I traded my '29 roadster for this Club Sedan. Really stoked to get cruising and roadtrips. Going to do some work before I go on any long trips (long for me is Bonneville 4600 miles roundtrip, 1st time there this past August) This is a driver and my plan is to drive the hell out of it, not restore the old restoration (it was originally all black) so short term: 1st up is brakes, going to convert to dual circuit discs - I know the drums are perfectly fine when properly adjusted but I don't have a shop and I'm at a point where I don't want to play with stuff in the driveway, got that out of my system with Model A's for the past 16 years. Next (probably winter) will be to convert from 6v positive to 12v negative with an alternator, did it on all my model A's and it was the best thing I did. Especially a 12V starter. Oh and the vacuum wipers***** too. The only thing I plan on doing to the motor is changing from 2bbl to 4bbl, I need that +20hp to help with the Ford O Matic.
^^^What He Said^^^ You are in the right place and will find answers to a lot of your questions here and in the FAQ section of the forum.
Welcome to the group! I too own a 55 Fairlane Club Sedan, mine was a 272 4barrel with a Ford o Matic. Now its a 302 with a C4 automatic. The 6 to 12 volt change is pretty easy and there is a lot of information on disc brake swaps if you look at the sticky pages. Make sure to inspect the front crossmember for rust, very common issue! Newport makes a electric wiper conversion once you change to 12 volt, bought mine from Yogi's street rod parts. These cars drive well for a 65 year old design, I think you will enjoy having it. Mark
Great car I'm sure you will enjoy it. When you get the Newport wipers message me and I'll save an hour with putting them in. On the road the 4-barrel will help in passing, in town the the 2 barrel has better torque low in the rpm range. The first thing is to replace the distributor with a 57-up and use venturii vacuum to it. When you go to 12 volts many use electronics. I've used a Pertronix for 8 trouble free years. Take the time to join the Crown Victoria owners****oc. Great magazine every month. On the net, YBlocksforever.com has endless information. Unless it's perfectly dry please don't take it off the end of the road at Bonneville. I've sacrificed 5 pickups to the salt Gods and never again, I now go in a rental car.
Its a metallic Blue/Gray sorta gun metal and white. Its been restored at some point maybe the 80's or 90's from what it looks like and probably due to the velour interior.
Thanks. The cross member is good. The entire under carriage is undercoated remember "Rusty Jones" I think that's who did it as its the thick asphalt based undercoating.
Thanks. The distributor is on the list. I have joined CVOA and just got my first issue. I've been lurking on YBforever but for some reason I get an error message that registration is disabled when I try to register. It is only going to the salt, not on it. If its dry enough I will park and camp on the outside of the bend in the road like I did last year, but that is a few years away, although I'll be back at Bonneville this year.
Regarding the yblocksforever website, contact Ted Eaton, the site admin and let him know you're having trouble registering. I had to do that a couple of years ago when my old computer blew up and I had to get a new one. He'll fix you up. eatonbalancing@yahoo.com
The yblocksforever site has had some problems with spammers so people who want to join must contact Ted Eaton.
Welcome! If it helps, visit www.hotrodreverend.com/blog when you can - my 55 Ford Club Sedan build is all documented there with pictures and videos and blog posts. I tried to do that here but it got rather large so I stared my own website. I also have the 49-59 FoMoCo parts manuals either on CD or in a digital download (with a bunch of other helpful info) - the guys here can attest to the help those files are.
Thanks Daniel, I bought and downloaded your manuals two days after I got the 55 (Jan4th). I also read all your posts and am subscribed to and watch all your youtube videos too. Your video on brake adjustments reminded me of doing the same on my 68 mustang as a teenager in the 80's. It moved the front disc brake conversion to the top of the list! Man I hated doing that.
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