1955 Ford Mainline Makeover

Bump - anyone know about the alignment spec? Thanks!

 

The car looks fantastic. I checked the book I have for my '54, and it shows 1/16" -1/8" toe-in.

 

Thank you sir! I shall reset it shortly.

 

Beautiful Car! Nice Job!

 

1/8" toe in is pretty well standard for a RWD car.

nice work! enjoyed your build!

 

Fantastic job!! WOW!.................When are you gonna surprize your dad?

 

BRAVO ! Same effect,easier to change later if desired.

 

From a lover of clean '55 Fords, thank you for not butchering. Can always repaint at a later date like you said.

I'd say try and stop the customizing now before you end up with Fuzzy Dice and Curb Feelers!

 

nice job bringing that car back to life.

I always wondered what the clear lens behind the speedo is for on these Fords?

Does anyone know?

AB

 

Ah, come on, what about bobble heads??

I'll be taking the car to Dalhart this coming Thursday. I'm really excited about it all!

 

Has your Dad seen it yet?

 

Use some paint remover and avoid a sanding machine, the metal looks really good and deserves a gently paint stripping.

 

Here's a couple of personal items I am placing in the back tray of the car:

My dad LOVES to play dominoes. Still has a weekly game with a bunch of his buddies. When I got the car I found three old wooden dominoes in it. I saved them and then bought a full set of them on Ebay to match. I'm guessing he'll remember them.


He also played a lot of marbles as a kid. When I was a kid working at the ranch, we would often find his old marbles in the dirt around the place. I didn't find any of his marbles in the car, but i bought a bag of old ones and set them in there for him.


In the trunk of the car I found some old soda pop bottles from the late 50's/early 60's. Wish I had some kind of bottle holder for the front cab area. I'll put them in the trunk for now.


I had to something to make the car have a little something for my mom. She's a HUGE Elvis fan so I got her an Elvis "Jailhouse Rock" bobble head. Yes, I really did get a bobble head!

 

What are you talking about??

No - my dad has not seen it.

 

The Elvis deal is a bit cheesy IMO.

 

Yah, it's got nothing to do with the car but I felt like my mom should get some kind of nod. It's not my thing but she'll dig it.

 

Man that car turned out sweet, your dad will probably shit himself when he see's it!
I wish I had your talent and drive.

 

I'm glad to see you did it the way you did motor and all. The 223 is a real good motor not a lot of speed but easy on gas and relieable. The only other major change I would do is rear end gears, I think with that combo you have the car has like 3:92's currently. Love the color combo, used to see a lot of them like that. I always Loved the speedo treatment on the dash of 54's & 55's, thought it was very cool. Sure wouldn't mind getting my hands on a 55 someday of any kind.

Michael

 

Nevermind. The makeover turned out really nice.

 

Anyone know where I can pick up "shoe goo?" Any tips on using it?

Thanks!

 

Can't get rear brake shoes from any of the major vendors. Autozone shows them, but they are too wide compared with my originals. Any help other than the dealership? I'm not sure they wouldn't laugh me out of the building anyway!

EDIT:: I'm delivering the car in three days - no time to order and wait. Are the 55 rear drums and brakes that same as other later years I could ask for??

Thanks!

 

Dennis Carpenter has them listed http://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb...~S2PQ0UPVE320720016950f~Z5Z5Z5~Z5Z5Z50000024M

Maybe you could pay for the overnight shipping is you can't find any locally.

 

Got mine at the local Parts Plus, off the shelf. I'll get the part # for 'em when I get home from work & send to you, it might help. Yeah, 2 different sizes, the wide ones are for wagons.

 

Mac's showed 52-59 as all the same. Looked on AZ and found them under 59 Fairlane - 1 3/4" They showed the fronts as some 3" wide suckers! Crazy. Got em and all brakes are done! Thanks for the help all!

For future reference:

Duralast part #55 for the rear. 1 3/4" wide x 11"
Duralast part #228 for front. 2" wide x 11" (My originals were actually more like 2 3/8"
Part 228

 

Good to see you got the shoes. I got Monroe #BX55 rears, 11 x 1 3/4, and #BX263 fronts, 11 x 2 1/4", about $42 for both sets at Parts Plus.

Great job on the car! I like that color on the '55. Nearly same color as my '56 will be painted soon. Good to see you're keeping it "Fifties".

 

Thanks for the other parts numbers. Could help others down the road.

and hey - is there a thread on your build?

 

great lookin ride man

 

Thanks!

Well I guess it wouldn't be right if there weren't some last minute issue. After getting all the rear brake stuff purchased and installed I went to bleed the brakes. The lines would no seal in the wheel cylinder. Long story short - the threaded hole for the line is about 1/2" deeper than the originals. I run out of thread before the brake line ever seats!!! Anyone have a quick solution for this? I'm assuming there must be a longer threaded plug available for the brake line?? Am I gonna have to get brake lines made tomorrow?? UUUGGGHHHH!!

 

Burque Bulli ,I am so impressed. I used to live in "Kerke" and I saw this thread right away. I'm in Tucson now and have a couple of cars that want to live at your house.
I think the way things go if most of us did a build thread it would be years. My 57 ranch wagon has been too long in the works. Life keeps getting in the way.
You, Sir, are impressive.
Give your support team big hugs and tell her to hold seminars.

 

What a weekend! Everything went great and my dad is like a kid in a candy store.

On Friday afternoon we made plans to meet my parents at the lake for a free pork chop feed that a local hog farm sponsors (For some background on the XIT weekend/event check out http://www.dalhart.org/XIT/XIT.htm). After we were done eating I had my in-laws who were with us get up and start walking to their truck which was parked very close to the 55. When my dad saw everyone walking off, he and my mom got up and followed. As we were walking I told my dad that I thought they were checking on their dog they had left in their truck. As were getting close to the car my dad was commenting on how far it was going to be for he and my mom to walk back to their car. (Perfect) I reached in my pocket, pulled out the keys to the 55, held them out to him and said, "Here, just drive that back." He looked at the keys, looked at me completely puzzled, and then I pointed to the 55. He looked over, saw it, and just starting laughing and said, "Well, you little "sh@%." It couldn't have gone any better. The night before at dinner he had asked me, "didn't get to finish grampa's car this year?" I replied, "No, too many bills to pay right now." I then listed off a couple of other cars I'd finished this year just to rub it in. In all honesty it killed me not to tell him about it because I knew deep down he had to disappointed. It all just made it that much sweeter when he saw it the next day. Here are some pics my wife and one of my sisters took.










Early Saturday morning he and my mom took the car to their regular morning coffee spot. He got lots of comments on the car. My favorite was when a guy said to my mom, "I'd love to have your son." She replied, "There were times I would have given him to you!" After breakfast they headed over to line up for the parade. I met them there to drop off my oldest son and my daughter who rode in the back seat and threw candy. The parade started and all was going well. I was standing about 3/4's of the way down the parade route. As I was watching the cars numbers and looking for them I realized they were not in place. About that time I got a call from my mom saying they had broken down about two blocks from where I was standing. I raced down the street to see that they had overheated. A car that idles at 475 rpm with a 180 degree thermostat in the August Texas heat is not a good combo. My dad didn't know to pull the choke a little to up the rpms (my fault.) When I got there the carb glass bowl showed that the gas had boiled out. I ran two blocks over, bought a gas can and a gallon of gas and raced back. My father-in-law was now there too and we got it going again(Thanks Pops!). My dad insisted that I get in and drive the rest of the way. With the choke pulled a bit we made it to end of the parade before the next overheating episode occurred. Despite the hick-up it was a great day and my dad got his wish - driving his Grandad's car in the XIT parade. Enjoy the car dad - It's been a joy to do it for you!








None of this would have been possible without the support and help of my beautiful wife Cherie. For the nearly 5 months she has endured my obsession with this project. I have not worked on anything else to make money and I have been less than helpful with the everyday things of raising 5 kids and maintaining a household. She has watched package after package come in the mail without asking how much it cost. Our summer vacation was not a week two trip to California but a 5 day trip to Durango, CO all so I could finish this car. I have heard plenty of car guys complain about their wives and how they have to fight to do anything and I know how lucky I am to have such a great wife. Thanks Cherie for making all of this possible. I owe you one....or two....or three...



Back in the driveway where it all started: