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Taaaaaa Daaaahhhhhhh

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  • Taaaaaa Daaaahhhhhhh

    Allen

    I saw one of cstmwgn's siblings this weekend. She was a beauty, a white '57 long roof with wood siding, looked stock. Unfortunately I was driving in the opposite direction on the way to my son's soccer game and could not get any pics.

    The driver must have been a bonafide junkie as the temps were 30 degrees plus a stiff wind added a wind chill on it; although it was clear and sunny. This long roof made me think of you and Kate as I am sure 'cstmwgn' would have also been enjoying the day if she lived in the garden state. Happy Thanksgiving
    a.k.a. - arrowhead from joysey

    "They're no good for you. all they ever think about are cars" (GTO/Warren Oates) - Two Lane Blacktop

  • #2
    Re: Taaaaaa Daaaahhhhhhh

    Tom

    If it was stock then it probably had an "extra" set of doors, faux wood and perhaps a decent heater.
    I have had the wagon out the last couple of weekends for local parking lot festivities but Kate hasn't been with me.
    She has been pretty busy with Marching Band (season ended last Saturday) so maybe she will feel up to going after she rests up a bit.

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    • #3
      Re: Taaaaaa Daaaahhhhhhh

      Cstmwgn

      please repost the pictures of 57 Ford Wagon.
      thanks
      bob

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      • #4
        Re: Taaaaaa Daaaahhhhhhh





        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Taaaaaa Daaaahhhhhhh

          Cstmwgn

          Thanks for reposting Photo's.

          I learned how to down load the pictures you posted and took hard copies of the photo's of your car to the "Meeting of the Motorhead Minds" at my friends garage.

          Much discussion about your wagon took place(everyone really likes it).
          Particularly parts used in custom treatment of front and rear ends.

          Is there anything you would like to tell the distinguished group of Motorheads about these parts.
          Bob



          PS: Called Stef's Pan's and there would have been a savings if I went there at the start before buying two pan's, stef's aluminum drag pan is +-$200 more than Canton & Hamburger steel pans. I am going to try and modify hamburger pan (needs clearance on drag link, my engine is set back a little) then i will order Stef's Pan.

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          • #6
            Re: Taaaaaa Daaaahhhhhhh

            Bob

            Not real sure where to start on the modifications.

            I guess the first point discussed was the potential that I used a 58 front clip - WRONG! If your Motorhead friends are familiar with the 57 and 58 Fords - have them look closely at the tops of the fenders for clues. Those are 57 front fenders with 58 inner headlight doors, mounting cups and bezels. Yes the bezels fit the 57 fenders perfectly. The "eyebrows" below the headlights are custom pieces that blend into the stock 57 upper header that mates with the stock 57 hood. The grill bar with Ford logo is a custom piece that started life as a flat piece of sheet metal and fills the otherwise stock grill opening on the 57. The lower valance and turnsignals/parking lights are from a 65 Mustang with custom made end caps to blend them into the 57 fenders. The front bumper started life as a 65 Impala front upper bumper that was shortened and filled. It also uses 65 endcaps that were trimmed quite a bit and welded together to form a 1 piece bumper. The guys that did the chrome work really did a nice job with the copper getting everything smoothed out. The hood scoop is an all metal piece that started life as flat stock. The detail just in front of the hood scoop is actually the stock hood that had been cut out and inverted to increase the opening area of the scoop without making it taller. The scoop was required to allow enough room for a proper air cleaner.

            The rear isn't quite as different with the biggest modification being the hatch. No it is not a Currier rear gate - again look closely at the rear windshield the Currier's used 3 piece glass. The hatch is the old 2 piece tailgates welded together and then shorted about 6" on the bottom so that it closes flush with the rear floor. The bumperettes are again made from 65 Impala donors with similar shaping of the endcaps to match the front. The rear roll pan and license plate box is all made from flat stock and tied into the stock rear quarters.

            The only other significant external sheetmetal work is the rear wheel openings have been stretched forward about 3" to match the tubs and make it possible to get the rear tires off without COMPLETELY removing the rear end.

            I haven't begun to share all the modifications to frame, suspension or interior sheet metal - just the exterior skin.

            I hope this isn't too much detail as it is hard for me to give short answers when talking about the changes done to the wagon.

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            • #7
              Re: Taaaaaa Daaaahhhhhhh

              thanks for the commentary, you're definitely an artisan
              a.k.a. - arrowhead from joysey

              "They're no good for you. all they ever think about are cars" (GTO/Warren Oates) - Two Lane Blacktop

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Taaaaaa Daaaahhhhhhh

                Cstmwgn





                I appreciate the information, and as you might suspect I am into it.
                It settled a couple of bets at motorhead meeting.

                I have looked under rear of your car, and in the engine compartment.
                What is the suspension setup? How do you like the gear vender's.
                Is engine set lower in frame?
                Brakes?

                Bob

                PS:
                I am waiting for new rotors and ceramic pads for front of 56, have to remove both lower a arm's to replace bushings( that moved), at the same time i have to notch lower a arm to install adjustable Q1 shocks,& cutting one coil off springs.

                My friend that I want to do relocate rear springs and mini tub; says He thinks "He can get car in before Tour".
                I am not taking the Bait, I have decided to Keep Rear suspension as is for the Tour.
                I will change the 4:33 rear end gears, probably to 3:89 with the same tires. Still checking on tires.


                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Taaaaaa Daaaahhhhhhh

                  Bob

                  You are asking for another book type response with your question about suspension. I am in Prescott AZ visiting my folks and don't have access to all my "analog" pictures. When I get back, I will try to scan a couple of the complete chassis and add them to this post.

                  Front and rear suspension is based on Art Morrison kits.
                  The front suspension is his Deluxe IFS which is Mustang II geometry with a power rack and tubular a-arms with poly bushings. It has Heights 2" dropped spindles with Granada rotors and GM Meteric calipers (mid 80s Camaro). I am using QA-1 coilovers with 650 lb springs and an ADDCO 1 1/8" swaybar for a 67 Mustang. I have replaced the upper a-arm's poly bushings with chromoly heims so I could dial in more caster. I also had to modify the lower a-arm's mounting point to provide more support for the lower bushings to make them live. I think you mentioned having a problem with your 56 killing lower bushings - could be a similar issue. I also tore out one of the mounting lugs for the power rack so we gusseted both sides when we made those repairs. Perhaps the 245/50 x 15 tires were just a little bit more that Art was thinking OR there was a defect when they put it together the first time. They didn't make a kit (front clip) for the 57s so they jig welded the setup onto 2 pieces of 2" x 4" .125 wall tubing that was 18" long as a stub. We then cut the stock frame off at the firewall/body mount and built a new front clip utilizing the stub.

                  Fingers are getting tired - how about a couple of pictures:




                  The rear suspension is based on an Art Morrison equal length 4-link kit that came with poly bushing and utilizes a panhard bar. I have replaced all the poly bushings in the 4-link with chromoly heims and added an S&W 1 1/8" tubular (torsion bar) sway bar. I am using QA-1 coilover shocks and 275 lb springs. The shocks are laid over 25* (inboard at top) to improve corner stability. We cut the stock frame off about 10" in front of the rear wheel well opening and narrowed it 6" on each side. The front 4-link brackets where incorporated into the frame and provide some of the raise for the rear section to go over the axle and tie back into the stock frame about 12" from the bumper. The net result is that there is about 4' of stock frame from the firewall to the front of the rear seat and the rest of the frame is new/custom stuff. The narrowed frame required a new gas tank which we made to fit between the frame rails in place of where the spare tire and gas tank originally lived. This left a small area just behind the tank for "stuff". I have a small craftsman floor jack, a set of jack stands, tools and an assortment of chemicals and parts stashed in it at this time.

                  The 4-link killed a ton of space in the rear seat area which would not allow the use of the original rear bench seat so I fabricated a new seat frame out of wood. It sits too high and doesn't have an abundance of cushioning but was good for when Kate was little. I am thinking about removing the rear seat all together and making it a two-seater (to match the doors). If I do that I will have more storage area and perhaps a place for some subs.

                  57 was the first year that Ford offered the 9" so we used to original housing shorted 10" with a backbrace and boxed 4-link brackets. I am still using the stock 11 x 2 1/2 drum brakes in the rear.


                  Engine placement.
                  Another long story - the engine sits lower than other 57 - 59 that I have seen with the 385 series engine. We moved the firewall on the driver's side back 2" which ended up making the firewall flat (straight across) and allowed the engine to sit back just a touch. Knowing that I was going to be working on the powertrain constantly, I made sure that I could get the trans in and out without supernatural effort. This required some pretty significant changes to the tunnel to accommodate the C-6 and to allow access to the bellhousing bolts. In an effort to get the engine as low as possible we build a custom pan that also requires modifications to the oil pump for clearance. I think I went way past anal on this part as I was trying to get the engine/carb pad level and the crank centerline as low as possible. In hind sight I probably should have put the engine another 1/2" to 1" higher and avoided a ton of extra work.

                  Again, when I get back I will try to scan some full chassis shots so you can see most of these changes.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Taaaaaa Daaaahhhhhhh

                    Cstmwgn

                    I knew the wagon was a Sophisticated Lady

                    I appreciate all the engineering, fabrication, and hard work. It must handle well along with looking great.
                    245/50 front tires wow.
                    bob

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Taaaaaa Daaaahhhhhhh

                      Bob

                      Here are some chassis shots.







                      Here are a couple of what we started with



                      The car handles pretty good considering the "bigs & littles" (although the littles aren't really pizza cutters )
                      I hope this isn't too much information for you.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Taaaaaa Daaaahhhhhhh

                        Cstmwgn

                        This picture I think "says it all"

                        Bob

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                        • #13
                          Re: Taaaaaa Daaaahhhhhhh

                          Originally posted by 1956NY150
                          Cstmwgn

                          This picture I think "says it all"

                          Bob

                          Hey who is that young guy?
                          I R Bob
                          You can't drink all day unless you start in the morning!
                          2007 LH, 2008 LH, 2009 LH, 2010 LH, 2011 LH, 2012 DNF/BLOW'D UP, 2013 LH, 2014 LH

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Taaaaaa Daaaahhhhhhh

                            Originally posted by BluLightning
                            Originally posted by 1956NY150
                            Cstmwgn

                            This picture I think "says it all"

                            Bob

                            Hey who is that young guy?
                            be warned - that is what Mr. Hankey can do to you if you let him :o

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