What do you guys think of this 1?

[Jason Arata]

56, 71k original miles (according to the seller) No AC, looks clean. Not sure about the interior. The VIN # is C56E2891

Thoughts?

[Shelly Harris]

My quick observtions:

Looks like nice original. Remember every car has something wrong unless its 100 pts concours.
of course the hubcaps on the car are not original, those are in trunk--- good
No Star on front hood.
Is that rust in front of the driver door?
Steering wheel covered? Why is it cracked, badly faded or what?
What's the heat tube on the exhaust manifold?
Velor seat inserts -- not sure on originality.

Never buy a car sight unseen.... drive it.

What's the asking price?

[Barry Wolk]

Yes, velour is wrong. Was never offered. Power steering pump and battery are wrong, too.

Looks like a nice driver, though.

Welcome to the site.

Best advice is to buy the very best example you can find. Don't jump at the first one that comes your way.

[Jason Arata]

The power steering pump is from the 57' the owner says it's a better version. THe Driver side was damaged in shipping. This car is from canada, there has been a a little rust and a bondo job. Seller is asking 18k. Seems like a pretty good deal, for the condition, if all i have to do is paint it, add the star, change battery, replace steering wheel

Thoughts on the price?

[Dave Harris]

They should have some undercarriage shots.

I noticed one is coming up at Mecum May 19-23, 2010.

http://www.mecum.com/auctions/lot_detail.cfm?LOT_ID=SC0510-90789

[Barry Wolk]

The Mechum car is a '56, not a '57 as listed. It has the round air cleaner and the 140mph speedo. '57 had a 120mph speedo and the cut-back air cleaner.

[Shawn Newcomb]

Are there open holes for bumper guards on the front of the blue one?

[Barry Wolk]

Yes, it's missing it's upper and lower guards.

[Jason Arata]

You guys are good, would have never noticed all of these things. Hows the price 18k? How much would I have to dump into this puppy?

[Barry Wolk]

Ever seen the movie, "The Money Pit"? Rent it before you buy a Mark II.

IMO, you're better off spending $35-$50,000 on a really nice car and driving it rather than spending $20K on a restoration project that cost $50-$75K to do. Do the latter and you'll spend a lot of time looking at it sit inside someone's restoration shop.

[depmike38]

If my eyes aren't deceiving me the detail line running down the right side stops before reaching the rear of the quarter panel while the left side goes all the way back, could have had a flattened out quarter panel. The detail line is also off where it goes from the right door to the front fender. Also you should absolutely see this car before you buy it(or any car for that matter) or pay an inspector if you can't see it personally to verify its' condition. I have a personal friend who against all manner of advice bought two collector cars basically sight unseen relying on the seller being honest about their condition and both cars are nightmares. You can hide a lot of nastiness with a couple hundred bucks worth of bondo and some paint.

[Shelly Harris]

No interior lights under the engine hood.
The price can only be commented on if you have seen it and driven it as you have no idea as how it runs, handles, shifts, etc.

[Don Henschel]

Are my eyes deceiving me? That is a 120 speedo is it not?
depmike38 you have a good eye. The detail line is approx. 2.5 inches from the end on mine and that right side is flattened out. As for the seats notice the corners of the back of the seats-there are seams and not a continous hide. "You can hide a lot of nastiness with a couple hundred bucks worth of bondo and some paint".
Everybody was scared of mine because it looked like it was packed full of bondo. It had waves etc. and sounded funny when tapped. It made me nervouse as well but i took a chance. We stripped it down revealing a rust free body with crappy splash jobs over dents in the past and the so called bondo was factory lead fill. I was lucky! A nice silver metal body after the paint was stripped. This one has some rust showing and rust never sleeps.

[depmike38]

Don,years ago we stripped down a Ford wagon that was so wavy down the sides it looked like someone had pancaked both sides on a tree or guardrail the length of the car. it was dark navy in color which is about as bad as black for showing imperfections. The owner being adamant about re-doing it we stripped it down and discovered by actual "layer" count that it had been painted nine times without stripping it. The first six or seven times in single stage enamel and the last couple times in base/clear. That was a bare minimum of 20 layers:eek: as every time it was painted it was re-primed. Once it was stripped to metal it was almost unblemished. My own personal rule of thumb is that I'll re-paint over factory paint if it's not cracking or peeling and will consider a second time over my own paint since I know how it was prepped, painted, and then finished off. Any more and the paint becomes too thick and besides looking wavy sometimes wants to peel.

[Barry Wolk]

Are my eyes deceiving me? That is a 120 speedo is it not?


Good eye. Only '57 speedos are supposed to be 120mph.

[Don Henschel]

3418+ only for 120 MPH? Mine is very late 56 with a 140

[Barry Wolk]

Might have been dealer replaced with whatever was on hand. The fitment is the same. Looks like new gauges. That must have been a few bucks. Mine are starting to look old.

[linc64]

Would the fact that it was an export have anything to do with the speedo?
One thing I don't like about the car is that both bumpers don't line up with the body very well. It could be difficult to get them to look right if the car has been in an accident or two.

[Barry Wolk]

I'm sure the speedo was simply a replacement since the 120 mph speedo didn't exist until late '56.