That’s my husband’s mother driving in Toronto in 1961. We found this image while digitising old family photos—an effort abetted by an American selling cleverly-3D-printed scanner negative holders for old film sizes. There’s a new ’61 Chev in the driveway across the street, but I can’t identify this what she’s driving. It looks like probably one or another 1957 Ford product, but I can’t seem to match up the trim, the front bumper, the wheel covers, and other details. Have at it, commentariat!
It’s a 1958 Ford. Look at the faux hood scoop. All ’58s had them.
1958 Meteor Niagara 300 possibly.
’58 Ford Custom 300.
I assumed this was a trick question to flummox the US folks here. So I assumed it was a Meteor or some other north-of-the-border exotic, and not just a ‘58 Ford.
I am no expert on the Canadian variants, but would guess either Ford Custom 300 or Meteor Niagra 300 – 1958 in either case.
This was the short (116 inch) wheelbase Ford that was only built in 1957-58. I always thought that of all the varieties of 58 Ford offered, this was the only side trim treatment that looked even halfway decent.
Here’s mine–just drove it today!
I liked this article:
https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/features/car-week-1958-ford-custom-300
Very few survivors out of the 163,368 four-door Custom 300s built in ’58. Wonder what became of this one?
I’m looking at the tread on the rear tire, was it common to just change the rear tire for Winter in those days? Living in a sunny climate this is all foreign to me..
Yes, very common. In fact I can’t remember anyone putting on snow tires on the front wheels back then. It was all about improving traction on RWD vehicles that tended to not have an abundance of that.
Snow tires in the front tended to come along about the time FWD cars became popular, and folks were encouraged to put them on all four wheels, as it helped keep the rear tires from spinning out in a curve.
Actually the real reason snows on all four wheels were advocated is because so many folks didn’t know if their car was actually FWD or RWD. 🙂 It was all too common to see folks put chains on the undriven axle in a snow storm.
Putting snow tires only on the rear wheels was standard practice. (They were snow tires then, not winter tires). My dad used to use one of the snows as a spare tire. I don’t remember anyone using 4 snows until fwd cars started appearing. In those days the point of snow tires was to avoid getting stuck, not to help braking or steering.
And many times the snow tires were black walls, even if the summer tires were whites. Snow tires did come in whitewalls, but many just went with black walls as they were only on for 3 months or so.
Recall that the old bias ply snow tires were very noisy and didn’t last long at all, less than 10,000 miles. They were a definite improvement for traction on loose packed snow, but did little for stopping and were actually worse on ice and wet roads.
Dad kept a set of snows mounted on their own black steelies, so that in Oct., he could just mount the snow tires & then remove them in April.
I wouldn’t mind using 4 “winter” tires now ….. but another set of the fancy “rims” that most cars now have — would cost more than I’d be interested in spending.
I suppose seasonal tires could be mounted & dismounted from the rims each year — but intuition suggests that the bead would be weakened each time.
Any ideas?
Depending on the vehicle you may find used wheels on Craigslist for a reasonable price. Yes taking the tires on and off the wheels is always a chance for damage to the bead, and wheel. However the big reason to not do it nowadays is the cost. Certainly it depends on where you go but $15 per tire isn’t uncommon around here and some places charge even more, so $120 per year. Those used wheels on Craigslist can save you money in the long run depending on how much you pay. I’ve bought several sets over the years for between $100-$200.
I saw your name and it sparked a memory. Snow tires were on all 4 wheels on my uncle’s Scouts, an 80 and an 800A. This was common on 4WD vehicles at the time in the northern Midwestern states.And to have them on year around. They were rarely driven any distance.
Many people in my area just have one set of wheels and dismount and mount winter tires each year. In fact all of our cars at my workplace do that. You save on the cost upfront, but the biannual changes are more costly.
I have always just had two sets of wheels and tires. Steel wheels are not overly expensive, but like Scout says you can also get used sets pretty cheap.
On the old style snow tires, we used to run them on our cars. The last family car I recall using them was our 72 Skylark. Dad stopped with winter tires once all season radials came out. He has since switched to running 4 winter tires, which is what I do as well. I still have an old snow tire as my spare my Malibu.
Yup the snow tire spare was a thing in our household too. At least back when cars came with steel wheels, wheel covers/caps and a full size matching spare. Did the 5 tire rotation until the second year with the car and then bought a single steel wheel and mounted the other snow on the worst of the original 5 tires. Then the snow went in as the spare in the summer.
The biggest advantage of having two sets of wheels and tires is the ability to change them on YOUR schedule, not the tire shop’s availability. And of course to put them back on again at short notice and with zero cash outlay just in case there’s a huge later (or earlier) than normal snowfall event or whatever.
And of course the satisfaction of knowing the wheels are torqued correctly and without cross threading.
In the early 80s I was working in Montreal and I had a garage on a back alley. I was driving a BMW 2002 and I only had 2 snows on the back. Unfortunately I had a flat just before the first big snowfall of the year. There I was with one snow tire trying to get out of the unplowed back alley. It did not go well. Lots of the summer tire spinning and the snow tire not turning. It makes me wonder what my sophisticated AWD Subaru would do if it had one summer tire and 3 winter tires in deep snow.
Of course there are many factors. Will you have the car for a while, do you drive a lot of miles, can you change your own tires, do you have the gear, do you have the space to store a set. Yes on all for me so I have got tire rack special, black steels usually. One really nice benefit of dedicate winter combo is that your non-winter wheels stay much cleaner….looking better and absolutely kicking up the resale of you car whenever you sell it. My 17 year old Mazda MPV wheels look ~ 2 years old.
For my most recent vehicle purchase, I found a used set of alloys for $250. Winters from the prior car fit the new one, and I got them mounted and balanced for $130. A set of hub-centering rings were $25. Tire shops here will charge about $130 to swap tires over, or $260/year, so I’m ahead cost-wise after 18 months. And I get to do the swap myself without the hassle of booking it into a shop.
Used alloys are plentiful, often cheaper than new steelies, and I’ve never had an issue with damage. Since I run my winters for 5-6 months, it sure beats having to look at ugly steel wheels for half the year.
Rocking the car to get out of deep snow was an everyday driving skill, especially if you were too rushed or lazy to shovel the driveway, or venturing onto less well-plowed side streets. 🙂
I’m also reminded of how much noisier cars were on the highway (inside and out) when snow tires went on in the fall. When summer tires went back on in the spring, it was like being in a limo by comparison.
Next best to studded tires were the open cleat self-clearing tread with walnut shells imbedded in the rubber. With weight, they’d bite hard enough to tear an engine off its mounts before they’d slip. LoL
In Canada (and probably northern U.S. states) it was a factory option to get two winter tires mounted on rims in lieu of a standard spare tire.
Usually they were referred to as ‘ground grips’.
On my (previously) eponymous username namesake, I had winter tires mounted only on the back, following in my dad’s tradition. I’ve had too many close calls risking it all winter with all seasons, and now always run 4 winters from Nov-April.
There is barely enough resolution and detail in the photo to identify it as a 1958 Meteor Niagara. Though its (NOT “it’s,” Stupid Spellcheck!) grill should identify it as a Meteor and not a 1958 Ford, I can’t quite make out enough to be sure. But the Meteor Niagara had its identifying badge above the grill in script, while the corresponding lower line Fords had block letters F O R D; Fairlanes had “Fairlane” in script.
1958 Ford Custom 300
Oops, didn’t attach the 1958 Ford…
AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!
Still didn’t attach. It is a Wikipedia image, anyway. Go to:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/1958_Ford_Custom_300_%2817139079451%29.jpg
The resolution was too high. It must be up against the size limits for this site.
It looks like a 1958 Meteor Niagara 300 to me. Note that the little trim/ornament pieces on the top of the front fenders that are on the 58 Ford Custom 300, but not on Meteor Niagara 300. The car in the photo does not have this trim/ornament pieces. It also it looks like the car in the photo has the Meteor script on the front.
I think I see the Meteor script too.
Those “gold ball in a circle” Gunsight Front Fender Ornaments were optional on the Custom 300. Some Custom 300s didn’t have them. Love the ad copy describing these little doohickeys:
Thanks, I didn’t realize these were optional on the Custom 300. I don’t think they were available on the ’58 Meteors though. At least none are shown in the brochures. Beautiful ’58 you own, BTW.
Now I know what to look for (thanks, y’all) I think I see the Meteor script on the front, too. Very tough to pick out, but it looks much more like the script than the “F O R D” individual letters. So unless someone will find some detail to the contrary, I think it’s a ’58 Meteor Niagara 300.
All I can think about, looking at that picture, is how much that house would cost today. $3 million? $ 5 million?
The side spear design marks it as a Ford I think – Meteor’s side trim was different. Pics of the two on Google seem pretty conclusive.
PS – Is that the beginning of rust on the door sills? On a 3 year old car? It’s quite possible. My memory is that generally after 6 years in eastern Canada most car bodies were shot. The good old days…weren’t. 🙂
I was wondering if the “eyebrows” hadn’t been replaced already? Didn’t take long for the fender tops to rot off in salt country.
Mmmm…I donno about that. Here’s a ’58 Ford Custom 300, and here’s a ’58 Meteor Niagara 300, both four-doors (or “fordors”). Looks like the same bodyside trim to me.
You’re right. When I googled the two, the Meteors that came up all had a different side trim – and I was expecting that to be the case since trim was really the only difference between the two. Moral – don’t allow preconceptions to substitute for compete data. 🙂
PPS – I’ll take back my ‘Ford’ decision. Seems there were Meteors with that side trim .
When I worked in my dad’s Ontario gas station (early 70’s) even then it wasn’t uncommon to see a three year old car with rust and by five they either had had bodywork or were on the trade in lot.
Dad had a 70 Cadillac and by the time it hit the wreckers in 1985 it had been redone twice and the bodyshop told Dad to let it go because there wasn’t enough metal left in the old girl to do a third time.
We used to see those occasionally in Seattle when I was growing up. I remember seeing one at age seven or eight and wondering what it was.
One thing caught my attention immediately in the picture, the chunky tread on the snow tire.
Pretty serious tread I’ll bet, allowing the owner to travel on any deep snow covered surface.
I was brought home from the hospital in a twin, black, 58 Ford Custom 300. From what I read in the Standard Catalog, the standard side trim did not include the thicker, filled in spear that runs from the back to the middle of the front door; it appears to have been a single chrome strip
Our neighbor’s ’59 Ford was seriously rusted by the time it reached 5 years old in Massachusetts, so I’d believe the rust you see on a 3-year old.
My dad liked studded snows, though they were scary in the rain.
I remember when they became illegal in Wisconsin, except on emergency vehicles. My dad was sitting out in front of the garage, plucking the studs out with pliers.
Definitely go with the spare set of wheels for the winter tires. Tires will be rotated twice a year. I always mark what position the tire came off so I know where it goes next. A extra set of new wheels aren’t that expensive or as others have said get some from the salvage yard. I started back in about 1990. Bought a Honda Civic sedan, tires wore like iron bot had absolutely no traction on ice or snow. Also so many of the newer cars come wide summer tires so those are candidates for dropping 1 or 2 inches to get a narrower tire. My Fusion came with 225/45-18 tires, I put 205/60-16 tires on it. The 16’s were about $60-70 dollars a piece cheaper than the 18’s, almost covered the cost of the wheels I bought.
Now that we’ve indeed confirmed that the car is a Meteor, let’s get back off-topic onto snow tires. Now that most cars have pricey tire pressure sensors, doesn’t that jack up the price of a second set of rims?
I ignore that. My Promaster calls fo 80psi, which is fine if you’re hauling the maximum 4,000lbs of cargo, but makes for a harsh ride if you’re only hauling some 750 lbs, like I am. I lowered the pressure to 62 psi, and it rides sooo much nicer. And I ignore the little orange symbol on the dash. A little piece of black tape works well too.
It does, and tire shops by us will not install a 2nd set of wheels without the sensors if the car originally had them. For legal reasons. Aftermarket sensors can be less expensive.
Here’s a sharpened and color-enhanced version of the original photo. The “Meteor” script is a little more distinct. Still can’t make out quite enough to identify by the grill, though.
Nicknamed the Ford Goldflsash in New Zealand due to the side trim there used to be quite a few around but like all 50s cars getting rarer except for fresh impofrts we got our new Fords ex Canada so the wheel covers are normal as is everything else. 58 Ford Custom 300.
Did anyone else spot the ’61 Biscayne in the driveway? ;o)
There might’ve been a comment about it in the post itself. ;·)
Facepalm! Didn’t see it. Oops. ;o)
What I notice is that both the 1958 Meteor Niagara and that 1961 Chevrolet are the same colour!