Hot Rods 56 Ford Mainline

The ”old” radiator ***embly, the surround is cut:

 

Most of the cars I drove back in the day were manual drum brakes.Keep up the good work bud!

 

Thanks, I will!

I am test fitting the aluminum radiator. Wish I had an original radiator, but this is what I have right now. Anyway, I have a new problem. The radiator is for a 56 Ford. But it touches the fan blades, so have to put it on the outside (front) of the u shaped frame/surround. It should sit on the inside, right?

Is the spacer behind the fan supposed to be there on a 56? Removing it can solve the problem. See image below. Engine is from a non air conditioned 1957 car:

As usual, the problems I run into is that I often have no idea of how the OEM parts should look or be installed.

 

Use a shorter spacer or no spacer if fan clears everything.... Use with a shroud also.... You will also need shorter bolts.....

LynnW

 

Yes, engine side or “inside”.

Yes, the spacer should be there. It should be 1.18” long including the pilot stub. It’s hard to tell if that will give you enough room. But, your present one does look pretty long. The radiator should sit fairly close to the fan when mounted. On my ‘55 Mercury the radiator is about an inch from the fan.

I wish I had a good picture of the cooling system for ‘55/‘56 8 cylinder cars. The one in my parts book indicates it’s typical for ‘55/‘57 8 cyl cars but only shows the ‘57 parts. Not much help for you!

 

I found some pictures I took of the engine in an local original 56 Ford. And that engine ha no spacer at all. So, I removed the spacer and the problem was solved! Radiator now fits.

I saw some shorter spacers sold online, marketed as fitting an engine with air conditioning, so I guess some parts must come from an AC car at some point.

Repro chinese battery tray is something like $230 here, so I made my own rock solid arrangement using Volvo 140 parts. Quality stuff and available here in the parts pile in my barn. Cheap battery types will fit, also a plus. I can always switch to the correct OEM parts later on.

 

I keep working on the car. Front is back together, the brake booster now has a small dent in it to clear the left valve cover and the carb/kickdown linkage works freely. A hundred little issues to solve, and this takes hours and hours.

Saw four holes in each door, for a badge or piece of trim. What is this? See pics below, I tried to outline the holes with a red line.

 

I don't think the holes on door are for trim.
Were they used with sheet metal screws to remove a dent?

 

No, holes are nice and clean, and the pattern is identical on both doors. I think the holes look like they are for pins for old tags or emblems. No stock Fords had badges on the doors, very strange.

 

These 56 Ford fender badges attach with 3 studs that look like the same pattern as your doors have.

 

Well, the pattern is four holes, so it remains a mystery. My guess is some kind of badge for a company or simular.

I have solved lots of small problems. Biggest step forward is that I have made a shifter mechanism from a combination of automatic and three on the tree parts. It works well. Lots of cutting and welding but it really went smoothly.


The car had an 80s looking race car type floor shifter. It looked wrong and probably did not work with the Ford-o-matic shift pattern. See image below from when I did a mock up with the column shifter. Plus, I do not want to cut a hole in the new carpet I intend to buy later on.

 

Question 1: How do I attach the wire to the oil pressure switch? A special clip?


Question 2: Here is the hole for the speedo cable. Am I missing just the cable, or are there other parts missing as well? I think a cable with a bushing and an o-ring could lock into place here. But, I do not know what a 1957 speedo cable looks like, in detail.




Question 3: The driveshaft looks like a modified 1989-98 GM unit, where you melt away locking plastic material to remove the caps. In the pic you can see the 1957 Ford-o-matic yoke + the chevy drive shaft hanging there. Any suggestions on how to proceed?

An original 1956 drive shaft is hard to find, and is also probably the wrong length, as the 57 transmission is longer.

I was thinking of finding a u-joint that can function as an adapter between Ford and GM patterns. But the stupidity of the melt away stuff, instead of a clip, complicates things.



Another problem are the rear ”mains”. Bubba put a small piece of sheet metal in there, to make the cap fit…

I guess I have the correct Ford yoke and the right Ford u-joint to the rear. A custom made drive shaft that fits these points would probaby be the best option.

 

The local driveshaft shop can usually find a u joint to mate any yoke with any driveshaft.

 

1. This one is easy; just use a 1/4" female blade terminal. That's what Ford used.

2. If you have the OEM speedo cable, it should have the clamp and a gear attached. But pretty much any Ford p***enger or light truck cable will work up to the early '60s if it's long enough. The speedometer end is what was usually changed after that. The several flys in the ointment is there's several different drive gears installed on the trans mainshaft depending on the OEM rear axle ratio and depending on which side of the tailshaft it goes in changes the 'pitch' of the driven gear. I used to know this, but can't remember...

3. Up to '56 Ford used a somewhat oddball u-joint, then in '57 they changed to a 1310 ****er type. These are available with either an internal snap ring or external snap ring, sometimes both. Basic dimensions remain the same. Internal snaps to the bearing cup, external fits a groove in the yoke/driveshaft. Here's the u-joint dimensions... Understanding U-Joint - Currie Enterprises I suspect that's what you'll find at the front. If the front yoke is smaller, look for a newer one with the 1310 dimensions; they're out there, probably even in Sweden. But truthfully, I'd throw that driveshaft away because of the home-made conglomeration you've got at the rear u-joint. You have the OEM rear axle/u-joint and that 'adaptor' isn't right (which explains the shims), plus the way it's welded to the rest of the shaft isn't something I'd trust. Almost Any Ford p***enger driveshaft from probably '57 through at least the '80s will have the common 1310 u-joints and will work if it's long enough (a lot of same-era GM cars used the same u-joint, so there's even more possibilities), one could be fairly easily shortened to fit. You'll still need a conversion u-joint at the rear axle however, a NEAPCO 2-0291. These used to be much cheaper, but it will pay to shop; I saw prices from $66 (Denny's Driveline) to over $120.

Hope this helps...

 

Thanks for the replies, I couldn´t possibly succeed with buildning this Ford back, without all the knowledge people on this forum has.

I lucked out today and was given a 1957 Ford driveshaft by a helpful local HAMB:er. I feel like I just won the lottery! I will do some measuring. A front 1310 u-joint, a shortened/lengthened driveshaft and a rear 1310/old style 56 size adapter u-joint can possibly solve the issue.

 

If that driveshaft pictured has not been balanced it may cause some severe vibration by the looks of the weld. Great score on the aforementioned '56 driveshaft.

 

It did balance perfectly, someone was lucky. I didn´t like the metal strips squeezed in next to the caps, to make it fit the rear u-joint... but it worked and gave a smooth ride!