56 Ford Fairlane hardtop.

[bob w]

Ooh! Shiny parts.[cl

 

[Old Iron]

Moving forward again [P

 

[Couper]

The motor that was in the '56 when I bought it is a cobbled up 272 but it is freshly rebuilt, so I don't want to rob much of the accessories. It will still make a decent motor, with some balancing, I think. So, I've been cleaning up, straightening, and painting my old accessories to go on my old high school motor. I had been a little too rough taking the water pump pulley off one old motor so now I'm straightening it so it'll run true again.

[P[P

 

[MercuryMac]

Remember, Guys, when I was crowing about keeping the car stock looking and replacing anything new with the old original stuff. Well, I'm making positive ventilation [hidden of course] on this old motor. You'll see in the picture there is a little pipe welded on the draft-tube sticking straight up, well that's the starting of the system. I made a plastic plug for the bottom of the draft-tube. There will be a vacuum line around the back of the motor and up to the back of the intake housing.
Today I went sideways a wee bit. I told you that I had a crash with my starter on this car quite a while ago. All of the teeth on the drive gear broke apart and fell out. Well, I had bought a new-old-stock Bendix drive at a swap-meet once so I checked out if it would work. It was for a flathead so was similar but not the same. By taking both the broken drive and the NOS one apart, pressing half of each one of them together and making some neat fasteners, I think I got a good starter for a Y-block. That 'rebuilt' starter will go back onto the 272 for a future project.

 

[MercuryMac]

As I was cleaning up what I think is a good looking Thunderbird oil filler cap, I noticed that it had no wire mesh filter inside it. It looked like it came out of the factory like that. So I found another good looking cap, cleaned it up, and primed it. At the last minute, I thought it was the wrong size for my filler tube. Sure enough, it's for a Chrysler product and is too big so I left it in grey primer, [see picture]. I ended up taking the first cap apart and there was no filter in it at all, and there is no way to take the filter in or out of there, [pic one]. [pic two] is a wire mesh filter that I found, cleaned up and mounted in there. [pic three] is the parts that I have readied today.

 

[earthman]

Good work MM.

 

[Old Iron]

It amazes me how many people have new old stock parts or a lot of used parts.
What gave you the foresight to accumulate all the parts and pieces you have?
[cl[cl[cl

 

[MercuryMac]

Thank you for using the term 'foresight', when most people would think maybe it's 'Y-block obsession', OI. I wasn't much of a buyer of anything, most of my life, until I started going to swap-meets. Whooo boy, I was like a kid in a candy store. Also, I can see into the future a wee bit, knowing I would need old gearshifts, E-brake handles, rear-view mirrors, gas pedals, cloth-covered electrical wire, headlight buckets, and much, much more. We have learned to stock up on stuff because of our situation; we're a long way from anywhere, so we can't just run into town and pick up something we suddenly need. Anyhow, I do have a bit of weird stuff on the shelf here, but sometimes it still isn't enough.

 

[smallfoot]

Heheh! Well, it's a good thing you have room to spread parts out or else you might be termed a hoarder. I find the statement about being some distance from anywhere rings true when I decide to thin my place of good used junk. I still find myself stripping parts off of derelict items out and about rather than just casting it all off. If I go out for anything it usually costs me 1/2 a day.

 

[Old Iron]

I figured it was mostly a location deal.
I'm 10 miles from the nearest parts store and for whatever reason, it'll take a minimum of an hour to make the turn around. On the salvaged parts, it's a 2 hour turn around plus the time to take the parts off.
I'm more impressed with the fact that you and whoever else, still have parts from your high school rides.

 

[MercuryMac]

You've made me think, OI. I should go over to the next farm, where I grew up, and check through my old fifty six to see what's still in there. I know there's a pair of steel fenderskirts in the trunk, and some other stuff scattered around on the floor.

 

[Old Iron]

[P[P[P

 

[MercuryMac]

I've been stopping in at the machinists shop every once in a while to keep the fire burning. Well, the other day he said all of the machining and balancing was done on my 312 Y-block. There is just the assembly left.
I, in a fit of optimism, had already entered the car in our spring show near the end of April, and I might just make it there.

 

[Old Iron]

[cl

[P[P[P

 

[DozerII]

Awesome[P[P

 

[bob w]

If all else fails you can put a plastic mock up engine in it for the show.

 

[MercuryMac]

Well I never. Humph, a plastic replica substitute, no way.


Maybe I could put a substitute black Ford in the show. Twenty years older, maybe.

 

[Flipper_1938]

How long until vroom vroom noises?

 

[MercuryMac]

I don't know Flipper, I hope within two weeks. But, my wife says I'm a flaming optimist, most of the time.

 

[Tripper]

I've been stopping in at the machinists shop every once in a while to keep the fire burning. Well, the other day he said all of the machining and balancing was done on my 312 Y-block. There is just the assembly left.
I, in a fit of optimism, had already entered the car in our spring show near the end of April, and I might just make it there.

I'm right there with you MM... I'm trying to make one April 22nd! Good luck!!!

BoB