Hi guys, my 55 Ford Customline has all of the typical front frame cross member and A arm problems. CANCER! Has anyone ever cut and welded a clip from a later model disc brake equipped FOMOCO auto? I am also swapping the 272 Y block for a 429 out of a 1970 Mercury Marquis. I would like to use the power steering, A/C, suspension etc. to make it a little more practical/comfortable to use. Any ideas, experience or pics that might help save me some time and headaches? Thanks
Adding disc brakes is easy with the original suspension so there is no reason to change it and they do ride nice,p/s might be a issue but I feel my 55 does not need it and reproduction cross members are available. The cross member is the first thing I replaced on my 55.
Thanks Jeff, I found the guy who makes the cross members. He hasn't responded as of yet but due to the late dates on his post I****ume that he is still around. Did you use parts from a FOMOCO used car or did you buy a kit? Which car if used? Any info that you can provide will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, James
I had a used crossmember installed and it has Fatmans dropped spindles made for Granada brakes,it all depends if the Y block goers back in but I am thinking about going back to the original spindles with disc adapted or different springs. I like them low but ended up getting mine too low and had to raise it back up,the 429 might be overkill and a big inch windsor would be alot better but if you stay with the 429 you will have to use 6 cylinder brackets for the radiator to get more room. Even though I installed a 351-w I used the 6 cylinder brackets on the radiator to give me more room to run a more aggressive fan.
Thanks for the info Jeff. I saved the cross member from the Mercury Marquis that the 429 came from. I thought that it would come in handy. As far as the 429 being overkill...That's the whole idea!!! LOL thanks again, James
I built mine for a highway cruiser so no need for a big block but came close to getting a low mile 390 to drop in it,I found a 69 galaxie on ebay that was wrecked when close to new and converted to a flat bed truck with only 6 thousand original miles. Since it was not close by so I could look it over I got wondering how many times the oil was changed in 30 years so I did not bid on it,it sold for about 800 dollars but I was worried I would have to rebuild it due to still having very old oil in it and lack of use.
I replaced the crossmember on my '55 with a good used one. Swapped spindles, rotors, and calipers from a '72 Mercury Montego, bolted right up.
Thanks guys, very useful info. Well...I start cleaning the 429 and trans today. Been waiting a long time for this!
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