Projects Daily Driving the 57 / Spare parts to keep

I got my hands on a 57 Custom 300 a few weeks ago and I'm using it as a DD. I know I should have researched this before hand, but I figured I'd just get it and go from there.

As of now, I have the following: Basic tools, oil, gas, antifreeze, lead additive, fuel pump, a jack and spare tire. I was thinking of adding some spare hoses, extra fuel line, maybe a spare radiator, some zip ties and some JB Weld.

The car has its original 272 with 87500 miles on it. I've already replaced the gas tank, fuel sending unit and fuel filter. I took it to a shop and got it tuned up and looked at. Looks like there's a small crack on one of the heads. The mechanic I took it to said that it should run fine as long as I don't hot rod it. But I will be replacing the heads in the next couple of months.

I'm very new to the hot rod world and I look forward to restoring the 57. I've only driven newer cars (04 & 08 Mustangs) and would really appreciate some advice and patience.

Are there any more items and spare parts that any of you could recommend?

Thanks

 

Not trying to be a "smarty pants" but make sure you have a spare set of keys.

 

Do like the rest of us,when something breaks fix it.

For now replace hoses,belts and check the brakes. HRP

 

The way it works is that you will have spare parts for things that won't break, but you won't have spare parts for the things that will break. So don't bother bringing too many spares. You're better off doing all the work needed on every part of the car, although it will take a while to go through all the systems. Like he said, brakes are important, it would be a good idea to inspect everything, and consider rebuliding all the hydraulic parts, as well as inspecting/greasing the wheel bearings, and replacing wheel seals. And make sure you torque the lug nuts tight enough too

 

Looks like a nice daily!!
Don't worry about the spare parts. Make sure brakes, etc. are all working well and just drive it till it breaks. Then fix it. I would add seat belts if it doesn't have them already.

Got a few more pics?

 

That's the first year for Ford's 'modern' drivetrain so most parts won't be that hard to find. Do what HRP says, that will take care of most items. About the only part that may fail from age and would be hard to get would be a dual-diaphragm fuel pump (for vacuum wipers) if so equipped. A spare generator (or alternator conversion) wouldn't be a bad idea either.

 

I think the most Important would be to have a spare car. It's not if but when something will need attention and parts will have to be ordered. An extra car will go a long way to avoiding frustration when things happen. An old car should be a stress reliever and needing it to get to work when an oil seal blows on Sunday is not fun.

 

You'll need dual pipes and 2 coils out of the front springs ... paint the wheels black & a set of baldies.

 

Thanks for all the replies

Thanks for the compliment. I've been researching some after market seat belts and I'll probably pick those up very soon. As far as pics go, I have a few. I'll try to upload them as soon as I have time. I'm currently searching for a replacement headlight bulb. Went out on me just last night. Nice avatar, btw BRMC

I was entertaining the idea of getting a spare car. But I'd rather spend that money on an engine swap. I was thinking about rebuilding the engine or swapping it out completely with a motor from a pre-99 Mustang. I'd love to stay carbureted, though.

I'm actually looking for a set of wheels and tires as I type this. I'm not sure if I want to just get the stock tires and get some Fairlane wheel covers, or just go with some draglites.

Thank you very much for the advice. That's something i'm definitely going to get started on.

 

tell us more about yourself, like mechanic skills, etc - post several pics of your ride. since you took it to a shop for basic work and inspection maybe a little ambitious to put this into DD use right off the bat. how did shop determine that one of the heads is cracked? since it is your DD rebuilding or replacing motor will have to be on hold until you can come up with an alternate way to get around for a while - since you will likely have some other stuff that you will find that needs replacing or repairing when taking on such a project. not knowing what part of the country that you are in - rust spots? wipers & heater work? have fun

 

The late OHC motors won't package into that car without major mods. A relatively easy swap would be a FE motor and with some aluminum parts (intake, heads, water pump) will be lighter than the Y-block. Or a SBF; either a 289/302 or a 351W is fairly easy, and exhaust will be easier than the FE.

I'll add that those vacuum wipers were not the best, a conversion to electric wipers is a great upgrade if you expect to drive in the rain much. Newport engineering make a bolt-in kit.

 

Do NOT cut the front coil springs. Those have done it dont like it but they do like Aerostar coil springs. Read those threads.

Generators and regulators are a royal pain. A 1 wire GM alternator bolts in using the original brackets. I had to add a thick washer so the pulley lined up. With an alternator, you can use Pertronix and all the points/condenser problems go away.

You dont need to carry parts with you but do carry a few basic tools.. I have been driving my 1959/292 for 14 years thru 3 states

 

A spare set of points and a spare condenser would be good to carry and take up almost no room.

 

Get a shop manual for the trunk.

 

Agreed. With good points and condenser, all the Pertronics problems go away!

 

Put at least your general location in your profile. You can never tell when someone is going to have an extra 272 head taking up space in the garage or want to recommend a good local parts source. If the generator fails get it properly rebuilt and forget about the alternator unless you are doing something requiring a lot of power.

Charlie Stephens

 

Well I'll chime in. I'm a 57 For nut. I grew up driving them (I'm retired now) and currently own 5 of 57-59 cars. These guys are right. You can't carry everything you might need. Just start driving it and pay attention, listen and look at things. Most of all enjoy it. I've done most all pre lunch box motor swaps there are. The F.I. 5.0 a.o.d is way simple in today's world. Personaly I'm an FE guy and my current build has one headed for it. Vaccume wipers suck as mentioned. Since day one I've been using the Tri 5 Chevy electric motors because they are a direct bolt on and hook to the stock switch cable. No nonsence. You do need to get a 12 volt wire to them, no big deal. So think about this, way back we never carried spare parts at all. Maybe a small tool box. That's all any Older Healthy car still needs. I've learned no matter what brakes it'll be the one thing you don't have. Good news is there is still a train load of O.E. stuff still out there and up grades in the Ford family can still be just Nut'z and Bolt'z if you do a little research and ask the right people the right questions. Hell you can still buy a complete head light to tail light O.E. wireing harness. And,,,,, I seriously doubt you have any Crack in a Head that can be seen on the outside. If there was you'd have Water or Oil leaking at a pretty good rate and advise to "don't Hot Rod it? really? Seriously? Who the Hell was that guy? I'd stay away from him.
If braking down on your daily work route buy a tripple A card. You can always get it back home to your work place or to a different mechanic shop than before.
The Wizzard

 

... and will get you ran off the HAMB....

 

Wow, you're all full of information. I'm very fortunate to have been directed to these forums.

I've only broke down once. Well, just stalled out after going over too many speed bumps. That's when I took it in and had the carb adjusted.

Besides changing out the gas tank, fuel sending unit, adjusting the idle and changing the fuel filter, I have zero experience. For years I've wanted to learn how to work on cars, and I figure this is the perfect way to start.

The mechanic pulled the heads apart and looked at them. It's not leaking water or oil (or anything for that matter), but I might take a look at it myself or have it taken in again.

I'm located in Monterey Ca and pretty much by myself. No gear head friends, which is why I took the car into the shop. Also, mainly, because I have no baseline information on how everything is supposed to look and wanted to see if there were any problems with anything. I've been driving it daily about 20 miles a day for the past few weeks. I'm enjoying the car immensely

I'll take some pictures of the car, the underside and the engine in a bit.

Thanks again for all the information, everyone. Sorry about the short post, have to head out and run some errands.

 

Pulling the heads apart is kind of a major ordeal, maybe you could explain a bit more what was actually done? And where exactly the crack is?

you need to start playing around with the various adjustments on the car, so you can get a feel for how to fix things yourself. At current shop labor rates, it's unaffordable to take an old car to the shop for normal maintenance

 

Well, you've jumped in. There's only one way to learn, and that's to start doing it. If the car is basically stock, a shop manual can be really helpful. Keep it simple, drive it, enjoy it, keep your eyes and ears open and pay attention to changes, then fix whatever breaks on it. As Squirrel says, any spares you have with you will be for stuff that doesn't break. A small toolkit, a AAA card or insurance coverage for towing, and a cel phone will get you through most roadside problems.

A spare car, just a cheap beater S10 or other little truck is good to have. Both for alternate transportation, and for parts runs to the junkyard, NAPA, etc.

 

I have to ask. What the hell kind of Mechanic takes heads apart, finds a crack and then puts it all back together with the Crack? That would be a big Red flair for me.
The Wizzard

 

My Dad had 1 back in 60-65 he used as a DD and didn't carry any spares. I got to drive it too. 312cu" with a 4bbl carb and so called FX tranny and I did pretty good againts 409's out of the hole but could not keep up. I also had to bring it back in 1 piece.
Great luck with yours. There is/was a fellow DDing 1 on CapeCod a couple years ago and was orig.but not cherrylooking.
You gotta join the 57 ford forum http://www.57fordsforever.com/

 

The idea here is to keep you interested in cars the way we enjoyed them in the late '50s thru the '60s. We put loud pipes on 'em, torched the springs, Port-a-walls, & primer spots. Always had a radio, a white floor mat with 3 diamonds, and a floor shift. Back tires have to be 3 sizes bigger than front. Sometimes we washed it 3 times a day, & wouldn't drive on gravel unless chicks were involved ... or beer ... because just about every young guy in town that wasn't away in the service had a nice car, every night was spent on the "strip" .... or the races ...
some cars seldom ran really good for very long, but part of our education was learning who to go to for help, then trading whatever you had (labor, painting,etc.) for help or parts ... we didn't go buy many new pieces.
I miss the '60s ...

 

That's a great point.

I'll speak from personal experience of driving a '57 Ford daily. I'll give you credit for jumping right into the hobby, but personally, at this point in my life I'd tell you and 18 year old me that you're crazy. These things break. And 85K on a Y block is a lot of miles in my book, especially if the bottom end has never been apart.

As far as your original question, I'd look for some new heads to start. I'd also keep a spare water pump and fuel pump on hand. If you're not running an alternator now, I'd change over to one sooner rather than later. I'd also go get yourself a good set of feeler gauges, since all Y-Blocks are solid lifter and lash will need to be set every 1000 miles. I also wouldn't be surprised to see you need a rear mail seal after some real miles. They're rope, and if the car has sat for a while, they dry-rot and leak. If you're lucky enough to have a solid engine, I'd consider upgrading to an electronic ignition of sorts like a pertronix, and a more modern 4 bbl carb, or even a nice Motorcraft 2100 2 bbl if you don't feel like swapping the intake.

I've gone on record on the HAMB (and taken some shit for it) as not being a big fan of the Y Block. Mine was junk, and it seems that every Y Block I can think of around here is a quirky mess. I'll admit that I'm biased against them, and I don't like them for cars that get really driven. While I appreciate the idea of having spare parts on hand, the best option would be to have a drivetrain that doesn't need spare parts regularly. The reality is that a later model is going to be more reliable out of the box, and when my livelihood is depending on me getting to where I'm going on time and reliably, I'd sooner drive a late model than a 57 Ford.

 

I wish I had known about setting the lash every 1000 miles. I've driven mine for 14 years and never done that. The y-block needs a very small amount of attention every once in a while. Of course its more than a new car, so what. Thats the reason you have a second car. The quality of your results depends on your mechanics ability.

 

Find a car club. us old guys like to help young'uns

 

Thanks again for the replies. I appreciate the feedback, tips and advice. As far as enjoying the car goes; I simply love it. Its almost like a relationship. Discovering new things and taking in the experience. Its awesome.

Joining a car club seems like a good idea. I'll have to look some up in my area and start mingling. I can't wait to start working on the 57.

I did take a few pictures today. But of course, I forgot to shoot the under carriage and engine bay. I'll upload a lot more thorogh pictures tomorrow. But just incase if anyone was interested:

 

Save yourself a lot of grief... sell me your car... Looks like a nice ride.

What I do with an old car is replace things before they break. Like the water pump and fuel pump, especially if you don't know how old they are. Brakes, I go over from A to Z. Anything suspect gets tossed out. Look over the lines and hoses. If any brake work is needed I use new wheel cylinders and hardware kits.

If you don't have one, get the factory manual for it, available on eBay.

 

Lol! Your first comment reminded me of how many random offers I've gotten for the car. Most offers were from drivers driving in the opposite direction and yelling out the window lol. I'm sure you're all use to this.

The next thing on my list is definitely the owner's manual. I also have a fuel pump as well that I might put on with the help of YouTube. But, I'm probably better off just waiting for the manual to arrive.

I'm getting ready to drive it to San Jose in October for my NA test. I want to make sure she'll be ok. I'm going to try to pick up some tires as well. I'm thinking maybe some 15" draglites.