Projects StNick's - 1957 Ford Custom 300 Build - Progress Begins!

haha!! very funny and cool!

 

StNick, Im 68 now and nothing comes easy any more. Ive been looking for a 57 Custom 300 or a 67 fairlane cheap body for years. We used to race an E/S 67 Fairlane 4 door wagon and later a SS/E 427/410 67 Fairlane coupe back in the early 70s {after I rolled the wagon on 7 inch tires}. Id probably go with a less PIA setup then I ran back then in my 57, they get old after a while driving in traffic. Id want something peaceful like a new 5.0 cammer with a 6 speed auto and AC these days

 

SMILE....

Yea, its like a Hot Rod reunion at my shop!!

And I guess this week I want to see you Jammin gears in that High School sweatheart more then I want to work on those others.

What's with the pouty face!? I love you.



We are having a great time in the shop, enjoy your trip and the family! There will be plenty of time for you to work on the car this summer, I am not going to take all the fun away!

StNick doesn't think its funny.......

we are on the way to the shop now!!

 

Hi Mr. Master Mike
You are doing just great and take it from me I do think you dad is just damn proud.
He is sitting her in Copenhagen sipping a little bit of wine an having a blast. Enjoying the company of the danish relatives. We are also enjoying StNick's company.
We can not wait to visit. Mike you Buster keep it going. Just love the spirit between the two of you.
My daughter Henriette says hi. -wel se saw what you do now.
take care now Cheers The Viking Hans

 

I cut 24 of these out of a 12' stick, this is the last of them.



I used the blast cabinet to clean the ends for welding.



Lined up ready for fitting.





Several hours later... 2 ladder bars, the second one took 1/4 of the time!





There's still more to be done, but that's a good chunk out of the way, & I sure enjoyed using the TIG welder.


TJJ on iPhone

 

WhooooHoooo - now thats some serious looken ladderbars - Just got back to Hanne/John's from Ingred/Flemming/Hans/Lena's - had to get John cought up on the 57 ford Build - Saw the "traction assist device" you have been working on - She's looken good - nice to have the body off for this kind of work - get on the plane appx 2 tomorrow aft and will be stepping off the plane appx 10:30 tomorrow ev - Harold will be there to pick me up - we'll catch up on details on Tues - I can hardly wait - thanks for all the work you have done in my absence - luvya - dad

 

Have a safe trip home, cant wait to see you!

Dang those are long ladder bars........ I guess its easier to shorten the stretch them.

 

What a fantastic build!!! Subscribed!

 

We had a pow-wow at the shop last night, dad came over and got to see the progress. George King came by to join in the fun...



We drilled holes & welded the flange nuts in the frame. We made a new ladder bar crossmember that will accommodate a driveshaft loop too.





We also shortened the ladder bars about 18"s ... It's staring to shape up!







George took on making mounting plates for the front of the ladder bars, he just txt'd this pic from Nick's (fatkoop) house....



...seems Mr. King knows how to delegate!

Thanks for your help guys!!

TJJ on iPhone

 

Just came across this thread.. Very cool. I always appreciate all these threads where some guy wants to work on his dad's ride for very unselfish reasons. There aren't enough of those threads out there.

It helps that your dad actually looks like St. Nick but let's not get into that. I want to see him burn some rubber in his sleig-- I mean, car.

 

Hamb Drags?

 

I think we can do that!!

 

You guys read my mind! Awesome.

!Edit!----Hey! Who's roadster is that???

 

That's mine. Mike hasn't sold it to me yet, doesn't want to sell it to me, and I don't have the money for it...

 

(QUOTE=...seems Mr. King knows how to delegate!)
Now that is like the pot calling the kettle black! LOL For what it's worth, Fatkoop has his lathe set up with a 4 jaw chuck which is exactly what you needed for boring the hole in the ladder bar brackets. If you will look at the post above, we tack welded the 1/4 inch plates together before putting them on the lathe. I have a 16 in 4 jaw chuck for my Mori Seki lathe but will do just about anything to not have to pick it up and mount it. CAN YOU SAY HEAVY? THANK YOU NICK! FatKoop mouted the stack up and first used a center drill to mark the spot. smile. A 3/8ths , 1/2" and 1" pass through the plates yielded a large enough hole to then use the carbide tipped boring bar to take an 1/8th inch off on each pass until the clearance hole size for StNick's cross member pipe was achieved. I then took the welded stack with the hole home and cut as much excess material off as I could with my band saw. I used my 20 ton Roper screw press to punch out the 2 each 7/16ths mounting holes on each plate. Next was lots of sanding on the Burr King belt sander with a new course grit belt to yield very nice completed brackets for Mike and Nick. I did not take pictures but I am sure Mike will be pleased to post.
regards,
George

 

HA HA.... Good EYE Mike! When I sold my '29 I bought the '32 you just spotted, nearly 5 years ago. I never started working on it, I got burned out before I even laid a Miller bead on it. Its been stored in my dads barn for at least 4 years. Here's the thread I did the day I brought it home.

Just because I now own a '32 doesn't mean I'm a Deuce Douche Bag!

Maybe Jay will do the build thread some day.... I'll sell it!

HA HA HA .... George, all it good fun my friend. Truth have it, you are my super hero, walking into you shop several years ago got me motivated to get my own shop with all my own machinery & equipment & tools. And while I cant seem to stay on one project to the end before falling for the next beauty, I do have my shop now. Thanks for setting the stage. Sounds like I need to go by FatKoop's, I see the making of the Shop Avenger's coming together here. Its good to have so many friends excited about helping each other.

ok, heres a few picture from Sunday, after Foster's baseball game we headed to the shop for a few hours.

The Shop Avengers ladder bar brackets are expected to be faster then a speeding ticket....



We shortened up the bars about 18"

 

Awesome, keep at it!

 

my buddy in Pahaump, NV has 23 of those things sitting in his yard. For hoots, I broke the VINs. He has one built in Texas that came with 272 and factory A/C. He's had 9 passenger wagons, posts and hardtops, Ranch wagons, dual quads and Rancheros, everything but a supercharged one. First year for the 9 inch rearend. They out sold Chevy's in 57.

 

Well, we had some parts come in this week, first the header parts...




...then the springs stock +3" height



Last night I got the springs shackles off, glass beaded & painted.

Today I spent chasing parts and supplies for the weekend.

I picked up

• (4) 5/8 - 1/2 rod ends and nuts to be welded in the ladder bars
• (4) new 3" x 1/2" ubolts
• Argon/Co2
• Gas Lens tips & new cups for the tig torch

etc.... ah, you don't care about all that nonsense!

Here's the progress, the new springs and ubolts are on, along with some black StNick Shine!



This one looks like it has an old delivery truck body on it....











Maybe it was the paint fumes.....? For some reason I was feeling a little high...











Next step is to get the ladder bars situated, tacked, tested and all the parts welded.


Oh, we had a slight distraction when the ups man dropped off a surprise for Mason...



A Heavy Metal baritone Ukelele!!! SWEET!

 

Sweet! I didn't know you had that, too. Model 40s, sectioned shoeboxes, '32 roadsters, etc. You are my hero!

The chassis is looking dope! And it's nice to see the whole family hanging out together. Good stuff.

Carry on!

 

What size tires are you running in back? And where did you get the leaf springs?

 

Captain A.D.D. to the ....uh what was I doing?

I think those are 255/60/15's on the rear. We may try some other sizes.

The springs came from Eaton Detroit Springs.


TJJ on iPhone

 

Just first read the whole thread. Like everyone else I'm lovin' the build and very excited to see the outcome. Always loved the '57 Ford ever since I saw the movie "Thunder Road". Never thought much of the other tri five Fords but they are really starting to grow on me. I'm a Chevy and GM tri five gasser lover but these ford styles and they look great and make a great looking car. You don't have to have the front end in the clouds to run a straight axle as many back in the day didn't. The real high fronts came more with the street freaks when they exaggerated the style. Many also stayed with the original front suspensions and they look just great too. The ladder bars really take it a step up. Love the build and plan to keep an eye on it as well. Great family connection between you and your father. Very inspiring. Good luck with the build. Mark L

 

Most of the shop time this weekend was spent on the body for a change, we got part of the inner rocker welded in ....





StNick spent many hours with his hands above his head....

 

awesome, looking forward to seeing those headers

 

Looking good. Seems the rear springs may be a little high? Good to see it coming
a long so well. Met u guys at the LARS last year. Looks great.
Ron

 

I knew that "What Us Trad Rodders Were Doing in the '70's" thread would do this to someone!!

 

The '57 Ford still has a lot of charm. When Ford got seriously into the racing business in that day they also had a lot of Trophies too.
Normbc9