Vehicle Description
1958 Ford Ranch Wagon
When we talk about 1950's automobiles we tend to look at the
coolest looking vehicles. Much of this is probably the fact that
1950's designs were quite different from anything before them. The
story of the tail fins with the latter 1950's models is a good
example. Ford Motor has a long background in the station wagon
market. The first was the 1929 Ford Wagon. The first wagon that
Ford built that was totally in-house was a 1937 model. These were
wood trimmed mostly commercial vehicles. By the 1950's Ford
reverted to the all steel body for their wagons, the last with any
real wood ended in 1952. In the late 1950s, Ford Motor Company
completely restyled its lineup to compete with the offerings from
General Motors. For the 1957 and 1958 model year Ford Motor also
offered the Del Rio Ranch Wagon. Buyers of the Del Rio wagon had
the option of a two tone paint scheme, four way power seats and a
better quality interior. The Del Rio also had the two piece
tailgate which was utilized on all Ford wagons. The Del Rio was a
sports wagon but was discontinued after 1958 with only a bit over
12,000 units sold.
If variety is the spice of life then this car could be put into the
category as hot, with a pinch of sweetness. For consignment, a 1958
version of the Ford Ranch Wagon, with a handsome two tone paint
job, a basic entry level wagon with some extra spice added in the
form of a small swoop spear accenting the rear fenders. As for
fins, we are in the tasteful era, and not yet out of control from
the designer's pens. An older cosmetic restoration still looking
great today and an upgraded drivetrain make this former sunny
California built and resident vehicle a great runner and
driver.
Exterior
New for '58 dual headlights on either side with an upper
overhanging visor flanks a smiling chrome trimmed grille with a
chrome mesh backer with the obligatory big bumper below with a
central dress up bumper guard, you are now in 1958 and looking very
cool. Colonial White painted hood, fenders, door tops, and glass
surrounds blend nicely with the Silverstone Blue roof and lower
body panels. A reverse Z swoop spear is highlighting the fins and
delineates the two tones on the body as well as adding a wonderful
highlight to the overall look. On the back, the rear quarters have
some nice fins with large chrome bezel tail and reverse lights.
These frame the dual opening, (glass up, gate down), tailgate with
the Ford crest on the gate release. The bottom roll panel is
painted more of the Silverstone Blue and hanging below is a wide,
large and in-charge bumper with dual exhaust peeking out just in
front of the wrap-around sides. Chrome is all good and the Ranch
Wagon in your grandmother's script gives some extra wow to the
already eye-catching fins. Gaps are well minded and the body panels
are straight, but we do note some rust bubbling coming through on
the lower body panels along with some evidence of body filler on
the rockers. Keeping this 50's cruiser on the ground are black 15"
steel wheels with Ford dog dish caps wrapped in medium width
whitewall rubber.
Interior
Within all that greenhouse glass is a mixture of dark blue, medium
blue and light blue all in stitched vinyl with some chrome dress up
for the delineation strip, window cranks and actuators. The door
panels appear as nearly new and have a charming SIlverstone Blue
metal sill up top for just a bit of extra color. Inside, a split
back bench for the front and a full bench for the rear, all wrapped
with pale blue vinyl bolsters and blue woven cloth and vinyl
inserts with pale blue piping. The material on the seats is looking
just fine. Fronting all this seating is the original dash, all
steel and all Silverstone Blue with the gracefully curved
instrument and speedo eyebrow showing the clean and well-preserved
white face gauges within, various controls, the original AM radio,
clock, and various knobs and pulls. Just below, blue carpeting is
lapping at the seats and thresholds and covers the front and rear
passenger compartment. The dash is a wraparound style just like the
windshield above, and the headliner is a nice and tight blue
broadcloth. Moving to the rear, we note plenty of room to haul your
goods and sundries and if extra room is needed the rear seat can
easily be folded down.
Drivetrain
A lift of the forward hinged clamshell hood and what to our
wondering eyes does appear but a Thunderbird 312ci V8. This has a
4-barrel carburetor atop, and it's covered by the correct air
cleaner assembly in white. Nice Thunderbird emblazoned valve covers
can be seen, and the engine bay overall has a light patina. On the
back is a 3-speed manual transmission with overdrive which pushes
power back to the rear axle which is a Ford 9-inch with 3.89
gears.
Undercarriage
Some light surface rust on the usual suspects and some invasive
rust for the passenger's inner panel behind the rear wheel but
otherwise we note strong steel for the frame with an application of
undercoating that is somewhat unevenly applied but everything is
still very sound structurally. The original floor pans are on this
car and rockers underneath are rust free. Independent coil springs
for the front suspension and drum brakes for the front wheels, and
on the back are leaf springs with more drum brakes. A dual exhaust
is now on, and while surface rusted in areas, remains in good
condition.
Drive-Ability
This Thunderbird engine fired right up, and we flew off to the
Classic Auto Mall test track. Here it performed swimmingly with
nice acceleration, and smooth column shifting. Cornering was just a
bit lumbering but remember we are in 1958 and in a fairly large car
so it was as expected. Braking was bias free and strong with not
too much foot input required. At the time of my drive all was
functioning properly and I even had my cohort take a lap around so
I could sit in the "way back" and wave at my many fans.
A nice example of rarely seen 1958 Ford automobilia: some visored
headlights, a swoop spear in two tone, wrap around glass, and
snazzy interior could have been pulled out of the local drive in.
An upgrade to the 312ci Thunderbird V8 and an overdrive
transmission and there could be a lot of cruising in your future
running around impressing the chicks.
A8RR130421
A-223ci Inline 6 Cylinder
8-1958
R-San Jose, CA Assy Plant
R-2 Door Ranch Wagon
130421-Sequential Unit Number
WARRANTY TAG
BODY 59A-2 Door Ranch Wagon
COLOR TE2-Silverstone Blue, Colonial White
TRIM U-Unknown
DATE 27A-January 27th Build
TRANS 1-3 Speed Manual
AXLE 4-Ford 9" 3.89 Conventional
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 600 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia
on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is
www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914.
Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the
vehicle in person.
