The 55 Ford Club Sedan is about ready to receive it's front end sheet metal since the whole front end was removed down to a bare frame and a bare firewall. The easy part was getting the cross member finished, replacing and updating the steering/suspension, re-installing the engine and transmission, etc. Now we come to the sheet metal that supports the fenders and everything else. Does anyone out there have any advice concerning sequence, adjustment, etc?
Both of the Inner Wheel Wells & the Radiator Support along with the fresh Air Tubes must be Mounted first as some Bolts can not be Reached after Fenders are Attached. For the Fenders, Front Cross Support & Hood the Thing that would have Helped was Drilling 1/8 Diameter Pilot Holes at Attachment Points Before Dis***embly. With Out Them You can only Mount Everything Loosely and Adjust as Needed until it all Fits.
X2 what Jim said. Did you buy the fastener set from T-Bird Products? You will be glad if you did. I would install the hood first so you don't gack up the fenders. Then get all the inner fenders, radiator support, tie bar and air tubes bolted up loosely. Then the fenders which will probably need shims at upper and lower cowl areas. Not difficult, just tedious. Good luck, Rev.
I can see where that would have helped...with all brand new seals, that new mounting pad for the radiator support, welding in sheet metal, etc, etc, I reckon I would have had to have started all over again. I do wish I would have drilled for the hood. It is bolted to the hinges right now, but we did remove the hinges and blasted, primed, painted, re-sealed to the firewall, and bolted them in. I guess that would cause a start over from square one. Hindsight is always 20/20 @brodie, yes I did purchase the front end hardware kit from TBird, but it did seem like there ought to be more bolts, etc than what was in the box. I guess I will find out soon enough! "gack up" love it lol..... My new phrase on this build. So what you guys are saying... 1. Mount my hood so the rear of it is lined up with the top of the cowl real good 2.I need to install the air tubes/inner fender/air dam altogether and then loosely bolt each ***embly to the firewall and to the radiator support, correct? 3.Ok then after that mount the tie bar (what is that Brodie) and gravel pan I ***ume. 4. Next comes mocking up the fenders themselves...lining up with the gravel pan/bumper, front doors, inner fender I take it I can get this all together and tighten it all up and then remove the outer fenders for body work if I drill this pilot holes? Will that inner sheet metal ***embly stay out if I do so? Thanks fellas!
The tie bar is a round bar that spans the upper portion of the radiator support and is held on with 2 bolts. At least on my 55.
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