Customs 57 FORD GASSER BUILD

The 429/460 has so much potential, semi-hemi combustion chamber, ports you can stick your fist into, big valves... we used them in stock cars since they were cheap. The best we started with was a '69 vintage 429 out of a big Mercury. Slid a Chet Herbert solid lifter cheater cam into it and not much else.

 

Fantastic looking car. Its what got me into the 57 gassers.

On another note, Jeff, your artwork is amazing! I'd love to get a t-shirt and a print for my shop!

 

The intake ports on a standard 429-460 are pretty good, it's the exhaust port that needs work. Camshaft selection is important when building one.

 

Ordered my wheels/ tires today. M/T sportsman all the way around. Cragars out front and steel smoothies out back. Also ordered my Speedway front end today from Horton Hotrods. Stuffs a happenin

 

Reading this with much interest!
Mine is a '54 Ford Coupe, got my new steel table done, 406 is freshly bored/honed and ready for soap and water wash prior to assembly. Hoo-wah...
Rings were nearly impossible to find...428 rings require top lands to be machined.
KANTER found the rings in one of their warehouses, 2 days later. Salesman apologized for 2 day wait, so the $130.00 set plus $10 shipping? Slashed to $90, free shipping! Good people there...

I have a 460, hi comp pistons, D0VE heads, Crane cam, and more...Almost used it.

But HAD to go F.E., #1 son provided pistons, H.D. rods, and more for my 406...now I have everything, including the correct 406 cam from Delta.
Trans is the heavy top loader 3 speed, and Jeep shift tower, REAL floor shift.
Old timey 'sleeper'? Yep. All Wimbledon white car, nice chrome, American Torq-Thrusts (or my reversed wide steelies w/'Black Jacks' ('60 Ford 'poverty' caps)

 

What are your plans for the actual frame rails forward of the Firewall? New tube or leave the old coil spring sockets? New tube is much cleaner looking, makes other things easier also. You can just get into clean fab work instead of trying to use or get around factory stuff. Exhaust can get real simple then as well as motor mounts. All relevant to where you place the new rails. Think forward before you cut or weld anything.

 

'58 inspiration

 

I'm going to see what everything looks like after I get the thing stripped. I'd like to chop the front and use rect tubing but then I get into modified frame BS if they find out about it.

 

Sounds like a sweet build. Always liked the 54 body style.

 

I am 100% CHEVROLET, 100% of the time, until it comes down to the 1957 Chevrolet VS Ford "battle" Well, as far as I'm concerned, Chevrolet LOST!!!!! BIG TIME!!!. I really think the 1957 Ford was the better car, in general "looks", performance, and value, and it looked a whole lot better to boot. I've always said, the plainer the car, the more I like it, and the base model Ford has it ALL! Hang me, set me on fire. subject me to torture, the 1957 Ford has my vote, and always had/will. The sales numbers also reflect that. If only a higher quality of steel, and better body drainage had been used, there would be a lot more 1957 Fords left in this current world for us to enjoy. And to "Jalopy Joker", I really need an introduction to the lady on the left of your pic; she is absolutely, beautiful, even though I can't see much of her!!! She's like the 57 Ford, beautiful, while being demure. JMO!!!!!
I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

If you need an inspection go get it done while it's Stock along with the plates and tags. Then just do it and don't tell them. Stock rails with spring housing left in place look like Crap.

 

You're right it would. I'll speak to my "associates" -ha ha- at work and see what they would think about stickering it after the fact. I'm fairly confident they won't have an issue

 

Yep, I agree man...

Most of the BBF are, The D0VE and D3VE heads are a cheaper alternative to the CJ head... They can sustain about 700 horses very easily. I have built alot of 600-700 horse BBF, Take 20 thou off the deck, 10 off the heads, flat tops, polish the intake ports mildly, exhaust if you have a later EGR head, try to braze up the egr hole and polish it out. Throw a good bump stick in there, roller tip or full roller rockers and golden. They are good grunt motors. SB may take you off the line, top end your marching like a New Orleans Jazz Band... It will pull the wheels if done right, should be good for high 10s all day...

 

This one has the D20E-AB Interceptor heads not the CJ heads unfortunately. But I got it very reasonably with the toploader so I'm happy. But it is a true CJ block with the thick main webs.
I'm excited to see what she's gonna do. Its got some good parts in it. Unsure of the cam specs however it was built 15 years ago and never started. is there any way to identify cam specs by any of the markings on the cam itself? Its an older Comp Commander.
Its supposedly 11.5:1 which I know is quite high for 92 octane. TRW forged slugs. 0.30 over. It'll need to be broken down and cleaned and new gaskets and seals installed before I try to start it.

 

Not sure how far apart your thinking of going with the Motor but to get Cam Spec's all you need to do is pop out the soft plug on the back of the block. Spec's should be on the Butt End of the cam.

 

Its going to be a full tear down. After 15 years of sitting the assembly lube has gone sticky and gummed everything up. Good to know about the cam specs.

 

D20E heads are a great head for the street. Good Compromise between the D0VE and D0OE head.
Exhaust port is still less than ideal, but a good valve job and minor bowl clean up and have fun with it.

You will have to use a splash of race fuel with that high of compression for it to run half decent.

CJ block should have either D0VE or D1VE casting #. Most of the time 4 bolt mains but not always.
Dont really need them on most builds anyway.

 

With the motor coming totally apart and pending on Piston tops you may be able to have some work done to the Domes (if they have one) to drop the comp. ratio to get a bit more Pump friendly. Shaving tops is fairly standard in machine shops. Also you may be able to get thicker head gaskets to help some.

 

It is a D0VE-A block casting with a big ole CJ cast into the lifter valley. Unsure of the 4 bolt main haven't pulled the pan yet. It looks like stainless valves but the heads have had no port work as far I can tell. How bad can a first time porter screw up a set of these? I don't need to go crazy just a little smoothing out. Id have them done but I'm trying to do most things myself if I can. I enjoy the process and learning to DIY it.

 

Tear down is going well. The car has more rust than expected. The structure is solid but the floors been patched several times all over. Replacement plans I'm thinking.

 

Ouuuuu,, They come apart so easy. Minor changes aren't to bad but once you start carving them up to make things perfect, way to often the Builder has many many Birthdays long before you smell Burning Rubber again. If you didn't know the patches were there before just ignore them and get on with the Chassis stuff. Once back on the road you can do a little floor work as it becomes necessary. All 57 Fords have some rust, it's a right of passage.

 

Unfortunately I don't think i'll be able to repair the floor the way it should be done with the body on frame. So off she comes. I'm not opposed to doing it right the first time that's for sure. I tend to overbuild but with cars I don't see that as an issue. Except for my wallet LOL

 

Well if you must. I will input this from my own perspective and based on things I have done in the past. Screw the rules or how the Factory built it. Cut the floors totally out of it, build a full length frame from 2"x 5" tube then make new flat floors. You only need to look back at how Squirrel did his Baracuda project for a sample. Ten times easier that trying to remake factory floors and braces.

 

I was considering flat floors. Seems like it would be the better way to go.

 

Something you need to understand. Floor design is directly connected to Frame design. They support each other. Change one and you should correct the other accordingly. 57 Fords only have 5 Crossmembers and cheezy ones at that. They are basically a cheep wood ladder. Now add big H.P. maybe lift the front wheels a time or two and you may have issues getting the Doors to open or stay closed. Think forward.

 

So are you talking extra members in the frame or more drastic than that? I'm willing to build what I need to build but like I said this is my first full frame car so i'm all ears and very willing to learn. Any help in the area of proper repairs/upgrades is greatly appreciated

 

Without getting into physics and dynamics I'll just say flat floors are fine in the right places. The foot wells add lateral strength in the over all body. Without them I would also be thinking at least 6 point cage door bars and an X. You talked about Rust. Are your A pillars eaten away from the front body mount and rockers?

 

Not as far as I can tell. But I haven't gotten the car up in the air yet or the interior out to assess. The front body mount is in good shape and the section of body where the doors attach is solid. The rockers themselves will need some attention but it's mostly just in the floor.

 

Take a look at this

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...-wheel-well-when-you-dont-have-a-clue.404768/

 

If you can graph a fender section from a different car to yours you sure as hell can build what you want. A sheet of plywood a sawzall some tube a little heat and you have it. Lot's of ways to get-er-done.