'57 Ford Custom 300 Tudor Sedan

[Elliot949]

I was blessed to be able to spend a few minutes with Vic and his wonderful Bride Kathy yesterday and I have to say that if you ever get to meet this couple take the opportunity to do so... These are the most gracious awesome people around...

As for "Maybelline" none of the pictures or descriptions you see or hear about this car stands up to actually standing there witnessing its "AWESOMENESS" (I know that is not a real word but) in person...

Great to see you again Guys I hope you have a great visit with your friends from Texas...

Dan

[Low Elco]

x2.

[Vic1947]

Thanks, guys! It was great to see you and Jan again too, Dan. Now we just need to get down your way and see both your projects.

We went to the cruise-in at Heritage Center in Independence Saturday night. It was lightly attended due to the threat of rain, but the weather was great while we were there. Yesterday, I pressed my bud from TX into service and we pulled the rack and pinion, the starter and the exhaust collectors and X-pipe tubing. The power steering leak was coming from the seal around the shaft that connects to the steering joint. All along I figured it was the fittings, but the main gusher was out that seal. The return line fitting was showing signs of being over tightened, so I ordered some new braided line and fittings and will start over. The mini starter is going to fit fine in the opening. Sits far enough away from the header I can add a heat shield. Just waiting on parts right now.

The Redline water wetter seemed to help some, but there's no escaping the fact I need a fan shroud. Also, when we got to the cruise-in and opened the hood, it was like a blast furnace. I'm thinking I'll open up the scoop and louver the filler panels to lower the temps under the hood. Can't hurt. Finally stood on the loud pedal feeding onto the highway coming home and she really scoots. Just need a videographer now.

Oh, and check out the mini Chevy at the show. LMAO!

[BlueJeep]

Sorry to hear you didn't make it to the tour, I won't tell you how little it actually rained then except in Baton Rouge. I have been following this build and did try to make it over to the VIP section every couple days looking for the car, but alas....

Definitely worth doing again!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by BlueJeep

Sorry to hear you didn't make it to the tour, I won't tell you how little it actually rained then except in Baton Rouge. I have been following this build and did try to make it over to the VIP section every couple days looking for the car, but alas....

Definitely worth doing again!

Beautiful Chevelle, Chris. We'll make another run at it next year. According to the weather channel, there's a tropical depression in the Gulf right now that's supposed to become a named storm before it makes land fall tomorrow near Matagorda Bay. Had we gone on the tour, we'd be leaving out of Houston tomorrow right in the middle of the dirty side of the storm. Supposed to drop up to 8" of rain from Houston up to Dallas and points north. Pretty tough slog unless we waited it out in Houston (which is still waterlogged from the last go round). Sometimes things happen for the best. At least that's what I keep saying to myself over and over.

[sduckworth13]

I bet that was wild ride putting your foot down on it. Your car looks great Vic!

[Xeen]

Vic I don't know if you remember or not but back in 1982 the Indy 500 Pace car Z28 Camaro had a fiberglass hood with working ram air induction and the air diverter opened when you mashed the throttle, I wonder if you could fab up something like that for yours.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by sduckworth13

I bet that was wild ride putting your foot down on it. Your car looks great Vic!

Thanks, Scott, your truck just keeps looking better and better too. And the car did feel good... pulled nice and clean with good firm shifts. I need to jet it a couple of steps leaner than what's currently in it. Exhaust is a bit too black. It's on my to-do list now that our company from TX left this morning.

Originally Posted by Xeen

Vic I don't know if you remember or not but back in 1982 the Indy 500 Pace car Z28 Camaro had a fiberglass hood with working ram air induction and the air diverter opened when you mashed the throttle, I wonder if you could fab up something like that for yours.

What I really need is airflow thru the engine compartment at low to mid speeds, Brian. The good ram air setups capture the cooler outside air and channel it into a sealed compartment feeding the air intake. They don't work effectively to allow the cool outside air to lower under hood temps.

[Xeen]

Any updates?

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Xeen

Any updates?

Not much to report...
The starter wiring should be finished this morning and ready to test.
While I was at it, I installed a battery quick disconnect switch. With the battery mounted under the trunk floor, it was a pain to access, so the switch will make life a lot easier.
The replacement lines and fittings for the new rack are in place and the rack should be installed by this afternoon.
The line lock was very close to the steering joints so I removed it, then re-plumbed and bled the brake lines.
The collectors and connector tubes to the X-pipe are out for ceramic coating and should be done today, hopefully.
The .080" aluminum sheet for the shroud is headed for the laser cutting shop today and I'll pick it up in Sedalia on Friday. Probably be next week before I get it bent up and installed.
Meanwhile, I have some sprint car parts to machine, we have more company from TX in town this week and we're taking my dad to see South Pacific on Friday. Have to work on the car between all that.

[Low Elco]

Glad to hear it's getting out some. I almost stopped in at your place, I was up at Dad's Saturday night. Hope the shroud cools it down.

[Elliot949]

No rest for the weary Vic... LOL

[Hammered 77]

Vic I love the 57 and the job you've done. It brings back old memories and what ifs. In 1964 I went to purchase my first car, it came down to a 55 Chevy and a 57 Ford. I picked the Chevy but always wondered what if I had picked the Ford. I've always wanted a 57 Ford and put 58 Edsel Wagon taillights in it.
Rick

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Glad to hear it's getting out some. I almost stopped in at your place, I was up at Dad's Saturday night. Hope the shroud cools it down.

You know anytime you're up this way you're welcome to drop in, Chip. We're here most of the time... except on cruise night.
We're picking up the laser cut material for the shroud in Sedalia tomorrow. It's my project for next week. When I put the radiator back in, I'm replacing the 50/50 antifreeze with a couple of gallons of distilled water and Redline water wetter. Also picked up a 160 deg. thermostat to swap out for the 180. If it still overheats after all this, I'm not sure what I'll do next.

Originally Posted by Elliot949

No rest for the weary Vic... LOL

Amen to that, Dan. No sooner than I wipe a couple of items off the list on my bench, I'm adding a couple of more to-do's to it.

Originally Posted by Hammered 77

Vic I love the 57 and the job you've done. It brings back old memories and what ifs. In 1964 I went to purchase my first car, it came down to a 55 Chevy and a 57 Ford. I picked the Chevy but always wondered what if I had picked the Ford. I've always wanted a 57 Ford and put 58 Edsel Wagon taillights in it.
Rick

Thanks, Rick. I would have had a hard time making that choice too. My first was a '53 Ford 2dr hardtop with a flathead V8. It was OK but not a desirable car, even back then. But at $150, it was all I could afford. I like your idea. Little custom touches like that make me smile when I see them.

Filled up Maybelline with a tank full of premium this morning. I re-jetted the carb the other day and went from 74's to 70's in the primary circuit and 84's to 81's in the secondary. Seems to idle a little rougher when cold but felt fine after it warmed up. We're going to an all Ford car show in Olathe on Saturday at Bass Pro Shops so a good run like that will tell if I leaned it out the right amount.

The new starter and rack are in and working great. Those gear drive starters are a hoot to listen to when they turn over. The rack was not without incident, however. The new swivel 6AN fitting from Jegs leaked immediately. I called and they're sending a replacement. I parted the old fitting off on the lathe and it appears the retaining wire was too small and let the swivel connection wobble too much. The backside of the O-ring groove was bent in a couple of places and I guess it was too much for it to seal. Not wanting to wait for the replacement, I decided to try to weld the fitting up and see if it would work that way. I'm pleased to report that, even though it's a bit ugly, it stopped the leak. Now the only leaks I have left are the ones out of the transmission kickdown lever and the rear main seal. The kickdown leak only shows up when the car is shut off and the converter fluid drains back into the pan and gets above the lever shaft. The rear main seal may be due to the fact I overfilled it by a quart with the break-in oil. I plan to change the oil next week, so we'll see. Both leaks are tiny and leave just a few drops on the floor, but I'd rather not have them. Part of the old car cachet, I guess.

[Vic1947]

Here's a look at the fan shroud project. I started by taking some measurements and laying it out in my little CAD program. Then had Steve haul the .080" aluminum sheet to his laser guy to cut out the openings for the fan and the corner notches. Back at the shop, I marked the outline of the fan blade and superimposed the cutout as a guide while bending the sides. The angle of the lower radiator outlet interfered somewhat, so I ended up notching it and welding in a curved piece so the hose and clamp would fit correctly.

[Vic1947]

Once the sides were bent, I slid the assembly into place to mark the upper and lower bend locations. Much to my surprise, the fan was too tight to fit the opening. I'd never measured it, but when I did, I found that the guys had cut the line on the drawing that represented the fan circle and not the line for the opening. So I was looking at an 18" opening and an 18" fan. At this point I was heavily invested in the shroud and didn't want to start over. The easiest solution was to go online and order a 17" fan from Speedway. It arrived the next day and was just what I needed. A few tweaks to the sides and it lined right up. After bending the top and bottom, I used rivet nuts to attach it. Foam weatherstrip on the sides help to seal it up and it has about a 1/2" gap around the fan blades. That calculates out to right at 3% of the blade diameter which is the recommended amount.

While I was at it, I replaced the 180 thermostat with a 160 and put in 2.5 gallons of distilled water with a bottle of water wetter. This afternoon, I went to fill up with gas and I think I can live with the results. The temp stayed around 165 while driving and got as high as 185 while idling. The pusher fans kicked in and it didn't seem to want to climb any higher. At least now, on the road it cools back down and the fans can turn off. Before, once they were on, they'd never get down to the shutoff temp.

I hope this is the end of the cooling issues. I may take a few degrees of timing out of it for some added insurance, but other than that, I'm out of bullets.

[sduckworth13]

Nice work Vic. It looks outstanding as all your ideas do.

[Xeen]

That shroud looks great Vic and under normal driving conditions there is nothing wrong with 165 and hey if you wan't to hot rod it a little bit you can just get it up to 185 first and then have a ball.
Great job working out the little finishing issues that always seem to pop up on a build.

[jlsanborn]

Looks great Vic! How many miles on it now? Put any rubber down yet?

[Elliot949]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Once the sides were bent, I slid the assembly into place to mark the upper and lower bend locations. Much to my surprise, the fan was too tight to fit the opening. I'd never measured it, but when I did, I found that the guys had cut the line on the drawing that represented the fan circle and not the line for the opening. So I was looking at an 18" opening and an 18" fan. At this point I was heavily invested in the shroud and didn't want to start over. The easiest solution was to go online and order a 17" fan from Speedway. It arrived the next day and was just what I needed. A few tweaks to the sides and it lined right up. After bending the top and bottom, I used rivet nuts to attach it. Foam weatherstrip on the sides help to seal it up and it has about a 1/2" gap around the fan blades. That calculates out to right at 3% of the blade diameter which is the recommended amount.

While I was at it, I replaced the 180 thermostat with a 160 and put in 2.5 gallons of distilled water with a bottle of water wetter. This afternoon, I went to fill up with gas and I think I can live with the results. The temp stayed around 165 while driving and got as high as 185 while idling. The pusher fans kicked in and it didn't seem to want to climb any higher. At least now, on the road it cools back down and the fans can turn off. Before, once they were on, they'd never get down to the shutoff temp.

I hope this is the end of the cooling issues. I may take a few degrees of timing out of it for some added insurance, but other than that, I'm out of bullets.

Glad to see you may be at the end of that issue...

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Looks great Vic! How many miles on it now? Put any rubber down yet?

Thanks, John, just about to roll over 500 miles. Changed the break-in oil the other day and did a few other maintenance items, but I've been quietly chasing a little tranny issue. The C6 is short shifting into high almost as soon as it gets rolling. With all the torque the engine makes, it moves right out, so I haven't felt pressured into an immediate fix. Adjusting the modulator a little at a time wasn't making a difference, so I acquired another one from A&A and installed it along with the correct length pushrod. Set it to 11.5# per the factory spec but still no difference. The new one does have a lot more tension than the old, so I ran the screw in two more turns this afternoon but haven't tested it yet. (Just came up from the safe room waiting out a second tornado warning.) Probably give it a try tomorrow weather permitting.

If I drop the shifter into low using the ratchet feature, I can manually shift it but it still doesn't act quite right. (Won't upshift instantly when you bang the next gear.) If the modulator adjustment can't remedy the situation, I'll make an appointment at A&A and have Danny work his magic. I thought for sure that Trans-King in Houston installed a shift kit in it, but it really doesn't act like it. Long story short, I've been reluctant to lean on it too much in case the line pressures are low. The last thing I need is to have to pull the whole thing out to go deep inside it. Right now if the bands and clutches are okay, everything you need to work on is accessible by dropping the pan. More later.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Elliot949

Glad to see you may be at the end of that issue...

You and me too, Dan. I checked the timing yesterday and it was sitting on 5 degrees instead of the 12 degrees I initially dialed in. Not sure why it moved that much. The hold down nut was snug but not excessively tight. Bumped it up to 9 degrees initial and locked it down good and tight, so we'll see how it likes that.

According to the vacuum gauge, it was only making around 7-8 inches of vacuum at idle and when I plugged the line back onto the vacuum advance can, the timing didn't jump like it should. Had to rev the engine slightly and only then did the VA come in. It stayed advanced, but it almost acted like it had to overcome some resistance to start working. I read on the 460 Ford forum where some guy swapped out his Unilite distributor for an old fashioned points style and it really woke up the engine. Not sure yet if there's a problem lurking there, but I've been plagued with so many hiccups, I'm a bit gun shy. Vern (Boppa) says it's just being a Ford.

[Vic1947]

Still raining outside, so no updates on the transmission, but I did add install a tach while waiting on the skies to clear. I had an old SunPro shift light tach in my swap meet box, and after checking prices for new ones online, I dug it out and decided it would be just the ticket. I have no idea where it came from originally, but it works and that's what counts. The white face and silver bezel don't go with the existing gauges and there was nowhere functional to mount it, so it ended up down by the console hanging off the dash. I don't need it for shifting, but it will work great for diagnostics. Back in the day, no one cared if the tach matched the interior design anyway... just slap 'er on there and have fun.

I bit the bullet and ordered the HydraBoost for the brakes from HydraTech. I talked to ECI first about their dual diameter piston M/C but after the guy collected all the info on my brake setup, he was very honest and said what I really needed was the hydraulic assist unit. He recommended HydraTech rather than CPP as he felt their support was superior. It will take them about 2-3 weeks to manufacture it. One of the things I really liked was that they have a billet firewall mounting plate that's an exact fit for my 57 Ford bolt pattern. And the other end of the unit will be setup for my Corvette M/C. So the unit should bolt right in. He also customized the line kit so I could add a second return port in the PS reservoir rather than using a tee. He clued me into how I should check the orifice in the high pressure circuit as some PS units have very high GPM flow rates which will affect the assist unit operation. All in all, a very good sales experience. Jim took the time to discuss my specific application and customized the package accordingly. We'll see how it all goes in a few weeks.

[knomadd]

I love my Hydratech boosters. I've got one in my both my GTO and my 71. Couldn't be more pleased with the braking improvements. You won't be disappointed.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by knomadd

I love my Hydratech boosters. I've got one in my both my GTO and my 71. Couldn't be more pleased with the braking improvements. You won't be disappointed.

That's great to hear, Duane. I struggled with the decision, but in the end, the need for good brakes outweighed the whole "How is it gonna look?" issue.

Speaking of looks, I revised the panels I made for the fenders. Originally, I was going to louver them, but my buddy Keith will be out of town when I'd planned to be there. He graciously offered to do them for me and drop them off where I could retrieve them, but meanwhile I had another idea.

I have a set of dimple dies I picked up off eBay that were just collecting dust. So I used the old panels as templates and cut out new ones, then pressed in a progressively larger set of dimples. After priming and painting them, I used a general purpose two part 3M adhesive to glue some stainless mesh behind them. Used the same mesh in the scoop, so now the outside air has a better route into and out of the engine bay. Hopefully it will reduce the underhood temps somewhat.