Does anyone out there know of any newer frames that I could swap out for my 54? I have a 4 door sedan. I saw one in Texas that has a 1991 lincoln town car frame, but not sure of how much work was done to get it to fit. I was hit from behind and my frame is bent between the back axle and the rear bumper. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you, Rocky
Rocky , if it's just bent after the rear axle then just remove the body mounts and anything else attached to the frame and cut the bad part out . Then just weld in a new box piece . Back there is not the critical area so I really wouldn't advise doing a complete frame swap . There will be more problems than you have now trying to swap out the frame . There is a lot of work involved in doing a frame swap . The 4 door body is very heavy plus you will have to undo a lot more than a couple bolts to get the body off . Then you will have alignment problems a**** other things . Then you have to make all new frame mounts for the body to bolt to . Now if the car was stripped to a shell and braced up , that would be a lot easier than what you have now ! If I am correct a Lincoln frame is longer and I think wider too . Depends on the year I am sure . If it wasn't that bad , I would have already done the frame swap ! Personally if you need a frame , building one would be a lot better than trying to make one fit . Check the dimensions on a S10 extended . Sorry to say that being a die hard Ford guy , but I think that is very close . Just my opinion . Jim
Thanks Jim! I'll look into welding in a new piece. I don't really wanna do a frame swap to be honest. Too much work for my abilitlies. I'll look into the s-10 as well. Your input is much appreciated.
What you can do on the frame issue is to cut the bent part out and maybe re straighten it out with some heat and maybe some relief cuts to get it back to original . Then just re weld the relief cuts . Really depends on how bad it's bent and where . Do you have any pictures of it ? The frame back there is mostly to protect the gas tank area which you already know about and support the trunk . If you have enough room after cutting the bad out , just measure the inside opening and get a piece of steel box material to slide into the original frame then just weld it up . That should be the easiest way to fit that problem . Heck 4" to 6" should be enough to hold in place to weld . Just make sure it's level with the old frame that was removed . Also cut off the old body mounts or make new ones and remember to drill the holes out for the bumper braces before you weld the new frame piece in . Will make life so much easier that way ! Jim
If the frame's bent, the body's bent, too. You'll need the help of a well-equipped and skilled body shop to do a pull...or pulls, which is more likely...to get the rear end of your car back into shape. Unless it will only take a light pull, this is probably going to be cost-prohibitive, I'm sorry to say. What is the insurance company's take on this?
You may want to check out a local business and fellow HAMBer for ideas,pay a visit to His shop for sure,here is the info: www.industrialch***isinc.com A narrowed 4 link would give you room for some bigger meats.I also sent you a link from a picture of a '54 to your email.Here is another link: www.musclemustangfastfords.com/ride/1019326/kunkyrunk/1954ford/customline/index.html
How attached are you to this car? For what its going to cost for repairs you could probably find another car, '54 4 doors can be bought pretty reasonable.
hahahaha well, im pretty attatched to it.... I have it tattooed on my chest. But I am looking at a 55 fairlane on craigslist. Looks like it has a 302 already in it. Not running though. 2 door. for 1800. Its been up for about a month now, so maybe I can do some negotiating. Thank you to everyone for their input. Its helped a lot.
Let us know how you do with the 55 Ford on C/L . If it's been up for a while I would try $1300 to $1400 and see what happens . Now I am starting to guess that the car was hit real hard in the back if you are looking at another car ! Got any pictures ? Jim
55 was a no go. Too much work for me right now. But I found this on craigslist in oklahoma. Goin out there for turkey day and could pick it up then. Let me know what you guys think. http://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/cto/2045285984.html
Damn , why haven't you gone and bought that car yet ? It isn't going to sit around very long in that condition . Really looks nice from the pictures but we all know how that goes . Lots of really good upgrades already done . Sound really good ! Also sounds like you could even drive it home too ! OK NOW GO AND BUT THAT CAR , NOW !!!!! Jim
My brother works about 30 mins from this guy. He's gonna go check it out for me. I will probably send him the money sometime this week. It will have to be trailered home though. The guy says it probably won't make it. I'm ok with that though. Will keep you guys posted.
That looks like a hell of a deal, between the good bones and parts on this car, plus any of the good parts from your current car, you could put together a heck of a '54 and probably sell the leftover parts and make all of your money back.
You better transfer the money to your brother like yesterday and have him go and buy that 54 ! It's not going to last at that price very long . If I lived closer to the 54 , all you would have is a memory of the picture on C/L because it would have come home with me real fast ! I would hate to see you loose such a nice car so make the call ! So go and tell your brother to go and buy that car for you ! Jim
That car has been for sale for quite a while. He started out at $4500, and has been droping in price ever 3 -4 weeks.
Parklane, are you in oklahoma? My brother said the same thing to me when I talked to him about this car. I told him to see what the lowest he would take. I'm transferring the money today and he will buy it tomorrow. Only thing that hurts is that its gonna cost me 500 bucks to tow it home. Oh well, price you pay to have what you want I guess.
Why not drive up and tow it home yourself ? If you don't have a good pickup with a V8 then maybe you can rent a set up then tow it home from there . That should be cheaper and you could do that in a weekend . Does your brother have space to take the car there then just patch it up to get it home ? I think you said he lives close to the car . What is wrong with the car that you can't drive it home ? If you can get the car for $500 less than the asking price then that would pay for the towing cost . Just a thought . Jim
Does anyone out there know how much a 54 customline weighs? my brother wants to know if the trailer he found will hold the weight. Thanks in advance. Rocky
The guy wont budge on the price. Says he has 3200 into it and he wants what he put in. Not really that big of a deal. Think I may have found a trailer to take out there to get it. My brother rode in it today and said it ran fine. He's gonna trailer it from the guys house to my aunt's house where it will stay until I go pick it up in a few weeks. I dont want to risk breaking down in the middle of nowhere on I-40, so it will be towed back.
Congrats on your new car ! I think that will work OK for you towing it home yourself . It's a lot of time but will save you a lot of money also . I think they weigh around 3800 lbs. to 4000 lbs . I always just say 2 tons when people ask what my 55 Ford weighs . Again , Glad to hear you got the car and runs good ! Jim
Thank Jim! Now Thanksgiving cant come fast enough. It's not even to my aunt's house yet and I cant wait to get it! Patience is not my strong suit. However, it gives me lots of time to ponder on what I want to do with it. Definitely gonna take those cragars off of it. Not a fan of them on this car. Then its getting lowered with blocks and aerostars. That'll be it for a while I think.
From the Hemmings site the 1954 Customline 2 door weighs 3180 pounds with the 6 cyl, 3240 with a Y-Block.
Dragonucks..........sorry to take so long gettin back to you, but haven't been on since 11/08. No, don't live in OK. It's a lot easier using a tow dolly instead of a trailer. That way there is very little weight on the tow car. On a trailer, you better have brakes, or the tail may be waggin the dog. I have both, and unless I'm towing with my 3/4 ton, and the vehicle is safe to tow, I use my dolly with surge brakes. If you tow a car with auto trans, be sure to disconnect drive shaft.
You can stick those Cragers on anyplace and sell them . They are still super popular with the people building drag cars from the 1970's . When you do get it home , make sure you check out the frame real good especially the cross member ! Also make sure it stops good too before you take a cruise around the block ! As for wheels there are a lot of really good hub caps that can be used on any kustom hotrod ! They are cheaper than mags plus they seem to shine better too ! Hope to see bunch of picture when you get it home ! Jim
Here are some of the pictures that I have recieved from my Aunt. It's sittin at her place in Oklahoma. <a target="_blank" href="http://img338.imageshack.us/i/img951045.jpg/"><img src="http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/9938/img951045.th.jpg" border="0"/></a><br> <a target="_blank" href="http://img337.imageshack.us/i/img952394.jpg/"><img src="http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/8612/img952394.th.jpg" border="0"/></a><br> <a target="_blank" href="http://img408.imageshack.us/i/img954203.jpg/"><img src="http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/5223/img954203.th.jpg" border="0"/></a><br> <a target="_blank" href="http://img832.imageshack.us/i/img957084.jpg/"><img src="http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/5346/img957084.th.jpg" border="0"/></a><br> <a target="_blank" href="http://img824.imageshack.us/i/img959667.jpg/"><img src="http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/6477/img959667.th.jpg" border="0"/></a><br>
The Jalopy Journal
