1952-59 Ford Help to find direction for a Build

yeppy, got them from jc whitney. catch them at the right time get free shipping. dont exactly remember the price . bout 225 i think. ill find the post where i anounced i orderd them.

 

My55fairlane and with the 67 dual MC is there a cover plate to use since this one is smaller than the 55?

If you're talking about a cover plate to cover the two extra bolt holes in the firewall, I just put two chrome ****on head bolts in the extra holes to cover them.

 

The old master had 4 bolts that also hold the interior pedal ***embly bracket to the firewall,the new master goes into the lower bolts and the old bolts above go back in to the firewall to the support bracket.Also clck on this and save it to your Favorites: www.webrodder.com/article.php?AID=310&SID=8&CID=11

 

great article thanks

 

lots of good articles foralot of stuff there. but abviously they have alot of money or free parts give to them. http://www.webrodder.com/

 

Front suspension and brakes is a very good place to start your project. If you are on a budget, which you are, do some homework before you drag out your checkbook.

As you've mentioned, cleaning the front suspension is a great idea. But before you get dirty, jack each side of the front end up in turn, with a floor jack placed under the lower control arm. Then shake the wheel, up and down then back and forth, as hard as you can.

If it seems all wiggly, you can plan on doing some suspension repair. But if it seems fairly tight, you can skip that step for the time being and move on to the brakes. Not all cars need front end work, and there's no point in replacing perfectly good parts - especially when you can use the money elsewhere.

Doing the dual master swap is a great idea, as is replacing the soft brake lines and wheel cylinders. If the brake shoes are totally dry, smooth and have lots of thickness left, you can probably keep them. Same goes for the drums.

You can go with a disc brake/spindle swap if you want, but as a beginner I'd suggest you leave that for later. As Jeff preaches, the stock drum brakes will be just fine for normal driving.

To make your cleaning efforts easier, disconnect the wiring and pull the front sheet metal off as a unit. You will probably have to remove the hood before pulling the dog house, but this will leave the engine, frame and suspension exposed for easy access. This will also make the master cylinder change easier.

Now is also the time to do your rear axle change. An 8" will be just fine for street use, regardless of what the racer boys have told you. If you really plan to hammer the car with a healthy motor, wide tires and a heavy right foot, go for the 9-inch. It's good insurance.

But, with all due deference to ctfortner, I'd humbly suggest you forget the 3.70 gears. Something closer to 3.0 will be much better on the street unless you've got an overdrive. I've had cars with tall gears before and hated them. Sure, they're peppy, but they're miserable when cruising at highway speeds.

Be sure to select an axle that is narrower than the stock one. This will allow you to run wider wheels in the rear and still be able to get them in and out without dropping the axle. A word of experience here.

But do it now, not later. Same goes for the Aerostar springs and 3" lowering rear leaf springs. Evaluate the rear brakes at this time as well. Then hook up the brakes, bleed them and check for proper operation and leaks.

That should keep you out of trouble for an afternoon or so rolleyes and will make some solid progress towards the completion of your project. This should not have dented your budget too much either.

Remember, take it one small attainable step at a time. The most common cause of unfinished projects is the owner taking on too much at one time.

Good luck!

 

thanks missysdad

Yeah I plan on a 5.0 AOD so it will have overdrive...
and since it will be the aod and not popping a clutch I'll price the difference between doing my 8" or doing the 9"

Ive done a spindle swap before just never replummed lines.....so Im still thinking of spindle swap and just using a manual disc/drum MC

Im prob only going to have 7" wheels under...only stock 5" right now

My problem is only have two car garage doing this and a harley takes up other half along with having access to washer/dryer being in the garage to be able to take the big things apart

 

good tips Missydad, and just a side note, I wasnt suggesting he use the 3.70 gears, I was just saying thats what I did. And I did that because I do have overdrive (manual trans) . In 5th gear at 65MPH I am under 2k rpm with my nasty little stroker motor.

He did mention in his first post though that he is going to use an AOD which also is overdrive, so 3.50, 3.70, may work well for him as well. If you were going C4 (no overdrive) I would definitley want the 3.0 range if it was a cruiser and not a road racer. But I am learning as I go here so missydad and others here have been doing it much longer than me and wont steer you wrong.

Either way you go, research, read, research, ask...thats what I did for months, and so far my build is coming along nicely thanks to all the help here and elsewhere!

I hear ya on the garage issues. I have a 24x30 shop but half is ate up with lawn mowers, tillers, weed eaters, you name it. Half of the shop is gone. Join us over at garagejournal.com (sister site to here) and help get those issues worked out. I have been going through my shop giving it an overhaul and really makes a difference, cabinets, shelves, storage, get everything possible up off the floor so you have room to work.

 

You leave your Harley out in the garage? Oh, the humanity!

Mine is in the living room, between the sofa and the TV set...in pieces.

But, I'm also single. Wonder why.

 

thats funny...yeah i have a 2009 electra glide cl***ic...only been upgrading things so its there to drive anytime

 

I cant find any good prices on spindle setups...a few are asking 100 just for one spindle

 

Got mine at the boneyard. 30 minutes work got calipers, spindles, the works for about $50. Course I got new calipers/rotors, etc but I used that stuff for core fees.

Got another set a couple months later and sold them for $175 to help cover the cost of my swap

 

is there an increase in track width with the granada swap?

 

No, it will not change.

 

im just gonna save money and rebuild what I have unless my drums are bad then Ill decide

picked up a oil pan for the 5.0 thanks for guidance from Jeff

 

Just ordered from autozone:
aerostar springs
shocks-front
mustang MC
Engine mounts
****** mount
oil pickup tube/gasket
oil pan 1 piece gasket
front brake hoses

 

Once you pick up your parts, take your front drums off as soon as you can, and ***ess the condition of the components. You'll certainly need wheel cylinders, but if all is dry and the shoes still have good thickness, you're probably not going to have to go much farther.

You'll need to run new hard lines to the front wheels and re-route the hard lines to the rear wheels when you plumb your new master cylinder. Remember that the front port goes to the rear wheels, the rear port to the front wheels. (No, with a drum/drum system it won't make any difference, but you might as well plan ahead for when you eventually install disc brakes. The disc/drum master does make a difference, and this way you won't have to redo your hard lines when you go to discs.)

Also, don't forget (or skip on purpose) bench-bleeding the master cylinder before you install it. This will save you mucho potential headaches when you bleed the entire system. If you've never bench-bled a master cylinder, don't fret, instructions are always packed with the master - even rebuilt ones.

While you're replacing the master cylinder, front wheel cylinders and soft lines, you might as well remove, wash, repack and reinstall the front wheel bearings, using new inner seals, of course.

And, while you've got 'em apart, take your drums to the local O'Reillys and have 'em lightly cut...just enough to true them up. Be sure to tell the guy who cuts the drums to remove as little as possible! Otherwise he may just make one heavy, rough cut...and remove much more precious metal than is necessary. He may not understand how difficult good early Ford drums are to find...and how ****** expensive they are.

Use aerosol brake cleaner to clean the backing plates and inner brake components; then take medium grit sandpaper to the shoe brake surfaces and scuff them thoroughly to remove the glaze. This will help keep them from squeeking when you put everything back together.

Once you've got it all back together and the wheels back on, adjust the shoes until they just barely drag and then bleed the system...in that order. With that finished, you'll be good to go on to the next step, whatever it may be.

 

I do have two new front wheel cylinders...
the shoes looked ok no crakes etc...the springs look old and everything need to be cleaned...


do I really need to replummeb the whole system or just adapt to whats there?

 

well to be on the safe side its better to re plum the whole brake lines. thats what i dun to mine . it would be bad to have an original bust and wreck . be cheaper to replace the lines then fix a wrecked car.

 

right....How many feet of brake line should I buy for that?


also just bought new rear leaf springs from JC whitney...

 

If you are going to replace all the old lines,look up a place in the yellow pages that do hydraulic lines.Remove the old lines and take them along with you,that way they can bend them for you by using the old ones for a pattern.Get a can of PB Blaster and spray around the fittings and let them set overnight to loosen them.make sure you have a good quality set of flare nut wrenches like Craftsman to remove and install with,no chinese junk like O'Reilly or Autozone or Harbor Freight these fittings strip EZ.

 

well i just bought several sticks of various lengths. and a buch of couplers. take a flexible tape measure and just try your best to measure it . aint got the be perfect just close. write each one down on a peice of paper. then go from there. replacement line comes in about 10inch increments. you can also buy a roll of it but if your not experienced in double flaring or know someone who is , i would just buy it by the stick. im a auto tech by trade and i cant double flare . i split every one. so i dont even try anymore. some people can some cant. bending it up aint hard to do with a little comone sense. but i do it anymore pretty regular. get the difrent kinds of tubing benders that harbor freight sells. and take your time. as far as flare nut wrenchs. yea good ones are better. i had some craftmens and give them to a freind. i now only use snapon. but there not priced pratical for just a home user.this sounds weird . but if your not reusing you brake line or hose's. dont even try to take them apart. just cut them with a pair of side cutters. where they conect to a hose , cut the hose. and if reusing wheel cyls on the rear. cut the line use a socket to take the nut out . i like my rear springs . fast shipping and fit good. right price, best of all with the free shipping .

 

Most auto parts stores offer brake line tools for rent. You'll need a tubing bender of the proper size and a flaring tool.

I use welding rod to create the shape I need, then re-create the shape using the tubing bender. Takes some practice, but you'll get the hang of it. Tubing is cheap.

Making good double flares also takes practice. Check Google for how-to threads on making automotive double flares. Again, practice makes better. Just remember to put the fitting on the tube BEFORE you make the flare.

There is some new "soft" brake tubing you might want to look into. But... I understand it has some drawbacks that make it less than ideal. Check it out, then decide.

Making new steel brake lines is one of the least expensive tasks you'll encounter when building your car. It isn't rocket science and is a skill you'll call upon for many years to come.

Good luck!

 

ok..I'll figure that out...

ok since im repalcing dash next two things i need to figure out is 12V wiper setup...(where is a good kit)

and steering column (since im doing auto and its a manual column) what all can I do for this one or is there another one that can go in...not FR or ididit

also im prob going to be using the 56 steering wheel and 15x6 rims in front...should I do power steering?

 

also wont be needing clutch pedal is there someway to rig it up with out the pedal besides cut it off or do I need a auto setup

cause someone might want my whole ****** setup with zbar and linkage and such

 

one day i will buy one of these wiper motors.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1955...tZVintageQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

as far as the clutch pedal, i think you can take it off the asembly easily. power steering? up to you . im working on it on mine because im getting old and lazy, and my wife could drive it then. but if you got good arms , you dont need p.s. . as far as a whole steering colum. well the factory box has the whole shaft the wheel mounts to as part of it. there are options, you can cut it off and use something else. find a used auto one to put in it. i would conquere that when i get there. speedway has some decent priced universals. but if using your stock box you need to cut the input shaft to be able to use one.

 

You can get a suspension rebuild set up from Kanter, for a decent price (ball joints and A arm bushings etc.) the real expensive part is if you need to replace some of your steering components. One of the ones that I need is like 400 bucks for the one arm alone. I am not driving it right now so that can wait lol!

If your gonna do the brake lines yourself make sure you get a good tubing bender, I got a bluepoint one off of the snap on truck, but if you go home depot they have the same bender there in thier plumbing aisle. ou will also need a good flaring tool. Spend the money to get a good one, as that is the most important part of the whole operation. Eastwood sells some, and I am sure craftsman has a good one too.

I have aftermarket spindles on my car, but have no idea who makes them as they were on the car when I purchased it, but you can probably get some from Jamco or use the granada set up.

 

'52-56 Pedals will interchange,if tntrotters Crestline that is being parting out was a Ford-O Matic get His brake pedal and bolt,with the spacers.It is an EZ job swapped mine in about 20 minutes.

 

is a 56 merc the same for the pedals also?

 

does the 8" maverick bolt right in or do the perches need to be moved?