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

Jeff, if you need a little more space between the radiator and fan, there's a pretty easy way of gaining an inch or so. It just involves cutting a narrow slot on each side of the core support so the radiator flange can be dropped down in front of the core support's flange. Then a length of 3/4" square tubing for a spacer with matching holes. Some type of a press nut will solve the fiddling with loose nuts and washers issue.
I don't even have a hood latch on my '57. Just the safety catch and two hood pins. Wouldn't have done that if the hood opened the normal way.

 

Nice progress, you been busy. For my tank straps, we had some out of date shrink tube at work that was being trashed, so I grabbed a couple of rolls. Slid it over the straps, shrank it using my gas stove.

Owens had a lot of parts for my car, he said he has a bunch of '59 Fords and cherry picked the best parts for me. My OG hood latch was good, it just needed to be cleaned up and lubed.

 

I have limited knowledge about "floaters" as I've heard them referred to. Simple concept, though. The traction bars are multi-piece and have the ability to lengthen and shorten as the suspension compresses and extends and the geometry changes slightly.
Not being smart about it. Truly curious myself. I always thought that apparently, leaf springs have enough flex in them to allow for solid traction bars.

 

The first gen Shelby's used the under ride bars like you have. Instead of clamping the front of the leaf spring the Shelbys had a offset bracket the you either bolt or weld to the the frame rail. The setup you have will stiffen up the rear springs somewhat and should keep the spring from wrapping up. Your not going to spin those nice new tires are you?​

 

Great to see your Traction Masters installed, Jeff!

I went a couple rounds w/ them during the lockdown and never got a final answer for my application. I wanted the same bolt-on front bracket like yours' but we never got past the shock plate issue. Talked to a friend and decided to get a pair fabbed up later this year using their bolt-on design as a pattern. Rock on

Joe

 

Nice Leaf Blowers......I remember a video of a Friend of yours with a nasty 57 or 8 sedan...it was at The Jamup...maybe it's in this Thread...I saw it somewhere...it was gravel clearing at idle...

 

Man, you are making good progress! I’ll be happy just to find some time this winter to mess with my car at all.

 

Looks awesome as usual Jeff, making me feel bad for not getting anything done…I was away this weekend playing bus driver for my girls high school basketball teams!

 

The heater in my 57 fairlane was the best of the vehicles I have owned up to really modern units. I have no idea why it was so good. I probably did something incorrectly that made it work better. LOL. The 272 in it didn't have a high temp thermostat but it did work well. As an added thought, none of the older cars had a real good fan. At low speeds the heater was a good part of engine cooling. Maybe that's why the heater worked so well.

 

My sender was ancient, so it had to go. The brass float crumbled like it was made of a thin egg shell from a small bird. IIRC it was $60 from Rock Auto and $10 to ship. I called that a deal.

 

Hey
A few pages back you were talking about hunting for parts. You said that not much progress was made that day because of the search.
Maybe take one weekend and pull all of the parts out of your store room. Label all the boxes with numbers like A-1, A-2, etc. make a spreadsheet chronicling where each part is so it is easier to find. Delete it out of inventory when it is used. It would cost some time over 1 or 2 weekends but save time down the road. Be sure to keep the inventory up to date.
I need to do this myself but I only have one project going at the moment .

 

my tank could probably be fixed up with steel bbs, alcohol, and pushing out the bottom of the tank with a stick, but with the amount of work it would need, its just easier, and smarter, to buy a new tank.

 

You could have cut out the bottom of the tank out slightly smaller and welded in a sump.

 

I don't believe that top tank is a '57. Look at the front corners vs the one underneath it.

 

That's what the inside of my Olds tank looked like. Made me sick to throw it in the scrap pile when new tanks are over $600.

My 57 Ford tank was fine until I ran over what looked like a printer cartridge that apparently at 80 mph punched a hole through the front of the tank so big I could put my fist through it. A new tank from Rock Auto was like $120, and was made in Canada!

Good for you for keeping the senders, I wish they were like a GM tank though that bolted through and didn't lock in with the ring. I can never get them to seal all the way.

 

You're making great progress, Jeff. Your dash looks incredible! The engine turned panels are going to send it over the edge!!

Speaking of which, your Fuel and Volts are ready...