1957 Gunmetal Grey Restoration

[Splash440]

Splash440, what other cars do you have in your stable, looks like a pretty nice 51 or 52 F1 in the background.

I first one I worked on after I retired was a 1967 Porsche 912. I was riding in a same town near the coast (Oriental, NC) and saw an old Porsche on the side of the road for sale. I stop and talked to guy, it had been on the coast in Hawaii for 30 years, it was badly rusted. He had most of the repair panels. After I promised to restore it and bring it back for him to see it, I was able too purchase it for $2800. I spent 4 years on this one, 2.5 on just the metalwork. This is the only car I have ever owned that I would make money on if I sold it.

The second one is a 1951 Ford F1. This is a clone of my Grandfather's truck he bought new in 51. It was the only new vehicle he ever owned. I did some upgrades like we did in the day, like putting car parts, steering wheel, knows, horn ring to dress it up. The seat is a second row seat out of a 2003 Dodge Durango. I like the fold down center section that has two cup holders. I had not put the nose moulding on the hood in this picture, was having it chrome plated.

[ranchbird]

You definitely aren't afraid of taking on rust, that's a nice truck looks like the original flathead six. I have taken on one basket case years back, a 67 Sunbeam tiger brought it home in boxes luckily everything was labeled took about 5 years off and on. And my 57 Ranchero complete but in bad shape finished it in 2011.Now the T-bird maybe on the road next summer.

[Splash440]

Looking good. I am a Ranchero fan, also love the two door Ranch Wagon. A local friend that does all my painting has a 57 Fairlane with a Holman and Moody 427 side oiler and a 57 Ranch Wagon he is working on now.

Have always liked the Sunbeam, but have never owned one.

The truck does have the original flathead six. I upgraded the engine with a Knudsen 3 to1 aluminum manifold.

[Splash440]

I am almost caught up on the pictures, only have the brake system and the engine and transmission left.

I ordered a front and rear disc brake system to include the booster from one of the online suppliers, not one of the major ones. The major suppliers only had the fronts and I wanted both. I received about two thirds of the parts and waited a couple of weeks and had not received the remaining parts, so I contacted the supplier. For the next several weeks I got multiple reasons why they were late. Finally, I said send the parts or refund my money. In addition, I said if he would send a prepaid tag, I would send back the parts I had. To his credit he sent the tag and refunded my money in full.

Once I saw how it was done, I decided to build my own system. Basically, the mounting plates are all that is unique. The rotors and calipers are stock items from different cars.

Front rotors are 1969 Ford Mustang 5.0
Front calipers are 1985 Chevrolet Cavalier

I got the front axles spacer from Speedway Motors. They had to be shortened slightly as they were for and early Ford, but the inside and outside bore was correct.

Rear rotors are 1992 Lincoln Mark Vll 5.0
Rear calipers are 1993 Ford Mustang GT 5.0

I had some left over ¼ plate from previous project and cut out the pattern with a plasma cutter. There was some fitting involved as I did not have the exact measurements. After several rounds of grinding, I finally got it to fit properly. I wanted to keep the original 14-inch wheels, so I keep trying to ensure there was no rubbing.

The rear brakes are very simple, just a bearing retainer plate and a standoff to hold the caliper.

[ranchbird]

Not only a rust doctor but an engineer, nice work. I also put 4 wheel disc brakes on my 56, used Granada spindles on front and a 90s Explorer 8.8 rear end in back, I saw on the internet how guys were shortening them buy getting a extra short axle from the pass. side and removing the long axle from the driver side then shorten the axle tube by the same amount, worked out pretty slick . Of course you have to cut off all the extra stuff you don't need and weld on new spring pads, so you end up with disc brakes built in E- brake 3.73 limited slip and a over all width of 56-1/2" instead of 57-1/4, now I wouldn't have done it if I had the 9" that the 57s come with.

[Splash440]

I agree, if I did not have the 9 inch I would have swapped out the rearend.

[Splash440]

Like I said I the post on Crate Engines, I had a crate engine and TCI AOD on order. It was supposed to be delivered in mid-September. When I called about the status, I was told it would now be late December and they could not guarantee that, so I canceled the order.

I started looking for a 96-97 Explorer 5.0. This series 5.0 has GT40 heads and the exhaust manifold that are upright and will clear the steering box. I installed a Borgensen power steering box which is slightly bigger than the stock one. In addition, the motor mount setup is easy to work with.

I found a 96 Eddie Bauer Edition that had some issues with non-critical systems, like the alternator, power steering pump and basically thrashed on the inside. This vehicle has the AWD 4R70W transmission which is reported to be a very good setup. The only downside is that you must use a controller to take the place of the stock ECU. The upside is that you do not need the TV cable which can be problematic. Converting this transmission from AWD to 2WD is pretty easy if you are rebuilding it anyway. The tail shaft and the tail shot housing must be changed, the rest of the unit is the same. I purchased the parts off EBay for $75 total.

I cut the core support to make it easier to pull the engine and transmission. I also pulled the rear axle which is an 8.8 LSD with 3.73 gears. I knew I could sell it separately as opposed to crashing it with the rest of the vehicle. After I sold and crushed everything, I ended up with $120 dollars invested.

[Splash440]

Next other agenda is to set the motor and transmission. I had to cut the upper lip of the x-frame to get the transmission to go far enough back. Another advantage of the Explorer 5.0 is that it has a rear sump oil pan that clears front cross member.

Once I got it centered and leveled, I started figuring out how to make the motor mounts. I set the engine with about 1-degree rack. I will be using a Sniper FI system so the angle is not that important.

The factory transmission mount cross member was only about a 1 inch off (front to back), but was too low. It was actually easier to cut it out and weld in a new one. I used a scrap piece 2-inch angle (1/4 thick).

I used 3/16 plate to make the motor mounts. It was important that they were wide enough for the steering box to come out if needed. In order to get the angles right I attached the plate to the mount and then cut the side plates to attach to the frame.

With the motor and transmission in place, next is to put the body back on the frame and ensure everything clears and I have enough hood clearance for the throttle body a d the breather.

This is all the pictures I have at the moment, will post more once I get the body mounted.

[ranchbird]

Looking good, keep those pictures coming.

[seany-boy]

I used to say to folks at work ' it sounds easy if you say it fast!' , I think you are taking it to a completely different level!
You are not only making it sound easy but also making it look easy - your work is amazing. Great stuff.

[Splash440]

Thanks guys.

The key is to take your time and not get frustrated if you need to redo things. In the beginning, I cut out more than one piece that did not turn out right. Sometimes I just sit and think for a while and look at the piece prior to making the first cut.

[ICON 1956]

David, I'm awe struck at the craftsmanship your showing this forum. Kudos to you !

[Haz567]

Hey Splash440

Haven,t seen an update in a while for this project, you still working on it?

[55blacktie]

As far as cars go, anyway, you're a better man than I.

[mojerry]

I hope that you are a young man, because, projects like this one, will make you really old, really quick.
You obviously have the skill to do this work. Good luck.
"MoJerry"