1955 Ranch Wagon Cruiser

Run the main harness off the back of the motor and any wires that go to accessories up front go under the manifold. Moving the ports to the rear (like in the video) helps clean things up a bunch. That way NONE of the wires would have to be on top of the intake manifold.

Radiator Support

The old radiator support isn't square to the base and the legs are at different angles. Deciding on any angle other than plumb is a crap shoot. So I'm going to leave it plumb for now.

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The driver's fender was crunched. I guess I should have known that the inner fender would be in the same condition. It was 1/2" shorter than the passenger side. I spent a few hours straightening the driver's side panels and didn't actually get the radiator or the support mounted. But the wings are shortened and slotted, the holes are drilled and tapped and the radiator fits in the hole.

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Flipper_1938 said:

Run the main harness off the back of the motor and any wires that go to accessories up front go under the manifold. Moving the ports to the rear (like in the video) helps clean things up a bunch. That way NONE of the wires would have to be on top of the intake manifold.

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Thanks for the ideas. I'm probably 6 months from needing to make those decisions. I haven't even seen the intake or the harness for the last 6 months.

I'm thinking of leaving all the fittings and wiring where they are in the truck and using something like this engine cover - Maybe add a Ford script. Cover up the ugly coil packs, wiring and intake and I wouldn't need to take the Chevy - in - a - Ford grief.

skull said:

how are the guy at the yard to deal with and what kind of prices?[S they looked kinda of like a bunch of duffas's on the show.

Later

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Well, now I have a different opinion about Desert Valley A P

Saw this ad for a driver's side fender "nice" $300

http://www.dvap.com/part/1955-ford-ford-car-driver-fender-1101/

Called them - They do have a "good fender" $450. I said it was in the ad for $300. "Some of those ads are 10 years old" was the reply.

Now, I don't have a plan for the fender - I'll keep looking.

DJ3100 said:

Well, now I have a different opinion about Desert Valley A P

Saw this ad for a driver's side fender "nice" $300

http://www.dvap.com/part/1955-ford-ford-car-driver-fender-1101/

Called them - They do have a "good fender" $450. I said it was in the ad for $300. "Some of those ads are 10 years old" was the reply.

Now, I don't have a plan for the fender - I'll keep looking.

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That's one of the problems with the internet ads. No one ever deletes their posts

Man o man.. you got to slow down.. i cant keep up with reading the thread!

Fantastic work.. I really need to get me a shop space with one of those welding tables.!

CORPO said:

Man o man.. you got to slow down.. i cant keep up with reading the thread!

Fantastic work.. I really need to get me a shop space with one of those welding tables.!

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I'm not really working that fast, I just saved up the posts for a few months. Now that I'm back to real time it's slowing down a lot. And yeah, a shop that is a 30 second walk from the house is a big help.

Radiator support

Somehow I managed to take a week to make 3 hours of progress. Working gets in the way of car building - luckily I only have work once in a while.

Here's the radiator support - the radiator is isolated by 1/8" neoprene. The top clamps might still need a little adjustment. The wing looking sheet metal thing (don't know what it's called) still needs some hammer and dolly work.
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rad

looks like the radiator set will work 0K.

Later

Lower radiator hose

The lower radiator hose has been a concern since I ordered the radiator. The LS engines have a 1 9/16 diameter hose and the radiator is 1 3/4. Once the radiator is in there is obviously a bigger problem. The engine water neck points straight right, the radiator angles left. Hard to see in the photos, but the hose would need to be a pretty sharp spiral.

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Top view

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I came up with a few solutions, but in the end decided not to make a project out of the water neck and ordered a swivel LS water neck. Found this hose in a drawer - the correct size on both ends and the correct shape - I think.

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search metal radiator hose kits, a little pricey but may solve the problem.

the companies may be a able to get different size ends or order separate pieces to mix & match.


http://www.spectreperformance.com/cat/plumbing-flexible-stainless-steel-hoses


Later

skull said:

looks like the radiator set will work 0K.

Later

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There is a rubber spacer that goes under the radiator support. I ordered one that should be here next week. It looks like it's about 1" thick. Ford supported the radiator, the hood and all the front sheet metal with a thick piece of rubber?

Anyhow, I'll wait until I get that to feel really good about the height and angle of the support, but for now it looks good.

skull said:

search metal radiator hose kits, a little pricey but may solve the problem.

the companies may be a able to get different size ends or order separate pieces to mix & match.


http://www.spectreperformance.com/cat/plumbing-flexible-stainless-steel-hoses


Later

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I put one of those on the 3100 during the last remodel. It seems to be working well. It was the only solution I could find.

The lower hose in the last photo will work great. I'm planning to stop at the auto parts today with my bent up welding rod and pieces of tube that match the water neck sizes to try get and the upper hose.

Upper radiator hose

Found an upper hose that was close. Cut it and made this aluminum splice with provision for a steam vent and petcock (there's 2 tapped holes).
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Just checking in to let you know I am following the build here on RRR. Most excellent! (as always)

truckster said:

Just checking in to let you know I am following the build here on RRR. Most excellent! (as always)

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Thanks, I appreciate that.

Same here. I've read every single post. [P

8literbeater said:

Same here. I've read every single post. [P

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Good to know, especially since it was you who talked me into posting it here.

And come to think about it, if you wouldn't have shown me the pics of your Ranch wagon, I wouldn't even have know they existed, much less would I be building one.

DJ3100 said:

Good to know, especially since it was you who talked me into posting it here.

And come to think about it, if you wouldn't have shown me the pics of your Ranch wagon, I wouldn't even have know they existed, much less would I be building one.

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Isn't it great to have friends like that [ddd