{"id":111245,"date":"2024-02-09T06:00:26","date_gmt":"2024-02-09T12:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=111245"},"modified":"2024-02-26T14:05:15","modified_gmt":"2024-02-26T20:05:15","slug":"1957-thunderbird-with-a-302-ci-v8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=111245","title":{"rendered":"1957 Thunderbird with a Small-Block V8"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"1957<\/a><\/p>\n

Cool Hand Customs<\/a> took in this 1957 Thunderbird for a complete makeover. After many hours of work the restored classic was unveiled at SEMA 2023 in the KBS Coatings booth. <\/p>\n

\"1957<\/a><\/p>\n

\"1957<\/a><\/p>\n

\"1957<\/a><\/p>\n

Cool Hand Customs started the project by removing the red paint to reveal the previous “repairs”. The company installed new lower quarter panels from a 1963 Fairlane. They also removed the fender skirts and extended the passenger area by 4.5 inches. They even rebuilt the spare tire well into a toolbox. The body was covered in KBS Coatings “Lithium Blue” paint. Cool Hand Customs invested 1000+ hours in the bodywork and paint. <\/p>\n

\"1957<\/a><\/p>\n

\"1957<\/a><\/p>\n

\"1957<\/a><\/p>\n

\"1957<\/a><\/p>\n

The freshly painted body sits on a Regal Roadsters’ steel chassis. It features a Mustang II front suspension and four-link rear suspension. Each corner has a QA1 Pro coilover and Classic Performance disc brakes. Covering those are a set of tan painted US Wheel 17×7-inch wheels. <\/p>\n

\"1957<\/a><\/p>\n

\"1957<\/a><\/p>\n

\"1957<\/a><\/p>\n

The car came from the factory with a 312 ci Y-block V8 and Ford-O-Matic three-speed automatic transmission. Cool Hand Customs swapped those for a small-block Ford V8 and AOD four-speed automatic transmission. The new motor produces 365 hp and 370 lb-ft of torque. Out back is a 9-inch rear end loaded with a Detroit TrueTrac limited-slip differential and 3.73 gears. <\/p>\n

\"1957<\/a><\/p>\n

\"1957<\/a><\/p>\n

On the inside Cool Hand Customs installed a set of 1967 Mustang bucket seats covered in Saddle Brown and Palomino vinyl from Distinctive Industries. A Classic Performance American Retro steering wheel mounts on a Ididit steering column. Cool Hand Customs built a custom dash similar to a 1961-1963 Thunderbird filled with New Vintage USA Woodward Series gauges. You can view the project’s progress in the FB build album<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"1957<\/a><\/p>\n

\"1957<\/a><\/p>\n

Source: Cool Hand Customs FB page<\/a> and Summit Racing<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cool Hand Customs took in this 1957 Thunderbird for a complete makeover. After many hours of work the restored classic was unveiled at SEMA 2023 in the KBS Coatings booth. Cool Hand Customs started the project by removing the red paint to reveal the previous “repairs”. The company installed new lower quarter panels from a… Read More »1957 Thunderbird with a Small-Block V8<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":111301,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"off","neve_meta_content_width":70,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[191],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-thunderbird"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/1957-Thunderbird-with-a-small-block-V8-01.jpg?fit=2048%2C1536&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":50785,"url":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=50785","url_meta":{"origin":111245,"position":0},"title":"Building a 1957 Thunderbird with a Coyote V8","author":"swaptastic","date":"January 9, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"V8 Speed & Resto Shop is building this 1957 Ford Thunderbird for a lucky customer at their company in Red Bud, Illinois. The project starts with a custom chassis featuring adjustable coilovers, upgraded sway bars, and Wilwood disc brakes. They are installing a 5.0 L Coyote V8 producing 430 horsepower\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Thunderbird"","block_context":{"text":"Thunderbird","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?cat=191"},"img":{"alt_text":"1957 Thunderbird with a Coyote V8","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/1957-Thunderbird-with-a-Coyote-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/1957-Thunderbird-with-a-Coyote-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/1957-Thunderbird-with-a-Coyote-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/1957-Thunderbird-with-a-Coyote-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/1957-Thunderbird-with-a-Coyote-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":83152,"url":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=83152","url_meta":{"origin":111245,"position":1},"title":"1957 Thunderbird with a 5.0 L Coyote V8","author":"swaptastic","date":"March 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The owner of this 1957 Ford Thunderbird convertible wanted it in remembrance of their Father. They loved the classic looks but not the performance. So it went to V8 Speed & Resto in Red Bud, Illinois for more power and modern handling. V8 Speed & Resto determined the car needed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Thunderbird"","block_context":{"text":"Thunderbird","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?cat=191"},"img":{"alt_text":"1957 Thunderbird convertible built by V8 Speed & Resto with a 5.0 L Coyote V8","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/1957-Thunderbird-convertible-with-a-5.0-L-Coyote-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/1957-Thunderbird-convertible-with-a-5.0-L-Coyote-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/1957-Thunderbird-convertible-with-a-5.0-L-Coyote-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/1957-Thunderbird-convertible-with-a-5.0-L-Coyote-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/1957-Thunderbird-convertible-with-a-5.0-L-Coyote-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3959,"url":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=3959","url_meta":{"origin":111245,"position":2},"title":"1957 Ford Thunderbird with a Pontiac V8","author":"swaptastic","date":"July 3, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Hemmings posted an ad for a very nice 1957 Ford Thunderbird with a 389 ci Pontiac V8. The car's story starts with a drag racer in the 1950s wanted this Thunderbird to be faster than anything else on the street. So they went to Bill Frick Motors to preform the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Thunderbird"","block_context":{"text":"Thunderbird","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?cat=191"},"img":{"alt_text":"1957 Ford Thunderbird with a classic Pontiac V8","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/1957-Ford-Thunderbird-with-a-classic-Pontiac-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C899&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/1957-Ford-Thunderbird-with-a-classic-Pontiac-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C899&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/1957-Ford-Thunderbird-with-a-classic-Pontiac-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C899&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/1957-Ford-Thunderbird-with-a-classic-Pontiac-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C899&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/1957-Ford-Thunderbird-with-a-classic-Pontiac-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C899&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":53026,"url":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=53026","url_meta":{"origin":111245,"position":3},"title":"1955 Thunderbird with a Coyote V8","author":"swaptastic","date":"March 4, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This 1955 Thunderbird was built by Brand New Muscle Car in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The convertible rides on an Art Morrison chassis with Wilwood disc brakes and Foose 19-inch wheels. Under the hood sits a 5.0 L Coyote V8 mated to a 6R80 six-speed automatic transmission and Strange 9-inch rear end.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Thunderbird"","block_context":{"text":"Thunderbird","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?cat=191"},"img":{"alt_text":"1955 Thunderbird with a Coyote V8","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/1955-Thunderbird-with-a-Coyote-V8-01.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/1955-Thunderbird-with-a-Coyote-V8-01.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/1955-Thunderbird-with-a-Coyote-V8-01.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/1955-Thunderbird-with-a-Coyote-V8-01.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35817,"url":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=35817","url_meta":{"origin":111245,"position":4},"title":"1962 Thunderbird with a LS1 V8","author":"swaptastic","date":"February 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"This 1962 Ford Thunderbird is for sale in Oregon City, Oregon with a current bid of $4,050 and reserve not met. Under the hood sits a 5.7 L LS1 V8 and 4L60E automatic transmission from a 2002 Pontiac Firebird. The factory ECU was reflashed to match new gears and remove\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Thunderbird"","block_context":{"text":"Thunderbird","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?cat=191"},"img":{"alt_text":"1962 Thunderbird with a LS1 V8","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/1962-Thunderbird-with-a-LS1-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/1962-Thunderbird-with-a-LS1-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/1962-Thunderbird-with-a-LS1-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/1962-Thunderbird-with-a-LS1-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/1962-Thunderbird-with-a-LS1-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":95368,"url":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=95368","url_meta":{"origin":111245,"position":5},"title":"Custom FWD 1955 Thunderbird with a Supercharged 3.8 L V6","author":"swaptastic","date":"January 30, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This unique 1955 Thunderbird called \"Ultrabird\" was built using a 1999 Buick Park Avenue chassis and powertrain. This means under the hood sits a supercharged 3.8 L L67 V6 (3800 Series II) making around 240 hp (179 kW) and 280 lb-ft (380 Nm) of torque. Power is sent to the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Thunderbird"","block_context":{"text":"Thunderbird","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?cat=191"},"img":{"alt_text":"Custom FWD 1955 Thunderbird with a Supercharged 3.8 L 3800 V6","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Custom-FWD-1955-Thunderbird-with-a-Supercharged-3.8-L-3800-V6-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Custom-FWD-1955-Thunderbird-with-a-Supercharged-3.8-L-3800-V6-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Custom-FWD-1955-Thunderbird-with-a-Supercharged-3.8-L-3800-V6-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Custom-FWD-1955-Thunderbird-with-a-Supercharged-3.8-L-3800-V6-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Custom-FWD-1955-Thunderbird-with-a-Supercharged-3.8-L-3800-V6-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=111245"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112127,"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111245\/revisions\/112127"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/111301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=111245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=111245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=111245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}