Depending on when you were born—or even where you live—the term "shooting brake" could have different definitions that is, if you've even heard the phrase to begin with. If you happen to have a larger number of birthdays under your belt, you may conjure up the thought of a 1965 Aston Martin DB5 to apply to that phrase, while others with fewer candles on their cakes might imagine the C7-based Callaway AeroWagen. However, long before any mid 20th century automaker/designer adapted the terminology to what is in essence a sports car fused two-door wagon, a shooting brake was simply a wagon used in the late 1800s to transport hunting parties and their shotguns, ammo, and potential end of the day game—uniquely, they featured just two doors with seats running the length of the vehicle as opposed to transversely. High-end coachbuilders eventually applied the name to their wagon-bodied luxury vehicles just after the turn of the century.

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But exactly how does a shooting brake apply to Bob Florine's 1957 Ford station wagon you might ask? Well, seeing as I was just as curious, according to its builder, Steve Strope of Pure Vision, it's partly due to the highly restyled two-door exterior, but also to the fact that it, too, transports a shotgun—although in this case, just one very potent Boss Nine stroker from Jon Kaase Racing a modern Boss 429 shotgun, as it were. But Strope admits that it wasn't so much the actual shooting brake vehicle that served to inspire the name bestowed upon Bob's sporty grocery getter, rather, the particular type of guns they carried: a shotgun. While predominantly the Springfield M79 grenade launcher (which closely resembles a disproportioned single-barrel shotgun) is nicknamed a "thumper," so too was the original Browning Auto-5, and thus, the Del Rio wears the same name. OK, we all clear on that now?!

From my perspective, however, there's one more applicable attribute that wasn't mentioned. Originally, Ford intended to go head-to-head with GM in the "sport wagon" class in 1957 with their Del Rio, but ultimately failed due to the fact it was simply a dressed-up Ranch Wagon. This may just have been Ford's shooting brake had it looked the part of Bob's sporty two-door. The shotgun under the hood feature would not be an option for another decade, so the 352 FE Interceptor would have to do.

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Hindsight being what it is, 60 years after the fact, Bob and Strope had the opportunity—and the ability—to do what Ford should've done in the first place: create a Del Rio sport wagon worthy of battling the mighty Nomad. And as you can see—or in many cases, cannot—the proportions are spot-on; the lines flow as smoothly as the pen of the artist who originally rendered the project, Steve Stanford; and collectively, the assemblage of non-stock exterior features, some borrowed and some new, totally makes sense. Of course, the stack-injected semi-hemi, the purpose-built and mandrel-bent chassis, the fully optioned yet no-frills-appearing interior, and the flawless exterior execution all lend themselves to that fact as well.

The ride started and ended at Strope's Pure Vision in Simi Valley, California—with Bob enthusiastically copiloting the entire route, which in the interim took the Del Rio eastbound through Pomona for its extensive sheetmetal modifications, bodywork, and paint under Mick Jenkins' navigation, and on through Ontario where Gabe Lopez stayed on track with the creation of the custom interior. But that's getting a bit ahead of the course—let's throw it back in reverse and shed some light on what connects the 1957 with that very road it travels on: its one-off foundation built by Art Morrison Enterprises, the 521ci Ford stroker motor that propels it, and everything else that lies beneath.

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Having had the opportunity of being behind the scenes while the wagon underwent its next phase of rebirth (the metalworking transformation at Mick's Paint), I have the luxury of not only knowing a number of things that were restyled that may not be immediately noticeable to some, but also the highly skilled manner in which they were done. From the lengthening of the doors and subsequent leaning of the B-pillars, to the discrete raising of the rear wheel openings and handforming of the sheetmetal taillight bezels (now holding 1961 Starliner lenses/housings), the shrinking of the fuel filler door and flawless integrating of the 1957 T-bird door handles (with their sheetmetal brow, which dictated that the wagon's side fin be pulled out just a hair), 1959 T-bird hood scoop, and frenched-in 1956 F-100 headlights endcapping the widened grille with omitted signal lamps. Under Jenkins' intuitive direction prior to his applying the PPG Ferrari Avorio ("Italian White" to us Yanks, Jenkins told me) and Aston Martin Bridgewater Bronze two-tone, metalman Joey Palmero put his magic hands on pretty much every panel from stem to stern. On top of the abovementioned, the list of restyling modifications—which were based on both aesthetics as well as component-accommodating needs—include scratch-fabricated inner front fenderwells and an artistically integrated underhood support taken from the same donor that provided the scoop its supports, as well as some seemingly nondescript areas such as the inner doors and corresponding 'jambs that look nothing like their former selves yet aren't as visible for all to truly appreciate. Above (literally) and beyond the body- and paintwork, you'll notice brilliantly polished stock-looking side trim that, in fact, has been lengthened along with its accompanying gold insert panel by Rick Lefever, who also stretched the paper-thin aluminum sillplates in similar seamless fashion. Jenkins' shop neighbor, Twins Customs' Mickey Larson, was called over to tackle a job of the opposite nature: the heavier-metal task of narrowing and reshaping the front and rear bumpers.

As far as the interior structural modifications, Mick's took care of the rear wheeltubs and surrounding floor/spare tirewell, floorpans, and interior door/rear quarter structures, while Strope's crew at Pure Vision tended to the rest—from the redesigned dash that includes a 1957-only factory option SelectAire vent incorporated with a Vintage Air unit, the now-articulating stock speaker grille with Bluetooth-enabled iPad retrofitted beneath, reworked ashtray housing USB/charging ports, and the fabbed half-round stock fashioned to emulate exterior trim and, once back from upholstery, would be plated and surround the custom-built instrument cluster by Redline Gauge Works between a Maplewood laminate panel that flows from door to door. The steering wheel you see is stock in appearance—its dimensions, however, have been reduced, a process that Dennis Crooks at Quality Restorations is rather well known for.

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With all the modern amenities involved, the idea behind the interior was to make it look ahead of its time back then, not by today's standards as all the electronics would imply if left out in the open. Gabe's Street Rod Custom Interiors was definitely on the same design concept level, as he created the perfect four-place setting using two-tone Italian leather with a rather interesting woven leather (which has somewhat of a fabric or wicker-like appearance) for the seat inserts. German square-weave flooring material (carpet) is topped by custom-tailored Coco Mat feet-resting apparatus (floor mats) in the appropriate locations.

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As the project's owner and designer copilot Bob did more than just sit behind the scenes and watch. Being the VP at ARP Fasteners, it would be correct in assuming that all of the hardware used on the project were of that aerospace quality his company provides. Not only that, interestingly enough, it just so happens that each and every facilitated accessory—manual and electric—is equipped with a stainless knob and bezel ring custom-made by ARP and finished off with a full polish and accent-painted center. And to say he's pleased with the outcome would also be a correct assumption, as his remarks to Jenkins when posed that very question illustrate: "The only thing that could make it better were if it was free!"