Gozzie's 1955 Ford Fairlane Project

[Gozzie]

I purchased this 55 Ford in October and started the build in the middle of December. It's a total body off restore.
The plans are a simple Chevy LS3 swap with a 4L65 4speed transmission and a Ford Ranger rear end to begin with. Of course the upgrades will include power steering, power brakes and air conditioning. My best friend and professional car builder Ernie Gilcrease will be heading up the project and I will be his helper. I am very lucky that Ernie decided to take on this project with such a short notice. He is a very busy man and his time is precious. He told me that actually the quickest way to rebuild a car is to completely strip it down and start from the ground up instead of trying to do it in pieces. Who was I to argue. So the demo begins.


This is the day I bought the car. It was just sitting on blocks in an old shop waiting for someone to love it. The man I bought it from got it for him and his son to rebuild but his son moved away and the car just sat there until he decided to sell it.

[DanStokes]

First of all - WELCOME to the madness. There are a bunch of guys on here who REALLY know stuff and are willing to share that info with the world. When (and it is WHEN, not IF) you hit a snag we're all willing to toss out what has worked for us.

NICE CAR!!!! I have fond memories of '55/'56 Fords from my HS days ('63 thru '65). A guy who worked at the Western Auto in town was just out of HS - he was probably 19 so OLD in my young eyes and had a '55 2 door sedan (a Customline IIRC) in powder blue with blue lights in the fenderwells and "Sleep Walk" (a Santo and Johnny tune from the era) lettered in an arc around the rear wheel arch. It also had a Foxcraft shifter on the 3 speed so he could speed shift w/o binding up the column linkage. I'd guess it had a Y-Block though I don't know that for sure. I thought it was the COOLEST thing when I was 14 or so.

If your car was mine it would get an FE but that's just me. Your car, your $$, your choice. It'll be a great car in any case. BTW - one of the guys at Bonneville runs this body style with a built Y-Block and does VERY well - a little Google-Fu and you should be able to find it (the car is black).

Dan

EDIT: A little surfing turns up this link:

http://www.landracing.com/forum/inde...ic=7348.0Enjoy!

[cstmwgn]

Excellent choice for a frame off build. In my opinion, it is a shame that you have decided to not use a Ford drivetrain as there is little reason to take the easy way out and use Chevrolet parts. I look forward to following your project.

[DanStokes]

Excellent choice for a frame off build. In my opinion, it is a shame that you have decided to not use a Ford drivetrain as there is little reason to take the easy way out and use Chevrolet parts. I look forward to following your project.

Gozzie - I've had the privilege of seeing Andy's wagon in the flesh and it's AMAZING! Bet he'll have lots of insights on building a Ford from that era.

Dan

[Gozzie]

Thanks for the responses guys. It's been a blast so far working on this thing. I drove it about 1/32 of a mile before we started tearing it down. The old Y block just wasn't going to cut it. Here are some updates of where we are at right now. I hope you enjoy the photos.
12/05/2018 Removed the front clip. That's my pal Ernie. He's one of the best in the business. There's no telling how many cars this guy has built in his life time.
12/05/2018 Pulling the old Y block and Fordomatic

12/06/2018 Stripping out the entire body

[Gozzie]

12/11/2018 lifting body off frame
12/12/2018 preliminary sandblasting frame

[Gozzie]

12/13/2018 Body mounted to rotisserie

[Gozzie]

12/18/2018 ready to disassemble
12/19/2018 while Ernie disassembled the frame I painted my rear end lol

[Gozzie]

2/19/2018 ready for the rotisserie more blasting
12/20/2018 building rotisserie
12/20/2018 front crossmember repairs

That's it until Christmas is over. Some final sandblasting and then we can start painting the frame and related parts. Other than the front crossmember the frame was in excellent shape. Ernie did the necessary repairs and removed a minor dent in the frame with heat and hammers. Have a merry Christmas everyone. I'll be back with more fun photos.

Gozzie

[silver_bullet]

Thanks for the updates! Looks like a beautiful build in the works....

[Gozzie]

Wile we are on Christmas break I thought I'd show you some previous work. This was my 1940 Ford Deluxe. Unfortunately I sold the car just before it was completed. That was a bad decision on my part. A guy walked in the shop and bought it the same day. It wasnt for sale but you know how that goes. Money talks.I never drove it. Ernie and his son worked hard on this car too. The tilt front end was amazing as well as all the body and paint work. The pictures show Ernie and his son Colby. Colby went onto his own adventure installing custom interiors. Hopefully I will get him to do the 55 Fairlane. That would be cool.

[DanStokes]

Great progress and the '40 is cool, too.

Dan