Welcome, thanks for taking time to read my post. Ok first off I honestly hate to ask such a general question but i am at an imp***e and could use some help in deciding on a direction...bear with me please The project: 1954 ford customline 4 door , 239 Y-Block, Ford-o-matic transmission(not for long), fat white wall tires (new ones en-route), generally straight and rot free body, some rot in a few places on frame. The intended direction: A slight g***er style stance to the front, flat black body with candy red roof. Cruiser inspired more than performance with good reliability. The problems: Ok I am just going to jump into these... The motor, i want to keep an original style motor (i.e. a Y-block style motor) in the car mostly because i have not yet had the chance to work on one of these. My main concern here is because of my lack of first hand experience with these motors i do not know which of them would give me the best combination of reliability, performance, and wont cost me 10 grand to rebuild or modify. Or am im just barking up the wrong tree here and should i drop a 351 Cleveland in..... this is my motor question. The frame rot, i did a very detailed search of the car once i got it in the air and discovered that the only place with actual rot was on a few cross-members on the front of the car, one of them being the front motor support cross-member. Because i intend to modify the suspension to a solid axle in the front i have the choice of fixing the few spots that are affected by the rot or just cutting everything forward of the fire wall off and dropping in a pre-fabbed g***er setup and making motor mounts to fit what ever motor i decide to put in there. The transmission, ok this one i have pretty much decided on but still value input from the community to see if i have made a poor decision. The original Ford-O-Matic ****** is out, it seems heavy, overly complicated for its purpose and more than likely more expensive to get to a reliable state than it is worth. i have decided that a bell housing adapter and either a T350 or 700R transmission would be the best fit for reliability, cost efficiency, and ease of repair/installation. if i am way off base here or have overlooked some grand aspect of the Ford-O-Matic transmission please enlighten me. *addition to original post* i just remembered another issue i was going to ask for some advice on concerning the motor. Now i understand that in 1954 all fuel was leaded and that today that is obviously not the case. I understand that there is an oil injection kit to help keep the motor from running to hot. Are all of these kits equal or are there some that are better than others? Ok thanks for reading the post, and feel free to offer any and all advice, criticism, or anything of the sort. Have a great one.
Greetings, and great choice of project! I'm by no means an expert, but I'll post what I've found so far. I would however recommending joining up with the 52-56 Ford Social Group, it is a truly awesome resource for these cars. Also, check out my 52-56 Ford FAQ post, it has some helpful info I've tried to consolidate in to one place. For your motor choice, pretty much all of the y-blocks will be pretty close to the same cost for rebuilds and parts, compared to one another. They are certainly a more expensive for rebuild parts and vintage speed parts compared to a SBF or SBC lump, and you won't make much power without a healthy wallet. But they sound, look, and feel awesome, IMO if you have a decent y-block now I would stick with it. Check out John Mummert for all kinds of y-block goodies. If you aren't keen on the power numbers or costs of a y-block, I would suggest a SBF Windsor motor rather than a Cleveland, SBFs will pretty much bolt right in with the right Lincoln motor mounts, and they fit a lot better in the tight confines of the engine bay. For your cross-member issue, thats a pretty common issue on our cars, I would look up a HAMB member named Chalupa55, he makes replacements and the price is right. You can also sometimes find similar replacements on eBay, but I would stick with Chalupa's. For your trans issue, I would recommend a C4, or an AOD if you want overdrive. John Mummert makes adapters for the y-blocks. Good luck!
"The intended direction: A slight g***er style stance to the front, flat black body with candy red roof. Cruiser inspired more than performance with good reliability." I would suggest you pick one style and stick with it. A straight axle g***er custom, non-performance, reliable street cruiser with flat black paint and candy roof 4 door? Mutt
hey mutt i thought the idea behind building your own car was being able to do what ever crazy *** thing you want to. constructive criticism is always appreciated but why not make a more specific suggestion to the idea than "pick one style". not trying to insult you but it makes you sound unintelligent to make such a general statement. i am personally tired of building high performance cars that are high maintenance and **** on gas. i like the g***er look and think a '54 customline would be a new take on it.
56don, ha ha my bad dude you caught me slipping. i totally misspoke there thanks for keeping me in check.
hey echo of gecko, wow man thanks for the great info. i had thought about the c4 ******, i will give them a second look. also thanks so much for the info regarding the cross-member issue, that is extremely helpful. thanks again
It's not a 4 door but pictures can inspire The thing about the 5.0/302 AOD/C4 swap is all the mounts can be bought over the counter for about $75.When you get ready to do it and join the group I can send you pics of the install and the part numbers.
Hey nothing wrong with a g***er/custom/crusier. A straight axle car with lake pipes and a viser and curb feelers. That would be krazzy.
ha ha good **** 'old soul' not the exact direction im taking but if you build it send me some pics ha ha
You said: "Ok thanks for reading the post, and feel free to offer any and all advice, criticism, or anything of the sort. Have a great one." You said to feel free to offer any and all advice, criticism, or anything of the sort, and then say it makes ME sound unintelligent to make a general statement? Here's a specific suggestion - when you decide to name your creation, I'd suggest the name "Train Wreck". Mutt
hey mutt, I'm not going to carry on a long drawn out insult contest with you so this will be the last thing i say to you. I did indeed say that all advice and criticism would be welcome... I also ***umed that the advice and or criticism would be constructive and intelligent in nature. I see that with you that ***umption missed the mark, so all i really have to say is this to you. If ever in your life you run into a situation again where someone is asking for advice or criticism, ***ume they are not speaking to you and move on because no input would be far more constructive than anything you have contributed. Take care
good luck on the build man, i like the 54!! but join the 52-56 ford cars social group. You will get more specific help there than on the main board.
well said. you have a lot to learn about this place. my only suggestion is, grow your skin thicker... you're more than likely going to get more of the same here... if you dont want your ideas or thoughts scrutinized, dont ask for the scrutiny
reliability performance and not a bunch of money and y block just dont go together. Also i dont know why you would use a chevy trans as there are c4 or c6 trans that will work better for you. I also dont get the slow g***er thing its like those ferrari volkwagon things, or a *****. It looks like the real thing but isnt the same. I think you should just use lifting coils to raise up the front end. then you get the look and it will still drive nice.
fiddyfour, thanks for the advice ill work on it. i can be rather confrontational at times im currently overseas so i let my temper flare when it probably shouldn't. thanks for the reality check
i think what mutt was saying (and what fiddy was reiterating) mostly is that the car seems to be going in several directions at once if we take your description as accurate. i have a hard time imagining a cruiser with a g***er stance. and, i think (that's me) that 4 doors make funny looking g***ers. you can achieve a really nice cruiser from a 4 door with some tasteful, well thought out mods, and have something to be proud of. with a 4 door, i would be thinking mild custom. and it's very easy to get these cars low if that's what you're after. some aerostar front springs drop right in and will bring the front end down about 3 inches. some 4 inch blocks in the back, and voila, killer stance. and some skirts if you like. then shave some trim to accentuate the length of the car, and i think you're there. i think anytime a car is built to LOOK like a g***er and doesn't GO like one, it's got an iden***y crisis. that's my take.
Group; Researching and joining as many 54 Ford Customline groups as I can find as I move forward with bringing back my recently obtained"54". This 54 was restored some time back, driven in parades, and then due to family concerns placed in storage where it sat; and sat. It was sold at an Estate Auction, and then I picked it up. She is solid, and has "good bones"; drives, shifts stops, etc. I drove it home some 60 miles, highway speeds (60-65 mph), and no problems. Put her in the back shop and started to see what I got. Considering she is 70 years old, as the saying goes; "a lot of hands have been on this car"; so I'm finding some WTH is that work done, but again she is a strong car. With that said, I'm sure the group is going to get a lot of questions from me, and I know I will appreciate the replies. Oh yea; I am a Car Guy, been around for some time; had numerous models, for years, love finding, fixing, driving them, and then flipping them; can't keep them all so enjoy seeing how many different ones I can get and enjoy. I guess I'm a cross between J Leno (based on the different cars he has) and Wayne Carini (chasing cars); I love them all and even the Eruo Sports (MG, Triumph, Alfa) and the VW (Bugs, Ghias); if it burns fuel I like them. I also "Co-Host" a Podcast called: Armstrong Street Scene Power Hour which can be viewed on Youtube and other Podcast formats. Check it out. Ok; that's my introduction; take care. JPL/OHIO
I've been a member of the hamb for a long time and I would suggest you let reply's that you feel are insulting slid of your back like water to a duck, Mutts a good guy but he has his own opinion like all the rest of us, gown thicker skin and just ignore what you don't like, there is no reason to start a battle with another member,too much of that can in a member or members getting banned. I would also suggest join the '52-'59 Social group,thre are a lot of '54 Ford owners there, and they are able to answer a mul***ude of questions. HRP
Thanks for pointing that out, all it takes is a new guy to drag a old thread up to breath in new life. The original poster hasn't been seen since - PSHYCOBILLY WAS LAST SEEN: Apr 20, 2011
DURN !!! I ALWAYS forget to check the dates....... He prolly got mad and left......or something 6sally6
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