my 56 Town Sedan "under a tree" find

After months of putting it off, today was the day to move her to my house. Short story- I bartered with my new neighbor for this 56. After torrential rains today in Seattle, it cleared up long enough to move it next door.



Took about an hour to get a door open! Just wouldn't open, had to get the vent wings open, tried the handles, nothing. Finally just used a combination of brute force and curse words to get them open.



Ok, fine. Zero brakes and yet the wheel on the front drivers side is locked up. Hammer time. Got it freed up. Used the e brake to slow down.




Got her home. Gonna dry it out, tear out rotten interior, squirt MMO in some holes and hope for the best. Plans moving forward are Aerostar coils, lowering blocks, skirts.Otherwise, we will see what direction the (affectionately named) Bitch wants to go.

 

looks like a good start---got any plans ?

 

Sweet keeps us posted

 

Nice! Congrats on the moor door! Got to love those 56's what are your plans?

 

Thanks guys. Immediate plans are to get the motor going. Get all systems working. Needs a new generator. Gut the interior.May get a mid 80's Lincoln to be a donor for various parts. Aerostar coils for the front and lowering blocks for the back. Not sure how bad the rust is, but the lower front fenders need patching. It does have the 292 so I'm happy about that.

 

I always liked the pink and white combo on a 56, that was one car that could get away with it. Good score.

Don

 

My aunt used to have a '56 4 door hardtop with that color combo. It was among the more popular 2 tones in '55 and '56.

 

great score,keep us posted!

 

i did the aerostar coils and i love them!

 

Looking at your fender badges I think you may have a 312 engine . Nice car,enjoy.

 

i.rant - It's an "M" code on the VIN tag, I thought that was a 292? Doesn't mean it couldn't have been swapped though....

 

Love those 56 town sedans, will make your "B" a sweet cruzer. Congrats kids! ~sololobo~

 

I thought all T-Bird V8's were 312's, thanks for the correct info. Learn something every day. Good luck with your Ford.

 

All 56 292 have the thunderbird badge.
Marketing plot.
Regards

 

I think Ford was just trying to market their V8's to the masses as a "special" T-bird motor for a few years. The badges are pretty cool though!

 

Found out a while back (from the HAMB) that the hood is from a 55. Originally a mint green 55 hood.

 

Good parts if nothing else, stick bell housing flywheel and clutch. Good stuff.

 

Auto transmission....

 

Hey nice 56. I got a 56 mainline. Send your info to John Rotella, he told me everything there was to know about mine based on the vin, good info.

 

Thanks ccfortner! Did work today. Cleaned up the engine bay. removed plugs, squirted in Marvel Mystery oil and let it soak. Gonna pull the valve covers off tomorrow,before Daytona, and see if any of the valves are stuck. Points and rotor were in good shape

Jumpered to the battery cables and checked some of the electrical. Lights and some of the gauges work. Did NOT bump the starter.



Cleaned out the inside a bit. Now that she's under cover, she can dry out a bit.

 

Since the motor is not the original color it might have been rebuilt in the past,since I see blue under the intake its probably not a rattle can rebuild and hope you can get it running.

 

Awesome!!! I have a 56 town sedan also.

 

Here's a 56 hood

 

Yep, I know the differences. I'm going to have to fill in the trim holes in the front. I like the idea of losing the hord ornament without too much hassle.

 

Cool!

 

Well done. I have a'56 Meteor Rideau Victoria. THESE'56's are Great cars. One of Ford's best looking designs. I have some nice door panels if you are interested as well as good doors if you need some. I see you have the rear bumper with the exhaust openings, cool.o

 

Fortunateson - I love BC, love visiting. Really appreciate the offer. Let's see if I can get her running first! I think all of the V8 56's had the bumper-exhaust.
Pulled the valve covers today and poured MMO down the push rod holes to get some lube in there. Motor is still frozen, but I will say this- Zero sludge in the heads that I could see. Whoever said rebuild might have nailed it. Next move is going to be mass amounts of Tranny fluid and Acetone. Latest pic (only missed 40 laps of Daytona!).

 

awesome find, brother has a 56 crown vick black and white factory. found it in about the same condition. he cleaned and cleaned and slowly made her a fine ride. Keep the the real metal going

 

Nice find, have fun with it. I've had my '56 Fairlane since '68 and it's back on the road after many years 'resting & rusting'... FYI, you might want to contact retrojim here on the HAMB, he has CDs for sale, of the parts books for these cars. It also includes VIN tag codes, paint codes etc. A very good investment if you plan on keeping the car and want to see the correct way that things go together, or how to decipher some of the codes, tag #s, etc.
Ron

 

Blue paint is a dead giveaway to being a rebuild. Looks like later model rocker assy. Also looks to have pressurized rocker shafts without the overflow tube in the rear.