1957 Ford Custom 300 - Dj Vu

At almost any point in time we realize the hot rod we have is in some way a reflection of our earliest ride. For Bob Burdorff of Benton, Kansas, his first car was a 1958 Ford Custom 300 and it is the car that rekindles the memories he relives when driving his current ride: a '57 Ford Custom 300.

This wheat-fed Ford was recycled through a farm auction, then cycled its way through the hands of several local rodders before Bob was able to begin its 2 1/2 year build. With the helping hands and watchful eyes of Keith Bright of Bright Built Hot Rods in Salina, Kansas, the body and paintwork as well as assembly of the '57 began to take shape. Others who helped in the process are Kraig Kerner of Black Widow Garage (Wellington, KS) who was instrumental in the installation of the engine and trans, while Jim Burdette (Wichita, KS) assembled the rearend.

The chassis is based on the original FoMoCo 'rails (sandblasted and repainted) wrapped around a 3.70 geared Ford 9-inch rearend narrowed 4 inches. From here Air Ride Technologies (Jasper, IN) is used in back with Koni shocks and Caddy disc brakes. A pair of Pete & Jake's (Peculiar, MO) ladder bars and Panhard bar were also used; interestingly the ladder bars are tunneled up into the body to conceal their side visibility and enhance suspension geometry. In front the Air Ride system continues-this time in conjunction with a pair of Fatman 3-inch dropped spindles, and a much heavier front sway bar was included. Added to this combo are Koni shocks, Granada disc brakes and Cavalier power rack-and-pinion that utilizes Borgeson linkage via the stock steering column sporting a cut-down stock wheel. The disc brakes are operated through a Kugel Komponents (La Habra, CA) pedal assembly and an under-dash-hidden power master cylinder setup. Holding the Custom 300 above the asphalt and at the corners are Foose Monterey 17x7 and 17x8 wheels with Hancock rubber.

This '57 never moved as quickly as it does today via a 345hp Ford Racing Performance Parts 302ci small-block topped with GT-40 aluminum heads, an Edelbrock (Torrance, CA) Air Gap intake, and a 600cfm four-barrel dressed with a Billet Specialties (Le Grange, IL) air cleaner. Another Edelbrock component is the aluminum water pump, while twin electric fans work well with the custom aluminum radiator keeping temps in line. Other engine items include an MSD (El Paso, TX) ignition system with a 6AL box, Taylor wires, Hedman Hedders (Whittier, CA), Flowmaster (Santa Rosa, CA) exhaust and mufflers (21/2-inch pipe throughout), and a Street & Performance (Mena, AR) serpentine belt system. The AOD tranny and converter comes by way of Chance Transmission (Wichita, KS) and fitted with a Gennie Shifter (Denver, CO) gear selector and a Power Drive Inc. (Wichita, KS) driveshaft.

One of the secrets to any great looking hot rod lies in the subtleness of the body mods.

This two-door post Ford features headlight buckets shortened 11/2 inches, resulting from the front fenders being rolled down the same amount. And, yes, the lights are frenched. Additional body mods include being nosed and decked, shaved door handles with remote control doors and decklid, the windshield drip molding removed and replaced with a 3/8-inch eyebrow, custom external mirrors and grille, smoothed front and rear bumpers (with the rear narrowed), side chrome modified and lowered, and a smoothed firewall and inner fender panels. The crowning art of this bodywork are the frenched '57 T-bird taillights. Over the sheetmetal Bright Built sprayed the modified Prowler Orange above the beltline while the lower portion was sprayed with DuPont silver.

Inside the dash sports a Haneline (Anaheim, CA) insert with VDO gauges. Other notable interior appointments include the JVC stereo (hidden antenna), Vintage Air (San Antonio, TX) HVAC system, loads of Dynamat (Hamilton, OH), and wiring from Haywire (Joplin, MO) aptly handled by Bright Built.

The interior is comprised of power T-bird seating stitched in fawn leather (aircraft quality), as are the door panels, with rust colored wool carpet stitched by Sam Wright (Baldwin, KS). Seatbelts are Juliano's (Vernon, CT).

All of us are enjoying our hot rods more today than at any time but it is hard to pass up those good old memories-and why should we? Those were fun times.