The grass is always greener on the other side...of the driveway, but I guess that depends on what you're looking for. I'm sure you've seen the breathtaking red '57 Ford "F-157" elsewhere in this issue as well as on the cover, but did you notice its comparative counterpart? Gary Coe initially bought this well-worn green '57 F-100 for the wrap-around front windshield and some hard-to-find stainless moldings for his other truck, which was undergoing major surgery at Steve's Auto Restorations (SAR) in Portland, Oregon.
SAR was able to save the original moldings from the under-construction F-157, so the road-worthy, $1,000 donor truck was spared its life. It eventually got a turn in Steve's shop, but for work on the other end of the spectrum than what the F-157 received.
To better illustrate SAR's immense yet subtle work, Gary decided to show both trucks side-by-side so onlookers could scope things out for themselves--great idea. Said donor truck was driven home with a Cadillac 500-cubic-inch monster between its fenders that ran well, so it was spared retirement even though Gary is a dyed-in-the-wool Blue Oval kinda guy. Gary is also an ex-drag racer, and a stock truck just wasn't gonna cut it, even though the F-157 would be the main focus. The crew at SAR got down and dirty and yanked the I-beam in favor of a Fat Man IFS subframe complete with a power rack-and-pinion setup to better move the massive Caddy's weight around while maintaining a ground-scraping posture--which it does well! The Mustang II stub is also home to upgraded disc brakes that counteract the go-motion from all that iron.
Gary wanted to run some red steel wheels and small hubcaps, but couldn't find any whitewalls to wrap around the proposed 17-inch hoops. All was not lost--in good taste Gary went for the often overlooked (one of my favorites) 17-inch American Racing "as-cast" CL200S, a modern rendition of the classic Daisy mags. In another good move, a '66 Fairlane 9-inch was hung underneath in place of the not-so-good early stocker.
There's not much to report here as far as body and paint goes, except that what you see is what you get, and pretty much how Gary found it besides a few squirts from the old rattle can and the door lettering. The little shortbed did, however, acquire an N.O.S. tailgate that was originally slated for the F-157, but since SAR wound up making a completely custom 'gate for the red truck, old green got the hand-me-down.
Gary is quite the enterprising fella and operates a few towing businesses, as well as an all-Honda wrecking yard--hence the lettering on the doors--and before you write any nasty letters, the guy needs to make a living. Having the wrecked "furrin" cars around did help him get the '57 back on the road--they donated a set of bucket seats and a stereo to the cause.
The sight of these two brothers from different worlds together causes such a stir that Gary could probably charge admission or award a prize for anyone who can pick out all the differences between the two trucks that rolled off the assembly line at the same time. Maybe we should include a worksheet for our sharp-eyed readers...