-dish caps on 8 inch wheels...paint it stock colors, [preferably the 57 ford light green] put some great sounding glasspacs on it and drive thet sucker.
Do the fairlane with the 460 you lust for later.

 

Probably the best idea, since you're obviously sentimental about the car.

 

Yeah I think the glass packs are still under there from when my dad was in college.

But wow the looks of the tudor post-free car looks so much cooler. I live in an HOA neighborhood and only have a two car garage, not much room for tow 57 cars at once.

How would I even make the exchange? Take all the good parts and front clip etc off the four door then call someone on craigslist to haul the carcass away?

 

hahaha! ! ! plus my great Aunt's purchase decision would be justified by all the oem parts I swapped and the extra 312 y-block in the corner Definitely something to sleep on.

 

Ask your dad what he thinks of the idea and if he could stash the tudor for you for a while if he thinks you should keep the four door. The 57 Tudor is one hell of a good looking car and that would be my choice but you still have to get along with the family and doing up the four door may be part of that.

The one thing the rest of us don't know though is what shape the four door is actually in. from the looks of the photo it isn't exactly pristine at the moment. What does it look like out in the daylight?

 

^^^ this.

Why would you pull out the family Y-block? Especially if it's a 312!

 

Parts car for sure. Sawzall and dumpster will take care of the carcass, done it before.

 

Come to the darkside. We have cookies. And Mordoors.

 

Been in the family that long,with that history? Keep the 4 door intact,if it isn't cool enough for you,then build the second car,too. Wish I had some of my dads old cars,no matter how many doors they had....Keep the 4 door,as you get older,you'll be glad you kept it

 

I had to jump on the iPhone while in bed because the thoughts are keeping me up when I've got class in the morning. My dad lives in Austin he would eventually find out through Facebook lol. I found a really rough tudor for under a grand but it's rough.

It's neat to have th history and the car has been a family conversational piece for decades. However I must admit I dd google 4-2door conversion and thought about paint schemes and shaved rear handles. guess il just have to sleep on it.

This weekend I'll look at both Tudors and take pictures for you guys.

If the floors are gone on the Tudor is it a disqualification? the fordor is complete minus a couple broken brake lines

 

Hone your skills resurrecting the family fordor. Get it back up to snuff and take your dad and gramps for a ride. Enjoy every second of that, and remember it. They will.

Look for a less rusty Tudor after college. My 2 cents, for what that is worth.

 

I called the guy with the fairlane 500 an he said the car hit a tree in the quarter panel and th guy parked it in 76. No title with it.

 

You'll regret making a parts car out of it. Not sure if you have kids but I can see a lot of great history being made in that car's future to go with it's family past.

 

The family history is worth something.

My grandpa gave me a Dodge truck. 2WD, slant six, automatic, long box. Nothing special except that it was HIS truck, and now he's gone. So, the truck gets rebuilt the way it was with minor upgrades. It's still "grandpa's truck" even to my son who didn't get to meet him before he passed.

Fix up the family car. It'll be worth more to you down the road than some wrecked, title-less car with no sentimental value, even if it IS a 2 door.

 

Was your father under the impression you were going to fix the 4 door when he gave it to you? If he was, and you end up cutting up the car, he might have never given it to you and might cause hard feelings. You might talk to him first.

I'd just fix the 4 door. Its only real value is that its been in the family since new,and would mean a lot to others in your family.

I say this from experience. I own my great great grandparents 1959 Rambler. It has no real worth, except that whenever any of the family members see it, they reminisce about it, and Grandma & Grandpa. With family cars like this, think of yourself as the cars caretaker, which will pass it on to the next generation.

 

This is so true. My Grandpa's pride and joy was a 1930 A Rumble Coupe, he found it rusty in a field and completely restored by himself, adding only juice brakes. My Dad's was a (OT) 1967 MB 250 SL, restored by him. Both were sold, without my notice...

I'd give all my crap to get either of them back to the family.

 

I may be getting old (ok, I am old), so you can take this opinion for what it's worth. The choice between a fourdoor with family history, and a two-door hardtop would swing to the family car. If you want to get a racy hardtop some time down the road, there will be time for that, but your opportuity to tune up the family car and extend the legacy probably won't come again.

 

I want your 'two door postless' more commonly called a Hardtop.

 

x2!!!!

 

I couldn't imagine cutting up a car with that history. Even if you fix/paint/sell it to finance a hardtop, it'll be "the one that got away" somewhere down the road.

I agree with you about the asthetics, but fordors have their own essence of funky/utility coolness IMO...

 

Are you sure it is a 312, most 1957 custom 300 came with a 272

 

Wow, can't even believe someone would ask that. I have a 1956 Ford Customline 300 and it is a four-door as well. I got the car as my high school graduation present. I went through work experience at a custom car shop in California with it, and will soon be going through College with it. I have had so many memories in it with all my family and friends. It is true I would much rather have a two door, but nothing can replace all the memories and fun I had in that thing. I will eventually turn it into a two door, but never will I sell it to buy a two door. I plan on keeping this car until I die, then passing it on to another family member.

 

.besides, 57 custom 300 fordoors realy aren't that bad looking if you bless it with some custom touches...lowered suspension, lee lenses, maybe chrome bar grille, shrunken head, nosed and decked..keep the side trim..you know...60s mild custom stuff.
Jeeze, it's already 12 volt, has a V/8 and fambly history. I think it'd be fun to do a mild custom with that car. Make it look like it really is...a 50s sedan "hand me down" from the parents we all got in high school.
Mine was a yellow and white 55 olds super 88 fordoor sedan. I rubbed out the paint, cleaned the car within an inch of it's life, chrome wheels with cheater slicks and a glasspack on the single exhaust....I even kept the plastic covers over the primo original green upholstry.
Maybe even a name on the decklid..."Hand me down love" [the band-"Guess who"..sometime in the early 70s]

 

I can't believe you would even consider parting out a car that has been in the family that long.

people get too wierd about 4 doors. I say if you don't like the car maybe try to get it running and sell it to someone who appreciates it.

 

Yeah, keep the family car. I have the only car my dad bought new, never would sell it.You are young and can do a 2 door later. You would regret getting rid of the family car.Someday it will be a lot more collectible than now. Just look at 4door Model As.They are worth almost as much as a tudor .