mylittletony
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,420
Club RR Member Number: 84
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1957 Ford Fairlane mylittletony
@mylittletony
Club Retro Rides Member 84
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Jan 17, 2020 20:15:10 GMT
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Hi everyone It's probably about time I started a thread on this seeing as I've applied for the deadline display at RRW The story starts with a 12yr old MLT buying a copy of Street Machine back in 1993. From that moment I was hooked on American cars and all things a bit different. I had a few generic cheap cars to begin with, then a Viva E coupé when I realised I could have a cool car. But I constantly told myself that a yank would be too difficult for every day. Fast forward lots of years and lots of silly but cheap cars and I needed to own a v8. It's May last year and I've just sold my turbo volvo estate (which returned about 25mpg and ended up too nice for every day) for a useful amount, got a few motorbikes in the garage that barely got used and frustration is setting in from never having enough time or money to do any of my projects justice. Time to consolidate... My wife has a soft spot for 50s pickups but by now we have 2 kids so 3 seats isn't going to work. This is going to be a family car that I want Mrs. MLT to drive and enjoy too. I want something that will fit in my garage (5.5m long luckily) so I start looking at early 50s stuff as by the late 50s the cars are growing rapidly. However the early stuff largely has 6v electrics and beam axles or outdated suspension designs. So I need to look at mid 50s. I seriously considered 2 56 chevy, a 53 ford victoria and a 61 galaxie, by which point I was searching all across Europe and the states, although I really wanted to avoid unseen purchases. Anyway I found this '57 in France, sent the seller a message but no reply. Then out of the blue, weeks later, he replies. We exchange a number of messages, he sends photos, we speak on the phone and then I decide to go and see it. It's about 3hrs from Calais so I booked a cheap tunnel at 9am and set off to have a look. 6hrs later and I was greeted with this Now this may look horrific, but it's remarkably solid. The guy dragged it out of a barn where it had been since the 80s, so a mere 25 years old. It had cracked the block so they threw the engine and box and started stripping it. After crawling all over it I gave him a chunky deposit and came home again, getting a thorough grilling from border control for such a short visit. I arranged collection, transferred the balance and the next time I saw it was about 6 weeks later in Essex! Here's a more current picture It's a 4 door pillarless hardtop, officially known as a Town Victoria. French registered from new, assembled in Holland according to a stamped plate. 80k kms on the clock which going on the condition seems entirely plausible. About as rusty as a dry state car but without the burnt paint and dead interior, in fact the back seat should be usable with a wipe down! 63 years old! I've since sourced an engine and box and a whole bunch of parts which are being fitted in the coming weeks. Basic plan is upgraded running gear, disc conversion, lowering, and a simple 2 tone paint job basically to cover the bare steel and the small rust repairs it's going to need. I'm FULLY excited
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Jan 17, 2020 20:18:36 GMT
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Fantastic!
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Jan 17, 2020 20:48:49 GMT
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Massive potential. Bookmarked
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,790
Club RR Member Number: 34
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1957 Ford Fairlane Dez
@dez
Club Retro Rides Member 34
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Jan 17, 2020 21:43:31 GMT
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Looks like a bag of sh1t to me. Should quit whilst you’re ahead mate. 😉
That yard it’s in looks well dodgy too.
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Last Edit: Jan 17, 2020 21:44:21 GMT by Dez
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Davenger
Club Retro Rides Member
It's only metal
Posts: 7,272
Club RR Member Number: 140
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1957 Ford Fairlane Davenger
@dminifreak
Club Retro Rides Member 140
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Jan 17, 2020 21:50:34 GMT
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Yeah, proper dodgy yard. Wouldn't trust anyone who works there
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79cord
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,617
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Awesome, love the proper 4-door hardtop. Unlimited two or tri tone paint options. Must dig out model kits of these again for me to explore those fantasies.
Must admit I've never been enthusiastic toward the original protruding headlight arrangement when they look like they were designed for smaller quad light like '58, or even hidden or square in a designers fantasy. Even the big round lights look good 'frenched' in slightly. Look forward to seeing what you do as it should look spectacular no matter what!
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mylittletony
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,420
Club RR Member Number: 84
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1957 Ford Fairlane mylittletony
@mylittletony
Club Retro Rides Member 84
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Looks like a bag of sh1t to me. Should quit whilst you’re ahead mate. 😉 That yard it’s in looks well dodgy too. Yeah there's a load of scrap just out of shot, it's well shady... he seems to know what he's doing though Awesome, love the proper 4-door hardtop. Unlimited two or tri tone paint options. Must dig out model kits of these again for me to explore those fantasies. Must admit I've never been enthusiastic toward the original protruding headlight arrangement when they look like they were designed for smaller quad light like '58, or even hidden or square in a designers fantasy. Even the big round lights look good 'frenched' in slightly. Look forward to seeing what you do as it should look spectacular no matter what! Cheers, pillarless was one of the requirements and 2 doors seemed to be out of budget. I know exactly what you mean about the headlights, they look quite bug-eyed. I've already discussed a few options and I think frenching will happen at some point. I'm already planning future works!
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mylittletony
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,420
Club RR Member Number: 84
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1957 Ford Fairlane mylittletony
@mylittletony
Club Retro Rides Member 84
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Here are a few more detail pics showing the condition. This is the bottom of the A-pillar And the bottom of the front wing in the same area And this is the rear of the sills. It looks like someone tried to jack the car here at some point. Barring a few pinholes in the floor and a little on the rear valance lip, that's genuinely it for rust. Most of the work that's been going on back end of last year has been prepping the engine for insertion, first fit should be this month. A little bit of history (which will absolutely be staying) Here's a couple of inspiration pics (white Edsel for ride height and simple colours, red kustom for pipe dream, save up for air ride inspo)
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mylittletony
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,420
Club RR Member Number: 84
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1957 Ford Fairlane mylittletony
@mylittletony
Club Retro Rides Member 84
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I was sort of keeping this quiet for an RRW big reveal, but meh. Progress is being posted elsewhere and sharing is caring right? Plus Darkspeed gave me a nudge As you've probably worked out, Dez is doing the work. Part of the spousal approval was that I couldn't have a project blighting the driveway so I needed someone competent to do it. Some of this goes way back into last summer, I'll try and cover it chronologically... I sourced an engine and box This needed a lot more work than initially thought, the timing cover had rotted through and the ancillaries wouldn't work with the crossmember or dipstick as I had to fit a front bowl sump. I basically only used the long block. The EFI system as fitted to the engine is reasonable but would have needed a good deal of wiring and doesn't support upgrades, so a carb conversion was order of the day. Step up akku with a reeeel purdy Offenhauser manifold In the mean time various brake shenanigans were going on; I had always planned a power disc conversion for the front, new shoes and cylinders for the rear. However, the seller neglected to mention that ALL of the rear brake hardware was missing - drums, springs, cylinders, levers - everything. The drums are a slightly obscure size and it turned out cheaper to turn my order of a 2 wheel disc kit into a 4 wheel one than buying a pair of drums. Various parts needed fettling (booster pushrod not long enough, bolts to hold the kit together (not to the car!) being too short, missing notches in brackets etc) but it went on eventually Apparently there was a fishy smell when draining the back axle - nothing to do with Dez, but more likely the original whale oil! After a long wait for front wishbone bushes (involving a useless friend in NYC and a duplicate set from Rockauto) the front end came apart, leading to the discovery that new front lower ball joints were required and that I'd bought the wrong front shocks. Once they had arrived, the car was back on the ground, wearing it's new shoes and approaching the final ride height This is achieved by fitting springs from a Ford Aerostar for a reported 3" drop - what a derpy looking creation: The engine mounts also took fettling, probably because I bought cheapy ones, but they work fairly well and put the engine and box in a sensible place (pic taken mid-fettle:- it does sit level and clear everything) I bought a rad and some hoses that look like they'll work (no pics of that yet) Then we have the car with the engine in, outside for some perspective: Yes, I like where this is heading!!! Bearing in mind there's no bonnet, battery, radiator or fluids I'm hoping it will come down a touch more I'll chip in here about the colour scheme - I had bought the pale green with a view to repaint the entire lower half and decided various things including the wheels should be body colour. I'm not 100% on it, but it's period appropriate and I needed to make a decision. I'm still mulling... It might get the rear white section in pale green, the front polished up and used for a year. Constructive thoughts welcome Then we move on to bodywork, starting at the rear and moving forwards: Rear lip and filler hinge mount before, during and after The squashed sill end turned into a crusty inner arch, crusty outer arch and sill repair - due to a manufacturing hole letting water run down into the sill. And that's pretty much where it's at... The other side arch and the front fenders need rust repair still. I'll add that it's better than pretty much anything I've ever owned before rust wise, pretty staggering really. I got let down by a guy on facebook who's bringing in loads of stuff from America, he sent me bonnet hinges from a TOTALLY different car after I'd waited for 12 weeks for them to arrive. Instead found a chap in the wilds of North Dakota who took some off a car buried under 5' of snow in -20 0C and sent them within a week. Not only that, but he put a speedo (MPH not KPH), wiper arms and a battery tray in the box I'd already paid postage for - what a hero!! Still to do: The prop needs making to length from the 2 ends I have Brake lines Exhaust - I've been lucky enough that the manifolds from the engine clear everything Dez will be adding some 3 point belts to the rear seat so I can take the family out 'Some' paint Apologies for the mega update, if anyone would like to purchase the last of my bikes to help the fund, I'd be eternally grateful!
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Cool progress. Dez looks to be doing good work for you.
Personally...I'd go with your green as you have and keep the rear & roof white or cream - it's a classis colour combo that works for the expanse of metal. All green imo would not look as good. Ref green wheels - again should look good with some hubcaps fitted - possibly white/cream to match the rear section might also look good? (just a thought really).
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mylittletony
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,420
Club RR Member Number: 84
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1957 Ford Fairlane mylittletony
@mylittletony
Club Retro Rides Member 84
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Personally...I'd go with your green as you have and keep the rear & roof white or cream - it's a classis colour combo that works for the expanse of metal. This is what the car would have looked like originally (with 4 doors) Cumberland green and white The problem I have isn't so much the rear as it all needs painting. It's what to do with the front wings and sills that need repairing. The original green has clearly faded significantly and trying to colour match will be virtually impossible. By cross-referencing Hex codes there's a RAL (6035) which looks close... I'm reluctant to paint the front the pale green due to sheer amount of work and engine bay/doorshut clash. Here's a pic of 2-tone green which I think might work Still can't decide though...
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White looks better than cream.
My advice would be to paint the lot in the colour you like - don't worry about matching. You can paint it in sections, it will match fine.Do the engine bay while engine out, do the door shuts now while its in bits. Paint the outer shell when you have time/money.
Had a friend with a station wagon who did it this way over several (5) years, now a show winning paint job. He did engine bay one year, front wings & bonnet in year 2, roof in year 3, doors in year 4 and rear wings, tail gate in year 5.
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Personally I'd leave the paint either entirely alone OR go brash n bold if painting. That metallic red above is stunning!
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mylittletony
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,420
Club RR Member Number: 84
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1957 Ford Fairlane mylittletony
@mylittletony
Club Retro Rides Member 84
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Thanks for the input, genuinely appreciate it as I'm feeling a bit stuck which way to go. Part of the spousal approval bit is something presentable, my volvo had primer arches for nearly 2 years and she hated it. I blew some cans over them with zero prep and she was much happier. So I can't really be rocking the patina or have patchwork paint, even a 5 footer paint job would be better. As much as I'd love a full blown paint job it's out of budget... Here's a couple of pale green 57s from my inspiration folder, one mild and one wild:
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,790
Club RR Member Number: 34
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1957 Ford Fairlane Dez
@dez
Club Retro Rides Member 34
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Part of the problem is the drunken Frenchman Tony got this off has totally arsed up the paint on the back half of the car. Hes just randomly sanded through to bare Metal all over the place, left to surface rust, and has applied bits of fibreglass filler over (mostly) nothing. If it wasn’t for that I’d be trying to patch in to the original paint. The entire rear valance area and the sill/arch down one side are now in primer after repairs, and most of the back half of the car and odd bits of the roof and doors will be by the time it’s done. (Don’t know if i sent you this one Tony) Tbh The green that was guessed at off a colour chart wasn’t really right compared to the original colour, but we needed *something* so the wheels could be painted after sandblasting. Tony’s budget is fairly tight, especially after some of the setbacks we’ve had with unexpected parts needing replacing and extra holes being found, so there ain’t the scope to prep and paint a full car, being solid and mechanically sound are taking precedence at the minute.
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Maybe just paint the white part for now? If one section looks pristine then the car still looks cherished so the rest can look a little shabby but people will understand it's a work in progress.
This is what my friend did with his car.
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Lovely stuff! Thanks for sharing!
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1968 Mini MkII, 1968 VW T1, 1967 VW T1, 1974 VW T1, 1974 VW T1 1303, 1975 Mini 1000 auto, 1979 Chevette, 1981 Cortina, 1978 Mini 1000 1981 Mini City, 1981 Mini van, 1974 Mini Clubman, 1982 Metro City, 1987 Escort, 1989 Lancia Y10, 1989 Cavalier, 1990 Sierra, 1990 Renault 19, 1993 Nova, 1990 Citroen BX, 1994 Ford Scorpio, 1990 Renault Clio, 2004 Citroen C3, 2006 Citroen C2, 2004 Citroen C4, 2013 Citroen DS5. 2017 DS3 130 Plenty of other scrappers!
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Maybe just paint the white part for now? If one section looks pristine then the car still looks cherished so the rest can look a little shabby but people will understand it's a work in progress. This is what my friend did with his car. I think that this is a very sound idea. This car is massively cool by the way!
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Darkspeed
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,879
Club RR Member Number: 39
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1957 Ford Fairlane Darkspeed
@darkspeed
Club Retro Rides Member 39
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Update - APPROVEDI found and uploaded this - It's US Iron and a similar colour scheme. Apologies for the quality it was on an old Samsung Galaxy as was the picture below. - With finger.... 58 Dodge Coronet The caption I found for this shot says Shelsley Walsh - but that looks like Triangle at Loton. Hopefully its topical enough
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Last Edit: Mar 4, 2020 23:11:45 GMT by Darkspeed
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mylittletony
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,420
Club RR Member Number: 84
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1957 Ford Fairlane mylittletony
@mylittletony
Club Retro Rides Member 84
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Sept 15, 2020 15:18:57 GMT
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hmmm, seems I've left this one neglected... The car has been steadily coming along, lots of new things needed, lots of jobs ticked off. I have new brake lines to suit the new master cylinder and discs setup. No pic of that, but you can have one of the new prop New fuel line (the old one has been retained in case I decide to fit EFI). Dez found the old tank had rotted out from the inside so a new one (with gauge sender) was procured. Ordered on a Thursday afternoon, delivered Monday morning - shoutout to Rockauto! Dez also fabricated a new exhaust; a dual 2" system in stainless, fully tucked above the frame rails. This used the original silencer hanger with new rubber strap on one side and a repro matching one for the other side - got to love the parts availability for US classics! The handbrake mech (completely missing) has been repopulated with a repro 60s mustang balance lever and rod. Meanwhile at home I've cleaned the rear seats, using a tip from here - magic erasers ftw! I also cleaned the doorcards and arm rests using the same technique. I knew they were going to be ok, but I'm blown away how well these and the seats have come up. Old wiring had the potential to really ruin my day, so I made the decision to go for a complete rewire. Thankfully, it's not exactly a complicated car - ignition, lights and accessories. An ebay 21-circuit loom has been bought and in the process of being fitted As part of this Dez removed a LARGE mystery box, we think it's part of the old stereo - anyone got any info? A major hurdle was the DVLA wanting to inspect before issuing a registration. However, SGS weren't inspecting because apparently 1 person looking at a car isn't possible due to COVID. However, they bucked their ideas up, did the inspection (after some absurd extra faff) and I received my V5c in the post last Friday! I'll be spending a day or 2 up at Dez' in the coming fortnight to try and bust through some of the outstanding tasks, mainly paint to weather proof it and wiring. There's still the front wing welding needed, but it's getting excitingly close. Possibly even a few weeks until I can bring it home
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