1952-59 Ford Houston 54 Build Thread

I thought I'd start a build thread for my 54.

 

Got the ch***is rebuilt, then set the body loosely on the frame.....set the 302 in the motor mounts, then got laid off from my job. So, the car got pushed into the garage and sat there for roughly two years.

 

Nasty 302 sitting in the completed ch***is.

 

Keep the pics coming. I think it's great to see the build as they progress along. Great start!

 

Borrowed my father-in-law's pressure washer and degreased and pressure washed the 302....attacked the garage floor and the lawn mower while I was at it.

 

Nice clean small block Ford. Ready for dis***embly, primer, paint, new parts, etc.

 

Cool thread. I've never seen a thread where an engine was stripped down, primed, and painted. If you could let us know what products you are using as you go along, that would be great.

 

Here's a photo of my 302 doing its' best impression of a 239 Y-block, with Ivory paint on the block and the intake manifold and the correct 1954 red on the valve covers.

 

I was wondering about that color combo,Lookin' Good!

 

Looks great! Thanks for posting pics and info; always learning on the HAMB.

 

So far, the exhaust manifolds have lined up nicely with plenty of clearance. These are stock, 1988 Lincoln manifolds.

 

If you could also post a pic of the drivers side manifold from the same angle,some other manifolds are very close to the steering box.

 

I like what you're doing with the colors, makes it look like your SBF came in the car. I'll watch your progress. I like keeping stuff original as much as possible but what you're doing is next best, IMO. I'm putting a '55 Merc 292 in my '56 Fairlane and trying to keep the engine compartmet as original- or era-correct looking as possible with a few exceptions. Another IMO, 50s cars look best when they look 50s. Great job!
Ron

 

Thanks for the kind words raceron....I totally agree with your opinion about 50's era cars. I personally don't care for the 50's and 60's era cars that are stripped of all of the things that make them look like old cars and then slapped with O-ring tires and 22 inch rims.

My plan has always been to build a car that looks 100% stock at first glance but has some modern improvements lurking just below the surface (kind of like the 302 in 54 colors).

 

Jeff...here ya go. I dug out my steering box and lined up the mounting holes on the frame, so it's not mounted but it's sitting exactly in the right spot. As you can see, there's about enough room to slide a fairly fat pencil between the box and the exhaust manifold.

 

The engine looks great! Heads up, though. Those latemodel valve covers have no provision for a PVC/Breather. Efi 5.0s had the pvc in the back of the intake. You can use the hole on the filler neck to go to the air cleaner, but you will have to cut a hole in your valve cover or switch to earlier ones to put a breather/pvc in. You may already know that, but thought Id say something

 

thanks for the compliment and the heads up greensheads. I was thinking about using the hole/connector in the filler neck for that purpose...or, as a last resort, I'll drill a hole in the back of one of the valve covers for a pcv valve.

 

Cool thread, love the pics. Post a pic of the valve covers with the stickers on

 

Here's my loosely disguised 302 valve cover. I left the sticker a bit off center to make room for a pcv valve.

 

That looks great, man! well done.

 

Thanks...just elbow grease and rattle can paint

 

Ain"t nothin a can 'o rattle can't take care of!! valve cover's look sick!!!

 

Spent some time on the 54 last night....got my Edelbrock intake bolted down, but it did not go as smoothly as I hoped it would.

I downloaded Edelbrock's bolt tightening directions and torque reccomendations and noticed that they specifically said not to use the rubber end seals for the manifold. Instead, they recommended a 1/4 inch bead of RTV. I've heard this in other places and decided to go with it. It made a freakin mess (which was due largely to my lack of skills) and I'm just not totally sure that I got a good seal.

So...I did what I should've done beforehand, and called my dad. He said that he's also heard lots of people say that you shouldn't use the seals, etc. but he disagrees and says that he's used the rubber seals in conjunction with some RTV and has never had a seal blow out on him.

So...what do you guys think?

I'm probably gonna pull the thing off and do it over again anyway. The bolts that came out of the Lincoln 302 didn't all work with the Edelbrock due to some height differences between it and the stock Lincoln intake, and I just barely got a few of them threaded. So, I'll probably pull it off and clean up my $#%!# mess and buy a bolt kit from the local speed shop, and when I put it back on I'm leaning towards following my dad's advice, unless you guys have some other wisdom for me.

 

Strictly a matter of opinion, but I think you're doing the right thing by following your Dad's advice. I'd use the rubber seals with RTV on the joints. If it leaks you can always take it apart and goop it up the way Edelbrock says.

If you work carefully I don't think you'll get any leakage. Just be sure your PCV system is working properly so that there is a slight vacuum inside the motor, and not a pressure which might force the oil out any tiny gap in the sealer.

The full-RTV thing will certainly work, but it is messy and will give you fits trying to get it apart. I have a thing about putting stuff together so that it's hard to get apart the next time, but that's just me.

I like ARP bolts, but the black oxide ones will rust over time. They also make 'em in stainless, but I don't like all that much bright stuff on my motor.

So I do what any red-blooded hot rodder would do: Use the ARP black oxide bolts and leave 'em loose. That way the oozing oil will keep 'em from rusting... (I hope you know that I'm kidding!!!)

Good luck, and let us know how it works out for you.

Eric

 

There is a product that is much better than the standard RTV,most of the high dollar quality shops bought it when I worked for Checker Auto's commercial store it's called "The Right Stuff" they swear there is nothing like it.Those bolts are also available in a gold,that would look good with your emblems too!

 

I bought a PCV Valve and grommet for a late 70's 302 at AutoZone and I plan on carefully drilling a hole in one of my valve covers to install it in. I've been told that I only need one pcv valve (ie...not one in each valve cover) and that I should route it to the intake manifold.

Does this sound like sage advice? Also...does it matter if I mount it way down on the end of one of the valve covers?

 

Early small block Chevy V8s had closed valve covers. The PCV valve was at the carburetor base and the "suction" side was in the block at the rear of the engine. There was an oil filler at the front of the intake manifold with a filtered "open" cap to let fresh air in.

The only drawback of this setup is that moisture may collect on the inside of the valve covers under certain cir***stances (condensation) which can, in extreme cases, cause rust to form on the inside of the valve covers. In a car that is regularly used and well-maintained I don't think this would be a problem.

If I was you...given the really cool nature of your valve covers...I'd try to figure out some kind of PCV system that draws from someplace other than a valve cover.

There are some threads here on the HAMB which discuss this concept that you may find helpful...some very detailed, but may or may not apply to small block Ford motors.

I just hate to see you cut up those pretty valve covers...

Good luck!

Eric

 

make sure you have some kind of baffle under the pcv. because if not. it will **** up oil and you will get smoke out of the ex. pipe. at least i always have if i didnt have some kind of baffles to deflect the oil.

 

It was a beautiful day in the Houston area today and I managed to get in some nice garage time. I finally tackled the task of bolting the body down to the frame and it was every bit as tedious as I thought it would be. But....it's done and now the 54 has all new body/frame bolts and fresh rubber pads between the body and the frame.

Here's a few photos from today. The one of the trunk shows how rust free this old tudor is. It's one of the things I've always loved about this car, especially since I've ressurected some real rustbuckets in the past.

 

Man, that is looking good! Cleaning and painting the bottomside is a lot of work, but it sure pays off when you can work under there without dirt and rust falling into your face all the time! Keep up the good work.