Projects It's alive!!! A 1957 Fargo Tale....

Well I'll start a thread, hoping I can update it soon enough to stay interested in it! I've had my 57 Fargo 1/2 ton since I was 13, first vehicle I bought, with the intention of driving it when I was 16. Fast forward 26 years and I still have never driven the truck, although it has moved all over western Canada with me. It originally was built with a slant six and a four speed, which got swapped for a 318 magnum and now back to a plain old 360. After sitting untouched for nearly 15 years I have spent the last two days getting it running, now to go through the brakes and reassemble so I can drive it this year!! I'll try to include some pictures along the way, here's one of the day I brought it home to start things off!


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Procrastinators unite.....tomorrow.....or maybe never!!!

Actually congrats , I'm bad at getting to stuff....sometimes life gets in the way

 

You know I've built off topic stuff and generally just made excuses to not do it, it started as a project in my parents dirt floor shop and I'm now back to my roots, working on it in my own dirt floor shop!


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Never too late to kick start a project. Short summer for you guys, you'll need a truck to get firewood soon enough! Looking forward to progress pix

 

I have many in progress pictures I need to dig out and post.(remember it started almost thirty years ago)


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Your truck gave me an excuse to look up Fargo trucks..
Chrysler/Plymouth marketed trucks under the resurrected Fargo name till 1972.

 

Yup, they were for export, there are quite a few up here


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Better late than never...

 

cool on you....let's get rolling !

 

I love that movie

 

can't just rush into this stuff

 

Quick update, truck is going together. Remember this is a driver for now, nothing fancy about it. It will get paint eventually and I will likely build an engine this winter for it.


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And picked up a box for it this weekend. It's a sweptline box of a 59 savy dodge guys will know this box was not available until 58 so a 57 with one is not common! Any ideas for taillights? They are 4.5" across and boring as hell right now. Also, any thoughts on finishing the space below the tailgate?

 

Oops forgot pictures....


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50 Pontiac or '58 Biscayne/Bel air tail lites turned 90 degress maybe?

 

'50 Buicks also

 

I'll have to look up what those look like, thanks!


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Any of those would work well!!!


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Finally some progress!! After not touching it last year, my amazing wife bought some cragar ss wheels for my birthday/Father’s Day. Couldn’t resist pushing the old truck outside and bolting them up for a picture. Renewed some motivation to get it done. Had it running today as well, needs exhaust and some small things and hoping to drive it. Not even worried about “finished” body or paint right now. Nothing is clean and shiny just simply functional.

Oops forgot pictures, we love pictures!

 

What the hell!



There we go...

 

So while trying to tidy up some loose ends with wiring inside, I quickly discovered that 16 year old me had no business wiring a truck, I’m amazed everything worked. After some clicks of the side cutters I started all over yesterday and got a good start. Need to pick up some shrink tube today to finish up, even found the wiper switch I thought I had lost, turns out it was up under the dash! In true me fashion I did not take any pictures, trust me though it was bad.


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56 chevy tail lites

 

Is this the same truck from your pic by your name? That tiny pic looks solid green with yellow flames and a stepside

 

That is a photo shop that moose did for me, but yes same truck


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Find some 57 Dodge station wagon rear fenders and build yourself a Sweptside pickup.
Mike

 

I would love to...I do have a 59 custom royal parts car that I keep eyeing up for the taillights and fins


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In between fundraisers for my Oldest daughters basketball team, they are traveling to LA for a tournament this winter, and dealing with my youngest who is almost two, I finally got a couple evenings to button up the wiring inside the truck, much better and everything works! In keeping with the low budget theme, there was no store bought harness for me!! Ran every wire individually myself. Nice sense of satisfaction to hook up the battery and have everything work. It’s starting to look like it may get driven this year.

Oh and there is another project I’m trying to close a deal on, because that’s what I need, it will replace my off topic 68 Chrysler as a driver. Hopefully more to come with it.


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Currently working on the front brakes, rebuilt the wheel cylinders, drilled the holes out for the wheel bolts and installed studs to accommodate the shank nuts for the cragars. Used the same studs as the rear. Going to pull the master and have a look before I put fluid in it. The rear brakes are all new, once the brakes work I should be able to go for a test drive. In all the years I’ve had this truck I have never driven it.


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Small update...changed the fuel pump and drove the truck for the first time ever. Made it up and down the driveway, it even shifted to second, brakes work. Whoo hoo!!! Felt good. Need to mount seats, box and some exhaust.


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That only took about 28 years, you’re on a roll!
I think it’s pretty cool you hung in there with it!
Keep it up!

Rich