Don't forget the movie Grand Prix starring James Garner and appearances made by many race car drivers. A car load of us from High School went to a theater that was  set up to show it in Cinerama. It was a long movie and we stayed busy looking right and left watching the races and the sound followed the cars around the room. Only movie I ever saw set up like that. I think it was 1966.

I'll have to chime in with Gaga:  Fore sure the best '57 car in the day and this one beautifully built to perfection. I love how that 57 turned out even though I would have kept the Y-block.  A good Thanks Giving day to all.....................


64F100 57FAIRLANE500

I saw Gran Prix at one of the first theaters with the semi reclining seats. Loved the black start up screen then the engine sound. We were in the second row center with wrap around screen. In the rain racing scenes I kept pulling my right foot up trying to lift off the gas! Very realistic for the time.

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

I thought the engine in the shoebox Ford was an early Olds with tri power. Had studs sticking through the valve covers but I didn't think it was a Y Block. I stop and rewind that scene every time I watch it and still am not sure.

It's very hard to tell.  Being a 49 Ford, you may be right.  The engine definitely has tri power.  My favorite scene is at the dance where the man says "You can hear him coming by the sound of his pipes."   Whenever that movie would run at the local drive in, the movie lot would be full of wannabe moon shine runners.

All my friends drove 55-57 Fords.  You could buy a decent one for $100-$200.  They were our first hot rods.  We would swap engines using a big oak tree in my parents back yard.  My Dad tolerated this because he knew where we were.  At night we would all gather at the local Pizza joint.  It was exactly like the movie American Graffiti. Whenever I look at my YBlock, I remember those nights.  I also remember the times I had to work to get my car running so I could go to work the next day.  We didn't have much money back then, but we did it all ourselves. 

Thanks for the info, Phil. To me the only other engine 'allowed' in a '55-57 is an FE...No small blocks! Nice car!
You and I are the same age with similar experiences. Although I had a few GM drivers in my group. One friend dropped a 427 in his '55 Ford 2 door. He had to use '58 exhaust manifolds to clear the steering box, very restrictive but it was still a pretty fast car! Is that what you did? 
There was a scene in Thunder Road that showed that '57 Fairlane 500 (2 door post?) with the hood up and it had a normal stock V8 air cleaner...you'd think any successful 'shine runner would have ordered an E or F code engine! The director should have left the hood down. It is a great film, but those six cylinder engine sounds in some scenes almost ruin it for me!  Maybe I'm being to critical? Hasn't anybody else noticed that?

 

"FREE SAMPLE"

Small blocks are great engines. For some reason, they just don't seem right in a 57 Ford.  I hate seeing them in an early TBird.   If you compare a Y-Block with an FE you will see many similarities.  The Y-Block was a great engine in it's day. The FE was better. When I grew up in the sixties, 406s and 427s were in everything from 54 Fords to Mustangs. All the cool guys had them.   I saw many 427 cars back then.  Toward the end, I built a stroker 427 side oiler out of NOS parts and ran it in a 66 Fairlane drag car that I drove on the street.  Here's some old pics below.  This car was a beast.  It wasted many scrubrolets.

Cast 390 exhaust manifolds are too restrictive.  I always tried to use stock 406/427 cast iron Hipo exhaust manifolds.  They wouldn't fit in a 57 Ford as the tubes came out right in front of the cross member.  My 57 Ford had tube headers.

Lord Ggaga,  as a kid I walked out of the theater in the day wondering how Hollywood could have gotten the sound effects so wrong in that movie. Everyone thought I was, well, too picky. Saw a rerun once or twice but never gave it another thought until now.         Also, that '66 Fairlane is outstanding,  like, really like the attention to brand detail.


64F100 57FAIRLANE500

To tell you the truth, I didn't notice the sound.  Those old movies with the painted backgrounds were not very realistic.  "White Lightning" was a much better moon shine running movie.   Bert's 1971 Galaxie was cool. 

Even though I was driving old Detroit iron, I was pretty interested in Formula One, and the sports car racing in those days. Especially in Grand Prix where actual drivers had cameo appearances it struck me in later years how many died racing. Same with Rush, and Ford vs Ferrari, where they mentioned by name only. Those were very dangerous years in all kinds of racing.

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ