All About The Base

Steve Blewitt’s 1958 Ford is a rare base model Custom 300 − it was a chance buy that turned out to be a really nice, original car.

- Mike Renaut

Base models – the cheapest and lowest specification vehicle available – don’t tend to get much love. They're plentiful, often abused and thrown away while more glamorous, expensive versions are coveted. So it’s great to see one that’s survived – this 1958 Ford Custom 300. The year 1957 was an exciting time for Ford; they launched their new Ranchero pick-up and Skyliner hardtop convertible. By rights, 1958 should have been more of the same, yet a massive recession saw auto sales down across the board. Chrysler and Ford lost money for the first nine months of the year – Ford losing more than $28 million in their third quarter alone.

Experts were predicting the era of the big car was over since sales of small cars were on the rise – 78,225 Volkswagens, 21,175 Fiats and 33,425 English Fords found buyers in America in 1958. General Motors stayed in the black for the entire year, although due to problems behind the scenes what had been intended to be their 1957 Chevrolet was now introduced as an all-new ’58, with a brand new Impala performance model. It was a tough act to compete with, especially since Ford were using a warmed-over 1957 body.

Like virtually every other American manufacturer, Ford’s 1958 cars had newly legalised quad headlights which replaced their bug-eyed ’57. Lighting was greatly improved since the inner headlamps were now high-beams focusing much further down the road. They enhanced the appearance of the cars too. A new wide grille and simulated air scoop in the centre of the bonnet were other notable changes, along with a sculpted boot lid which dropped down beneath new wide tail-lights; the inner ones now being part of the boot lid. The roof now had seven styling lines running front to back and there was new styling trim on the sides.