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Welcome to SpeedMaven.com. This site is the online garage for my `57 Ford Custom. I will periodically post updates on the car's construction, photos, resources for hard to find parts, and other snippets of information. This site will also be referred to in the `57 Fords International monthly newsletter, in the section entitled In The Shop, made for the buildup of this Custom.

This Custom will be a street car like my last one, but with a twist: Boost, and lots of it. Stroker `57 Ford was powered by a naturally aspirated 427 inch Windsor. The Evil Twin will be much different . . .

This `57 was an ebay find. I was actually looking for another Maverick to buy to make a race car for me and my sons. I came across this `57, and my wife almost immediately started telling me to buy it. She knew that selling my last one was the hardest thing I ever had to do, and she actually cried when it left. Anyway, this is the start of a new adventure, this car being much, much better condition than the first three. My last car actually came home in 3 truck loads, and needed about the lower 4 inches of the body replaced. I had to put floors, rockers, quarters, trans tunnel, everything in it. This `57 has good floors, good cowl, and most of the body damage is parking lot rash. See the Articles section for more details on the condition of this Ford.

The second owner was in the process of building it into a racecar back in the 70's. He had started making a tilt front end out of the OEM steel fenders. Since this stuff is all rigged up and looks like crap, it is getting thrown into the dumpster and all original panels being returned to their proper place. One good thing is that they didn't screw up the cherry, rust free radiator support.
I will continue the original plan of making a fast car, though a very streetable one. This car will have stock, flat hood, though made of lightweight fiberglass. My choice of powerplant will be the most surprising to anyone who knows me.

The tentative plan called for a 351 Cleveland with two Airesearch T04 turbos, set at 12 lbs of boost for starters. After that, I started thinking about big blocks, including 460 and FE with a set of twins. That finally brought me full circle to what my `57 came with. It originally was powered by a 272 and three speed manual. I have bought a 292, a set of B9TE heads ( same as factory supercharged heads),and steel crank. I will probably use a PA C4 with this one, to handle the stress of being force fed 16 psi from the twin Garrett T04B's.

I bought a complete `78 Granada to grab the front brakes and engine and transmission from. It has a 302 and C4 automatic. I am using the brakes for the front of the `57, which will give about a 2 inch drop along with adding the modern brakes. The 302 and automatic are being built for the Maverick that I recently gave to my boys. None of them are old enough to drive yet, but it will get them interested in going to the track with me. They already love it. I figure this is better than a junior dragster, where they get a ride without really working for it. This way they will learn to build, maintain, and later, when they are old enough, to drive it. Only then can they really say it is theirs. Of course, I will end up buying about 2 or 3 more of these neat little cars.

This is the last `57 I owned. This was the day before we loaded it up to take to Hot Rod weekend at the Gulfport Dragstrip. This `57 had the stroker 351 W, 427 inches, with TFS HiPorts, custom headers, solid roller cam, and PA C4 with 4800 stall convertor. With 10 inch slicks, on pump gas, through the mufflers, it went 11.31 at 120, best of 123 mph, best 60 ft of 1.61. It never hooked, slicks were about shot, but it went fast for a 3600 lb boat, and drove like a new car. This one will be better, faster, quicker, and all around meaner looking, and yes, it will also be screaming Yellow.

Page Updated April 22, 2008