Car of the Week: 1958 Ford Custom 300

[dodgechargerfan]

It was the summer of 1979, and the 14-year-old Dave Owens figured he'd now ol' Harry Burns grass, make a couple of bucks like he always did and then move on to the next lawn. "I mowed a lot of grass when I was a kid. You know, with just push mower. In a small town like Surry, N.D., sometimes it was about the only thing I could find to do."

Burns was one of his regular customers. Part of the routine involved the old man moving his beat-up 1958 Ford out of the way for Owens to cut the grass underneath it. Only this time, Burns didn't get any money for mowing the lawn - he got the Ford instead.

"I didn't even have a driver's license then. I thought, wow, I got a car," Owens recalls. "And it did run, so Dad drove it home."

Thirty-five years later, Owens still has that yellow-and-black 1958 Ford Custom 300 sedan, and he's more attached to it than ever. It was his first car, and he's never had the heart to part with it.

Read more.

 

[69.5CUDA]

o.0..never thought one of my years would come up....especiely with these girls being a 1 year only body...its the reason i fell in love with mine..

finding body parts is a nightmare..since ive owned it(92/93) ive seen a total of 5 or with my own eyes..1 a parts car i bought 3 in 1 wrecker pretty well useless..1 in another wrecker of which i basicly got every scrap of parts i could off of it including my 312 and od 3 on the tree and 1 i chased down in the 90s to the tune of finding out thatthe driver i was chasing was the original owner her hubby bought it for her new..the others ive seen sitting on side streets at houses

 

[restoman]

Uhhhhmmmmm...

No, thank you.

 

[Not A Duster]

Uhhhhmmmmm...

No, thank you.

I agree.

Some cars just never adapted well to the dual headlight thing... 58 and 59 Fords are a perfect example of that in my opinion. Ford never really got it right until the mid '60s IMO.

I guess the 55 Fords OK - and the '57 Fairlane 500 was my dad's hotrod back when I was a really young kid. But really, the only Ford I like the looks of enough to desire owning is a 66 Fairlane.

.

 

[69.5CUDA]

lose the crosshair in the grill and it transforms the whole face

 

[MoparNutt]

Other than the windshield, and maybe the roof line, nothing about that car appeals to me whatsoever.

 

[Fishy]

That two-tone paint also kills the looks. The one 69 has is all black and looks great! I'm not just saying that because he lets me drive it either!

 

[Dr.Jass]

To each his own, I suppose... there's a yard owner about 30 miles from here that's fanatical about 'em. He's kept every one that's ever come in the door. He's got to have 5-7 complete cars, and God only knows how many parts he's stockpiled over the decades. And no, he's not willing to come off so much as a valve-stem cap for one of 'em, either.

 

[69.5CUDA]

doesnt help they didnt take a single flattering shot of it either..and the 4drs always screwed up the lines

 

[restoman]

Yeah, none of the pics are very good.

The dual headlights and the upper fenders are really the only things I like about the car... nothing else about it flows evenly. It's a bunch of different lines and contours, coming together in a muddled-up mess.

 

[Dr.Jass]

Weird... that's the first time I've ever had to flip through to see pictures. Normally they're just interspersed with the article for me. :hmmm:

I was always confused by Ford's obsession with plain-looking (and ugly) large round taillamps back then. Now I see why they kept going with 'em... that may be the ugliest tail end of a car I've ever seen.

 

[J.C. Corbett]

The 58 Ford is a love it or hate it design, nothing else. Neat fact, the 58 hood makes a nice ram air hood with the ornament removed, and it looks nice on a 57. Though I like the 57 better, I don't mind the 58 front end of the Ranchero. I think it may be because from the rear, it looks 57.:huh:

 

[69.5CUDA]

indeed remove the plastic insert of the hood emblem and youve got a wicked lil ram air

one thing useualy not noticed on the 58's was the bead rolled roof lines..one of the extra cues i flat love

 

[restoman]

Weird... that's the first time I've ever had to flip through to see pictures. Normally they're just interspersed with the article for me. :hmmm:

I was always confused by Ford's obsession with plain-looking (and ugly) large round taillamps back then. Now I see why they kept going with 'em... that may be the ugliest tail end of a car I've ever seen.

I thought the only pic in the article was the front 3/4 view... there are more?

 

[Not A Duster]

The 58 Ford is a love it or hate it design, nothing else.

Hate it.

Pretty much the same for any Ford. Not brand loyalty so much as I'm just repulsed by the styling of most of them, with very few exceptions.... Like the original Broncos - those looked cool, as did the 66 Fairlane, the 60's boat - anchor Galaxies and a couple Torinos. Everything else just looked like Ass IMO....still do if you look at Ford's current offerings. Mercury just took already ugly designs and tacked on even uglier grills and tail-lights.

 

[68R/T]

There was a time that I "preferred" the 58 ford over the 57's. By "preferred" meaning less "dislike"

When all the new models came out in '57 I was somewhat intrigued by the retractable fords, but I went gaga over the 57 Fury, in either all black or white with the aluminum insert on the quarter. Then in '58 the new Impala just about blew me away. I still think that they are high on the list of most beautiful cars ever built. Mechanically, they're junk, but gawd do they look nice.

 

[Dr.Jass]

All 1956-'58 Furies were off-white (a really light beige). There was no other color available, and no exception has ever been found.

Restoman, click on the picture and it opens up a new page with links at the lower corners where you can flip back and forth through various pictures to take in the nastiness from nearly every angle.

 

[68R/T]

All 1956-'58 Furies were off-white (a really light beige). There was no other color available, and no exception has ever been found.

Fury....Belvy....meh....they all look alike. :toot:

 

[Not A Duster]

Fury....Belvy....meh....they all look alike. :toot:

Uh huh and the Savoy - Trim levels mostly. There's a 57 Savoy laying on it's belly at wifey's family farm. It's what her dad used to use for delivering...um special....um...liquid supplies....

 

[restoman]

Restoman, click on the picture and it opens up a new page with links at the lower corners where you can flip back and forth through various pictures to take in the nastiness from nearly every angle.

Thanks.
Yep, just as I thought... still ugly.