Acquired 1957 Thunderbird

[nzkiwi]

I just purchased a 1957 Ford Thunderbird in The H code color "gunmetal Gray." The car also has the 3 speed manual with overdrive. I have read that the H code color was only produced after April 1957 and less then 10% of the cars had the 3 speed manual with overdrive. Can anyone confirm this. I just thought this was very interesting.
Dan

[fordrodsteven]

I copied this from an old "Parts Depot" parts digest manual that I have. (It was published back in the 1970's) Sorry. For some reason it came out upside down.

[nzkiwi]

Thanks. Very informative. It appears my car is fairly rare according to the sheet.

[tnswt12]

Welcome and congratulations too for your 57 Thunderbird ownership!

You did not specify what engine code your newly acquired 57 is and that can have bearing on the percent figure. For example, the more rarer configuration when it comes to the transmission for the E-Code version is the 3 speed manual without the overdrive option.

According to the man with the data, Tom Stocks, he reported these numbers for the 1957 Thunderbird to me earlier this year when I inquired:

> E-Code: 197 produced with 3 speed;
> E-Code: 275 produced with 3 speed with overdrive;
> E-Code: 1027 produced with Ford-O-Matic;
> D-Code: 625 produced with 3 speed with overdrive (3%, not 4% per the article uploaded, of course the discrepancy is not note worthy);
> C-Code: 1295 produced, all with 3 speed, no other option available (no breakdown provided regarding the overdrive option).

Continuing and according to Gil Baumgartner, Ford did not offer the factory 3 speed with overdrive transmission for the F-Code version because the supercharged model's engine torque proved to be too much for the transmission to handle; the overdrive unit was however, available as a dealer installed option. As one knows, the F-Code was a synonym for racing.

In closing, from the uploaded file regarding the 8V engine, the article states 11% of the engines were of this status, the E-Code; however, it is documented that approximately 1499 E-Codes were produced from a total production of 21380, not 2352 as the article states. With that mentioned, the uploaded article may be flawed. Even today 1499 is a kicked-around number. The 1957 E-Code Thunderbird has been subjected to its share of cloning so those in the market to buy this automobile should be well informed.

[nzkiwi]

I have the D code Thunderbird(D7FH283054, 40HXH06E23), 312 with single 4 bbl carb. Really appreciate all the feedback.

Dan

[robingudgel]

I have a Bronze E-Code 3 speed stick. No overdrive. It is a real basket case at the moment, but the plan is to restore it to concourse level. This must be a fairly rare version also?

[Firstandtenth]

Mine is a Raven Black E-code with 3-speed manual. Purchased in 2017 from original owner. My plan is to keep it as original as possible. I'm guessing that less than half of the original 197 still exist.

Congrats on getting the 57.