1952-59 Ford Working on the '59

My OE radiator was socked down tight to the support. I'll do the same with the aluminum one. But will use big diameter washers to spread the load out. I'm also using those j-nuts which Ace Hardware carries.

 

I still can't get a decent dash picture.. the afternoon glare is awful. The gas pedal is in finally. Painted the Nova pan up.. pretty. Moved the drain around the corner. The factory location is too close to the front cross member. Shifter hole location was determined off the mock-up 3-speed we had in there to make the motor mounts. Got the front seat belt mounts done... but no picture. It was getting dark and cold.

 

Looking good Bob.
One thing I dislike about driving my car is the way clutch and brake pedals seem to sit in a position that is much closer to me than the throttle pedal, so when I release throttle to brake, my foot has to lift a long way before I can move it to the left to brake.
On the pics you posted all clutch / brake and throttle pedals seem to almost line up. Is this due to the fact you have stuff to connect or will they sit like that?
Keep going.

 

This is how they line up from the factory. I had a '64 with the same set up and it was fine. I haven't adjusted the clutch pedal stop yet since the car is still apart.

 

Rui,
There should be an accelerator pedal height adjustment. Check your manual.

 

I wasnt aware of that. Never gave it much attention tough..
I'll check it out. Thanks.

 

Picked up the engine last night... in an incredible rain storm, but it was well wrapped up. Got it on the engine stand, too much going on between now & Xmas, but I'll be working on it right after.

 

Got a real camera now.. santa was good to me. Painted up the block and installed the front cover and oil pump. The pump and pan are for an early Nova with a 327. The 355 has a longer stroke so I had to clear an area on the pump casting. Added more than the picture shows after a test fit. Had to add a hole in the block to secure the pick up tube bracket. Brand new engine... no pressure. My brother likes that type of work, so he had the honors. I just played the gofer handing him stuff.. and taking pictures.

 

Oh man.. its gorgeous.

 

Thanks.. it had better be for all I spent so far.

 

you must be getting that 68 degree temps like cincinnati to paint outside, looks like progress.

 

63 yesterday... 40 today. If tomorrow is chilly, time to fire up the kerosene heater. I expect to lose a solid month any time soon if it really plunges.

 

More work yesterday despite coming down with a bad cough. Oil pan is on without a fight. Installed the damper and pointer, made sure where TDC was exactly using a depth gauge. Did a test fit of the pulleys to make sure the damper was home. The heads went on well, used ARP sealer on the threads and their ***embly lube on the ARP bolts. Torqued to 70 ft-lbs. Calculated the CR and it comes in as 9.68 : 1.

Today's plan is to determine the push rod lengths. I have the stock 7.800" and a Lunati 7.900" to get me going.

 

I probably missed it somewhere, but what heads are those?

 

Dart SHP, 180 cc intake runners, 64 cc combustion chambers. I got them with the 7/16" rocker studs instead of the 3/8" ones.

Worked on determining push rod length today, will post pictures later.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/drt-127121/overview/

 

Installed a short stock 7.794" push rod, shown on the left and a Lunati 7.894" on the right. Turned the crank until both valves were closed, on the cam base circle. Installed the rockers, gave both a 1/2 turn of lash. Turned the crank a couple of revolutions, parked the cam and removed the rockers. The pattern on the right is what I wanted to see. Rockers look good installed (temporarily). They all have to be cleaned before they go on for good.

 

Valves are adjusted. Valve covers are on to keep things clean. Intake went on easily enough with ARP bolts. Used Permatex' The Right Stuff to seal the ends... no rubber gasket, The stuff sets up quick and there is a 5-minute window to get the manifold on. All torqued down. Plopped the Holley on just to see how it looks. Will be installing external parts during the week.

 

Ahh.. thats sweet!

 

Got a lot of externals bolted on yesterday since it was pretty nice out. Mounts, damper, fuel pump, water pump, spark plugs and alternator. Had to shorten up the dip stick & tube, it was in the way of the alternator. Made 1 speed-shop run to get a new alternator bracket.

 

Fitted a few odds & ends between Sunday & Monday earlier in the week. Not happy with the tree for the oil sender, has to accommodate the mechanical gauge as well. Got exhaust stubs in place so I can fire it up. Flex pipe is on order so it doesn't blast my white firewall.

 

I'll keep torturing you guys with my build. More work on Saturday, got the shop up to a nice 58 degrees. Got the fuel line sorted out, plug wiring routed. Made up tabs to attach the Moroso wire looms to the block out of aluminum, may go back and do them out of steel. Tree for the oil pressure gauge & dash gauge is finalized. Will be ordering some heat shield sleeve for the wires going past the manifolds and going with 90 degree boots at the distributor.

 

I cant evaluate your work properly Bob. I lack the experience, but congratulations. Its really nice.
Do you have any specs that you can share on that bit of fuel hose before the filtre? I keep buying fuel hoses and keep replacing them at spots, but the outside rubber layer presents small cracks after a while... and I dislike it.

 

Very impressive, Bob.

 

Thanks gents. The hose is 3/8" fuel hose from Advance Auto Parts. I hope it holds up.

 

More work last night. Wasn't happy with the brackets I made, so got some aluminum angle at Ace and machined up a new set. A couple of them I may shorten up a bit. My brother was on choke cable duty and he did a nice job. I bought an extra vent cable knob for it, looks factory.Wrapped up the wiring to the front of the car, much neater now.

 

Well the hose I use is also fuel meant, but the small cracks are there.

 

I think the Advance Auto stuff is US made.
I ran across a gas filter & line package in my garage that has to go back to 1980. The rubber looked perfect, I tossed it since it was so old. You may want to look into severe-duty gas hose.

 

I will have to look into that bob. I've got fuel tank / lines /rebuilt carb job around the corner. Havent got to it.. well... 'cause I'm dealing with other things, mainly getting ready to build a garage (have a carport only but I swore to myself this was the last winter the ford would p*** outside with a car cover only).
Thanks

 

I had no garage for years... finally got one in 1986 and love it. I've built stock cars that had to live outside under a tarp, no fun at all getting ready for a new season. I'm in the hardware gathering mode, trying to get all the bolts to slap it all together. Hit a snag with the starter bolts, will have to do some machine work on the bellhousing.

 

Man when you guys write that sort of stuff I feel a bit nervous. I was 9 in 86.
How many bolts for the V8? Only 3 on the six. Good luck with "machining it out".