Schoenfeld makes some big block Ford fender well headers for trucks that may work but they are a bit pricy. https://www.summitracing.com/search.../engine-size/7-5l-460/header-style/fenderwell
Heres a picture of Ol Gran Dad... for a you guessed it- Ol Gran Dad. Nice thing is there is no shortage of STUFF for the FE over the past 60 years or so.
when I was a freshman in 1969 one of the seniors had a 54 2door hardtop with gl*** front roof. It was shaved and decked, painted a beautiful gold metallic, radiused rear wheel wells and a big and little tire rake with torque thrust style wheels with a 390 4speed and 9inch out of a wrecked 67 Mustang GT. Can't believe back then anyone would have thought it would have been faster or cooler if it had been my great uncle Gene's 2 door sedan. And instead of cutting up your front end for an ill-mannered truck axle setup rebuild your stock set up and contact someone like Eaton spring and relace your coils with new replacements rated for the weight of the 390. Good luck with your project. Larry
i built a '53 ford mainline g***er when i was 16. i put a 394 olds motor in mine. a picture of it is in hrp g***er album. it's the black primered one with the 1 piece front end tilted forward. i never finished it. i figured i needed to build it again. i bought a '54 mainline to build. i got a 460/c6 to put in it. i have made molds to make a gl*** front end and truck lid. it will have a straight axle of my own making too. back in my area when i was young everybody built hot rods out of any thing. had a friend that had a '49 chevy coupe with a 480 inch olds motor. he put spacers under the front crossmember to bring it up. very fast car. most of these were lowriders. same with the fords. i have never been a custom kind of guy. never wanted to do that much body work.
It's your car do as you wish but not every g***er built had an axle in the front The Golden G***er from Selkirk NY
for sure! any thoughts on rear ends? Should I look for a 9 or maybe an 8.8? Don’t want to blow that 8 like my dad blew his 8 when he dropped a cobra 5.0 from a foxbody. He got a curry 9 after that.
I second that motion..... One of my good friends (still racing at 85) used to race a '54 Customline with a 30's Mopar front axle and rear wheelwells radiused. For go it had a 406 with 427 heads and a toploader 4-spd. Seems he ran 456 gears. It was called Mr. Explosion !! Now that would be fun.....
Don't know what you're planning on tires/wheels your but '53 is like my '54 Ranch wagon. Not much room under the rear fenders. I used an 8 inch out of a Maverick. 56 1/2" WMS to WMS. But its going to be a cruiser not a race car. Certain early year Ford Ranchers had an 8.8 with the same WMS to WMS dimensions. Later ones were 58 inches or there abouts IIRC. Of course if you plan on radiusing the rear fenders like post 37 above the overall width of the rear end won't be so critical. A 9 inch out of a '57 station wagon or Ranchero would be pretty much bolt in but difficult to find. The advantage of an 8.8 IMO is that they can still be found in wrecking yards and can be had with limited slip and some had 3.73 gears.
If you can swing the cost of a new Currie or Mozer 9-inch that's the way to go. A 1967 to 70 Mustang or Couger are 60 inches axle face to axle face and are close to perfect under your car. I used a 9 inch out of a 1964 Merc/ Ford full size in my 51 Merc because they were the same width of the stock Dana 41 at 61.5. face to face. I have been beating the hell out of 9-inch Fords for over 50 years and never broke one. But used one now adays are just that USED!! If you're planning to put 400 or more hp to the ground with sticky tires, contact Mozer and have them spec it out to your needs. And then watch the$$$$ fly ! Larry
Think long & hard about that 'truck axle' front end! Sure they can be made to fit.....sure they can be made to steer good....sure you can play with the spring pack to get a DECENT ride....but quick lifting coil springs will still be miles ahead of 'modifying' a truck axle (or van) Jus pitch'in it out there! (It won't look phoney/posser-ish either) Nicely done straight axles are NOT noticeable until you lift the hood....Moonshot-look is dated not cool! 6sally6 PS............although...........................!!
Here's my 62 fairlane built in 64 to race in a straight line. It turns like a tank but handles ok and stops just fine for drums. The car has a Econoline axial and a 390 tripower. It's your car do what's best for you.
Took my 1st drivin' test, and got my first speeding ticket in a 53 Mainline You make it yours, biggest mistake I made was letting others tell me what I wanted. I owned a Nomad that once had fenderwell headers. The top half of the inner fender was left alone. As far as header rust goes, if they're gonna rust its not cause they are over the frame or inside the frame. It is the lack of coating.
also for rear tire options im planning on cutting the quarter panels to fit taller and wider tires, from experience how wide has anyone gone with leafs and stock tubs?
8.8 can be built to handle the power, cost will be the same as a 9". Quick Performance is a great place for all your rear end needs. https://www.quickperformance.com
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