Hot Rods 57 FORD Build #2... Glutton for Punishment.

@wfo guy
Thanks you. you are very kind,..I just expect to be treated with the same respect I give others.
No idea what to expect from this engine.... Bought it from a senior gentleman who had passed and he was building a 60 bird.... so.... the block matches the numbers, as did the cast iron 4 barrel intake(turfed that anchor) The heads are 61.... garden variety.So no big expectations there.
But I have added a few small internals and of course the headers and Hipo intake.
Yes.. just going to see what will happen...... gotta be better than the old 272 2 barrel weeser and Ford-o -matic that came with the car.
No Padded Dash..... no way. not on a 300 series..... just a well worn dash wearing its original faded paint.More on the dash layout in the future.

 

So I started to assembly and get the rad support cradle and fasteners together.
I cannot STRESS how important this is to setting up a 57 or 58.
The rad cradle supports all of the front sheet metal and hood alignment.If its not done right with the right parts.... you will be chasing your tail forever trying to get things to align and fit.

The parts with this car were there and in very good shape..... just a wire scratch and some rust paint.....
If anyone is doing this on one of these cars.. you need to have these parts... some may argue that point... but I stand by it.......

Here is the factory diagram on the parts you need and in the order they go..... and pay particular attend to the measurement Ford indicated.It's very important.

 

In the past,.I seen missing shims.... missing retainers, broken springs and no rubber.
Some folks indicate they have a bad rattle and severe vibration under load, idle de-acceleration or all of the above.
Others, as I have stated... can't align a fender, the hood, the grill and use a massive amount of shims,... which just compound the problem and make the ride.. simply miserable.
It's amazing how in 57 and 58 the whole front end was based on one core bolt.
Another note.... your rad cradle(or saddle) as some people call them.... rot out hard at the bottom... drain holes get blocked and all kinds of crap just ferments in the base of the rad support and becomes a mess.
The rad supports are getting pricey these days because of this.... if you need one... get a good one.

So on mine... I coated as much on the inside base... and was astonished how much red west Texas dirt came out.... I literally spent a half day,. rinsing, blowing drying and the coating in inside base as best as possible... the painting the entire rad cradle with a rust inhibitor.
It's not a pretty thing. but I saved it.

Some pics of the rad saddle(core support) with the shims and stuff..... nothing is tight yet and that won't happen until I get the rest of the sheet metal in place.

Later.....

 

Yea.I know its not as cool as a Blown Olds in a Model A...... but some may need this info.

 

Another are of concern is .... the cowl drains.
If your 57 for 58 leaks from the inside.... its a really good chance the cowl drains are shot. The factory installed ones are/were useless.Now... again. not to get hard on the Ford designers.. but lets be honest... they did not really care, they wanted you to by a brand new 60 or 61 and trade in your well used 57/58.
It's just business.
In my journey for gathering parts I picked up some in my quest... I never really examined them until now..... I'm pretty sure they were thrown in a lot of parts years ago.... but they were junk.

Many solutions on this and I am no different...so.....
Started to look for things I could use.... I used some left over 1.5 rad hose, that horrible cool flex crap I used on my 32 (LESSON LEARNED!) and the original outer rings from the OG stuff.
I still have to assemble a reducer on the bottom of the C.F. .... I have an idea here... and run a 3/8's fuel hose out and thru the body and pass by the front frame mounts.I could use clear hose as an exit line.... but.... not sure if it would stand up to heat and such.
but so far.. its tight, and drains water after a test with zero leaks.
I stand and look at it and it kinda reminds me of a limp dick at a wedding. ha ha

Once the front sheet metal is on.... never going to be seen.

 

That 57 is so Bitch'in!..... Killer Stance and the right look.
Love it Whizz.

 

Also..... the Header collectors are done... now,. they are very long at the moment..but, better to be long where I can see and shorten to where each side needs to be.
The welds will be cleaned up and softened, then a manifold Heat paint applied... and attached to the system.
Exhaust is a 2.25 through out.

 

Yea.. Terry is Awesome......

 

Was in need of some Dash parts and headlight buckets.... the buckets I have.. are done.... another part on a 57 that gets rusted out very fast.....
What I had in stock was ... eh.... less than desirable...I guess I could have fudged and glassed about... but... they are gross.
so. speaking with yet another Terry @PoTaToTrUcK ... a very good member here .... out on the Hippy Coast.. he came to my rescue.
The ignition, light switch and bezels(no one sells the 57 bezels) and much needed headlight buckets....
are being sent.

Happy now, and another thing crossed off my list.

Thanks Terry!


My old Buckets..... gross






Again. the items Terry is sending my way will fill my need.....

 

EXACTLY............. Its the very reason I LOVE this place.

 

BTW..... the west coast Terry .. has a KILLER 57 Ford..... so.. we spoke the same language.....

 

Any info to save time and $$$ is great info Rich..... I will remember this for the future!
Awesome.Finding good parts is not as easy as it was ... say...10 years back.....

 

Just do a simple test and pour a small amount of water over your vent/wiper grill area.... look and see if you get the water coming from the cowl drain... its not a hard thing to fix..... just a wee bit awkward with the sheetmetal on.

 

I never got buckets with this car from Texas...... the buckets I did have and used(good ones) went to my other 57.
the buckets I had left were from a parts car from Iowa.Really ugly......The one I showed was the best one... the others were even worse.