Projects 1954 Ford without a Ford

40fordtudor: so that how you cool down your garage? Ha!

 

well i like it! i dont care if it runs a sbc or a sbf or even a mopar,just as long as its a v-8 and its movin on its own.i have a 383 chevy in my wagon.its shut down alot of them sbf,!!! but like i said who cares, not me. !! now get to work on it and make her pretty ! lol

 

like you ford and i agree with you if the drive train is what you like and it runs good who cares

 

You interpreted what I said wrong and Got all Ford-defensive like you blue oval boys tend to do. I'm not bashing flatheads or any other Ford, I love them just as much as the next guy. The thing is though, ANY engine no matter who, what, when or where it was built will eventually fail and need repaired. If I'm out on a long road trip somewhere I'd much rather be able to go down to Autozone or a junk yard and get SBC parts and be back on the road in an hour than to be stuck in the middle of B.F.E. with inbred crack zombies eyeballing my car for a week while I sit around and wait for a mail ordered flathead, nailhead or other obscure engine parts.

Many people interpret "Performance" as simply how much power something makes. There are other aspects of performance that are often overlooked, like durability, reliability, parts availability, etc. To me, that makes a performance engine more than just raw horsepower, torque or RPM numbers but to each his own.

I realize that I'm going against the grain saying it, but I've had enough daily driven flathead cars to know that it's a royal PITA if your daily commute is more than 5 miles. When I go out looking for a car to buy, I wont even consider an early Ford/Merc/Lincoln unless it's SBC powered. I know that sounds awful, but that's how it is for me. I'd rather be out enjoying cars than stuck at home working on them. Life is too short.

 

Thanks to those that have posted pics of '54 Fords

 

will be going to the Goodguys Swap Meet in Pleasanton this weekend to look for parts

 

Makes sense to me-----so where are the pics of your traditional 2012 Honda Accord? Im sure that Auto Zone has all the parts there for it when it breaks down. Even if it did , you could drop by the local shit yard and buy a Vortec 350 or mighty LS 69 to drop in to replace the 4 banger.

 

Same setup im running in my 54,i have two chevy powered fords!

 

Also I might add 55 & 56 fords dont have a K member. they have two crossmembers the first one has the rubber bushings the lower control arms bolt to it. the second cross member has the engine mounts and the rear bushing mounts for the lower control arms. The engines where all front sump and the oil sump is between those two crossmembers. now a 53 ford does have a K member. Im not trying to be hateful or agrue. it just I believe falsehoods wether intentional or just caused by incorrect memory & info should be brought to light.

 

Woodward Avenue Ghosts! In 1953, Ford engineers had some 'prototypes' to work with, and fitted a pre-release '54 Coupe with a new pre-release 352 F-E engine, Police Interceptor type, high compression, solid cam, 4 bbl.
They took it down "the Blvd.", and did some 'exhibition" with it.
Truly an all-around car, versatile and roadable, great suspension geometry...

I've had 11 (eleven!) '54 Ford Coupes. Perfection on 4 wheels....

Only 3 had the splash pans, but if you look underneath, the frame is drilled in 8 places for the self-tapping 5/16" metal screws that held them on.

(when I was an apprentice, I threw customers' splash pans in the pre-'dumpster' at the old man's orders! "Son...Time is money, don't waste it putting the packaging back on the Fords!")
Every one that came into Mayfield's Garage (we were Ford/Mercury Specialists) had the pans, but cars were nearly new in '56!
I've removed some of 'em... LOL

 

have a sbc in my 53...

 

bulletproof1 - your '53 looks Cool. have a pic of the engine bay that you can post?

 

Anyone have any Pictures? Ill have to see it to believe it. back in the day the rear mains would leak, So raise up the front end and pull the pan and change the rear seal, Never seen a 55 or 56 with any factory or homebuilt splash pans. I asked a older guy than me who worked for the ford garage back in the fifties. He stated he Never heard of anything like splash pans on a 55 or 56 . Now it could maybe have been a dealer installed option. Or mayne just a 54 one year deal. I know a guy that has a 54 his dad bought new, it still has the 239 Y block. Im gonna go look at it. I went and looked at the frame on my 55 6cyl wagon, there are not any holes drilled in the frame. it was all original when I got it more than 30 years ago. I pulled the 223 and installed a 262. Original 6 volt car never had engine work. and no splash pans!

 

My '54 has the elusive splash pan. Maybe it was a one year only item or just for 223 powered cars in '54. Two pieces, runs back around the oil pan, limits access from underneath. Will try and take pics.

 

Just add paint. Ron

 

My 54 with Y block still has (or had) them. Held on with pinch clips like brake lines, obviously never been off since new. I had to zip wheel the fasteners off since they couldn't be reused.

Good to see another 54 on the road either way with any engine combo. I like em.

 

When I first worked on those, they were only around 4 or 5 years old,....and likely hadn't been removed for other repairs. There was definitely one on my 54 Customline coup. Cross member, K member.....they're still located in approx the same place.

4TTRUK

 

Sorry i ever doubted you LOL! I asked about them on the ford social group and some guys say they still have them another guy "jeff2b" the modarator of the group ,that has had multiple 54 fords says hes never seen them either...i even crawled around under my ford and see no signs of holes in the frame anywhere where they would bolt on...wonder if all cars had them installed or just certain plants that installed them? any whoo there is such thing as a "splash pan" .....still curious to see pictures...and possibly trying to find some.....heres the link to the thread on the social group where guys with 54'sand 55's and 56's say they have them:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/group.php?do=discuss&discussionid=38920

 

I can see where their would be some benifit on a 6 cyl car. It would keep water away from the distributer.

 

Funny you dont say SBMopar or SBFord, since those are in tons car/truck/motorhome/generators running the same years as SBC, and you can get parts for them at any Junkyard/autoparts store. The whole getting parts for a SBC is easier is a myth when compared to the equivalent V8s from the other two, now I will say there is MORE aftermarket parts available for the SBC, but there is also plenty of aftermarket stuff for the other two also.

I hope someday I can have a real motor that runs, instead of pushing my vehicle to work everyday...

 

Greetings! Nice car, please, please, replace that junk plastic fuel filter with a glass or metal one, those plastic filters crack with age or alcohol gas, has burned more than one car to the ground.

 

Ok I just remembered I have a genuine Ford & Thunderbird chassis parts catalog dated september 1956 it came from a ford dealership it covers 1955 ,56 & 57. On page 410 It has the splash pans listed for 1955 only.
Group numbers 6775 & 6776 for 1955 8 cyl 272 engine. also the same group numbers for the 6 cyl but the pictures are different. no listing for 1956 or 57. group numbers and parts numbers are not the same thing. Im gonna guess they where a 54 & early 55 item? And might have only been installed at certian plants? Maby they where put on cars that would be shipped to locations that had lots of snow or rain? Im of the opinion that some 54 & 55 fords came from the factory with the now rare as hens teeth splash pans. However Im also of the opinion some didnt ever have them. I will concede I was wrong about the splash pans never existing.

 

I have a 54 business coupe with SBC/700R it may P-off some guys. The car has had so many body changes what is under the doesn't matter.
On the subject of the under body pans My 54 Vicky had them when it had the 239 with auto trans and my 55 Vicky had them when it had the 272 with auto trans. I still have the parts for both cars. Both of these Fords were built the Fremont/San jose ca. plant.

 

as for under body pans it shows that you can learn something new every day

 

PS; They wer'nt bolted on,....They were held in place with "turn locks",...you didn't need any tools to remove. 1/4 turn, and off they came. Ford had the "better idea" of mounting the generator nect to the lower engine block, on pass side; The pans kept water out of the gen, and made access to it a bit easier, from below. The holes (bottom side of frame) for the fasteners were oblong shape, approx 3/4" x 1/4".

4TTRUK

 

Here's a photo of the engine and pans on my car:

 

Ok the picture,s im my parts book show a hole like yours has in the one splash pan for the six cyl version the pictures of the 272 V8 version doesnt have the hole.

 

Looking good, I've got a LQ4 (Iron block LS style) in my 54

 

Yeah, my car had a 6 and getting an 8.

Thanks Crazy Legs. I opted for Detroil Diesel Alpine Green for the engine color, more subtle plus I like green.

 

Damn! I almost forgot what this thread was about?? Oh yeah a guy's 1954 Ford that 'He's' planning on making a daily driver out of,Hell I wouldn't care if it had a 4cy Diesel-as long as he driving it! at least it doesn't have a fuel injected anything in it!
Y-Blocks are now the 'new' belly button engines