Simon White shot and posted this fine threefer at the Cohort. The ’57 Ford wagon is in delightful original condition, and the mid-60s Chevy pickup looks to be fairly original too, except maybe the hubcaps. And of course the Baja Bug isn’t, but it lends a wonderful air of the 1970s to this assemblage.
I have always had some mixed feelings about the ’57 Ford, mostly to do with the googly-eyed headlights. but being that it’s a wagon, I can readily overlook that. And it belongs to a railroad engineer, no less.
Wow, great shot! I agree on the 57 Ford – it has always been a car that can look sleek and beautiful or thick and clunky, depending on color, body style and trim level. This dull red wagon is on the thick and clunky side.
Back in the 70s there was a neighbor girl who got married. Her husband drove a red 57 Ford Fairlane 500 convertible that may have been in a little better condition than this wagon, but not by much. I had built the model kit of that car a couple of times by then and was fascinated to see one in real life.
Neat photo—except for the cable-TV stuff, and textured shingles, I suppose it could have been taken a long time ago.
1957 Ford: had Ford done the basic design hoping that quad headlights would have been approved “in time”? In other words, were the two big/single lights the plan all along, or a fallback position?
Good question, George. The 57 Mercury offered both 2 and 4 headlight versions. The big pods fit the 2 light cars well but the 4 light housings had to hang low and had side pods (a-la-58 Studebaker) to accommodate the extra width.
I would suspect that the Ford was planned for 2 lights only. The follow up 58 had a substantially different front.
The 2 light version . . .
Thanks, JPC–though as a Ford guy, I still couldn’t recall the “faces” of the ’57 Mercury cars and their headlight setup(s).
Wow, that’s even a worse adaptation of a 2-light front end to quad lights than the ’58 Studes used. All that air space above the headlights just looks wrong. Didn’t some of these also have matching nostril-like things at the top edges of the windshield too? Or was that the ’58s or another model year?
Some time ago I saw a picture taken of a ’57 Ford in the early ’60s (in New Zealand of all places) with an aftermarket quad-light conversion so you can judge for yourself how it looks.
nlpnt, I’m *never* going to see one of those on the street, or in a wrecking yard, so thanks for for posting this delight. If the others will forgive us, I’ll report the J.C. Whitney ad from ’57. For me, the Ford looks a little goofy with the OEM “crazy eyes” (thanks for that, Rubens!), but unstartling with the duals. Yet I see the ’57 the other way ’round: factory singles look great, aftermarket duals ungrateful. YMMV, of course.
The obstacle to 50-state quad lights for the 1957 model year was that most state legislatures only met biennially. Over half of state legislatures didn’t meet in 1956. If Ford was hoping quad lights would be 50-state legal in fall of 1956 for the 1957 model year, they were ignoring the way the actual legislation processes worked.
In comparison with what the blue oval was up against in 57 with the Chevy, and the suddenly it’s Plymouth styles, this car design looks like it would have had decent appeal to the masses. Somewhat of a plain Jane grille, some nice fender work. This photo nicely frames three different CCs, each worthy of their own write-ups. Nicely done.
Decent appeal indeed. Ford won the sales crown for 1957, easily beating Chevy and smashing Plymouth by over 2 to 1. Production Figures for 1957:
Ford 1,676,449; Chevrolet 1,505,910; Plymouth 726,009
Plymouth sales soared much greater than Ford in 1957. Plymouth was supply constrained – the Chrysler products were the great hits of 1957 – they looked better and drove much better than Ford and GM products but the production was half- baked.
The Ford was ok looking and about as poorly made – but the Plymouth was the tragic star of 1957.
Wow… thanks for the information. I would never thought the “crazy eyes” (that is how we call the 57 in Brazil) beat the beloved Chevy in sales…
When the shop I used to work for decided to buy a “1950s” Ford, we went straight to a 59.
What made the ’57 Chevy an icon came after 1957. Its superior build quality and resistance to rust vs. the ’57 Ford and Plymouth, made them the used-car value of that period.
Remember “build quality” and especially “resistance to rust” are RELATIVE terms.
It was only in the rearview mirror that the ’57 Chevy styling came to be seen the way we (properly) view it today. In 1957, enough buyers saw it as a third-year desperation facelift to give the all-new lower, longer, wider Ford the win.
And although the ’57 Plymouth had torsion-bar front suspension and superior handling and roadability, the build quality was a nightmare of the highest order.
What an amazing photo! I think I speak for all of us here in the Land of Rust when I say what a blessing it must be to live in a place where such a collection of classics can still actually be found curbside. A scene like this would be impossible in Toronto—good luck finding even one old vehicle like this out in the wild, never mind three. Here, if you do ever come across a ’57 Ford, it’ll be at a car show—and it’ll be a retractable, not a wagon, boringly restored to perfection, with some old man fretting over whether your kids are getting too close or getting their fingerprints on the fenders. Sigh. Truly, I was born in the wrong place.
“Here, if you do ever come across a ’57 Ford, it’ll be at a car show—and it’ll be a retractable, not a wagon, boringly restored to perfection . . .”
And with the top parked halfway between up and down. I think this has been the case with every one I have ever seen. 🙂
I was actually going to add that, too! Same for me at any car show I’ve ever attended. It makes it look like the top mechanism suddenly failed in mid-retract—which I suppose isn’t outside the realm of possibility. 🙂
And I have concluded that this is the only attitude in which the car looks even remotely attractive. With the thing all askew, your eye and brain sort of fix the proportion problems that the car has.
Interesting! I just had a look at some ’57 Skyliner photos online, and I think I see what you mean. With the top up, the trunk area appears far too long for the car, and the cabin area far too small—at a glance you could almost mistake it for a Ranchero, at least from certain angles. And the fact that the rear bodyside swoop extends all the way forward to the doors only adds to this effect, and fender skirts (which many of these seem to wear) make things worse still. I’d take a base ’57 Custom 2-door post over one of these any day—smaller fins, less brightwork, better proportions, and just a much lighter and more agile look overall.
At a car show in Milton a year or two ago, the owner gladly demonstrated the roof being raised, and then lowered, on his Skyliner.
To get a scene like this in Toronto, you have to go to the Vintage Toronto group on FB for old B&W shots from the 60s :).
Will have to check out the Vintage Toronto group, thanks for the tip! 🙂
+1, there hasn’t been a scene like this around these parts since the late 70’s
This is a (mid-level) Country Sedan – not a Ranch Wagon nor a Country Squire. The Country Sedan was usually, but not exclusively, seen with two tone paint.
I much prefer the cleaner and simpler look of all ’57 Fords, including the two and four door wagons, to the competing cars from GM and Chrysler.
That’s what I could not place about the wagon that intrigued me…. I don’t think I have seen one in a single color paint job before. The all red works well on this one, but you would usually see it as white over red. If this paint is not original to this car, it certainly is an older repaint.
Paul, your posts and comments are always great, interesting and informative.
I have to say though, “…air of 70s…” Maybe the early 1970s? When I came to the US (Long Island) in 1977, I can’t recall seeing a single car on the road that was older than early 1960s. Not even a Chevrolet!
In Greece, there were still a few stray old American cars from the 50s, (and these had Greek, not US (military) license plates), but not on LI. So I didn’t give it any thought.
Note the license plate on the wagon; dwelling in the desert Southwest, these cars would not been subject to the several months a year of salty slush cars in New York would’ve been eaten away by.
Even with the Toyota and Ranger(?) in the background, this photo could still be almost 30 years old. So definitely a classic Curbside.
Nice shot!
I’ve always liked 57 Fords. When I was a kid, our neighbors had a red & white one that was more of a curbside storage unit. (their DD’s were a couple of deteriorating 57 Caddies). An elementary school classmate’s grandmother would drop him off in a cream & white 4-door that was, as I recall, in fairly decent shape for its age.
Fast forward a few decades. Here in my city, there’s an guy who likes to tinker with old Fords who has a black, 2-door restomod that from a distance appears stock, but for slightly larger-than-stock rubber. Upon closer inspection, one finds a late-model powertrain that includes a 5-speed.
In this case, I’d go with the wagon, add a 5.0 EFI, disc brakes, and call it good.
I have a good friend born in 1945 (17 yrs before me) he loved the ‘57 Ford’s headlights, so what did he own in the 1980’s – another Ford with wacky headlights – the EXP.
Great photo! Reminds me of all the fun I had back in my college days going for leisurely bike rides to the older neighborhoods of Tempe, Scottsdale, Mesa, Phoenix where even in the mid 2000s sights like this were not uncommon.
IIRC, that Arizona license plate style is fairly contemporary – 1990s? So this photo is newer than you think.