About 4 months ago I introduced myself and my truck in this thread. Up until this point my journey has just been getting the truck home - without the ability to run I was stuck in limbo with it but the knowledge and ability of a race shop mechanic and fabricator set me straight and this red '56 made the 300 mile trek into my garage this past weekend:



So what is it, and where is it going?

For starters here's what I know...

Overall its condition is excellent. The body is (at least visually) rust free and there are no major dings or dents. The paint is not new or perfect but is very serviceable. On the hood I can see some pitting and a few bubbles that have cracked, and one of the fenders and the cab show a bit of bubbling as well. This truck was never going to be a show vehicle for me and a restoration is not in the cards either so it will remain as-is.

With that in mind, there are other pros in to this as well
-The engine is a Ford 302. As of yet the year is unknown but it is a carbureted model.
- A Mustang II front suspension with disc brakes has been installed. Big plus here, no doubt
- Gas tank has been relocated to behind the rear axle. The filler is under a flap in the bed which is not ideal, but not terribly problematic either.

That's the broad strokes on the pros. Now for the list of "needs work":

As previously mentioned the wiring is a mess. As far as I can tell nothing electrical works properly, and a few things are downright dangerous. All of that will be fixed. 4 years of sitting has put a nice varnish on the carb which now needs a thorough cleaning, as will the gas tank and fuel lines. I will probably just replace the lines. While everything is apart I'll pull the intake manifold and valve covers and, if need be, the heads to check out the bottom end. I'll get around to pulling the oil pan as well.

The interior is from something else entirely and will need.....something. The seats aren't right for this truck and the driving position suffers as a result. The carpet is fitted from I don't even know what and is a bit worse for wear, but for now all of this works and I plan to leave it until the truck runs and drives. In that vein, though, the steering wheel has a lot of play and not just when it's turned - it rocks around on the column in a very offputting (and probably dangerous) way. The rack is a GM (clone?) as I was previously told and I hope to move the bracket and get it a bit further from my knees. The only key is currently stuck in the ignition and when the key is turned to "on" the wipers go full speed - nothing I have done changes this.

Aftermarket gauges and a single DIN radio adorn the dash. I have no idea if any of it works.

The doors close but the driver's side takes enough force to knock the window out of place, which is exactly what happened and that is broken.

The hood hinges, primarily the passenger's side one, don't function properly and only hold the hood open about 18". Maybe this is normal? It makes working on things....difficult. I have removed the hood.

That's what I have for now. Pic dump to follow.

 

 

That doesn't look like a Mustang front suspension to me and I doubt there is rack and pinion by the looks of that steering box. First thing I would do is rip out all that wiring and start over before it turns into a fireball. It is a very solid looking truck..

 

Step 1 is and always has been a re-wire and top end cleanup. Once it starts and runs reliably I plan to start the refresh

 

Thanks, I haven't looked too closely at it all yet. I will get more pics once I have better access to it

Wiring is a mess and I'm surprised this thing hasn't burned to a crisp yet after seeing a few of the routing choices

 

I'd hate to see that happen, like I said it is a very nice truck..

 

Welcome to this section of FTE. Good looking truck with a real hack wiring job. I do believe I would disconnect the battery any time the truck was unattended while in the garage.

 

That's good advice Ray, one thing loosing a truck but to loose your home along would be horrible..

 

I unhooked it as soon as it got parked

 

It looks like a Volare frt suspension.

 

Is this a motor mount ?

 

You seem to be correct! I saw a- arms and made a bad assumption but the steering box looks correct to a Volare setup, and it explains the lack of coils. I'll have to dig into it more later.

 

That's the theory. It will be changed before this truck drives again.

 

Here is a 56 F100 chassis with a 302 and a Volare IFS...

 

Did some of the tedious work tonight...labeled wires, took pictures to remember where things go, pulled the radio and a few other bits. I was working on the steering column but got stuck at the lock ring removal. A quick internet search brought me to a page showing how to tighten the wobble in the column (a problem I have) but more importantly it showed me how to disassemble the whole column. Amazing how much information is out there just waiting to be found! I pulled a bunch of wires back into the cab for removal later and will spend tonight doing some research on what exactly I'm looking at under the now removed hood.

Oh, I also got the key out of the ignition for the first time.

I'll post some pictures later asking about things I see but for now here's a shot of my garage buddy



That's Piper, our 6 month old goldendoodle