Thanks!!

I have been doing a little....I cleaned up and sealed the gas tank & plumbed in a fuel system. I did route the main line inside the boxed frame...that'll keep the fuel line away from the exhaust.

I really want to get my engine started....every time I go in the barn it just calls out to me.....start me...start me!!!

I need to do something with my exhaust prior to starting...I have shorty headers that look similar to yours:

 

Looks like it does want to turn over and run... It keeps calling your name... It does look good

 

Yes i agree... that does look very nice! I see you did a mustang II front aswell. I wish i had gone that route. Oh well, maybe later on. I just want to get this thing going so I can drive it before the snow hits the ground!

Anyways... here's some more pics of the rear axle mounting brackets. Hope this tells ya what you need to know. Again, these were from a '58 if I remember correctly. '58-'60 are the same. I can't be sure of '57 though as I havent actualy seen a set of them to verify.

Does anyone have the proper torque for this setup? I need the spec from a '58-'60 manual. I don't want to over-smoke the u-bolts and possibly crack/damage the cast brackets.

 

Adding to the above pictures, some more progress achieved since last weekend...


Got all the heater tins painted and ready for assembly. I wanted to chrome plate the one trim piece on the front housing cover that surrounds the heater core... guess that will have to wait. Silver will have do for now.



Got the Holley all back together. Not to brag but i can do these things in my sleep.



Well off to a swap meet Sat mornin. Got some more trinquets to find to piece this sucker together. Sounds like it'll be a great day too! Sure feels good to be back on the leg again... you just don't know how bad you'll miss it, until it's taken away.

 

Well a few more updates from the previous weekend. Seems like thursdays and Fridays are about the only time I have to post stuff on here! Anyways here they are:


Got the heater all re-assembled with new gaskets. Can you believe that is heater core pressure checked and flowed great!?! It's an original '56 unit! Don't make 'em like that anymore.... Don't mind that discolored spot ont he core. I thought it was a leak too. Not leak or any kind of damage. The radiator shop said it must have been something going through it or leaning next to it, but said it certainly was NOT the core itself. Anyways, once i get the firewall pad in I'll be installing this sucker.






No onto the gas tank... got it cleaned out as best i could. Flushed Muratic Acid through it and then rinsed several more times. Should be good enough for now. Also bead blasted the sending unit. It was badly corroded. This seemed to clean it up really well and the arm moves very freely now. I took an ohms reading and it seems to be working fine. I was worried that the bead blaster would mess it up, but it seems to be A-ok. Just need to re-install it now.



This should spark some interest... the ol' man found this company that sells 'like original' firewall pads. I wasn't really so hot on using the ABS plastic stuff, and he happened to trip over this one in the Obsolete & Classic Auto Parts, Inc. catalog. It's made of a thin flexible rubber face, resembing the original paper-like material that the originals were made of with a jute backing on it. All the factory holes are pre-punched, but just need to be knocked out once you get it. Cost was $50+ shipping. They are available for '53-'55 and '56. I've got it rolled out on the cab floor for now, to get it to flatten out a bit. Figured I'd give it a shot as it's a far sight cheaper than the ABS units and I wanted something more 'original' looking anyways. We'll see how it fits in the comming days...

 

very cool on the firewall pad..

and nice work on the rest..

Sam

 

Good looking project....thanks for the info on the shock mounts. Yes...I went the IFS route up front (I bought an F1 chassis from Ilya aka 51Panelman & it already had a Fatman installation started)

Thanks,

Dan

 

**UPDATE**

Sorry haven't been around the site much, been trying to concentrate on getting the '56 running and driving. Add in a couple birthday parties and other stuff so time for playing with the '56 was slim.

Got the fuel tank back in, and made me up a new fuel line as original.


Also fabbed up a little bracket for securing the tranny lines. Just installed a stud in place of an oil pan bolt and worked from that.


Then admidst other things.... when I added coolant to the system, the *new* waterpump started pissing on the shop floor out the weep hole.




But after a starter change, some bootleg wiring, a prime job and a few other things the 390 came to life!!! The video quality isn't the best, shot it with my cell phone.



Still problemes with the engine. The rockers are pretty noisy and I think it's due to the excessively worn cam bearings I 'SHOULD' have replaced when i had the engine down. I think the cam bearings are also affecting the oil pressure as its a tad under 20 psi at idle when warm. Not what I wanted to see. Add to that a freakin soft plug is weeping too and it happens to be the center one under the engine mount in direct line of the crossmember... I replaced these when the engine was out and it sat for a week with coolant in it. Only after I broke the cam in, did it start weeping. Soooooo, looks like this engine is commin back out later on. For now it'll have to do. Get a driveshaft made, exhaust put on it, and wiring done and then I'll loook at pulling this #$*& back out again.

 

Hey Dano,
That's a nice sweet sound coming from your engine! That's super quiet for having no exhaust on there. I like those Mickey Thompson valve covers - Looking good. I wish I had some of that blue on my engine..

Ben in Austin

 

LOL... Oh there is exhaust on there... not much of an exhaust, but it's there! Thats one of the next steps is to get some new 2.25" pipes and muffs put on'er. Yeah i think I tried 5 different ford blue colors until I settled on this shade. Guess I'm a little picky on my ford blue color!! Those M/T valve covers are the ONLY parts that remained from the 1st 390 that the truck came with. And yes, i really like they way they look. Even made custom steel baffles for the oil fill and pcv valve as these covers didn't come that way. (were casted with bosses though)

 

Another Update! Well...sort of I suppose. Haven't got much done, but it's still progressing slowly.


It moves under its own power now! Pulled it out of the shop a couple weekends ago using a 5-gallon OSHA approved step ladder as a seat. Good stuff..

Had to change the pushrods to .030 longer units. Took care ofthe valvetrain noise it had. Sometimes you have to do that when using re-ground cams.





Got the firewall pad somewhat installed. Ned a few more of the puch-through clips to finish it off. Doesn't fit too bad. Not perfect, but not bad either.


Took the new seat apart to dye the turquoise part black. Figured that'd be a better match to the truck. I have nothing turquoise in mine...lol The seat was picked up at a swap meet for $100. Can't shake a stick at that. It's in really nice shape, just needed a color change. Will put it into the truck after the wiring and whatnot is done inside.





Now I'm excited! Got the powersteering all hooked up and working. I had a local Tubes N Hoses shop make up the pressure line as well as the return line fitting on the box. That fitting alone is a real oddball, its appears to be a 17mm flare style fitting. I had to go to Toyota just to get it, a $20 part. Then the Tubes N Hoses guy made up the 90* bent tube for it. It JUST barely clears the exhaust manifold. That's why you see the oil cooler there on the p/s bracket. All of these parts were sourced from a '68-'72 F100 w/360-390.





I think it meets the bosses' approval!



Anyways Happy Thanksgiving to you all!! Hopy everyone enjoys (or has enjoyed) their feast! ....For me, it's almost time to eat!!!

 

Dano, I dont know how Ive missed this thread up till today, but I was abel to enjoy it today. Like others have atested B4 me, your doing great ,clean work. Your attention to detail has served you well, your truck looks great. Happy Thanksgiving

 

Thanks, I really do appreciate that. Your project was one of several i was following that kept me rollin on mine. Although I'm skipping over the paint part (really wish i could afford not to) I really just want to drive and enjoy this truck.... at least a little bit. So many of my other projects have floundered because I've hit snags or lost interest so I'm really trying hard to stay focused on this one to see it through. I can easily say it's been 10+ years since I've had anything worth driving to a car-related event. So it's be quite the milestone if I can pull this off in time for next spring!

 

KUDOS on the entire build (and thread). Although my 56 is very slow in progressing (you get that when going so deeply into the darkness) I hope to drive mine by the end of summer 2012. Your determination and drive are the most intersting aspects of this build. My compliments on the level of craftsmanship thus far. Personally, I like the "survivor" look of your 56 as it is... I would be thrilled to rock that level of patina, but my truck is getting way too many metal mods and repairs to get away with that, so a frest coat of paint will be happening as soon as the fab and body work are done and finalized.

 

It is looking really good! I too have a goal of driving to some events next summer. Maybe I could ogle your truck if you make it down south. My goal is to get ready in time for the Function For Junction.