1957 Ford Custom ‘F’ Code

By Jay Hirsch

In 1957 Ford had three carburetor fuel-induction systems for their OHV 312 cid/5.1 liter engine. In addition to the standard 4-bbls, there was a double 4-bbls (signified by the code “E”) and the rare 4-bbls with a Paxton McCulloch supercharger on the 312 V-8, known as the “F” engine and putting out 300 hp. Thunderbirds were available with the supercharged engine, as well as the standard Ford. 

Ford and Chevrolet were battling each other on the NASCAR circuit, and the head of Ford at the time, Robert McNamara, wanted to counter Chevy with their famed 283 V-8 and thought a supercharged 312 V-8 was the answer.

According to NASCAR rules at the time, there had be 100 cars produced for “homologation,” for the public and or the racing circuit.

The car body used for NASCAR was the base Ford Tudor. It was the lightest Ford, and for racing no add-on options were needed — just a bare bones car with a three-speed, column-mounted manual transmission and seat belts. 

In 1965, then-teenager Richard saw an ad…

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