Dad's '57 T-Bird

[PaxtonShelby]

Hi gang,

Here are some photos of Dad's '57 T-Bird that is back from the restoration shop, patiently waiting for me to get busy re-doing the interior and installing the exterior trim. Dad bought this car when I was in junior high school - early 1980s, and I have lots of memories of driving it all over the place, and always honking the horn as I passed by Dad's business - Carnot Beer Distributor in Moon Twp. Looking back, it was really cool of him to let me cruise around in his toy all those times. My wife and I drove in the Bird on our wedding day 14+ years ago, along with 3 other white convertibles that carried the rest of the wedding party. Now the car is Starmist Blue, and will have an all-white interior and top. Since the photos, we have cleaned the trunk interior, applied undercoating to the inside of the quarters as done by the factory, and painted the trunk floor to match the body color. Soon it will have new wide-whitewall radials riding on Kelsey Hayes wire wheels.

If I could take a month off of work I could get these projects done...too bad that's not an option...

[SV1000s]

Love the color combo. I assume the car has a 292? I would love an "F" code 57 T-Bird (supercharegd 312)...unfortunately I don't have Bill Gates yearly salary....yet

Your family has some really impressive cars! Your children are priviledged to grow up around some beautiful classic cars that they too can appreciate one day...Very Nice!

[One Sweet Day]

I agree that colors look great! Have fun!

[mineralrob]

Cool

[coralcoupe1993]

Love the color combo. I assume the car has a 292? I would love an "F" code 57 T-Bird (supercharegd 312)...unfortunately I don't have Bill Gates yearly salary....yet

Your family has some really impressive cars! Your children are priviledged to grow up around some beautiful classic cars that they too can appreciate one day...Very Nice!

312.

[6987stangs]

NICE T-BIRD

[PaxtonShelby]

312.

All the '57 Birds had the 312. Gotta love the rumble of a Y-block motor!! The D-codes were a 312 4-barrell, the E-codes were a 312 with dual 4's, and the F-codes were the super-rare factory supercharged 312.

Thanks SV1000 - Dad has always had something neat to drive. I'm very happy to say that the cars he has now are by far the nicest of the bunch he has ever had. He also has a '63 R2 4-speed Avanti ( gold with Dayton wire wheels ) that a few of you have seen. That baby is SO fun to drive!!! And the '57 Bird, to me, is off the charts when it comes to the cool and classy factor. I can't wait to take the first ride when the spring weather breaks!!

And thanks to the rest of you for the nice words. I appreciate any car that has been well cared-for, whether it is heavily modified or completely stock, and I feel very lucky that Dad and I have been able to get our hands on ( or build from scratch in the case of my green Mustang ) a few relatively cool rides.

Now that the pumpkin pie is finally gone, I'm looking forward to spending some time in the garage over the weekend - lots to do!!!

[coralcoupe1993]

All the '57 Birds had the 312. Gotta love the rumble of a Y-block motor!! The D-codes were a 312 4-barrell, the E-codes were a 312 with dual 4's, and the F-codes were the super-rare factory supercharged 312.

Thanks SV1000 - Dad has always had something neat to drive. I'm very happy to say that the cars he has now are by far the nicest of the bunch he has ever had. He also has a '63 R2 4-speed Avanti ( gold with Dayton wire wheels ) that a few of you have seen. That baby is SO fun to drive!!! And the '57 Bird, to me, is off the charts when it comes to the cool and classy factor. I can't wait to take the first ride when the spring weather breaks!!

And thanks to the rest of you for the nice words. I appreciate any car that has been well cared-for, whether it is heavily modified or completely stock, and I feel very lucky that Dad and I have been able to get our hands on ( or build from scratch in the case of my green Mustang ) a few relatively cool rides.

Now that the pumpkin pie is finally gone, I'm looking forward to spending some time in the garage over the weekend - lots to do!!!

Very cool! I really like y-blocks. We have a warmed up 312 sitting on the stand. I was going to put it in my 60 but the 292 in that is still running good! Im sure that high compression 312 with 2.02 intake valves would sound great going through the flowmasters though!

I am the same way with the old rides. When I was in high school, I was driving my 66 bigblock Galaxie or a 54 Ford Customline. My dad always hooked it up. While we couldn’t afford a car payment outside of his work truck we were always able to put together an old Ford to drive!

Our family car from 1983-1997 was a red and white 59 Fairlane. Junk yard special. That car was hit in the rear and totaled.