1955 Ford Ranch Longroof Buildup (fatman Front end)

So I found my wagon back in July, this is the first week I had it home. I thought I share some more photos of what has been done so far.

Dan

 

Love the long roofs,

Does it have a Fatman front suspension? HRP

 

The farmer who owned it moved it with a forklift and did a number on the body. 5 minutes cost me a ton of time doing body work.

 

I'm just curious as to why you would spend all that money on a Fatman kit? I'm doing a 56 sedan and adding a MII kit never entered my mind. I may upgrade to disks someday but adding a small car front suspension just seems like a down grade to me.

I sold a 57 Ranch wagon a few years ago (no storage room) so I love them. Mine performed real well and I could not justify any changes. I miss the wagon so that is why I started the 56 as a replacement.

 

Just another pic of the damage.

 

I pondered different options on the front end for a long time. This car is going to be for my wife, and trust me she has little patience for a car that doesn't drive like a modern car. So considering, the control arms on a 55-56 Ford have poor geometry at best and the steering box is also not desirable. I considered upgrading the brakes to discs, box to a intergral power steering and then rebuilding the original suspension. When I added that up I was only a few hundred away from having a rack with discs. And the swap only took a couple hours.

And it look nice...

 

Fatman Front End installed

 

Stance pics

 

Body and metal work

 

302 Fuelie engine, with AOD. Again, this is to keep the wife happy. She wants to get in and start it without having to call me and ask how to start the car. It should be a good reliable setup.

 

Bodywork is getting there. Many hours spent trying to straighten out 40 years of living on a farm.

 

Nice project!
I enjoy seeing "ALL" 2 door wagons.
I still kick myself, for not buying a 57' Chevy sedan Delivery back in the
mid 70's. It was only $300.00, and had a 348 that someone squeezed in.
It was in decent running shape and the body wasn't bad.
Good luck with your project!.

 

Very nice, keep up the good work, wagons are a ton of Fun!

 

I had my wife take her purse to the paint store and they matched it to get a color for the roof, wheels and dash. It wasn't a cheap color either. Tri-coat red pearl. The rest of the car should be in Satin black within the next couple weeks.

It's too bad I can only work a couple hours a night or I would have this one on the road a lot quicker.