Technical A Kid's First Project: 1957 Fairlane 500 Town Victoria.

the exhaust leak gets worse every time i start it, i wonder why its doing this now

 

If it's getting worse, it's because the gasket has already burned through. I've had good luck with using the layered aluminum header gaskets on manifolds. Once you tighten them down, they take a set and don't blow easily.

 

The 57 used flat gaskets if my memory hasn't failed, again. If so, once it leaks it's likely damaged. New gasket time.

To get max life out of them the head pipe should extend into the manifold a bit to shield the gasket edge from the hot gases. But some replacements don't do that.

 

Sorry for the thread jack.. but where is that sway bar from?

 

Thunderbirds Southwest. It is not listed on the site, call or shoot them an email. Great people to deal with and top quality all the way.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1205884986...0p8WxHkeh0UwAgmC2KOTjNoyNqq4uaiRoCzuMQAvD_BwE

like these?

 

Not what I was talking about but that looks to be a good set.

 

im also going to get new bolts and spark plug shields, im hoping these manifolds arent warped, but if they are im just gonna get the reds two tube headers like these, as new manifolds cost MORE than a pair of these.

 

i have it up in the air, i remember telling my mother "hey i wanna look at it before i pay for it" and she said its fine and we need to get going. well, if i saw the quality of the welds and the fact that they didnt separate the pipe before the crossmember, i would have told them to fix it and do it right. theres no feasible way to even tighten the nuts all the way due to the welds being not grinded down. im going to call them and see if they get get me in to fix it.

or i'll cut my losses and get mikes to fix it, which will be expensive

 

anyway, after that discovert i drained the ethanol gas out of the tank , put REC90 in and decorated for the parade tomorrow. this gas will be good for the winter
also got to use my 8 point socket set

 

for the first little bit of the parade it ran like a dream, then it started misfiring and running really rich. the float seems to be too high, i think the specific gravity of rec90 is different than 87 octane wirh 15% ethanol. could be part of the problem.

 

I've run some old race gas in a lawnmower (I'm sure this is something a few here have done).
It idled down a bit and was smoother, not misfiring and really rich. I suspect a float and/or a jet got a bit of junk due to fuel swapping. Parades tend to stress different things compared to normal driving, usually overheating. Probably won't hurt to add some Stabil.

 

didnt run hot at all surprisingly, the issue was something in the fuel system. i think i'll try your stabil trick,

 

made some good progress today, one of the a arm nuts is stuck but i'll be able to get it off, tomorrow is engine mounts and the other side.

my dad was scared of the spring shooting out when i was removing it by dropping the a arm, it was only eventful due to a build up of clay/rust that made the spring bend a little instead of drop, when it popped free he jumped like 3 feet back.

also yes the shock is stuck, it probably wont survive

 

forgot to mention this, it had nothing to do with the gas, my power valve apparently went bad... i wonder why it keeps eating power valves

 

Good idea to keep track of the shim stacks. I did not, wound up using about 3/8" in all 4 positions when it went back together.

 

Is it backfiring through the carb? That will kill a power valve almost every time. They make one that is supposed to be backfire proof.

 

ordered a power valve protector, aswell as a gl*** sight, always wanted one so might as well since i just got s bonus.

the idler arm is fixed but theres a christmas party tonight so im done for the day, going to knock the rest out tomorrow

 

realized tight isnt correct after reading the manual, so i took it back off until i have it properly adjusted

 

Bonus points for RTFM!!!

 

after reading and researching, tight isnt enough, you need leverage for the new bushing to install it, so i used a bar and levered it in gently, the idler arm now has absolutely no play, and feels excellent at the wheel, no play in the steering at all

 

Nice work. I took my suspension 110% apart and cleaned it all, painted it too. It still looks like new. the idler arm was a little tricky. Is yours manual steering? The drag link adjustment is key to tight steering on the big Fords.

 

of course, no power ***ists here
i could shake the wheel and the drag link would shake up and down with the old one, however i cant get the grease to go out the bottom of it, it stays at the top? any tips?

 

Took me two days but got through all the posts
quite an adventure
I admire your patience and your ability to push through when mistakes are made
Hot Rodding 101

You have some very good mentors here
Keep it up

 

I bought a new drag link kit and installed it. I adjusted it per the Ford manual, greased it with no issue. The manual recommends a grease job every 1000 miles. I have to give my drag link an adjustment, I bought the tool for it, like an oversize screwdriver tip.
https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-Prot...MIpPKZtpqtgwMV9ZpaBR2O6ABvEAQYASABEgLajvD_BwE

 

Try it unloaded (jacked up), loaded (on the ground) and while someone turns the wheel. Some new stuff is so tight the clearance is going to fight any injection. Drive it a few miles if you can, then try again.

 

bought the wrong bearings for the generator, and one of the brushes apparently wasnt soldered, so new brushes it is, cleaned up the commutator again and ohmed it, still good. the center part is worrying, it reads 17 kiliohms on one part. @e1956v got any tips? is it junk?

the bushings rubber came out once i removed the bolt. this is actually dangerous to drive on...

 

the puller i bought wont work for the remains of this bushing... hm

 

nevermind??????? i don't think its supposed to do this but im alright with it doing this lol.

it had been riding steel and one part is thin