Work I'm not afraid of.....Surprises I am. I think I may have found a decent welder for cheap....He's supposed to be great but we all know how that goes. I have no problem workin as long as I know the time I put in it,I will get out of it. It's kinda drivin me nuts that she's over 300 miles away right now but hey keep truckin huh. Stay Blue

 

Hey thank's for the thought man. Nice collection too. Stay Blue

 

I'm glad I don't have to deal with that. Sorry guy. Hope she let's ya do what ya want with it or you'll never be happy....I wouldn't be! Stay Blue

 

Remember I have the Cougar, don't know whether or not it's an XR-7 or not though. At this point on ebay It looks like it would bring a good $3,500 or more either way, if I can bring it back to life a bit that is. Man I need to get you guys some pictures. So if I could get a decent chunk of change out of it (only paid $250 for it and the box w/o fenders) I could afford to maybe do some upgrading on some of the parts I use in the swap. If anyone knows of any Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, model vehicle with a newer suspension with the same WB and width I could use the info. Ranchero maybe, I KNOW I remember dad talking about a '72 fitting. May be wrong though? Stay Blue Boys

 

1977/79 Cougar...same-o same-o: 1977/79 LTD II; 1977/79 T-Bird; 1977/79 Lincoln Mark V; 1972/76 Torino; 1972/76 Montego.

Nothing after 1979 will work. Ranchero: 1972/76 Torino; 1977/79 LTD II.

Note: The confusing LTD II is not an LTD at all, it's what Ford renamed the Torino in 1977. It has stacked (vertical) dual headlights as opposed to the LTD's horizontal dual headlights. No body or interior parts interchange. The stupid name caused major headaches for mechanics, bodymen and parts dummies from the day the car first showed up. Ppl would order parts for an LTD, missing the idiotic "II" designation. I personally would like to crush every one of the POS!!

 

Justin,
Welcome to the forum.
What everyone is trying to tell you is there is NO frame swap for your 56 that is "easy".
Many have been trying to find that holy grail but so far it's only a myth. Every time you ask "can't I just do this...?" you are denying a nearly insurmountable problem with what you are trying to do. These things are not a plastic model kit where you grind off a little here add a chunk there and stick it all together with a lot of glue and it fits.
Yes almost anything can be done by someone with enough experience, skills, time and money, but on the other hand that doesn't make it a good idea, nor would that person likely tackle such a job knowing the problems he was in for.
Many have found out that trying to make parts fit just because they were available for a cheap price often turns out to be much more expensive and unsatisfactory (and sometimes deadly!) in the end. It might be possible in theory to graft the back end of a champion race horse onto the front end of a prize winning milk cow with a lot of effort and expense, but when completed you would not have a good cow or horse, or anything that was better than either left alone.
One of the best things a newcomer to this obsession can do is learn from the experiences of others and not repeat their mistakes. Check at the top of this page for a tab called articles/specs and look in there for tons on information on what other's have used that works, and do a search on here for IFS and frame swaps to turn up a weeks worth of reading of the positives and pitfalls.
The first things you needto answer honestly is how much time are you willing to tie up in both the work and the place to do the work before you have a drivable vehicle, and how much money are you expecting to invest in the entire project? The above assessment of the (well equipped) space required is a realistic one, the time required is going to be measured in multiple years no matter how quick they can do it on TV, and the financial costs are going to be in the range of $10-20K or up if you have to farm out a lot of the work, or insist on taking the road less traveled. That's the reality of it.

 

Man AX, that's harsh...of course, reality is harsh. BUT Justin, first off welcome! Second, you've got one of the most coveted effies ever made. For some unknown reason (at least to me) 56 is a highly desirable year, and that translates into a lot of good news to you! The more popular, the more aftermarket options available!

First, as soon as you get the rig to Rapid City check out the frame. If it's not rusted to pieces then you're in great shape! There are a lot of things that can be done with a decent 56 frame some cheap, some expensive, some hard, and some dang near impossible. SO--shop around. Read up here. And put to paper what you want to do, what it will cost and how long it will take, if you don't know then ask, that's what we're all here for. Lay it all out, knowing it will change as you go, but lay it out anyway and take it a piece at a time. Lots of work can be done in a weekend when you take the time to plan out your project and what you're going to do (ie. IFS install, brake system overhaul, fuel system overhaul, wiring--yes wiring). DO the prep work before each segment and you can knock it out a piece at a time and likely be able to drive your truck Mon-Fri. Of course some big stuff, like an engine rebuild, or laying down color will take more time, but you can get about 80% of her done (including body prep work if you don't mind driving w/o fenders, and with patches of primed metal) just by working a weekend at a time.

Good luck! From one young gun (24) to another!

 

Sorry if I sounded harsh, no one loves working on these old trucks more than I as you know, but as you say the reality is often harsh after taking off the rose colored glasses. I think it is better to get a newcomer to understand what they are about to undertake so they can make an informed decision if their resources and abilities really are in line with their ambitions rather than to jump in with both feet in a shotgun approach and just blowing away what might have been useful in a little more modest vision, only to discover after being knee deep in parts the project turns out to be a much bigger undertaking than they imagined. There are very few shortcuts or easy outs in this hobby. Some might think there isn't much to changing out a set of taillights, but it took me over a month of weekends to do Gracie's, that's not including the required research and ordering/waiting for parts. I ordered the tallights just after Thanksgiving, and the parts were over 200.00.

 

AX- You're absolutely right, and I (for one) appreciate your forthrightness. It can sound harsh, but it's not near as harsh as the reality that can crash in when you're "knee deep in parts [and] the project turns out to be a much bigger undertaking than [you] imagined."


And I should clarify from my previous post that the labor can be done on weekends, only when the planning, and prep work has been done ahead of time. I spend a lot of time figuring out what and how to do (going on 5 years for an engine/front suspension/brake upgrade and I'm still not sure what I'm going to do) long before I actually do it, then order parts, get them in, look them over, lay them out, spend free time at lunch, work, etc. planning how and when I'll get X done, and then and only then do I attack the actual labor of doing X. Usually it takes a lot longer than I think it should, but with the planning all done ahead of time, it can still get done over the weekend. This approach helps me, personally, to have something fun to do through the week too. I pass through the garage and lay out tools, or arrange parts ahead of time, double check supplies of electrical connectors, or sand paper, etc., and draw up what I'll do, when and how, even though I can't go out and do it right then. Maybe that sounds like being **** to some, but for me it lets me do something with my truck even though I don't have the time to actually do X until the weekend. I also seem to have a higher success rate for my projects than my friends who haven't caught on to the whole concept of planning, and I'm happy with my truck, even though there's stuff I want to do with it, while some of my buddies look at their rides and are irritated that it looks bad, or something doesn't work like they wanted it to.

I didn't intend for that to end up that long, but--food for thought--!!

 

Yep!, I don't get nearly as much work time as I'd like, no garage time during the week, and we race at least one day out of most weekends. I am sitting here laying out a scale drawing for the new console I'm about to build.

 

Ax and Blue50F1, you are very correct about youngsters being gung-ho about jumping in and then finding the project didn't go as planned. If you think you can do a frame swap and have it running again in a few weeks, I really think you need to look at the project a little closer again.
Planning is the main concept to keep in sight. I started with what should have been a parts truck, the PO had already butchered the front frame rails in an attempt at installing a Volare front-end, and had cut holes in the firewall for steering column and brake booster with a torch! After I decided that my best way was to replace the front frame with a clip, it took me a long time measuring before I got brave enough to make the first cut. If I had bought my(second) "parts" truck before the clip, I would have used it's good frame and a Jag IFS.
Building one of these trucks using the original frame and adding IFS (or using the original front-end after rebuilding it) and some better rear springs, with a more "modern" (flame suit on) drivetrain, has to be easier than any frame swap that I could think of.
I have been working on my 53 for 4 years and counting, I hope to at least be able to drive it this summer. So don't be in a great rush to jump in feet first, many basket case projects have been sold for pennies on what was invested because someone lost interest halfway though.

 

Or worse, the project gets hauled to the junkyard. Of all the words posted here regarding swaps, what you posted above is the most realistic statement of all. Most ppl have no idea how much hard work is entailed, or the huge cost factors.

 

Welcome! Fairly soon more of the faithful will be along to start the conversation, but if you search the posts for "frame swaps", you'll get a LOT of posts about it. This site is the greatest. You'll get all the help you'll ever need to do ANYTHING you'd like. However...the party line seems to be that frame swaps are WAY more trouble than they're worth. I just restored the stock suspension and am very pleased. For a much more modern option the mustang II or Volare IFS options are the most popular. Again, you'll get lots of help if you decide to do the swap, but most would advise against it.

 

Justin, if there's anyway you could get into a welding class at a local college or have someone you know thats a proficient welder teach you, I think that would be a good start for you.

You can do most anything with your old pickup with cutting tools and a welder and a lot of time. Plus, being able to fabricate will save you a lot of money even though getting the welder, torch, grinders, etc are spendy at first.

If you're at a point right now that you can only handle doing bolt-on modifications you're going to be limited to just putting your truck back together in it's stock form. That can be ok to, remember people drove these straight axle trucks for many years (and still do).

I personally am going to go with the Volare front end swap since for the money and simplicity, it's about the best way to go. There are a million options for IFS, but the Mustang II ($$$) and Volare are a couple of the less-intrusive and "easier" installs. In case you're interested in going this route, these videos (look off to the side for the rest of the video clips) are a nice way to give you an idea of what it takes;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Zenp...elated&search=

Jordan

 

Looks like my post overlapped with "more of the faithful". I've done 3 restoration attempts, 2 successful, one ended selling with a loss after 15 years of acquiring rust. I have been tickled to death with my '53 as it seems to be the "perfect" restoration for me. Unique vehicle, ridiculously good parts availability, and the darned things are just SO much more simple than even the '60's Mustangs I did. I bet if you counted the number of parts in these trucks and compared to something even 10 years newer, you'd be amazed. Your truck is probably the most highly desired year, yours has sentimental value, and is, IMHO, your perfect first restoration for the reasons discussed. Get it going enough to drive. It's got real personality and character just the way Henry made it. "Rat Rods" AKA beaters, are all the rage. Cool chicks will dig it... Then work on it a little at a time which will be easier on your budget AND your enthusiasm. Putting a rebuild kit in the brakes is WAY easier than a frame swap. If you want to eventually go radical, then you'll have a better perspective on what that will take. Some of these guys with lots more experience and patience are able to go years without driving the truck. I'm just not mature enough for that yet.... I need some instant gratification...and I'm a LOT older than you!.... These aren't trying to be harsh, they're the best. They want to see you succeed and drink a cold one with you at the next meet!