Our Family 1957 Ford Station Wagon
A car with a full history

 
summer 1975

 
This wagon has been in the family since new.  Bought new by my parents - my mother was the driving force behind it.  I was there during some of her negotiations with the salesman but sure don't remember what transpired other than she did the ordering as my Dad was out of town for business.  About the color - my mother always loved green and wanted a color that didn't show too much dirt - so green it is - "Cumberland Green" according to Ford. Back in the 50's $20 made a difference in price so this car did not get two-toned thus only the single chrome piece down the sides.  Four door Country Sedan.with radio and heater.  C engine code so it has the 292.  She did opt for the overdrive transmission which is really fun to drive.  Column shift, 3-speed.  Small hubcaps.
Purchased in October 1956 and I still have the original dealer's invoice.  This was a customer ordered car and built at the San Jose Ford plant.  We were living in Sunnyvale, California at the time so not far from the plant.

My parents drove it for about 8 years and then bought a 65 Ford wagon, again with 3 speed overdrive and by then I was out of high school.  I learned to drive in the 57 and it became my transportation to college.

I remember the car passing it's first 100,000 miles on some family vacation but no longer remember where that was - possibly up to Canada in the early 60's as we traveled that direction several times.  In 1966, I married and my parents gave us the car as a wedding present.  It had 150,000 on it by then.  That following summer, we had the engine rebuilt so it now has a different base block but is still a 292.    We drove it all over the west for the next 10 years and racked up another 150,000 miles on it.

July 9, 1971
Then bought a Pinto station wagon for family use and sidelined the 57.  It still saw occasional use for another 10 years and then it was passed on to my youngest sister.  We had about 350,000 miles on it by then.  She used it for awhile and then let George's brother use it for almost a year.  By then the suspension was worn out and it's sat ever since.  She finally had her husband trailer it back to our old home and there it sits.  The engine still runs fine and will start up with no problem.  Someday we plan to restore it.  It has over 400000 miles on it now and still has the engine that was put in it in 1967.

It's been a good old car.  .  The one trip it's never made is back to the east coast.

a line of dots
Thank You! for visiting my pages.

© 1998-2001 Photos & Graphics by A Line of Dot's






Last update:
Nov 6, 2001