By Chuck Vranas – Photography By the Author
There’s nothing finer than flicking on the lights in the shop and bringing a classic black-and-white movie to life on the screen while working on your hot rod. Its soundtrack echoing in the background helps transport you back to a simpler time when high-octane was king and factory V-8s ruled the streets with just the right amount of swagger. With his latest build, Jeff Norwell of Mildmay, Ontario, Canada, artfully blends a subtleness laced with attitude into the 1957 Ford Custom Tudor sedan laid out across our pages. With a nod to the classic Robert Mitchum film Thunder Road, it’s easy to see the hopped-up moonshiner influences built into the car’s presence. It’s especially evident when you peel away the layers, looking into what makes it so cool.
In the world of well-executed sleepers, big power in an unassuming sedan always gets the job done when it’s time to surprise the competition. In his own words, Jeff tells us that it’s all about the look, stance, and power in making it a complete package in a place where basic black steelies and dog dish caps set the tone. The car is a true exercise in subtleness to create an inconspicuous monster in a plain wrapper. Having owned several iconic early Fords, including a hammered and channeled Hemi-powered Deuce pickup and supercharged Deuce five-window, it was time for a change into a world where basic looks could fool most of the viewers with its near-stock aura.
Choosing the 1957 Ford as a platform checked off several boxes, starting with it being one of the first influences leading him down a performance path when his uncle would visit in a two-tone Fairlane complete with a rumbling Ford Y-block and dual exhaust. That, combined with iconic styling that set the automotive world ablaze when it debuted, made it so successful it became the best-selling American car, overtaking rival Chevrolet for the first time since 1935. Ford advertising touted its exclusive new contoured frame design, giving the model a fresh low-slung stance matched to a longer redesigned sculpted body and available high-compression V-8 power, giving it an edge in styling and performance. At nearly 17 feet long with a 106-inch wheelbase, the custom was the basic meat and potatoes version of the model, with the Fairlane series growing in length with a 108-inch wheelbase.
Turning back time to when hot rod pals in local car clubs worked nights and weekends spinning wrenches together to build neat cars, Jeff wanted to work with fellow Infidels Car Club members to set the pace on a fresh build. Without wasting time, he began a search for a suitable base, leading him to Iowa to purchase a decent-running 1957 Ford custom packing a 460ci Ford mill linked to a C6 automatic. Once the car was home, it was driven for a season while parts were gathered for the transformation. The idea was to create a perfect era-correct sleeper mimicking the rarely seen Business sedan (only 6,888 produced) featuring a special rear-seat delete.
The body was separated from the chassis to get started, with the base being disassembled and the frame blasted clean. After inspection, it was determined to be rock solid, with the only update being a slight notch to accept the addition of factory shorty-style headers later. From there, it was coated in chassis black and prepped for reassembly. Out back, the original Ford 9-inch rear was refreshed and packed with 3.50:1 gears, spinning 28-spline forged axles. To get the correct stance, the original four-leaf rear springs were tossed in favor of a set of fresh six-leaf Police-Special springs from McVeigh Truck Springs and 1956 Ford heavy-duty shocks with longer overall length from Dennis Carpenter. The factory IFS was rebuilt for crisp handling, including a set of factory heavy-duty 1-inch dropped coil springs from Eaton Detroit Spring and tube shocks from Dennis Carpenter combined with a heavy-duty 1-1/8-inch sway bar from Southwest T-Bird Parts. When it comes time to tame the beast, a Mustang dual master moves fluid through Ni-Cop lines to Ford drum brakes fore and aft. In keeping with the sleeper theme, 1956 Ford 15×5.5 steel wheels wear Firestone/Coker Deluxe Champion bias-ply blackwall tires sized 7.10×15 at each corner. A set of 1957 Ford dog dish caps is the perfect icing to tie it together.
Nothing shames a challenger better than a big-inch FE V-8. To hit the go pedal, Jeff started with a 1966 Mercury 428ci Police Interceptor (PI-code) needing a full rebuild. The late John Osbourne of Northern Performance in Burlington massaged the block to perfection in preparation for Don Palmer of Georgina, Ontario, Canada, to balance and begin assembly. Deep inside, a cast-iron crank links to forged steel rods topped by Sealed Power cast-aluminum pistons generating 10.5:1 compression getting bumped by a stock solid lifter cam. Up top, a set of reworked iron heads generate plenty of power. At the same time, a rare factory aluminum three-deuce intake breathes deep through a set of factory Ford Holley carbs by Terry Redmond with a custom linkage by Rob Purcell, both club members. A factory dual-point distributor lights the fire while exhaust tears through a set of original Ford 406ci shorty headers to a custom 2-1/2-inch steel exhaust complete with scavenger pipes, Xlerator mufflers, and Hooker electronic cutouts, all by R&S Custom Exhaust of Palmerston. Real hot rods have three pedals, so the goods move through a custom-mounted 1967 Ford Top Loader wide-ratio four-speed, packing a McLeod clutch and pressure plate, all by Redmond. A driveshaft by Marvin Freiburger & Sons of Walkerton plants the 400 hp.
Originally built at Ford’s production facility in Dallas, the years of abuse took its toll on the vintage steel, making it obvious that it was time for an entire strip down to determine where attention was needed to bring it back to life. Purcell identified all the weak points and started the rebirth with freshly struck panels from EMS Automotive, including lower quarter-panels, lower fenders and doors, inner and outer rockers, and fabricating custom dogleg replacement panels. Wanting to give the car a signature look, Jeff had Purcell add a fully functional 1957 Ford Thunderbird air scoop to complete the transformation. To bring it to the next level, club member Tom Bedo and his team at Bodymotive Services in Arthur, Ontario, Canada, completely metal-finished the body while setting all the gaps to perfection. Bedo then laid down the dramatic coating of PPG Midnight Black vibe.
When it came time to address the business office, it was a matter of maintaining simplicity with a twist. The factory dash was restored with its original instruments complemented by underdash dials from Sunpro and Stewart-Warner, accented by a Bosch tachometer. The original Custom steering wheel carves a course through a stock 1958 Ford column to a matching steering box with shifts clicking through a Hurst Competition-Plus Shifter. To kill the chill on cold days, a dealer-installed aftermarket heater does the trick, while an EZ Wiring kit installed by Jeff and Redmond brings it all to life. To keep with the base theme of the car, Jesse Richardson Upholstery of Listowel, Ontario, Canada, recovered the factory bench with N.O.S. 1957 Ford Custom material from SMS Auto Fabrics and all related panels, installing the headliner and rubber floor coverings. The final twist of the build was to recreate the rare rear seat delete where no reproduction parts can be found. Jeff made the trip to Massachusetts to meet with good friend Jay Arrow, who just so happens to own an original restored Business sedan. Jeff was able to create templates to hand off to Purcell to work on his fabrication magic and recreate the tray area, which was complemented by the basic side panels crafted by Jeff. The completed car has a truly unique presence, blending factory high performance with an edge of simplicity, making it the ultimate 1950s-era hot rod sleeper waiting to take on anyone who dares.
Check out this story in our digital edition here.
