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The Boss's Toy. '56 Ford Fairlane Victoria

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  • The Boss's Toy. '56 Ford Fairlane Victoria

    My boss, the owner of the company I work for, bought this '56 Fairlane Vicky 4 door hardtop at 19 y/o while attending Berkeley. He is the third owner and it currently has 89K miles. The car got repainted years ago, the 292 Thunderbird Y block 4 bbl engine and Fordomatic tranny were both rebuilt about 10 years. I'm guessing they have about 3K miles on them. The car sat for four years until I came along. Jeff wanted the car to be daily drivable. I went through the entire fuel system from tank to the Tea Pot Holley carb. Rebuilt the distributor and gave it a full tune up. Then had the generator rebuilt when spit it's brushes on the ground.

    Jeff drove the car home after all that work done in '03. There is sat with the exception of two outings, this car hasn't seen sunlight since then. Jeff finally decided he needed to fix the leaky roof above the Ford in the garage, so he pulled it out only to find the brakes are completely gone.

    This is where I come in, again.

    The car has been sitting at the yard for two months now. The wonderful detailers we have haven't touched it, so it's filthy. That's white over mint green, or tapioca. Jeff's college buddies call it Creme de Mint. I'm not allowed to call it that if I like my job.


    It's got dual exhaust with Smithy glasspacks. They still have their decals.


    The interior is still original except the dash got a repaint. All the gauges work, so does the radio. The speaker is blown. There is also a AM/FM Cassette deck in the glove box. Their speakers are blown too. The sign is there in case some dumb ass tries to move it and the brake pedal hitting the floor isn't enough of a hint.


    All the hubcaps were taken off for the brake job.


    Under hood, the 292 4 bbl. You still see the washer fluid bag. The wiper motor is vacuum operated off the fuel pump. It doesn't work that great. The motor is pretty filthy from sitting, but it still runs great. I ran it out of gas checking it out. The tank was empty, it ran long enough to empty the carb. I think that's a good thing. I won't have to redo all the fuel system again.


    The new master cylinder replacing the rusty blob that was trying to pass itself off as one.


    I also replaced all four wheel cylinders after pulling back the seals and rusty water poured out. Someone before me replaced all the other hardware. It stays.


    The trunk still has it's mat. No rust under it. The spare is still there, but holds air for about ten minutes. Oh good, a gas can. I'll need that for the test drive.


    BS'er formally known as Rebeldryver

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  • #2
    Re: The Boss's Toy. '56 Ford Fairlane Victoria

    That looks EXACTLY like the condition our '54 was in when I winched it up on my trailer....

    Your boss is lucky to have a talented wrench working for him - especially a guy that can still make sense of drum brakes!

    I hope you are getting paid far above your normal wage for this kind of work!
    There's always something new to learn.

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    • #3
      Re: The Boss's Toy. '56 Ford Fairlane Victoria

      I like the exterior color scheme, fits the car nicely,
      neds tad more white inside.

      Drum brakes, potential guillotine for fingertips.


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      • #4
        Re: The Boss's Toy. '56 Ford Fairlane Victoria

        Cool old car! We used to call that style Holley a "castle" carb - it kind of looks like a castle, don'tcha think? One of my best buddies in HS drove his Dad's '56 wagon with a 312 and and that carb. The abuse that car took was amazing. We drove it to school at ridiculous rates of speed, coupled with burnouts, etc., and filled with teenaged boys. On Saturdays it was filled with tree trimming equipment (ropes, McCulloch saws, etc., with ladders on the roof) and it earned it's keep in other ways. It's amazing that it kept on rolling under it's own power - but it did.

        As stated, they are damn lucky to have you to sort this stuff out. But it DOES look like fun. Too bad the brake fluid got to the firewall - it must have been leaking for a while.

        Dan

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        • #5
          Re: The Boss's Toy. '56 Ford Fairlane Victoria

          That's really nice, that's going to make a nice DD. The '56 Ford was or is one of my all time favorites.
          Tom
          Overdrive is overrated


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          • #6
            Re: The Boss's Toy. '56 Ford Fairlane Victoria

            I borrowed the gas can in the trunk and gave it some fresh juice. Bled the brakes and fired her up for a test drive. Although, I didn't leave our alley to go out on the streets. Unlike, DF, I don't feel like tempting the copper's benevolence. I need to bleed some more. Almost there. And, then re-adjust the front brakes. It pulls a bit to the right.


            Those old Smithy Glass packs sound so right on a Y block. My nosy co-workers really need to shut up and get back to work.



            Some of you may not know what the 'tea pot', 'toilet bowl', or 'castle' Holley 4 barrel looks like. What's great about it? Well, it uses the same type of jet and power valve my double pumper uses. Very convenient.
            BS'er formally known as Rebeldryver

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            • #7
              Re: The Boss's Toy. '56 Ford Fairlane Victoria

              Sounds great! I'm surprised and pleased that you got it fired up with out too much of a fight. Great old ride - I hope the boss will drive it regularly now. I'm surprised that anything fits that old carb.

              Dan

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              • #8
                Re: The Boss's Toy. '56 Ford Fairlane Victoria

                nice
                those pipes make sweet music!
                There's always something new to learn.

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                • #9
                  Re: The Boss's Toy. '56 Ford Fairlane Victoria

                  I got the brakes bled today then test drove it as best as I could since the plates expired in '03 and there isn't even a expired registration in the car. So, that meant hauling butt down the alley behind our office and smashing the brakes. The car pulls pretty hard to the right and the brake howls like it was on a dump truck.

                  There was some minor surface rust on the drums but I didn't think it was enough to cause a problem. Could be something more like a drum out of round?
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                  • #10
                    Re: The Boss's Toy. '56 Ford Fairlane Victoria

                    With the wheels off the ground and after pumping the brake pedal a few times, if you spin the wheels on both sides by hand - do they both turn about the same number of revolutions?

                    If the drums are rusty - you need to get them turned - or, you need to do enough stops to clean off the rust and re-evaluate....

                    I generally adjust drums by feel - but you really need to spin the adjuster - then pump the brakes then spin the drum to see how they compare.

                    I have one of those tools to measure the ID of the drum, and the OD of the shoes --- that comes in handy!
                    There's always something new to learn.

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                    • #11
                      Re: The Boss's Toy. '56 Ford Fairlane Victoria

                      I was taught to adjust them by using the adjuster spoon to engage the adjuster and pushing it out until the brakes engage. You can tell pretty closely whether the handle of the spoon moves the same amount for each wheel. This works really well once you get on to it. While the ol' Ford won't have self adjusters, if the car in question does you can disable the self adjuster by reaching thru the hole and pushing it out of the way with a small flat screwdriver. ALWAYS lube the adjuster with anti seize when you have it out! I also use anti seize on the shoe slider pads - no squeaks and it doesn't migrate to where you don't want it.

                      Surprised these old tricks have come back to my ancient mind!

                      Dan

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                      • #12
                        Re: The Boss's Toy. '56 Ford Fairlane Victoria

                        Diggin' the Vicky.....SJ's uncle had a 2-door up til about a year ago.

                        Scott, just throwing ideas out here.....are the rubber lines going to the front wheel cylinders still good?

                        Perhaps one is partially plugged/collapsed....is there a chance the brake lining(s) might have been doused with brake fluid?

                        Regardless, that's one sweet old Ford...playing with old iron is fun, but I hope your employer sees to it to kick a few extra bucks your way for your efforts.

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                        • #13
                          Re: The Boss's Toy. '56 Ford Fairlane Victoria

                          I'm going to turn the front drums and in the process repack the bearings.

                          The left side drum is much tighter, but it still pulls to the right.

                          My boss wants to sell the car, so he doesn't want me spending a ton of money on it.

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                          • #14
                            Re: The Boss's Toy. '56 Ford Fairlane Victoria

                            Turned the drums, repacked the bearings, and sanded off greasy looking crap off the shoes. Seemed to do the trick. Brakes are working good. Car is driving good too.

                            I so wanted to take it for a spin, but since it doesn't have current registration; I couldn't.
                            BS'er formally known as Rebeldryver

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