If you ask April Raines, when she laid eyes on a yellow and white 1957 Ford Custom, it was love at first sight. She had big ideas, but her father Randy wanted to keep it simple.
“This build was a labor of love” – Randy Raines
Of course anyone who knows women, knows that a girl gets what she wants. Fortunately for Randy that is exactly what happened.
April wanted blues and purples with all the glimmer and shine. Her dad, Randy, wanted to keep things simple.
The ’57 was sent to their friend Kyle to get a nice buff on the white and yellow. Kyle called Randy to give him the bad news. The paint was no good, there was spider webbing with every attempt. Aprils wishes were about to come true and she told Kyle her ideas. Like any good father, he wanted to make his daughter’s dreams come true so he simply ran with it.
To compliment this paint job, the drivetrain needs to be equally impressive. The last thing anyone wants is a car that is all show and no go. This ’57 has a 302 Ford engine with a C4 hung behind it and a bulletproof Ford nine-inch rear end. Add a drop spindle front and complete with a front disk brake conversion and you have the total package.
The suspension, however, was a bit tougher to conquer. When trying to install bags Randy and April found that this was a first Chevy iteration of this chassis. The seats set between the frame rails and the frame is a bit of an odd shape.
“It S’s over the rear end,” Randy stated, “this made it almost like doing major surgery just to put bags in it.”
Giving a classic and flush look is always a plus. They accomplished this with this project by dropping the bumpers an inch to an inch and a quarter on the front and rear and shaving off the push guards.
Tail lights are from Mooneyes but the housings are shortened as well as the front housings (1 to 1-1/2- inches) to keep from giving into the “bug eye” look that the ’57 Fords commonly have.
While they stayed away from the chopped top design they did go with the sleek and smooth look by shaving the doors and trunk. Randy finished this project with a Glory grill front end, 15×7 Supreme Wheels, and American Classic 26-1/4 inch tires.
“This build was a labor of love,” remarked Randy about this six month build. “I just wanted to build something for my daughter.” Mission accomplished.