Family 4-door complete Custom 300 or snag 2-door fairlane?

Theres lots of HAMBers in Houston. One of then should step up and help you

 

I think I found an idea for you

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=608094

 

The 312 has 200k on it and has been sitting for 30 years. I want the 460 for immediate use and sheer torque.

 

Sorry but to be honest,If you are not ambitious enough to figure out how to bend your own brake lines then how do you plan on putting a 460 in or any of the other stuff you mentioned?

I bent mine by hand, being carfull not to crink the line with too sharp of a bend.
I wouldnt say they look like a factory job but they look pretty good and most importantly they work.
Buying a tool to bend the lines properly when you buy the lines at the parts house shouldnt be that expensive.

I say do the little stuff first,if you fly into everything at once you may become overwhelmed.

 

Do the four door. Family is more important at this stage of their, as well as your life.
Cheers....................

 

Do like I'm doing and do both, I've got a 65 4 door hardtop Galaxie that I'm doing as a family cruiser and then a 66 2 dr post Galaxie thats going to be my hot rod.

 

Sounds like it's just an old sedan the family abandoned 30 years ago, not a "Red Barchetta".

 

What he said

Even if you were to go with the prebent brake lines (which I wouldn't), is a couple month wait gonna kill a car that has been sitting 30 years?

Maybe use that time to pull the trans and go through it, since you want to drive the 312 around the block...gonna be tough without a working trans

 

Time is a factor I just had the car towed from Austin to Houston last Sunday and intend to get the brakes done ASAP. I'm going to buy a parts washer and go through the holly again by more thorough this time I'm not cleaning it on my apartment back porch!

As for doing both cars I totally would if I had a three car garage. It's a squeeze as is with my motorcycles the Mercedes is parked outside and this monster boat size car in garage.

Plan do brake lines get peddle firm, drip car on ground and put in gear. Then pull motor and trans have car sand blasted and fire wall painted.

 

I built and played with a few IROC camaros back in High School. I'm familiar with the chevy side, small blocks and the 700 r4.

This has nothing to do with being ambitious enough to figure out how to bend brake line. It doesn't require a lot of brain power just common sense and previous experience leading to a fines way of shaping the light.

I would rather not haggle with matching the line and learning how to bend the line using the newly purchased tools for this job.

I'll earn the bragging rights of the brake job and know that they're done right, but would much rather just pay for someone to bend them up. I'll install the granada conversion and rear brakes on the car myself later down the road.

 

If you lived much closer I would trade you a 460 for that 312.

 

Since it's all numbers matching I want to keep the 312 but it needs rebuilt, i don't want to risk throwing a rod through the block, since it runs.

 

Little advice,quit shopping on craigslist for stuff or services. Take your old lines off,without bending up. Take them to a shop and have new ones made,hell even the NAPA here makes brake lines.As far as the 19 and 20 inch tires and wheels, probably a 800 watt amp,thumper 15s, maybe some hydralics.Wait a minute ,you need a Monte Carlo,not a nice old Ford thats been a piece of your family history that you are screwing up.Even a 4-door deserves better.

 

Just what I was thinking. Spend your money on tools not ready made parts. And all that junk you're thinking of putting on the car is thrown away money. The car won't be worth more and you'll ruin it's handling. It'll stretch your finances enough and your skills just restoring it to stock. And if it is a four door 312 then it's a rare car too.

Right now I feel very sorry for that poor little Custom 300. Made it so far and now...?

 

ahaha good point!

I had no idea the folks over at NAPA would bend them and match them up! I would have had brakes over at my dad's when I got the thing to run!

As for the wheels I want them to be big enough to compensate the wheel well gap and the car will be lowered (89 aerostar coils).

The car was designed for the family and family vacations as well as business men. I will rip out the vinyl black mat flooring and install carpet. The Fairlane 500 rear seat would look neat. I'm not going to cut up the dash for some radio rather, I'm going to fab a console that will have a docking station for my ipad. I hate the stock steering column so that's got to go too. I intend to travel with this car and it's ridiculous gas guzzling engine.

 

INT shot

 

I like the car and think it can be made uniquely cool because its a 4 door, not like the easier more common 2 door.(With the rite imagination)

Darker colors or at least on the door posts in a two tone scheme can help to subdue the more obvious 4 door look if you choose.

 

Wait a second. From the picture in your previous post, the car seems to have the anodized gold aluminum waffle stuff between the stainless trim strips. That would make it a Fairlane 500. I'm with the rest of these guys; spend your money on tools instead of bling and maybe you'll learn something.

 

Heres some inspiration in case you hadnt seen this.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=437714&highlight=into+the+57+ford

........and this http://carnut.com/photo/list/ford/ford57.html

 

No it's a custom 300 fordor with factory 4bbl 312 y-block option. No power steering either.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...aY0TuTXKOTLsQLQ9pGQCw&ved=0CCcQ9QEwAg&dur=625

 

Yeah that's what i'm looking for but also minus the hideous trim on the front fenders and door. Even the placement on the rear quarters should have been on the lower line just above the wheel, not in the middle on the mold.

 

...are you sure you even like this car at all?........good luck,whatever you decide

 

I love this car! Hate the trim. I'm also tossing the white wall rings in the trunk.

 

The simpler Custom side trim is very nice. I had a 57 Custom Tudor about 12 years ago. I really liked that car.
I don't see the hurry on the brake lines either. You've got to lift the body off, pull out the frame, strip it of parts, blast it, repaint and protect it and then re-assemble it with all new rubbers, shocks etc. Put in the rebuilt 312, checked over trans, rear axle and rebuilt drive shaft. If you can do that in less than two months, hats off to you. I agree with the front disc conversion. If you can find a parts car 58 you can fit the 58 power steering.
If your Custom 300 is a genuine 312 then it'll be a D code car. Check the tags on the door pillar.
A - 6 cylinder
B - 272ci V8
C - 292ci V8
D - 312ci V8
E - 312ci twin four barrel
F - 312ci supercharged

A 57 Custom looks very mean with a slight rake, mono-tone paint (black seems to suit 57s particularly well), steel wheels, dog dish hubcaps and black wall tires.

 

Here's the code.

 

I want this thing running asap to the college campus and around town. The fastest way to get it running is to throw a c6/460 combo in. The 312 is tired and needs a complete overhaul I know once that thing is pulled I'll have to do this and that etc.

I heard from some locals that there's a "Billy Bad-ass Shop" in Waco TX specializing in Y-blocks. Can anyone confirm?

 

I wouldn't do any of that. You'd be better off fixing the brakes, putting in an inexpensive used running engine out of a wrecked car, get a quickie paint job, and have fun driving it. The whole "matching numbers" thing don't mean shit in this case I'm afraid, it's not a Mustang. You aren't too far from me, if I wasn't healing from surgery I'd offer to help you out.

 

fix up the fordor. you'd be surprised how many people love it when its done. There isn't enough of them around and most people can relate to those cars because they had one in the family. When its all said and done; you can take great pride in the fact that you kept a family relic alive for many more years to come. the fairlane doesnt sound like much of a catch to me: hit a tree, no title, parts missing. Stick with the family heirloom and do it right. you'll be glad you did

 

Get the engine running the way you want and fix the brakes first. get the car to a point where its in good running and driving condition.

the interior looks to be in nice shape. a nice wipe down and vacuum of everything, throw a blanket over the seats and youre good to go. Here's one small peice of advice for you: nothing is ever done quickly in terms of restoring a classic car. Youre lucky and yours seems to be in decent shape. If you want quick; then you might as well do it hack. Take your time and do it right the first time. there is no sense in rushing through everything only to have it done poorly. you'll only have to go back and fix it and do it right if you really want a nice car. My advice to you is to remove all of the interior; take itvout peice by peice and keep it in storage while you can work on the floors and such. This was the first step for us and it made it a lot easier to work around the car without having to worry about ruining any of it. We kept our seats, trim, floor mats, etc in the basement for a few months. Dryer sheets and moth balls will keep the mice and moths away. Clean up the floors first; get that out of the way: fix any rust holes, and rot. We coated our floors with a truck-bed liner kit. works great and it protects them wonderfully. Make sure you remove all the trim and keep it in storage somewhere safe. ive seen people tape-off trim and paint around it. totally hack.

Its good to have a gameplan on what you want your car to look like. thats a great start. now; do your research. the HAMB is an incredible resource and there is lots of people here willing to lend advice. I understand you want to get out there and drive it; we all feel that way with our projects, but if you want it done right and you want it to look awsome to any persons' eye...then do it right and take your time. You won't regret it and once your done the time and hard work spent to ensure it looks great will pay off in the end.

 

I just want to go on the record to say that I also hate the idea of seeing this car with donk wheels, a billet grille, and shaved rear door handles.

A 1950s four-door looks best low and level with the stock trim and barbs left intact. I could care less if you switch out the Y-block for a 385-series big block, but I would hate to see this thing turned into the kind of gook wagon you described.

As far as “filling the wheel wells”, I think you’ll be surprised by what a big difference only an inch or two in rim size makes, plus going to a slightly larger tire. I’ll bet this has some kind of stock-width radial on it right now, which ends up way shorter than the equivalent-sized bias ply.

I went from 185/80/13s on my Falcon to 195/75/14s and it made world of difference.

Check out this thread if you need instruction on how to do a ‘57 Ford the right way.

-Dave