New Ride - Survivor 1956 Ford Fairlane

And, I guess it hasn’t been as long as I thought since I last drove it. This was back in May hauling my grandson and daughter to a parade in a small town just north of us. This is the grandson that first rode in the car before he was born as shown in an earlier pic. He just turned 3 last Friday and likes the old cars already.

 

I always liked your car my late brother was a try five ford guy his first was a 55 mainline that he made into a gasser style then came his 56 vicky his last one was 57 two door ranch wagon with 22,000 miles on it all original paint he was working on it when he died.

 

Glad to catch this thread. Thanks to those that helped it up.
Esp. @rusty1 . Always admire the avatar. Nice

 

I really dig how it has a lot of custom touches while overall being a fairly original car. Makes me think of a teens rod in the late fifties or early sixties that had to sneak around and do modifications without his parents catching on or noticing. And my first full size rod as an adult was very nearly a 55 customline had someone not beat me out of it

 

Engine as it currently looks. I had a chrome air cleaner on it but it ended up on my son’s Edsel. So, running the reproduction Cadillac air cleaner now to hide the ugly carburetor. Thus far, this engine has never been into other than me swapping the intake and valve covers. I have a 56 312 that I am thinking of rebuilding to replace this one.

 

May was 6 months ago. Ruth demands to be driven more frequently! Glad you haven't totally forgotten about her. One of my favorite 56's

 

Agreed. I realized a couple months ago that this is the first year it didn’t go on any of our Hot Rod Hundred reliability runs. Prior to this year, it went on at least one, if not a couple of those each year between Oklahoma, Texas, Springfield, and St. Louis.

 

Since 2024 was the year of neglect for the 56, 2025 is going to be the year to get started on fixing stuff. My mom was asking me what I wanted for my birthday coming up soon and I thought of a new battery. I’m tired of having to charge the battery every time I need to move the car, etc. Next on the list will be to finally swap the transmission. Then, I hope to put new carpet in and get the seats recovered. It is entered for the Gathering at the Roc so I have lots to do before then. But, I should have plenty of time too. I want this car back on the road and reliable so I can spend my time on the Merc.

 

So, after debating whether to pull the transmission today to swap it, I decided to just go ahead and rebuild a 312 I have had for years first. Maybe when I am done this winter, Ruth will be ready for another 100k miles or so.

 

What type transmission is going in?

 

Probably a 57 Fordomatic. I have a good one that came with a 57 312 that was supposed to end up in this car. That engine ended up in my sons Edsel, but I still have the transmission.

 

Maybe…I would need lots of parts to do that. I do have an OD 3-speed out of a 56 Tbird.

 

Seriously this car keeps getting better

 

Why do I feel like @Moriarity happens to have the needed parts laying around?

 

Definitely no argument there. Any of my cars I spend any seat time in always have a worn spot to the left of the brake pedal where I try to stomp the clutch before putting in gear lol.

 

I agree! The only automatic I have is my 3 year old Silverado, Papaw is a manual and so is Little Truckdoctor’s Ford Pickup.

 

Just the other day, I was discussing swapping this car to a manual with @bchrismer and @cvstl since I have wanted to do that for a long time. Then, I decided to hit the easy button so I could get started on the Merc. You guys are talking me back into what I really want in this car. Heck, I just took the harder route to get an CDL with a manual to make sure I could drive any truck, so why would I take the easy route on my own car?

Anyone have a manual column, clutch pedal assembly, bellhousing, etc. laying around? I guess I should start looking. From what I understand, the column and pedal parts are all 56 specific. They don’t even share parts with a 55… There is a guy not far from me that specializes in 55-56 Ford parts. Seems I need to give him a call.

 

If your goin to swap engine and trans , push the button for the FE .FE and a stick is the Hot Rod answer . 312 is nice if that’s your choice , just sayin if your swapping go for the grand slam

 

This car is so original that I hate to do anything other than a y-block. Plus, I have come to really like y-blocks in the past few years. I just want it a reliable driver maybe being a little more fun than it has been with a standard instead of slush box. I have an OT Chevelle if I want to drive something with more power.

 

Thanks Mark. I’m a member in that group and just put a post asking if anyone might have what I need. I do remember talking to one guy in Missouri a few years ago that at least some of it.

 

@Moriarity And "automatics are for girls", right?

 

One thing on Y blocks, change the distributor to a 57 or newer to get rid of the loadomatic advance. They don't work well if you change the carb from the original towering inferno one.

 

Yep, I did that back when I put 3 twos on in 2014. I’ve been running a 57 intake and four barrel for several years now after I gave up on 3 Holley 94’s. Anyway, thanks for the info.

 

I've got a Cruise-O-Matic out of a 60 T-Bird I'd let go real cheap. That gives you a first gear start all the time.

 

I am all for a manual transmission. I currently drive 2 off-topic old vehicles with "stick" transmissions (5-speed overdrive conversions). The overdrive part is great when on a 75 MPH interstate drive.

I gotta question the "3-on-a-tree" idea. It is "Bonus Points" for "Old School", but is it really an improvement? My "negative opinions" are based on driving a Rambler American, delivering fried chicken for Chicken Delight in the summer of 1963.

If you go through with this (Double Bonus Old School points), make sure that all your shifter rod bushings are tight. The above Rambler American was driven by a large number of minimum wage teenagers. I have less than fond memories of the shifter locking up in the middle of an intersection. Clutch in, drift over to the side of the road, hood up, grab the greasy levers sticking out of the column, force them back and forth to get the levers parallel, close hood.

Now what do I do with all the grease on my hands??? Fortunately, I was on my way back to the store.

DANG, was that really 62 years ago?

Russ