1955 Ranch Wagon Cruiser

[soltz]

I have to agree with every things said. Outstanding [cl

 

[DozerII]

Awesome job, I agree now it's time to drive[cl[cl[cl

 

[DJ3100]

Thanks guys. I think this is going to be my daily driver - it's the most fun, easiest to drive vehicle I have.

This is the first custom interior I have had done. It's pretty nice and it's quiet, except for the 9" whine. Might have replace the ring and pinion.

I really can't say enough about how good the 5.3 is to drive. It's smooth and quick, starts easy and pulls really hard.

I drove it 30 miles Friday in traffic and on the freeway, it never reached 180 degrees. Thermostat? air? bad sensor? I'll keep an eye on that.

I was intending to cut the springs to get the lower control arms parallel with the ground, but they seem to have settled to with in an 1/8". Maybe the upholstery added enough weight. I still want to up-grade the front shocks and am undecided about the front sway bar, seems to be OK without one.

Every time I look at the car from the rear it looks like the left side is lower than the right. I need to find a good level spot and check it out. The bumper is 1/8" high on one side - maybe that's what I'm seeing.

Basically, it's getting to the point where there just isn't much left.

 

[Old Iron]

I don't remember if you installed drop spindles or not.
With drop spindles the sway bar is not needed as bad. Without drop spindles the cornering characteristics will be much improved with a sway bar. Especially in a quick maneuver situation.

 

[DJ3100]

I don't remember if you installed drop spindles or not.
With drop spindles the sway bar is not needed as bad. Without drop spindles the cornering characteristics will be much improved with a sway bar. Especially in a quick maneuver situation.

Thanks, I didn't know that, but it makes sense.

I have the stock spindles on now. The front is a little high for my taste, so I have been considering dropped spindles. Want to check clearance first.

I ordered Bilstein B6 shocks, today. The only real issue I have with the front suspension is that it is a little bouncy - almost feels like it has no shocks. (It has the Monroe cheapo's that came with the kit.)

 

[Old Iron]

lowers the roll center.
I've noticed the same thing on the new shocks being really light valved.

 

[dutch]

dude...! that interior looks killer! [dr great job!

 

[MercuryMac]

Do you know the most annoying part of this project? ---eh--eh---eh?

You've done an excellent job on this car but you haven't shown us any pictures of the whole car for a long time, maybe too long.

Don't forget about pictures.

Lovely job!!!

 

[DJ3100]

Do you know the most annoying part of this project? ---eh--eh---eh?

You've done an excellent job on this car but you haven't shown us any pictures of the whole car for a long time, maybe too long.

Don't forget about pictures.

Lovely job!!!

Thanks Mac and Dutch.

I'll see about getting some pics of the whole car today.

Interesting development with the suspension. From the rear the driver's side looked low. I tightened the coil over to raise that side until the frame measured the same on both sides - about 3/16". That tightened up the front suspension. So now I'm not sure the cheapo Monroes were the problem. I think it's like a chair with one leg short.

 

[DJ3100]

Here's some photos:

I'm having problems with the driver's side door. The wind lace and door panel made it difficult to close at first; now it won't latch at all. It has sagged about 1/4" for some reason and I'm working through trying to find the cause and a solution.

And the top window channel has some rivets that stick down just a bit. Power windows up all the way + glass touches the rivet + slam door = broken window. I'm not looking forward to replacing it.

 

[Flipper_1938]

Was the door sagging before or after you adjusted the coil overs?

How does the 5.3 compare to a traditional street rod 350 four barrel motor power wise?

 

[Old Iron]

Maybe a door hinge wasn't tight enough.

 

[DJ3100]

Was the door sagging before or after you adjusted the coil overs?

How does the 5.3 compare to a traditional street rod 350 four barrel motor power wise?

Good point. Not sure before, but definitely after. I raised the rear driver's side. I think that's the cause. That makes more sense than the post or the door bending when the door is closed. Now that I think about it, I had the same issue when it was sitting on jack stands. Thanks.

The 5.3 is much more drivable than any small block 4 barrel I have had. The 5.3 feels like it has a constant torque curve. It idles without loading up and stalling. Starts fright up without having a high speed cam for the choke. I'm sold.

Old Iron, loose bolts was my first thought, would have been nice if it was the case.

 

[Flipper_1938]

Sounds like you need to play with shimming your body mounts.

 

[MercuryMac]

Thanks for the full on pics DJ.
Don't drive around with that rivet touching the glass, it will chip your window when you go over a bump in the highway.
Hopefully, you could just roll your window down, put a punch up in the window slot onto the bad rivet and hammer it up a bit. Good luck.
It sounds like you will have to adjust your door up a wee bit.

 

[DJ3100]

Sounds like you need to play with shimming your body mounts.

This car has 20 mounts, more than half of which just got covered by pad and carpet. However, it does seem like the front mount is the one that would most control the height of the door. I'll have to check that out.

 

[DJ3100]

Thanks for the full on pics DJ.
Don't drive around with that rivet touching the glass, it will chip your window when you go over a bump in the highway.
Hopefully, you could just roll your window down, put a punch up in the window slot onto the bad rivet and hammer it up a bit. Good luck.
It sounds like you will have to adjust your door up a wee bit.

Its a little late to worry about the driver's glass, it has 1 full length crack and another chip. Looks like there are 4 rivets on each side. The passenger side rivets seem to be set a little deeper.

I think it needs a thin strip of rubber or something. Wonder if that's why Ford put a stainless rim around the top of the windows on some of the later cars?

 

[DJ3100]

Update.

Haven't posted much lately - haven't actually done much lately.

I did get the dropped spindles installed. The first pic is before - front up, grandpa's tail dragger. The second pic is as it is now.

I replaced the cheapo Monroe shocks on the front with Bilstiens. Huge difference. Handles better, rides better.

On a weird note, my LED tail lights were not very bright. In direct sun they barely showed up at all. Kenny suggested changing back to the old style bulbs (1157). They are a bunch brighter! Go figure.

Got the replacement window, but haven't put it in yet. Still need to get the driver's door to close properly.

 

[Skip]

Nice ride, DJ. [cl

 

[earthman]

There is a peoples choice award winner right there.