'57 Ford Custom 300 Tudor Sedan

[Low Elco]

Man, that's lookin' awesome, Vic! t-minus how many days left?

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Man, that's lookin' awesome, Vic! t-minus how many days left?

Well, I figure about a week and a half to the first lap around the block. The seats and console are back in with seatbelts installed, the fan switch for the a/c has been replaced and all the electrical on the interior has been finalized and tested. All the exhaust and e-brake components I had to remove to access the mounting locations for the safety belts have been reinstalled and the car is back sitting on all fours.

That leaves the front clip, front end wiring, a/c condenser/dryer/hose install and fluid fill/leak checks before firing the 460. Of course, nothing ever goes as planned, but a week and a half looks do-able. If I can maintain that schedule, I'll have plenty of time to align the front end, service the a/c and have the safety inspection done so I can get it tagged. We'll see how far off I am.

[jlsanborn]

I bet you can button it up AND tow CRLS back into the shop with it before you head out. You are hard-core Vic, gettin' it done and done right Can't wait to hear this bad-boy.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

I bet you can button it up AND tow CRLS back into the shop with it before you head out. You are hard-core Vic, gettin' it done and done right Can't wait to hear this bad-boy.

One thing for sure, John, I'm not towing CRLS anywhere. Scott, Kathy and I spent almost an hour moving it to the upstairs garage on New Year's Day. My roll around dollies are good for flat smooth surfaces and not the street. Next time CRLS moves, it will be hanging off a tow truck.

I'm making progress, little by little. Had to fabricate a neutral safety switch since the V-Gate shifter was an early model that had no provision for one. I also did a little more on the front end wiring, plus Kathy took the second batch of a/c hoses to Inland to be crimped. Bless their hearts, they did it for free ...again! I reckon if the last batch costs a bundle I have nothing to complain about. I did talk to the Vintage Air folks today to confirm the #8 hose between the compressor and the condenser goes in the upper position and the #6 hose from the condenser to the dryer is in the lower position. I was hoping they could be flipped top to bottom but the tech said, No, No! Looks like I'll be bending up some hard lines to route thru the core support. I moved the trinary switch from the pass thru fitting to one of the unused ports on the dryer which will help reduce the plumbing somewhat.

The front clip is giving me the usual hard time. The driver side sheetmetal has always lined up nicely, but the passenger side is a pain. Pretty sure the car was in a fender bender (or two) at some point in time. Neither the doors nor the fenders are matched sets. For it all to line up, I had to shift the core support slightly, but I made the necessary adjustments while doing the body work. Now the trick is just getting it all back together without chipping the fresh paint. The header panel that connects the fenders in front still had primer on the backside, so I taped it off and shot the light silver in that area since you can sort of see it when the hood is up. Now it's on to the lower valance and the bumper. To be continued...

[sduckworth13]

Looks awesome Vic!

[Elliot949]

Looking Great Vic... you are getting real close to turning that key and going Vrrrrrrooooommmm....LOL

[Vic1947]

True to form, the path from planning to reality has not been without obstacles. During the front clip assembly, I realized the a/c condenser was not going to fit in the space available... and neither would the electric fan. The problem with stretching out a build over this many years is that you forget what you've previously encountered. I must have known about the fan issue because I had a brand new stainless mechanical flex fan on the shelf. Rather than burn the time on the lathe and mill to make a spacer, I ordered one from Summit along with some hard lines for the new condenser that's on the way.

Finally got the best adjustment I could manage on the passenger side fender to door gap and tweaked the stainless trim to match up. Looks okay for a road hog. Kathy picked up the anodizing today and I'm letting the rubber shifter boot cure over night where I glued it to the aluminum bezel. The cup holders are also setting up with a bead of clear RTV to hold them in place. Kathy caught me sitting in it listening to the radio and adjusting the speakers. She said I looked like I was ready to go cruising.

Still no corner caps for the rear window trim. The guy in TX said he mailed them on Monday, but they haven't shown up yet. Hope they make it by tomorrow or I'll be really nervous about the prospect of having to start the search all over. The top piece is on and the one corner cap I got off eBay is in place and looks great. Just need the driver side now.

[Elliot949]

That is just BADASS!!!!

[jlsanborn]

Great progress on the clip Vic. If you sent it to paint, I'm sure the gaps are near perfect.

Don't you wish the old analog equalizers were still mainstream? Flippin' through menus, canned settings, blinky lights, etc... I hate it. Miss my 80's Alpine stuff. Loudness BUTTON! Wish Kathy could sneak a vid of you rockin' some CCR or something

"True to form, the path from planning to reality has not been without obstacles."

WORD! There's a sig line for you folks!

[Low Elco]

Don't get me started on missing the old school Alpine stuff... Stoked for you, Vic, can't wait to hear it run!

[Xeen]

Oh man it's really starting to come together I can't wait to see it with the hood, custom grill and headlights installed.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Elliot949

That is just BADASS!!!!

Thanks, Dan!

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

...Don't you wish the old analog equalizers were still mainstream? Flippin' through menus, canned settings, blinky lights, etc... I hate it.

Amen to that, John. Referring to the manual is a last resort around here, but the buttons on the face of this unit are so cryptic, I'm probably going to have to break down and have a look.

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Don't get me started on missing the old school Alpine stuff... Stoked for you, Vic, can't wait to hear it run!

You and me both, Chip! Waiting on some parts to arrive the first of next week and it will be time to set up the camera on the tripod and bust it off.

Originally Posted by Xeen

Oh man it's really starting to come together I can't wait to see it with the hood, custom grill and headlights installed.

We're getting there, Brian. Pics below of the headlights. [Greasy kid stuff.] Can't do grille or hood until the a/c condenser is in and plumbed.

Wiring is pretty much complete except for the a/c safety switch. All circuits tested and working properly. The wiring job got a little easier when it became apparent the electric fan was a no-go. Rec'd the spacer from Summit today but still had to machine it in the lathe to get just the right length. All in and ready for action. Haven't decided whether to build a shroud or not. This aluminum radiator is a dual core that's 2.25" thick and has a finned area of 18" x 22". Should be plenty but if not, I reckon I can address any problem when it arises.

[Xeen]

The headlights look stellar Vic.
As far as the fan shroud goes I guess it depends on whether or not you are going to be sitting in traffic in the 100 degree heat with the AC on or not, if you will be then it probably would be a good idea to have one, plus it won't take you that long to build one anyway so you might as well.

[jlsanborn]

Looks outstanding! Almost there Vic

[swamp rat]

LOL! Blood shot eyes just like me in the morning, put a mug of coffie beside it and its perfict! Love it Vic!

[Vic1947]

Well, we fired the engine yesterday. Sort of a mixed bag. Lotsa problems with fuel, water, oil, starter and timing. We worked our way thru most of it, but there's a lot left to do. Started this morning after our company left and will let you all know how it turns out.

Before we even began the process of breaking in the engine, there was a problem. After pouring four gallons of coolant into the radiator/engine, there was a small drip coming out of the front seal of the water pump. It's an aluminum Weiand/Holley pump and they don't offer a rebuild kit for it. New ones cost over $200 and to make matters worse, I've machined several of the bosses down to accommodate my pulley setup. We decided to forge ahead and lay some towels over the fenders to catch any small amount of spray. Fortunately, after the seal got warm, it seems to have dried up and there was no water on the floor overnight. If it reoccurs, I'll drop in some stop leak pellets and hope that fixes it permanently. If not, I'll replace it.

The carb had sat so long the accelerator pump didn't work. Took the bowl off and it seemed okay there, so I removed the metering block and blew thru the passage and couldn't believe it when the air pressure dislodged a tiny little black house fly. Must have come in thru the vent tube and got trapped. The actual problem was with the check needle below the squirters, but we had a good laugh about the fly.

At that point we encountered a small problem with the starter. Every three or four tries, it free wheels, but on the very next try it engages perfectly. Not sure what is up with it, but if it continues, I have another brand new starter in the spare parts box. It doesn't have shims but bolts directly to the bellhousing.

The engine fired right up after a couple of timing adjustments, and we ran it for several minutes, but shut it off because the oil pressure was reading close to 100 psi. Removed the electronic sender and installed a mechanical gauge which read 80 psi at around 2500 rpm. At idle it reads 40 psi. My guess is that my ex-Pro Stock partner who built the engine originally, shimmed the relief spring in the pump. I don't really like that much pressure as it puts a load on the distributor gear. If it eventually sharpens up the gear, I'll have to pull the pan and fix the root cause. Lot of work due to having to pull the steering rack and tie rods.

When we started it back up, it was immediately obvious oil had leaked out from under the valve cover on the driver side. The valve cover has a machined edge that fits very tightly around the aluminum heads. It wasn't fully seated on that side and was leaking enough oil that by the time we shut it down, the shop was filled with smoke. Set up the fan to clear it out and tightened down the covers some more. They make some thicker gaskets that will seal without having to have the valve cover lip snap over the machined surface on the head. Added to the parts list already.

Continued breaking in the cam until the rear passenger side header tube started to glow red, so we once again shut it down and backed down the timing which helped a lot. The plugs on the passenger side looked a lot leaner than the driver side and it appears I may have been a little light on the valve adjustment on that side. The first few were at zero lash instead of zero plus a half turn.

The lower radiator hose I have on order has not yet arrived, so I spliced a molded hose together to make do. Didn't want to put too much pressure on it, so we kept the cap on loosely. Naturally, every time we shut the engine off, it puked coolant all over the floor. The good news was, the highest temperature we saw was 190 and the thermostat opens promptly at 180.

After running the engine enough to break in the cam, we topped off the ATF in the transmission and ran it thru the gears. That all seemed okay but I won't really know until the first test drive. The electronic speedo is working but no idea whether it is anywhere close. It came with chart for setting the dip switches, but to change them, I'd have to remove the instrument cluster from the dash. It may on the back burner for awhile as I can calculate my speed or perhaps use a GPS to find the actual speed then adjust accordingly.

I have a short, but not very interesting, video posted here for anyone that wants to listen to the engine run.

[sduckworth13]

The car looks awesome Vic. Congrats on getting it fired up.

[jlsanborn]

Sounds great Vic and congrats on the cam break in! Had the same dealio with the red passenger header on my big truck at first fire. WAY late on the timing, had to jump a tooth to get it in range. I'd imagine they used standard bearings and seals in that water pump? Any bearing houses local?

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by sduckworth13

The car looks awesome Vic. Congrats on getting it fired up.

Thanks, Scott, I appreciate your help pushing it around!

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Sounds great Vic and congrats on the cam break in! Had the same dealio with the red passenger header on my big truck at first fire. WAY late on the timing, had to jump a tooth to get it in range. I'd imagine they used standard bearings and seals in that water pump? Any bearing houses local?

Timing on mine was way off too when I got around to checking it, John. No apparent harm. Not sure why the problem manifested itself on just the one side. All the valves were set at zero plus 1/4 turn. Reset them to zero plus a half per the minimum specification. Had two rocker arms just kissing the valve covers (one on each side) so I clearanced them.

The water pump leak is still not fully healed and I decided against trying stop leak, which isn't really meant for turning parts. No rebuilders in the area and the one up in Columbus, OH would take at least a week and a half to round trip. I caved in and ordered a new one from Summit today and should have it in and the engine running again by Wednesday of next week. Meanwhile I'll go thru the carb and see if there are any more bugs (literally) in it. Also need to pull the pressed in studs on the upper control arm on the passenger side and replace them with longer ones to get the camber set to zero. Plenty to do, but I feel pretty good about the progress so far.

[Xeen]

Congratulations on start up Vic, you must be stoked.

[swamp rat]

It sounds awesome Vic! We all know if anybody can get the bugs worked out you can, keep pressing forward!

EDIT: Have you given her a name yet?

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Xeen

Congratulations on start up Vic, you must be stoked.

Thanks, Brian. Pretty happy all in all.

Originally Posted by swamp rat

It sounds awesome Vic! We all know if anybody can get the bugs worked out you can, keep pressing forward!

EDIT: Have you given her a name yet?

Not sure what you'd call a money pit you've kept around for 25 years, Mike.


Good buddy Vern (Boppa of Old Yeller fame) stopped by this morning with an armful of moving blankets. Said he'd noticed I was using towels to protect the fenders and figured he'd loan me something much more substantial. They used them when they dropped the LS motor in Yeller and didn't get a scratch anywhere. WooHoo! However, true to the saying "No good deed goes unpunished" it rained on Yeller while he was here so he had to go home and do cleanup. I swear the rain cloud was the only one in the sky and it dumped right over our house. Sheesh!

The water pump is off and the new one will be here on Tuesday. I'm not sure if I can press it apart. I may send it off to the rebuilder and keep it on the shelf as a spare just in case. Of course, the new one would last at least until the seals in the rebuilt one dried out.

I think I found some control arm bolts on eBay. Just waiting to hear if they are the correct size. Removed the ones that are too short so it won't take but a few minutes to reassemble it.

Had a good laugh when I crawled under the car to wipe off some of the antifreeze residue. When I built the stainless headers, I opted to use mild steel for the collectors and painted them with the "1600 degree ceramic" engine paint out of a rattle can. Nearly all of it had peeled off the collectors and turned to ash. Used Scotch-Brite to clean the worst of it off and from here on out, they get to go nekkid.

[Xeen]

It's a good thing you have some time to spare before the power tour to work out the bugs, lets just hope there are no other problems so you have time to put some miles on her before it's go time.

[Low Elco]

Call Boppa- He or I may have that manifold paint that we used on yeller. Yours if you want it, works pretty good so far. Scotchbrite it and slap it on there, it may hold the rust back. Congrats on the fire up!

Yeller got wet, hee hee. Wash some of the giant Lab slobber off it!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Xeen

It's a good thing you have some time to spare before the power tour to work out the bugs, lets just hope there are no other problems so you have time to put some miles on her before it's go time.

I hope so too, Brian.

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Call Boppa- He or I may have that manifold paint that we used on yeller. Yours if you want it, works pretty good so far. Scotchbrite it and slap it on there, it may hold the rust back. Congrats on the fire up!

Yeller got wet, hee hee. Wash some of the giant Lab slobber off it!

Thanks for the offer, Chip. Not sure if I'll have time for that or not. Punch list is still pretty long.

Update...

The water pump arrived late Tuesday and I spent all day yesterday working on it. The quality of these units has gone downhill since I bought the original that was on the car. Porous casting, sloppy machine work and a few holes that wouldn't line up with the timing cover without re-drilling them. Very frustrating. Then to top it all off, I discovered the height of the hub is 1/8" less than the original. So without a spacer, the pulleys won't line up. Buried in the box was a tiny little slip of paper warning not to try to alter the hub. Doing so would void the warranty and possibly lead to "catastrophic failure". They offered to sell you a spacer kit as a fix. Not sure who the bean counter and/or marketing genius is at Holley that decided it's a good idea to throw in a slip of paper instead of a $2 part and piss off a customer. Having a lathe and mill meant I was able to make the needed part, but it wasn't in my time budget.

After all the trials and tribulations, the engine is back together and upon startup... the new water pump leaked out the weep hole just like the other one did. However, after running it for about 10 minutes at operating temp, the leak disappeared - thankfully! The engine sounds better after tightening the valve lash by another quarter turn. Starts instantly and doesn't run on when you click it off. Timing was dead nuts where I set it the other day and the vacuum is a steady 10 in. at idle.

I discovered the passenger side tie rod was hitting one of the rack and pinion lines, so I remade the line and now I have a small leak. When I first installed the rack, I had to splice both hard lines with AN fittings so I was able to re-do just that section. I think the rack is off like an '87 Cavalier (and a whole host of other models / years) and the fittings in the housing are metric bubble flares which I can't reproduce. I can't source the lines anywhere and hate to buy a rebuilt rack just for that reason. Not to mention the PITA it is to work on it. Plus the lines probably wouldn't be new anyway. I'll jack it up tomorrow and hopefully get an eighth of a turn on it before the wrench rounds it off.

The punch list is now written on the bench. I'd planned to have the car at the shop today to have the a/c charged, front end aligned and the state safety inspection done. Did not work out... and it's supposed to be raining the next four days, so I set it up for next Tuesday. If it's dry at all tomorrow, I'm going to take if for a short test drive. Will let you know how it goes.