I think you'll appreciate the 11" clutch after you've had it for a while: I've had both a'57 & a'59 Ranchwagon(both Y-blocks) & put 11' PU flywheels & clutchs in. These workhorses will do as much or more than an F-100(please; no screams:I'm refering to how we treat them as we get used to them : they're like the old Timex comercial ;'Takes a licking & keeps on ticking') The 11" clutch will last longer/be more reliable(just use proper maint.,please), & after a few years you'll wonder how you ever got along without your 'truck'.LOL!!! I still use a wagon today;I pay car registration, not commercial; cheaper ins.;lock the doors & don't worry about valuables left in a PU bed! ps: an old sheet of cardboard helps to slide things in/out of the back.
Another suggestion: stronger, or 'overload', springs on both ends( possibly '57-'60 Merc as stronger direct replacements), also, if you can find a donor car, the Big Mercs had larger brakes but the bolt pattern is larger(just swap the entire spindle assy, you'll need to disconnect them to remove the front coils anyway, & they're the same balljoints & tierods). You'd need the wheels as well, but this does give more weight capacity( & much better stopping), & the Ford 'caps will fit the Merc wheels. If you are going to use the wagon as a 'family-driver' & hauler, I'd suggest to not radically lower it. If you decide to add power at a later time, you have plenty of room to throw almost any Ford engine you want under that hood without much effort.
drtrcrV-8, I enjoy having a wagon. Usually I get some strange looks when I am going to the home improvement store and putting a big load of something in the back. Thank you for the heads up on the Mercury parts. I go back and forth on lowering the car. You know you aren't cool unless you scrape a little bit.
I admire you perseverance with your clutch issues. Like the wagon. I just missed out on a 57 that was on CL. I grew up with them and made many trips cross country. I am watching this one for sure......
TKEBH964, missed you again at Pacific on Saturday. I came by your wagon a couple of times. I was in my 58' Biscayne 4-door parked on the main street. We have the 58 for sale so I stayed close. We left about 3:30 just before the rain. Maybe I'll get to visit with you at the HAMB DRAGS. My first time at Pacific. It was a good gathering and a great day. Sam
TKE....ain't it fun having an old car? My 59 Ranchero has kept me busy from the day I bought it 6 years ago. I love it though and would never part with it. I love it when people asked what is it? You tell them a 59 Ranchero and they say oh? I didn't know chevy made two of those. One being the El Camino. When you tell them it is NOT a Chevy, but a Ford, they simply smile and say oh yeak, now I remember. Yeah right.
Hotrod1959 - It helps perserverence when your other car options to drive are a minivan or an uber base model Dodge Caliber Austinrod - Nice '64. I looked at a couple of those before I bought mine. MO JUNK - Sorry I missed you again! I was working the show and spent most of the day under the registration tent counting judging scores. Glad you enjoyed the show and the town. Their show used to be really big, but had dwindled the last couple years. The town made a big push for this years show and it payed off. Attendance was double what it was last year even with the questionable weather. Beep - I love driving an old car, also enjoy listening to people's conversations about everything they "know" about it. A lot of people don't know very much, but they think they do and it isn't worth correcting them most the time.
Can you guys tell me what size wheels and tires you're running on your ford wagons? I'm replacing mine and wanting to know what fits. That rear tire can be a tight fit!
IRMB - I am running 205/75/14 tires. Sorry it took so long to get back to you, just kept forgetting to look.
I haven't updated this in a while but I haven't had the time to work on things. Still driving the car darn near everywhere. We have another baby due in December and I have been doing house projects more than car projects. My Dad did get me a radio from Custom Autosound for my birthday a while back. Unfortunately the people at Custom Autosound are MORONS and they believe that the 57 and 58 Fords have the exact same dash. Needless to say, the one they sent me is for a 57 Ford. They called me back while I was driving the wagon to tell me how the dash looked on a 58 Ford was the same as a 57. I said "I'M DRIVING IT NOW, IT IS NOT A VERTICLE PATERN," they did not understand this... I don't want to put it in because it won't match. However, I don't necassarily want to return it because I do want a radio. Been thinking about changing the dash out for a single sheet of turned aluminum. I think this would look pretty cool, but I haven't had the time to measure it all out.
I'm looking for a 57 or 58 dash in good condition to swap out for mine, which is ugly and old. Them dashs are hard to find!
I used a sheet of engine turned aluminum I got from Speedway Motors to update the dash in our wagon. The original insert was engine turned but I decided to replace the idiot lights and small gauges with more appropriate gauges and do away with the knobs in the insert. HRP
Well as usual with driving a 55 year old car everyday, another problem cropped up that needs to be taken care of quickly. Fortunately, I have tackled this one before. My heater went out again. This time it looks like it is the NOS hot water valve I had used to patch things up before. It was leaking around the diaphragm of the valve. It looks like these valves are now being reproduced (YAY!!). However, they are $75 (BOO!!). I did come across this on Mac's site though. http://macsautoparts.com/ford-thund...it-b8s-18495-kt/camid/THU/cp/JS0R3CHL1119403/ 58-60 Thunderbird appear to use the same hot water valve and heater core, so this should work. All I need though is the dummy hot water valve, not the extra cable and cable operated valve. Does anyone know who makes this for Mac's?
51cliff, Thank you for the kind words. My wallet is still light being the holidays, but I appreciate your offer. Personal life has been great, but very hectic which has led me to not drive or work on the wagon in some time. My wife was on bed rest at the end of her pregnancy, and ended up delivering a couple weeks early. We now have a perfectly healthy baby girl (child #3). Maybe I should of found a 9 passenger wagon... I did have the foresight to put in three seat belts in the back. I did drive it around the block the other day, but that's about it. The heat is fixed, I used the dummy valve from Mac's and it worked as I expected it too.
Looks like I am building pressure in my cooling system. Heater core went out again around January. Yesterday, the car was leaking coolant between the thermostat housing and the head. That gasket will be replaced tonight. I've had at least one person tell me he thinks it is the head gasket again. Hoping that it just had some air stuck in the system that is causing all of this. It also could be the radiator cap. Unfortunately, the car does not have the original radiator. The local NAPA has been helpful, but we haven't been able to find the right one yet.
Okay, so it was an interesting weekend. I don't think it was the head gasket. I replaced the thermostat, and the car was still leaking fluid. It appeared to be leaking from the water pump this time. Replaced the water pump, and it was still leaking. After further inspection the thermostat was not sitting right in the housing, causing the housing to leak directly above the water pump. I probably didn't need to replace the water pump, but I do feel better knowing there is a new pump in there. The one I took out still had the Ford casting mark in it. Side note, the new water pump had a different bolt hole circle for the fan/pulley. I ended up drilling out my pulley and buying a new flex fan and spacer. The new fan works a lot better than the old one and weighs significantly less. I also took some time to redo my alternator bracket. It was never quite lined up right before, and I am very pleased with the way everything turned out. Here is a picture of the new fan, water pump, and correct alternator bracket:
I installed the Stewart Warner voltmeter my Wife got me a while back as well as a Stewart Warner water temp gauge under the dash this last Sunday. Don't mind the readings, the car was not running
Car is running great! Temps stay 180-190. The alternator charges a little high, but I'm not concerned about it. Through a storke a dumb luck, I got my wipers working. Turns out the wiper blades were just really really bad. I stumbled on a wholesale closeout on Rockauto.com for wiper blades, got two blade shipped for $11. This weekend I am putting new shocks on all 4 corners, as well as giving the car a general inspection since we have decided to go to the Mid America Nationals again this year.
Installed new shocks on all four corners today. The old shocks were extremely bad. I could move 3/4 freely with little to no resistance. The car rides completely different. Also fixed my leaking fuel bowl. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Forgot to mention the bad part of the new shocks, the car sits about two inches higher now. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
The woes and joys of driving an old car everyday keep coming. I started getting strange noise coming from my rear end the other day. A quick look under the car told me that both axle seals were bad. Initially, I took the car into the shop to have new axle bearings pressed in as well as new axle seals installed. After they pulled the axles, it was quickly apparent that there was more damage. One of the threaded adjusters had essentially disentigrated. Thankfully though, the ring and pinion were in relatively good condition. After a bit more work than expected, I now have a rebuilt rear end with new axle bearings. I also took the opertunity to update the pinion seal to the new style. Side note - the axle ratio was very strange at 3.44:1. Shortly after getting the rear end back together, my battery took a dump again. It decided to die when my car was at the end of my driveway blocking the street. While I was pushing the car to the side of the road a nice lady did give me some encouragement as she drove past saying "seeing me drive my old car so much inspired her." I wish I had been nicer to her at the time, but I was running late to work and pushing a very large heavy vehicle by myself. Despite it all, it is still hard to not look like "Smilin Bob" off of those old Enzyte commercials while driving it.
If the new shocks are just replacements and not overload shocks with springs on them, they should not change the ride height.
Chstitans42 - thank you! Commish - I believe the old shocks were so bad they were "stuck" in a collapsed position. They were really really bad. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Wow, it has been a while since I have updated this. This winter hasn't been kind to us. It seems like every weekend someone in the family was sick, or we had an event we had to be at. I have been dealing with brake issues off and on this winter. Ultimately, I decided it was the master cylinder and swapped that out this last weekend it. The repair went fairly smoothly. I did have a couple of "helpers" that slowed me down, but it is a learning experience for them. After changing out the master cylinder things were a lot better until my drive home from work yesterday when something in the brake lines went pop and I lost all of my brake pedal. God is good to me though, it happened on a straight-ish stretch of road with a little parking lot on the side, up the hill from a repair shop I have used before. I got the car stopped using the e-brake and am having the repair shop take a look at it today. It is currently sitting in their parking lot. Very fortunate that I was the only one in the car. We think the new master cylinder has more pressure than the old one and found a weak link. Also yesterday, I had to say goodbye to a good friend. The old stinky mutt sure will be missed.
The Jalopy Journal
