Technical A Kid's First Project: 1957 Fairlane 500 Town Victoria.

it turns freely, its tight when i have the spark plugs in, but i think thats a good sign.

 

Yeah, I would agree. It might be worth just pulling the top of the engine apart, slapping in some fresh head gaskets and intake gaskets, new valve seals, etc. and making sure everything is moving as it should, then reassembling. That being said, knowing these old engines, I'd bet with that engine sitting as long as it has, you're going to have a monster oil leak from a deteriorated rope rear main seal.

 

the seal seems to be fine, it didnt leak any oil while it was sitting. still right at the full line for 20 years.

 

It will be a whole different ball game once it is started again and running for a while. Having the intake and heads off will tell you what you have there.

 

The ream main seal on the Y block is a piece of rope (literally) that needs to swell with oil. Since your engine has sat for so long the seal is probably really shrunk. It will take awhile to swell-if it does at all. So be prepared a monster oil spill when you finally fire her up.

Mike

 

Be aware that “stuff” <technical term, will settle out of the oil. Do the prudent thing and pull the pan and see if any “stuff” is on the bottom of it.
And while the pan is off, may as well address that rear main seal that gonna leak after you get it running

 

am i able to pull the pan with the motor in the car?

 

I’m sure there are some vehicles it cannot be done, but I’ve always been able too. Most require rotating the crank a bit at a time to get the throws out of the way so the pan can be slid back. On an OT car I did have to raise the engine an inch or so to gain enough clearance.
Y block, right? Cap is in the rear I think? Take the distributor cap off if you raise it up so it doesn’t smash it on the firewall.

 

Betcha that timing gear set & chain is loosey goosey too, so this is a real good time to do that, and the valve seals will need replacing, "might as well" replace those tired valve springs while yer at it, and since the rocker shafts are munched those will be needed and then of course pushrods too, are likely bent or even dangerously chewed up from mismatched intake bolts in the wrong holes ....

 

I feel ya. Lol!

 

the valve seals are on the list, the springs fight me too much when i attempt to push them down for them to be worn out and the rocker shafts are scarily clean, not even a scratch worn into the bottom of the shaft... im actually starting to think that this isn't the original motor, its just in too good of condition to be 95k.

 

Lots can happen to a car over a span of 65 years, it could be a relatively fresh engine. We used to buy them rebuilt out of the Sears catalog 60 years ago and they were good runners. You really won't know until you dive into it.

 

If you find that the rear main leaks badly, do not bother with the rope it not worth the effort to even try, ask for a 1 piece neoprene seal for a 4.3 liter engine

 

Yeah, the Eaton Balancing website has an instruction page on modern crank seal-ology using neoprene and such.

 

i dont know if its under the insulation, but i cannot find my fuse box.

 

There is no fuse box.... Fuse panels didn't show up on Fords until the early 60s. The light switch will have your lighting fuses, all the rest are in-line. There won't be that many fuses, generally just the radio, heater, and clock. That was typical industry practice at the time.

 

I rewired my '59, the OG wiring was a rat's nest. I suspect the car was a police car at some point, it had a lot of added lighting remnants under the dash, poorly done. I came across what I think was factory fuse holders and I replaced the HL switch with something newer.

 

that simplifies everything for me, shouldnt be too hard to find them. also, i still have no taillights, but the brake lights and turn signals work.

 

The factory rear sockets may be gunked up or corroded. They take an 1134 bulb, the 1157 is a better and more current bulb. You should be able to pop them out from the back. I used newer GM sockets on mine that required an 1.125" hole. The factory '57 takes a 5/8" socket.

 

my lights were destroyed, bashed out (at least i found original ones for cheap), ive replaced every bulb other than the license plate light (which also doesnt work).

 

A couple days ago the temp raised high enough and i got the hood open, only to be greeted with ice storms and 6 inches of snow between today and yesterday.

 

I posted a picture, its only visable when pushing down on the hose.

 

It’s possible to solder that, clean REALLY good, wire wheel, tin it and solder carefully with a propane torch. May need a helper or figure some way to clamp it down. My truck rad split in the same place.

 

i have my dad for a helper if need be, shouldnt be too terribly difficult. i might have him do the soldering, as he has done it before on the 8N.

 

That's what SHE said...

 

We did one many years ago, wire brushed the crap out of it, cleaned/fluxed it good with battery acid (from a junk battery...) and soldered it with a mapp gas torch and plumbing solder.

 

would it be a bad idea to get it running and stick water in it (later this spring) to see if there are any other splits?