Thundrolet With Attitude: 1957 Ford Thunderbird
Oh boy, this one’s going to get some knickers in a twist! Ford’s Baby Bird, ’55-’57, is as iconic a model as Dearborn ever produced. But what happens when one gets cross-pollinated by those boys from the RenCen? Wailing and gnashing of teeth? Exasperation? Quiet disgust? Or just resignation as to how things sometimes go in the car collector biz? Well, hold on, take a deep breath, especially if you’re a Ford fan, and let’s examine this 1957 Thunderbird. It’s located in Bristol, Connecticut and is available, here on eBay for a current bid of $8,700 with the reserve not yet met.
The first-gen Ford Thunderbird checked out after the 1957 model year and was arguably the best of its three-year run. As far as domestics go, Ford really got the drop on the competition with their stoic flathead V8 engine, first introduced in 1932. Some may say that they stuck with it too long but by 1954, they moved on to a more modern OHV V8 – at least in the states. By ’57 Ford’s “Y-block” was up to 312 CI and putting out as much as 270 gross HP while breathing through a pair of four-barrel carburetors. The VIN for this car, however, states it as having been originally powered by a 212 gross HP 292 CI engine – a smaller version of the 312. Well, not anymore, Virginia, someone had the audacity to slide in a Chevrolet 350 CI V8 of unknown provenance. I’ve seen this done thousands of times before on 1930s vintage Fords but never on a first-gen T-Bird.
The first tip-off was the “327” shoe polish scrawl on the fender – and I gathered that it wasn’t an AMC 327 that was being referenced. Of course, it’s no longer accurate so an educated guess says that there was a Chevy 327 CI engine in residence at one time and that has now been replaced with a 350. It’s a very stock-looking engine, fed by a two-barrel carburetor so I’d expect a power output of about 150 net. The seller says that it runs and drives and could use an exhaust system. There’s an automatic transmission in place but which one is undisclosed.
The exterior presents fairly well though the seller mentions some Bondo and the resulting cracks that occur as it ages. The exterior of this ‘Bird has an old-school street-racer look to it, especially with the slotted wheels and oversized rear tires – the decals add to the vibe too. The removable hardtop is said to need a new rear window and there is no folding top so that’s a matter for consideration.
Inside is pretty standard T-Bird fare. It’s in reasonably nice shape and the two-tone vinyl upholstery certainly reflects 1957. The dash pad is looking a bit lumpy, and the armrests are iffy but the carpet looks good – I’d suggest that it has been replaced. There appears to be an aftermarket temperature gauge hung under the dash and the shifter reminds me of one from a mid-70s Camaro. There are some small improvements that would be welcomed but the interior environment is certainly a sound starting point.
I guess what throws me off is going to the trouble to replace a Ford engine with a Chevrolet piece, which has probably been replaced yet again, but then employing such a mundane version of the everywhere 350. So, there are different things that can be done here, leave it as is, hop up the existing engine, or swap it for a Ford piece, either vintage or not, or… I can give this car points for appearance and attitude but should I deduct some for the GM usurper powerplant?
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Comments
Take off the stickers and silly graphics, lower it down from nosebleed altitudes and lose those wheels for something that resembles original. The motor? Keep the hood closed, no ones going to know.
No one will know, until they see the oil stain under the car.
y blocks were known for leaky rear main seals also
They were also known for spinning cam bearings and cutting off oil supply to the rocker arm shafts, necessitating the installation of “overhead oil lines”.
Right on, Dave. And who cares anyway?
Only because of the use of non-detergent oils back then!
Exactly, it had nothing to do with spinning cam bearings, it was caused by sludge restricting the oil passage to the rockers. The problem no longer exists.
Its a 🐀 rat-rod ☠️ now Davey 🙌
Ruined it! Crossbreeding! Keep to your kind!
Was a nice T-Bird till we see the motor…..WHY????????
You don’t take a great car and destroy it with bow tie crap
This car looks a lot better than stock most ford’s back then had their butts dragging the ground trying to imitate a dog.prices on these baby birds a dropped,alot.should tell you something.time to restomod them.very nice to see it happening.you want stock? No problem at all.they are literally everywhere!
The owner was a moron !!!
Agreed!! I mean…really??
The owner isn’t smart enough to be stupid
Maybe a bit harsh, Mike. But aside from that, I cant see why anyone would go through all the trouble and leave it stock and with an anemic 2bbl.
I guess I was a bit harsh..but I feel it’s sacrilegious to replace the original y-block Ford engine with a Chevrolet small block in such an iconic vehicle!
Thanks for your comment!
I couldn’t care less about
Your thoughts on the subject .
t loop
It’s quite possible this build was originally done before these cars were collectible. Chevy engines found their way into virtually everything back in the day, and still do. Regardless, I kind of like it, sort of a blank canvas. Continue with the theme, make it into a gasser. Something different.
I’ve had a gut full of this kind of bullsh$t, and this one takes the cake, this is why I’ve become a hater. There’s a lot more I could say, but profanity isn’t allowed here.
It’s just …a car.
A brilliant point.
DO IT … You.know you wanna.
Butchery.
Butchery? Let’s see your classic, Rick, so we can see how to do something right.
I like the jacked up look and vintage mags but why would anyone put a chevy motor in this car is beyond me, so the first thing ya gotta do is ditch the motor and then the decals and then ya got a nice driver, but that’s just me!
That’s not just you, that’s anybody with half a brain.
You’re really a dick.
Watch it! No personal attacks or I’ll remove your comment, and your access if necessary
JO
That’s Mr. Dick Sir to you. Respect your elders boy. Lol
Leave it as is swap in performance FORD engine/trans. Run it at Antique Nats or just Cars n’ Coffee. They don’t ALL need to be restored! There are many layers of ‘Classic’!
I would replace the powertrain with a Ford V8 (302 4v) and C4 or AOD transmission, clean the “graphics” off and install a nice set of low profile wheels & tires. While your at it fix the bondo work. Bingo! You have a nice little resto-mod to drive to cars & coffee.
Exactly what I’d do; could be a nice T-Bird that would please the Ford fans.
I would imagine the reserve is 10k, it’s at $9999.99. Must of had a friend bid it to a fraction below the reserve, that is if it’s 10k
Why is everyone complaining about the Chevy motor? How many old Fords from 1930’s up to 1941 and later have Chevy engines in them.
Too damn many
AMEN, brother !!!
That was because at the time sbc was the popular motor to come up with. High performance parts were cheap, something about fitment, they were in every junk yard in town, etc. Today it is much different as the 5 liter took over. It’s called “aftermarket” support.
Sorry but that bird died the day the creep put a constantly having every vehicle recalled over lousy engineering techniques! That stands for CHEVROLET
Very thoughtful comment, brother !
Hear hear. We got some real hardheads on today.
Not as many as you’d have wished !
What did this sweet little car do to deserve this treatment?
Got bought, maybe?
This is why some people shouldn’t be allowed to own cars.
You guys are unbelievable. Show us your perfect classics and/or zip it. The owner’s allowed to do what he wants. It’s not fine art!
The Thunderbird is fine art. Sticking a crap engine ruins it.
Too expensive to buy the engine, take the Ford that comes with it.
LOL… there’s a reason for a Chevy engine, more dependable and more power overall. Yblocker says “too damn many” but there must be a reason or there wouldn’t be “too damn many”
And now the fury begins…. LOL
Like poking the bear in the cage. Popcorn time.
Totally disagree with your assessment!
Well first, anyone who is a “genuine” car lover, and loyal to a particular brand, wouldn’t do crap like this, guess I’m in the minority. And Shevy motors are no more dependable or powerful than the rest, but they are cheap, and a dime a dozen. Got an uncontrollable desire for a chevrolet motor? Well put one in a chevrolet where it belongs. If you don’t like Ford motors, why would you bother with a Ford at all? Of course, old Fords are much better looking, maybe that’s the lure. LOL. Anyway, no profanity allowed here, so I’m done for now, at least until some other Judy ruffles my feathers.
We’ll put , brother.
My 312 ran from the time I bought it in 1978 through my ownership which ended on 2003.
I drove it from Binghamton to Ft Lauderdale in 1979.
And from a Honda driver….Lol
Replaced with a Chevy bc its the CHEAP way out. Who in their right mind would do this to a T-Bird??? Disgusting…
Chevy dependable? A Chevy mechanic told me some time ago that if you got 60k out of a timing chain you were lucky.
I would definitely look for another Chevy mechanic. I’ve had many Chevy small blocks and have never had a timing chain fail, let alone at anywhere near 60K.
I like it as it is – nice look overall, also like the attitude and the wheels – I don’t give a s… about what make the motor is – as long as it does what it is supposed to do – run and be reliable –
https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/build-reliable-powerful-ford-y-block/
I asked a true hot rodder why he put a SBC in his vintage 1930s Packard coupe. The answer was simple: If you take a road trip and a 60-70 year old car breaks down where are you going to find parts? Originality is nice but getting home is nicer. I would have been in the crowd crying blasphemy at this swap but after seeing too many vintage cars stranded at a busy intersection or out in the middle of nowhere I would opt for modern power. Swaps are part of automotive history – what if Carroll Shelby had left the anemic 4-banger in his AC roadster? Would you rather have a Sunbeam Alpine or a Tiger?
For this car though what’s really jarring is the choice of color. Reminds me of a 1966 SS396 – classic on the Malibu but not so much on the T-bird. Black would suit this car’s vibe. I happen to like slotted dish mags, but not sticking out past the fenders. And go with blackwalls or whitewalls, not both. You could even leave the fender skirts off for an aggressive look.
But the very first thing I would fix is that ruptured dash pad. The ’57 Thunderbird dash is one of its most endearing features.
Few hotrodders repower classic Packards with Chevy small-blocks.
What Intersections do you frequent?
Uh, few hotrodders drive classic Packards. They’d have to put up with armchair experts like you.
I only mentioned the guy’s comment in the context of engine swaps. I had a lot of respect for his abilities with fabrication. He built a ’30s Ford Coupe from the ground up with a frame he’d made from stainless steel and used C4 Corvette suspension. The body was a reproduction shell that he reworked the fenders to widen them for the track and rubber he wanted. He always had some project going.
On balance I’d say I respect his opinion over some others.
The intersection of Binford & 75th is where I witnessed some poor soul in a 1973 Catalina convertible stalled out in the left turn lane, hood up, searching for whatever it was that broke this time…
Azure Blue was a mid-year addition in 57, this color looks like it. Unless one wants a chevy engine in a bird, better to get an original car with the folding top included. I’ve seen several drivers with 2 tops on the net recently for a little over 20k. It would cost more than 10k to get folding top, rebuilt 312, bodywork & dash done.
Junk.
I have an old magazine and it is full of “how to swap engines” and there are several saps for these cars–Hemis, Olds, Buick and Cady including 427 Fords. I believe this car probably had an engine much more serious than this runner. Sstop whinning and make it a great hot rod once more.
The Laz-Y-Boy crowd prefers whining, apparently.
Reference your earlier snide comment., I’m
hardly the armchair type.been a professional antique and classic auto restored for over 40 years. How extensive is your background ?
What makes this even more irritating, is half of the comments. Speaking of whining, if the tables were turned, it would be a totally different atmosphere here. If this was an almighty 57 chevrolet with a Ford motor, the cry babies would be out in full bloom, and we certainly wouldn’t want that, now would we.
All it needs is the front dropped and a 427 chev motor and round out the rear wheel wells,then it will be what it should have been when it was new
Seriously…???? Ugh.
All it needs is the front dropped and a 427 chev motor and round out the rear wheel wells,then it will be what it should have been when it was new…..post-it already!
All it needs is the front dropped and a 427 chev motor and round out the rear wheel wells,then it will be what it should have been when it was new…..post-it already! Looks like they won’t post it,what the hell?
Been posted three times now, I think you’re covered.
JO
We don’t have any idea when the swap was done, may have very well been 50 year ago or longer. And this is not the first SBC powered Bird I’ve seen. In the early 60’s, my uncle raced a 56 Bird, with a 283 punched to 301, Duntov cam, 3 deuces & side pipes. People over a certain age from the Houston area may remember him, Albert Milner. The 292 from the T Bird ended up in my dad’s 53 Ford couple. Uncle Albert passed away a few years ago but had built another one several years before.
Sounds nice! From a real rodder-
Uncle Albert was John Milner’s cousin? Big John wasn’t too proud to put a Chevy mill in his Deuce Coupe.
Opted for the Man-a-Fre set up.
Funny you should ask that. I was about 9 or 10 years old when American Graffiti came out, & Albert convinced me at the time that John Milner was based on him. Of course when you are 10 years old, you don’t question such things, you just believe in amazement.
Rod:
Someone didn’t like your comment. Really, you should chill out. I’ve had texts, incoming and outgoing, take 18 – 20 hours to arrive. Same thing with posting here, but never more than an hour or two. I think you were just waiting for someone to boil over, and fire back, and, gee, you had to wait a whole 2 minutes. I’m lmao.
The RenCen comment, and cross-pollination…it’s a fitting remark.
The Renaissance Center was organized and partly financed by, Henry Ford II.
And GM moved in.
As to this car: I’m not a big fan of Ford V8s; I like the Baby Birds but I’m not an enthusiast…but this move, just took half the market value out of the thing.
The best thing the current owner could do, is find a proper-vintage Ford engine and put it in. Not numbers-matching, but it would be authentic.
Not this mishmash of parts.
Funny that with all the back n forth with the Chevy 350 in that T-Bird no one commented on what looks to be a ’57 Ford Fairlane parked next to it?? Wonder if they put a Chevy engine in that poor old FORD too?? I dig the old-school Look of that Blue T-Bird with old slot mags…Someone took a car they liked and made it their own…Isn’t THAT what the whole old car Hobby used to be?? Certainly was in my day in the 80s when all the cars Mecum and BJ are selling for BIG BUCKS were just cars that we DROVE and could be purchased for reasonable prices! Those days may be gone forever, but you can still buy WHAT YOU WANT and use WHATEVER parts you choose…We are ALL still Americans and have minds of our own! Remember, opinions are like Keyholes, all makes have one, regardless of what gets them down the road…It’s just a Car someone is trying to sell like it is. If you purchase it, THEN you can do WHATEVER u want to make it yours…
Yackity yack
I like sacrilege.
All this needs is a SBC 400 with two little Carter 4-barrels. Make it stock looking, and paint it all bright Chevy orange. Then fab up a stock chrome T-Bird chrome air cleaner to top the four barrels. Go for the ’60s vibe white painted fenderwell headers and old-school cutouts, then run duals to the rear bumper.
You can tick off anyone you want if you’re fast enough. So you’d have to make this hillbilly rocket plenty fast.
11 large for a rat rod?!? How times have changed
OH, for “crying out loud “, buy it cheap, no more than “around 10k”, do what you want with the cosmetics, and just DRIVE IT! Even every single day if you want to – you have a classic car that is classy looking. No worries. The owner of this car put a 2- barrel 350ci in because it was CHEAPER! The answer is to buy the WHOLE car, cheap enough to just have some fun. With the leftover money, ( if there is any), you can go buy some groceries. Love the article! Thanks!
Most reliable T-bird around.
For all those that like DESTROYING a classic Ford, BUY A VETTE.
Is that what you did?
No port holes? How can a ’57 be a true ’57 without port holes?
Gary. In 57 your could get them top without the portholes.
It’s an old car, it was modified, why does every old car need to be restored to original? Original engine gave out and something else got fitted to the car. Sure another “Y” block might have been easier but. Chevy small block works so well as a drop in in so many old cars and trucks because the oil pan sump is in the rear! The Ford “Y” block is a good motor, not a screamer, but a solid engine. What I am trying say is if it’s your car do as well as please. This is crazy, want to build a Gasser out of this car so be it. It’s not the last one and people please understand that you need to drive them. The days of the ICE are numbered. I am 70 and still like the smell of racing fuel and tear up tires. It’s all about smiles per miles. Whatever you got DRIVE IT!!
I greatly prefer the stock appearance and survivor trend but this does not offend me any more than today’s popular mods (you know, people slamming cars on the ground with giant rims). To each his own.
Remove all the silly looking stuff, Make it look stock and replace the motor with a LS1 345 HP. I Love T-Birds and Corvette’s and have owned many of both.
Oh man … it has potential …personally I would see it done over in ford HP ..the choices are as many as people with opinions. Too old to take on a 3 year build and aggravation in my retirement years, but ideas come to mind , since it was never a Pike`s Peak road hugger a gutsy cruiser is a great role for it .An old fashioned simple build like a nicely done over FE 390 with a properly
EFI by take you pick MSD , a well prepared C 6 feeding a 9 incher ..and you have high triple digit highway white knuckle top end and the torque to vaporize the back doughnuts anytime at all.
Or anything else in between up top a single overhead cam 4.6 and tranny but then the electronics the the fun out of simple .
No doubt many will disagree and choose other options but I like simple and reliable ..and worse comes to worse the trunk can hold all the tools needed to resuscitate from fake death short of putting a rod through the block from which FEs are practically immune , but used to be a bad habit for Chevys 327. All that set aside, personal preferences set the values of these things
if it had a 292 or a 312 …the price would be a lot different than the EBAY bid.
My neighbor friend has a few of these in his shop.some other nice cords too. He’s currently working on his f bird. The super charged model. I like the bird featured here. I’d like to take it on as he has a spare 312 engine with the manual overdrive trans. With it. I believe its a overdrive trans. Correct me if I’m wrong. No time though. I’m still putting my cuda together.
’57 Thunderbird, in my estimation, is the most beautiful Thunderbird that Ford ever made. I’ve owned both Y-blocks and small blocks. Much prefer the small block for reliability and easily attainable power. If I owned this car I might consider restoring it, in which case I would source a Y-block (although the Bondo comment certainly gives me pause about that path). If I wasn’t going to restore it, and assuming the small block is reasonably healthy, I’d throw in a decent cam, intake and carb and just enjoy.
The people crying about a Chevy engine in a Ford wouldn’t have been able to deal with engine swaps in 1940s-50s-60s-70s, and on. It wasn’t exactly sacrilegious then, and it’s not now.
and your point is ???
Gee, I guess we’d replace a Ford flathead with a wheezy Chevy 216.
Spare me !!!
The funny thing is quite a few of the guys running Fox body Mustangs are running Chevy engines… typically LS based.
Perhaps in your drug addled dreams ?
Love it,it makes people whine.
in my book it ‘s an improvement because ford never had a good motor to begin with.I do agree however to lower it back to original height and as far as the wheels go why bother it is after all a ford.
Another Chevrolet moron has checked in !
Yeah, I just consider the source, can’t fix stupid, and it does no good to argue with it.
And you’ve shown clearly who you are.
I dunno, maybe the guy/gal is on disability, had a decent car here, a good motor/trans there, and why not? Certainly wasn’t goin for shows. Budget is foremost in this persons wórld, imo
And maybe cause they can reliably put 150k on it easy with 8psi oil pressure…just sayin
Under the radio/ashtray there is a gauge/device? It looks period correct.
But what is it though?
No idea, never seen that before. ABCDE,1234567, UP, DOWN. WTH?
Hmm, I’m not sure either, can’t see it too good, maybe it’s the a$$ end of that donkey under the hood.
Ah, maybe air ride gauge/adjuster
power seat controller
I dig it!
To answer the OP’s last question, yes. A Chevy engine in a Ford is heresy, as any Chevy enthusiast would loudly proclaim if vice-versa were applied (E.G., a Ford MEL-series Y-block in a Corvette, or Camaro). I know why people do this sort of thing: They think they will save on costs by going with something more common. They usually fail to consider that the cost of conversion will overshadow any savings they hope to have in the future. Heck, if anything I would have preferred to see the contemporary 368-cid Lincoln Y-block fitted in there. True, they all had upper-oiling problems, but later sub-series made them more manageable with fewer external additions needed.
But, anyway…would be interesting to know what the seller’s reserve is. If he has a “Buy-It-Now” option, that ought to tell us.
Pull the 350, drop in a 289/271 solid lifter with a 4 speed and create a real sleeper.
Excellent suggestion…by far, the best small block engine ever.
I think to settle the Ford/Chevy thing, this needs an old ’50’s Hemi in it with a straight axle.
The only way to make a Ford run right is to give it a Heartbeat . .. . .. . ..
And the only way to shut up a monkey is to give it a banana
Well put , brother!
Well,well,…seems like nap time guys, you geezers are gettn grumpy,…I learned a one time ago that opinions of others are just that, Opinion! Which are just like a- holes,…everyone has one and uses it daily,…and I just don’t care about anyone’s opinion unless I ask them for it,…at car shows, some moron will start his rants on why something shouldn’t be done to a car or should be done to a car,…I just look at them mid rant and say, ” you are a very interesting person” ,then immediately turn and walk away. Love the reaction,can’t get enufff!!!….mostly millenial know it alls…..they are the funniest idiots!
Like you said, opinions are like a-holes, and yours is a little late, and just as meaningless had it been on time
Well said, brother!
Amen !
I was actually referring to the comment by Who REALLY cares?????
💩