55 Ford Fairlane Victoria

Here are pics of my newly acquired 55 ford. The car is mostly all original. I haven't really decided what i'm going to do i'm thinking of a period correct hot rod but haven't decided yet.

I had a '56 4dr that was black and white like yours. The black was flat and the white was shiney. It sat a little lower all the way around. People were always trying to buy it. Even my boss. Now that my brain is warming up i had an all white '55 hardtop as well. Always loved those years. Especially
since the tri five Chevys were so popular and common. Nice score bud

Nice car! and that looks like a Y block under all that gunk

Wow... that car is beautiful & a really nice start ya got goin' there. That'll definitely have peeps turnin' their heads! Keep us posted!!!

BoB

good enough to drive just as it is, but i hear ya ROCK ON

My 2cents, I think they make beautifull mild customs.

trust me i been driving the **** out of it. just trying to gather parts for it now. I'm in the process of trying to find a 292 to build up. Also I am looking for any articles or pictures of what they did back in the early to mid 60s to get ideas.

Well, cant' say much about the look, other than don't box yourself in with a set of period correct rules. As for the motor, make sure you have good oil flow to the top end - Y's are notorious for bad oil pressure to the rockers. Beyond that, they sound cool as all. Depending on your noise tolerance, get some glass packs and dump them in front of the rear wheels, or if you can, run lakespipes. Drop it a few inches too. Maybe some 'period correct' hub caps and what more do you need? Sweet car.

Ya that's why I haven't fully figured out what to do yet. I am definitely gonna lower it a couple of inches, but my main concern is just getting it so it runs down the road good.

Nice 55. Always liked em.

There is one sitting in a driveway by my house in Palos. Same darn color too!
Yours looks like a nice driver! I'd lower it a bit, lake pipes, steel rims with chrome bullets, white walls, interior kit and stripe it. Or you could just sell it to me

Well I just got my oil filter conversion to get rid of the canister style. After that I gotta advance the timing a tooth or so to get it running a little bit better.

55fordtt said:

...After that I gotta advance the timing a tooth or so to get it running a little bit better.

Click to expand...

From what I've read and run, a good place to start is 12-14* Initial Advance with Full-in around 32-40* at about 2500-3000RPM. Most Y vacuum advances can be adjusted with an allen wrench stuck down the vacuum hose side of the pot.

I think the same tricks are being used on the Y now as in the 60's, unless you're planning on spending a lot of $$$. 2x4, 3x2, different cam.

well I finally got a chance to work on the 55 today. I did a compression test on it, and 4 of the 8 cylinders have compression below 70. So rather putting the money into the y block I decided to just get a 352 or 390 for it and build it the way I want. If anyone one knows where one is drop me a line.

390 go 390. come on man you know you wanna. Isnt that waht Bill has in his? you can give him a run for his money!

55fordtt said:

well I finally got a chance to work on the 55 today. I did a compression test on it, and 4 of the 8 cylinders have compression below 70. So rather putting the money into the y block I decided to just get a 352 or 390 for it and build it the way I want. If anyone one knows where one is drop me a line.

Click to expand...

There are a couple in the chicagoland Craigslist sites. cant remember which towns though. Do a search on craigshelper.com for a 150mi radious from you and they will problably pop up.
Hope this helps.

hey thanks i will look through them

390s are good to play with. If you are gonna go the FE route, be looking for a 428 also. I like the lake pipe idea, steel wheels and custom interior. The old schoolers would pull them ol 292s and swap em out with the 312s. I figure a 312 is gonna be pretty hard to find very reasonable. If your engine isnt hurt, you can pull a little power from that 292.

If you are gonna drive it on a regular basis, them big block are just not real nice on gas. On the other hand, I love the FE blocks/ engines anyway. Nice car though. would like to have one. Good Luck.

I originally was going to do an FE motor I was looking 352 or 390, but parts are expensive on them. Recently I came across a 302 and c4 tranny for free, so i'm gonna go with the small block idea and just beef up the motor.

Good call! get that thing up and driving so you can cruise next summer