So, I'm contemplating the gauges in my 56 Mercury I haven't picked the car up yet but Ive seen where some say the car is 12v and other I've seen 6v. I'm just contemplating making the factory gauges work, or is it a lost cause? I've searched the sticky and I've searched the journal. Thoughts, advice... Thanks
Ford went to 12 volts beginning with the '56 models. Your gauges are also 12 volt, '56 was the only year they did that. They went back to 6 volt gauges with the '57 models. They aren't a lost cause but senders are hard to come by.
Thank you Tom. Any advice on finding senders? I am putting a 302 in this car so I’m open to adaptations.
I have not found a problem with senders. I have replaced, over time, both the water and oil sender on my 56 Ford and both work properly. I wanted the I-did-it-lights to work. I’m sure both would screw into your Mercurys engine with the appropriate fitting. The water needed to be grounded to the block so be careful with Teflon tape if you use it. I have also changed the fuel tank sender and with a little bending of the float rod made it acceptable to me on what’s in the tank compared to the gauge..patience is a virtue when doing this. A friend with a 55-56 Mercury replaced his Y-block with a 302 and found there was less room for it than he thought. The Ford could come with a 6 the Mercury never did. I don’t know what year parts he used to keep it as short as he could and I believe the cast iron exhaust manifolds came from a later Lincoln but fit perfect.
Hi Jimmy, Thanks alot for the info. I was planning to use the fox body mounts. As I did this before on a 55 Ford. Idk what motor came in that Ford so I’ll browse through the sticky to see what others might have done with a v8 car. Do you know how your buddy mounted his engine?
No I don’t but the next time I see him I’ll ask a look to see if I can photo them. I know a later FE goes in a Ford pretty easy..
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