1957 Ford Country Sedan mocha silver V8 4dr wagon

[djfordmanjack]

hahaha.....John I like your attitude ! 
Thanx Jay and Gary for making me aware of the turning plates. I had read about them while searching the internet for the 40degree procedure to measure caster. actually I had the idea to use steel bead blasting stuff (little cast iron balls) and hardwood pieces to get it more slippery, but Johns idea sounds like a pretty perfect homegrown $5 version of the hitec stuff.... I will try that for sure tomorrow !
All the experience shared with camber and caster is valuable information for sure! I have come to use 1deg neg by incidence, but as mentioned the car handles much better than anything that I had ever driven on bias ply tires. anyways, now that I have the accurate gauge I will take the setup to maybe 1/2 or 1 deg pos camber, just to see how it would affect the handling. I can go back anytime.
I see that I have a new hobby in setting up IFS as to my likings.

[djfordmanjack]

Jim, old trucks with solid axles often had more than 2 or 3 degrees camber to make up for when the axle bent under severe load conditions. I started out in the truck business and we still saw some of these in the early 1990s.

[hiball3985]

G, normally caster is set first, then equal amount of shims added or removed to get the camber.

Did you see my post about setting the fuel level on the Holley? 

[djfordmanjack]

Jim, yes saw your post concerning the fuel float level. I will have to further look and read into that but thanx for making me aware. I had observed the large fuel inlet and top screws.Thanx for making me aware of that.

[djfordmanjack]

let's take a short tim off front suspension and on to the outside rearview mirrors. Many discussions on that topic and obviously it's a difficult thing to get them working on a 57. Purchased this swan neck aftermarket set from Macs, because I saw a similar set used on another 57. Found out that they work extremely well on the 57, upside down ( RH on driver's side), when mounted on the frontmost lowest corner of the door glass frame. Let me warn you that these are total cr** and the typical aftermarket stuff. I nearly smasehd them today, if it wasn't for my son being with me and I had to behave ( smashing them wouldn't have been any good anyways).
the SS mirrorheads have metric 6mm threads and the tapped threads in the arm wer much to large and Us threads, most probably 1/4" Fine ( 6.35mm) as they stripped out wiht only hand tightening the mirror head. I can not accept how anybody would produce or sell worthless scrapmetal for that much money spent....I am sorry, but.......
I had to countersink the arm with a 10mm drill and fruther drill and tap it for 6mm threads to get the mirror attached. In the end it looked much cleaner than the original design and hopefully it will stay put. anyways the upside down arm works great with vent wings and visibility on a 57.


I just can't watch drilling holes.....urgggh..... poor ole 57 !










put a chamfer on the rubber seal and arm to mount it as low as possible




this is the actual view from driver's position

[djfordmanjack]

the looks are ok (while not totally period correct, but we need to see traffic)












this is the RW that made me aware of using this type of mirrors (found on the internet). It seems as if the mirrors are mounted higher and not sure if the vent wings would clear.

[hiball3985]

Way COOL mirrors 

Sorry to get off track but back to the carb before I forget. Simple check for the fuel level is the sight plug, just unscrew it, the fuel level should be at the bottom of the hole, it's that simple on a Holley

[djfordmanjack]

Way COOL mirrors 

Sorry to get off track but back to the carb before I forget. Simple check for the fuel level is the sight plug, just unscrew it, the fuel level should be at the bottom of the hole, it's that simple on a Holley

Er..... Jim, you know that you make me feel S T O O O O P I D right now......hahahahaha....can't believe it, but there you go.
Seems I was involved too much with the little plug....
Thanx alot for another great tip !!!! The wealth of information on this site is just incredible !

[hiball3985]

Any day we learn something new is a good day. None of us can know it all. I've been working on 57's since 1965 and still learn new things all the time.

[lalessi1]

Guenter, I mounted a repop on the door and the mirror itself seems to be about in the same spot as yours...that said, the mirror is cheaply made and the mirror holder is loose on the pivot so it vibrates a lot. I am looking for something better. I  love yours.

[djfordmanjack]

Lynn, I like yours better than mine. looks very elegant and streamlined. it's a pitty about the bad quality of that stuff.
It's hard to find a set that works equally nice on the pssgr side. you are right, the position of the mirrorhead looks the same as mine.

[gasman826]

I like that...best solution I've seen.  I have a little peep mirror on top of the left door.  It works for me but changing to the right lane is sketchy at best.  I could see me living with these on both sides.

[djfordmanjack]

Gary if you would want to use these they are MACs# 49-50870-1
http://www.macsautoparts.com/ford_mercury_late/outside-swan-neck-rear-view-mirrors-pair-round-head-left-and-right.html
They are inexpensive but not even worth their money qualitywise. Do expect some work needed to fix the mirror to the arm.( At least remove the spring washer and use Loctite with the soft threads. only tighten lightly! As mentioned I chamfered the gasket and arm so It would go as low as possible. I did not use the second (smaller) stud, as I hate drilling unnecessary holes and since the miror arms rests on the door skin with the chamfer it can't rotate much anyways.
as you say peep mirrors work ok, but not that well in the end. I am getting concerned about safety more and more each day.

[John Palmer]

Guenter, I mounted a repop on the door and the mirror itself seems to be about in the same spot as yours...that said, the mirror is cheaply made and the mirror holder is loose on the pivot so it vibrates a lot. I am looking for something better. I  love yours.

Lynn, I have the same repop mirror's on my Ranch Wagon, and I also agree they are poor in quality.  The mirror is just slightly loose on the adjusting ball and they vibrate.  I think they are Vintique? (China).

[djfordmanjack]

If some of you want to use these mirrors, there are two more little details to watch. the arm base mounting stud needs shortened about 3/8" so it will clear the a post when door is closed and the mirror head needs slight grinding (maybe 1/16) around the hole (for the ball) with a little dremel cutting wheel so it will pivot a little further to the get proper rearview angle, especially on the pssgr side. the pencil mark is about what needs to be ground off.

as mentioned before the mirror base has to go as low as possible on the door frame, so that the arm will clear the vent wings for full opening.