New 57 Ford Project Should we go big block or small block? Pics added

Gary yes its , had one just like it many noons ago.
How about some frame pics.

res0rli9 wrote:Gary yes its , had one just like it many noons ago.
How about some frame pics.

Had to dig a little.

512Fairlane wrote:Gary that thing is nice. I love the customs and I kind of wish ours was one but the wife loves the tail fins and we got a smokin' deal on this car. We go back and forth on the motor. It will probably get the small block. My 64 is a track only car and I really can't imagine sitting in traffic with the 512 or even the old 460 that I would be using in the 57. But it is really tempting. Thanks for the advice. What did you do for a brake booster? The car came with 3 and I'm not sure what any of them are out of but they are a small dia. We can't decide whether to go through the whole car and repaint it again or not. It has paint but it is rough driver quality. I am at least going to take the body off and repaint the floorboards and detail the frame. Should probably just redo it all while its apart but it would be on the road much sooner if we didn't repaint it all.

My brother-in-law gave me his grandpa's '74 Lincoln as a donor car. Grandpa is long passed on and his Lincoln was rusted beyond saving. So parts of the Lincoln still roll. I used the hydraulic brake booster and master cylinder from the Lincoln. The boost comes from the Saginaw power steering pump. It plumbs through the Saginaw hydraulic booster and down to the Saginaw power steering rack with friendly flow and pressure specs with no orfice or regulator. Yep, GM stuff on a Ford!! I think there might be a Harley part or two. I used an adjustable brake bias valve on the rear disc brakes to balance front to rear braking. NO VACUUM issues!!!! Brakes are outstanding with little pedal effort. If the fronts are not enough for you, these can be upgraded to OEM 12" rotors!!!! Without the big vacuum booster, there is no interference between the booster and the valve cover. Pictures are not the best but are what I could find. Take care.

Is that R&P from Wurthit and where did you get the headers?

jasonf wrote:Is that R&P from Wurthit and where did you get the headers?

Both are custom. The headers were done by Mad Dog Headers in Allen, Michigan. The RP is mine. I researched Wurthit. Too many issues for me. The product may be fine but the customer relations suck. I called and left voice mail. I emailed. This was several years ago and am still waiting for an answer. No matter the reasons, you are in business or your are not...no excuses.
The wife and I did Hot Rod Power Tour a few years ago. The handling, ride and braking are super. We even did the Dragon's Tail. The bigs and littles are not the best for cornering but the steering was always there. No bump steer no issues at all. The only down side is the reduced turning circle...it does not turn a tight circle. Works just fine for me with the fender well exit headers. At first, I had larger tires on the front and still had no steering issues. Since I have a manual transmission, I route the power steering oil through the automatic transmission oil cooling tank in the radiator to give a little extra cooling for the PS oil.
Take care

Nice looking project you have there. I like the frame mods. What motor mounts did you use? I noticed Crites sells some along with headers but I've heard you can't get the car low enough with them.

512Fairlane wrote:Nice looking project you have there. I like the frame mods. What motor mounts did you use? I noticed Crites sells some along with headers but I've heard you can't get the car low enough with them.

The mounts and block to mount extensions are from '74 Lincoln. But pretty much nothing bolts in. The pads on the frame were cut out of the donor car and welded in place. The bottom of the oil pan is just above the lowest point on the front cross member. I am using a Milodon splayed, front sump oil pan. It just fits between the lower control arms. You need to get the engine as low as possible for bell housing, transmission, head, valve cover clearance so you can have choices when it comes to the manifold and air cleaner. The first 460/466 had a Stealth intake and I had to use the lowest profile air cleaner that I could find. With the '65 Thunderbird hood and the Inglese/Weber intake and throttle bodies and stacks, I will have room for the new 557 under the hood.
I looked at the Crites. They have some really nice stuff. If you start the Crites route, you might as well buy all their products. I asked them about their headers and they never mentioned that I would need their engine mounts, transmission cross member, oil pan, radiator core support, radiator, and I am sure that I am forgetting something else. I fabbed everything myself because that's what I enjoy not because I am a better engineer or smarter. Crites headers were made by Mad Dog Headers up here in Allen, MI. Crites reverse engineered them and someone else makes them now. The header design is like the late '60s CJ in Mustangs and Fairlanes. The front two tubes on both sides wrap forward and down around and below the suspension. In the late '60s, it was common for headers to 'hang' low under cars. Often, the cars sat a little high with that modified gasser look for drag racing. The old JR header jigs are still used by Mad Dog. So, some of the low hung flavor still exists. I have had several sets of this style header and have had to dodge many o' road kill to save my header tubes from being dinged. Since I did not want casters on my headers and I wanted something a little bolder, I went with the fender well exit header and have been very happy with this choice.

We've been scraping body deadener off of the floorboards and I can't believe we found original red primer underneath.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/512fairlane/sets/72157629294135739/

Isn't that something!!!! Near 55 years old and still going. My '57 has been in the family since new. The first time it ever was out of Michigan was for the 2009 Hot Rod Power Tour. Big portions of the bottom looked like your pictures and then right next to it the sound proofing was holding the rust togather. Replaced inner rockers and floor braces, rear foot wells, one front floor pan and both short outer rockers. Fortunately, the doors and quarters are great as well as the trunk floor. The rear valance needed a little work. Battery acid destroyed the hood. Dad crashed the car so both front fenders were trashed. The roof had a hole cut in it and was so wrinkled from bales of hay falling on it and kids playing on it that I skinned the roof. I Scotch Brited the entire outside of the car but finally gave up and media blasted the floors inside and out. Blocking it out on my home made frame table.

Looks like you got a great start on a solid car!!!!

Looking good Gary. All that work will be worth it. My 64 was a Texas car originally too but it had been sitting in a junk yard in MO long enough that it had a few holes in the floor where it was sitting on the ground. The 57 is a lot nicer than that. It did have a tail panel replaced and a small patch on the right rear quarter but other than that I can't find any rot. Still looking for something disappointing about this find but so far so good.