[Chrysler300] 1957 Ford Fairlane / 1970 Coronet / and my 300F

["MARK HOPKINS m.hopkins@xxxxxxx [Chrysler300]" <Chrysler300-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

In 1970, I was selling shoes in a department store for $2.00/hour, and curbing cars to pay university tuition, which was a whopping $444.50/year at the time. I picked up a'57 Ford Fairlane convertible (soft top) with the 292, automatic; navy blue with red interior and white top, for $350 from a family that had owned it since new. It had traveled about 45,000 miles in 13 years, and was still in excellent condition. Sold it for $450, and thought I'd done well. Saw one like it go for $40,000 a couple of years ago at a local auction............

There's a Mopar connection here. That family replaced the '57 Ford with a new Coronet convertible, with the 440 and automatic. Their son was a high school friend, who unbeknownst to his dad, took it out on a quiet paved road outside the city to show me what it could do. He could smoke the glass belted tires for 200 yards. I don't know what diff it had, but it flew. My dad's sedate '68 New Yorker sure didn't move out like that Coronet. Made me a Mopar follower from that day forward. Now that would be the car to own today!  

Mark (in snow covered COLD Calgary)

PS - The local newspaper ran an article on my 300F last week. A few misquotes, but basically a nice writeup.  

http://driving.ca/chrysler/300/local-content/calgary/calgary-car-collector-finds-classic-1960-chrysler-300f 

(don't look too closely at the a/c compressor in the engine pic. I really will get around to installing the correct replacement in the spring. That's the broken '60 compressor with a '68 pulley/clutch assembly in the pic.......only the car's front view and the interior pics ran in the print version.)




----- Original Message -----
From: "William Huff czbill@xxxxxxxxxx [Chrysler300]" <Chrysler300-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Monday, January 12, 2015 3:15:59 PM
Subject: Re: [Chrysler300] Fwd: Moonshiner's 1957 Ford Fairlane is one  of a kind | Fox News

  




We had a '57 Ford Ranch Wagon, 6 cylinder three 
on the tree, picked it up new in NY 
city. Started a road trip from NY to West by 
gosh Texas and then back. Mom, Dad and 3 of us rug rats. 

Half way down the Penn Turnpike the engine let 
go. Towed and the dealer diagnosed they had put 
the head gasket in reversed at the factory and 
blocked an oil gallery to the lifters. 3-4 days 
for replacement parts. Dad said no way, put it 
back together. Off we went, and then back 
again. We lived in Panama, and when the car got 
back to Panama we went to the dealer, who was a 
schoolmate of my father's. He said choose your 
motor from any car on the showroom. We'll get a 
replacement engine for that car. 

Dad picked a 292 and they bolted it in. With the 
six cylinder transmission and rear end ratio, 
that car had acceleration for the day. Regularly 
kicked butt on 283 power pack Chevies. They were 
faster, but not quicker in the 
quarter. Unfortunately, by 1959 when I was 
thinking I might inherit the car when I got my 
license, the engine and tranny were the only 
things not pretty much rusted to pieces. Dad 
worked on the piers...salt air don't ya know. 

Bill Huff 

>SNIP: 
> 
>By the way , I had a 57 Ford, about 1960. Total 
>pig of a car, Police  Interceptor 312 a pig, 
>burned oil, leaked out of bad design valve 
>covers, then rockers went dry, kit added to add 
>a copper line to oil the rockers outside engine, 
>slow, got pounded by 265 55 chev 2 bbl. Â ; 
>early holley 4 bbl carb a total dog, needle 
>seats distorted, adjustment changed nothing. . 
>Vacuum wipers , they stop wiping at half 
>throttle. Had to slam door, it bounced back at 
>you violently half the time . Or popped open. 
>Was police special , brown plain 2 dr. Bought 
>from mass state police via dealer supplying new 
>police Fords. 125$ about 1960. 57 312 had no 
>advance springs, so no centrifugal advance; two 
>stage vacuum advance, had to put a Mallory to 
>get ANYWHERE. Still a pig. Studebakers beat me. 





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Posted by: MARK HOPKINS <m.hopkins@xxxxxxx>
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