i got a 53 ford crest line vicky with the flatly in it drives and everything but have been wanting to put a FE in it I have a FE engine ready to go and a 4spd to go behind it any tips on fitment,rear ends, headers if I can fit longtubes or have to go fender wall, straight front axles? Radius and tubed rears? Whole shebang.
Welcome to the hamb. I've long been a fan of 52-54 Gasser styled cars, personally I would go with the 390 and 4 speed, 9" rear axle, the front suspension would be swapped for a axle with the 52/53 due to it being pin and link and not the normal suspension from 54 on up. And yes radius the well wheels. HRP Want some inspiration? check out my '54 Gasser album
This '53 Ford coupe with '54 front sheet metal belongs to a fellow Hamber, in my book he nailed the look. HRP
Wow that coupe looks sweet, I looked at your 54’ gasser album, how did whoever built that blue 53’ get those fender well headers in? The inner fenders, were they removed? where are the hood hinges mounted on because my 53’ has the hinges on the vents on the sides and those vents are i think either mounted or are welded on the inner fenders I was wondering if I could possibly cut a rectangular hole out of the inner fenders to snake through the fender wall headers or if I should just remove them all together?
Another thing, I’m trying to get some of my parts from donor cars a ford 9’ is not hard to find but a front axle along with leafs seems a little difficult what cars can I take these parts from?
If that’s too much of a hassle speedway makes a front axle kit for gassers though it is a little pricy.
yea sounds about right, but then again I want to drive this on the street if I refrain from the fender dump headers can I put long tubes for now?
We used to grab them from Econoline vans. I helped do one on a '65 Chevy using an axle from a Chevy van, it was close to a bolt-in.
If you don't want to remove the inner fenderwells you can just cut a hole to allow for fenderwell headers to clear. My opinion is a gasser just cries out to have them, and every gasser I've built I removed the inner fenderwells completely. Even when occasionally getting caught in the rain, not having them was never an issue. And it lets under hood heat out of the car too! Since these early Fords were fairly wide at around 73" the options for using various truck or van beam axles are quite wide. The Econoline mentioned is top of the list because it's newer, and already has 5x4.5" Ford bolt pattern, so a great choice. It's also got true parallel springs and will fit your frame width pretty nicely as is, or if you stub it and build new front frame rails. The 390/4 speed combo will be perfect for a gasser! The exhaust spacing is close to a BBC so you can buy cheaper BBC fendeerwell headers for a Tri Five Chevy and cut the flanges off to weld on the FE Ford flanges. May need a little tube tweaking, but these headers are $267 at Speedway, and that's about 1/3rd of what you'll pay for anything else that fits the FE.
Where are you located? I have a complete econoline front axle, springs etc. that I might consider getting rid of. Also big block chevy fender well headers can be made to fit FE motors. Ron
wow didn’t know e series front axles could fit with minor modifications, another issue with fender well headers, inner fenders removed or not won’t the headers corrode from all the stuff the front tires pick up? i do have a decently wide space behind my front tire which prompted the original idea of fender well headers because I agree with 1971BB427 gassers deserve fenderwells. Located in the Bay Area,CA.
I have an econoline axle on my 57 Plymouth since the sixties. There are even kits to convert to disc brakes ( which I did ). On the Plymouth the headers fit with minor trimming of the inner fenderwells. A friend had a 53 Ford coupe he ran in H/Gas back around 1965. Yours sounds like a nice project.
My old Cobra buddy Cantrell's dad had a '54 that he worked over pretty well, he used one of those NOS 427 blocks that Walt got from the Holman & Moody sale in the late 70's, along with NOS LeMans rods and a steel crank, nice set of Medium Risers, 306/500 cam and a Shelby Dominator intake. He put '65 LTD disc brakes on the front, a HD 3-spd with OD, and a '65 Shelby 31-spline rear with 3.91s and a Detroit Locker. Some old '50s Merc hubcaps completed the sleeper look- would have made a helluva likker car. Sent a couple zit farms in Camaros home mumbling about some 70-year old in an old car lol
NOPE. Makes no sense to tear apart a running, driving top of the line '53 Ford, when all you really need is a body and a frame.. Keep driving the Vicky, and look for a suitable, reasonably cheap gasser project body/car.
It’s not pretty though has holes and parts of the body that was cut out to prevent the spread of rust nothing absolutely major but it’s not in the best condition. reason is, I’m going to give my father my flathead for his model T build while I have a running 390 in my dentside which is also getting a new engine while it’s current 390 just needs new heads which I have and I’ve always wanted to build a gasser and I already have a 50s era car it’s top of the line crestline victoria but I never liked the mainline or custom because of the beam in between the side windows and the shorter rear window. this car needs a lot of bodywork, primer ,paint and a whole interior. not a pretty car perfect for a gasser.
Here is the most recent picture that I can find so far I’ll take some and post them of the engine bay and interior along with other exterior shots.
I love the concept. But why pull apart a good driving car. Would it not make more sense to sell that for good money then buy a stripped out project for a lot less. It would give you more cash to put into it. All you need is a good shell.
i don’t want to sell the car though, my dad had bought it from the original owner the car didn’t look as nice as it does now it had a half assed paint job that was matte black with a white top and I used rust converter to get rid of all the surface rust now it’s ready for primer and paint but I’m not in a rush to paint it I got the car and I got a drivetrain that needs a home because the flatty is going to a model t
Nope, leave that car as is, do some bodywork and paint on it, have a nice kustom. Save the FE for a different car. Im all for cutting things up, but that one isnt a cutter
Sorry but Victoria body style doesnt scream gasser to me , it echoes custom . While a coupe with a post seems more in keeping.
I had a 54 Crestline as my "first car"! Learned to drive a standard shift in a 53 station wagon. I got "history" man!! Build that gasser and enjoy the crap out of it.....when ya get tired of it, sell it and get most of your "investment" back. Some of these guys say one thing and then.... Grab a 55 Shivel-lay and drop a BBC & Tremac trans with an Econoline axle ETC. no problem!! 6sally6
'54 Ford coupes are more 'gasser' material, as has been said. I've had 7 of them, none 'stock'. My '53 Vic was too 'classy' for the 'race car route', so I customized it... It was sold to finance the 5th '54 gasser project. FE Ford engine is a bolt-in on '54-'65, the tube member uses '58 engine mounts. '53s have the lower giant panlike front crossmember, and the king & link suspension. Look for a '54 Coupe, (I'm from Ca. Bay area, so I may have depleted the supply since 1964...) Mine ALL came from San Jose, Campbell, and Santa Clara. Cheap in those days... My present one is getting a fresh 406.
by the way guys, I am a high schooler who has been in cars since I could remember, This would be my first car build that would be solely mine and not my fathers, but that does not mean I havnt any experience! any stories and build pictures would really help I originally wanted it to be a custom but something about 50s and 60s gassers just inspire me and this is what i got! At the moment I am driving the 3spd flatty and collecting parts for my soon gasser build.
Good on you young man for keeping the Hot Rod dream alive. Just like our Dads and Grand dads before them they used and built on projects that were available to them, and did the best they could with their budget and abilities and sometimes friends abilities. Head down, butt back, keep on keeping on. Love to here from the younger group!
That's one thing about the HAMB, there's no shortage of opinions on how you should build YOUR car THEIR way ! Stick that 390/4 spd in there, go raise a little hell and have a ton of fun along the way.
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