I bought this car in 2017. It had been sitting since 2001.
There also was a 58 that I wanted bad, but I couldnt get the guy to part with it. It was his deceased aunt's car.
I am 36 and have two kids and a stay at home wife so time and money dont permit a full restoration, but this will be a good driver and I wont be completly upside down. After all it is a 4 door sedan, not the most desirable on the list. I've dreamed of a 57-64 Ford ever since I was a kid (in the 80s). This certainly fit the bill.
Yeah..... bad move, not a pretty car. You should keep looking for something more desirable and give that '59 to me.
(http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/tongue/tongue0021.gif) (http://www.mysmiley.net)
More from 2017.
Some recent
Bosch 90Amp alternator I had laying around from my VW days. A bit of fabrication to make that work, and retained the GEN light on the dash. This was just a test fit.
Note, I was pressure testing cooling system. I am very close to going on the maiden voyage. Waiting to get some interior metal painted, and need to fab a battery tray for a modern (less expensive) battery.
Thanks for sharing. I'll bet 80% of us are wishing ours was that good when we started. Looking forward to pics when you can drive it out of that garage. Good luck with the maiden voyage.
Keep us up to date on progress.
Rich
Beautiful car and a sweet color combo !
Rich couldn't be more right. Mine is a driver now and I wish it could be as good as your is now!
Nice 59!!!?
Thank you guys! This car was originally all green, the PO who was not mechanically inclined, had all the work done by others. He had it painted the two tone, which I'm glad he did. This was all done in 1988. For the most part the paint is an 7.5 or better out of 10.
I've had to replace all the inner rockers and fabricate most of the body mounts. Most of the stainless and chrome I removed and buffed with a yellow rouge.
I've gone through everything but the 3 speed toploader. I stripped the 9" rear completely down and cleaned, replaced reassembled. New seals throughout the whole drivetrain/engine, everything was wet.
New Spectra fuel tank as the original had been patched once and had considerable rust inside. Electric fuel pump at the tank and all cupronickel fuel and brake lines, with mechanical fuel pump block off plate. I brazed in a return line in the tank in case I want to make a return system or fuel injection someday.
The 14" Coker wide white radials just about killed me, but ah well it's only money.
Rear
I've done extensive sandblasting on all the small parts and the only thing not doing myself if had the front bench reupholstered. Found some of the fabric as NOS on Ebay, all of the springs were broken in the seatback for the driver.
I've rewired the car starting completly from scratch. I added a fuse/ relay box under the hood and a large fuse panel under the dash. Now every wire is sized for the load and fused appropriately within 12" of the battery. All original switches are retained but are used to run relays and not and loads.
I worked as a mechanic for 10 years, and saw too many car fires from old/shoddy wireing.
I was at the upholsterer when a guy drove I with his 55 Lincoln. Noticed what looked like steam coming from the grill. We went outside and opened the hood, it was smoke which was now billowing from the DC Generator. We rushed to disconnect the battery and had to use the fire extinguisher on the generator to save the car!
Glad that car got to the right person! It was obvious from the first post on that this wasn't your first rodeo.
Beautiful car..Beautiful work!
Very nice cruiser. As for being a 4-door...who cares? Looks great! Lots of future memories for the kids coming in that car! THAT is the important thing. :hello2: :glasses9:
I'm enjoying the pictures and descriptions.
This was the 2 speed Ford-O-Matic that the car came with. It was removed in the 70s and a 3 speed toploader installed, but the Ford-O-Matic came with the car, PO told me he had it rebuilt in the 80s but never installed it.
Sold it on Ebay to a fellow in Germany for his 1960 Galaxie. $1200 in shipping! Its sale helped buy parts to get this girl back to being roadworthy. I've bought and sold many parts for this car. Cleaning out my VW collection.
My helper. He is very excited to have some "daddy time in the Big Green Galaxie".
My trim polisher.
Looks to me like those memories of the future I spoke of...are starting in the present! Good for them...and you. (can I send you my trim for her to polish too per chance? :002: )
Both my kids have been very excited to ride (and get ice cream) in the "Green Galaxie". Even my wife is excited about it now! Got my the steering column and shifter installed and linkage adjusted with new bushings, as it will all be pretty much inaccessible now that the bracket/booster/master is installed.
Commenced to bleeding brakes last night.
Nice! Clean install. Coming along a good clip. :003:
IMHO I don't see anything ugly about a 59. I like all of them especially 57, 58 and 59.
Quote from: Ecode70D on 2020-07-13 13:51
IMHO I don't see anything ugly about a 59. I like all of them especially 57, 58 and 59.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
DITTO :006:
Well thank you gentlemen! I would have to agree, it was my way of poking fun because this is, after all, a '57 forum :003:
I've got breaks bled, battery installed, electrical tested, cooling system filled..... testing the gas gauge tonight and will start her up!
Doing a tape measure toe adjustment, so I can drive to the alignment shop this week.
I used to work at this full service auto shop, so they will let me loose with the $300k alignment machine and I'll see if I can get some positive caster into the front.
Moved under it's own power today.
Went on an 8 mile ride! Cooled well, handled surprisingly well and stopped better than I expected.
The Ebay vacuum boosted dual master was a good investment as far as I can tell so far. Still waiting to get my hood painted.... better access for inspection i guess!
Good for you! That is one sweet looking ride! I see some serious fun in your future!
I think I am going to go with a power brake system as well in my Courier. Along with discs. I will also have an FE so stopping that big ol' gal will be a chore...I remember doing it with drums before. I think discs will help keep my blood pressure low! :003:
That's one more door I wouldn't mind having in my driveway. I think 59's lend themselves much better to a 4 dr than 57's. love the color combo, everything just flows really well on that car. Congrats on the first run.........sounds like it went very well.
Taylor, I REALLY love your car...so different!
absolutely gorgeous !
Waiting for the seatbelts to arrive, and I will get the interior installed. I've got to weld in anchor points for the shoulder belts. I'd rather not have to take everything out again.
Thank you so much for all the complements. We still have 3 more months I can drive this land barge! I see way too much ice cream in my family's future!
I assume you will enforce the same rule I have...no eating in the car! LOL!!! Kids...ice cream...car upholstery...eh...equals mess! UGH!
Gonna be some fun! Lots of waves from other drivers who will be as green in face as your car...with envy!
Recieved my seatbelts last week and got the majority of the interior installed (carpet, seats, rear shelf) still waiting on some interior steel trim from the body shop.
Went for my first legal ride Saturday. Had two different people chase me down to look at the car and tell me stories of their '59 back in the day. It was great fun!
Very nicely done! Your interior really looks sharp. Excellent work.
(https://i.imgur.com/jcWV36e.jpg)
Cool pic
I'm with Joe...that is one sweet pic! As one who shoots a lot of cars and things out of the norm...I like that!
Oh...and the interior looks sharp too! :003:
Open the DOOR! Christine is home.
(http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/sign/sign0017.gif) (http://www.mysmiley.net/free-angel-smileys.php)
(http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/sign/sign0141.gif) (http://www.mysmiley.net)
Sweet, the mix of silver thread cloth, white and green vinyl and ss steel trim makes it pop right out of the 1950s. we need an Eddie Cochran song for that !
it was released in '59 btw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIWU4CHbR04
It's striking the resemblance of a '58 Fury, Christine. I've yet to get my '59 to self heal....that would be convenient!
A big thanks to Lynn for the water pump and short pully. Changed that out and installed a cable operated valve on the heater hoses. Noticed a bit of heat making it's way out of the heater box. Plan is to use a universal choke cable from the parts store and hide knob under the dash.
Now that mechanicals are all wrapped up (until winter) I put the hood on for the final Christine look :003:
Thanks Lynn!
My pleasure!
Wow, now thats a beautiful FE !
I especially like how clean your wiring and plumbing is ! That tells alot about the condition of a car and its caretaker. A+ ! :002:
Thank you! Honestly, I didnt paint much under the hood. All the parts were painted outside, my garage is attached and if I paint in there the whole house smells like paint. The downside of not having a detached heated shop. Here at the top of Maine a heated garage is a big deal!
Kinda wish I had painted the radiator support and suspension components when I had that all apart.
The wireing is completly fabricated by me, no factory stuff left. Again I wasn't really trying to hide anything, just make it look decent.
Thank you for all the kind compliments!
It does look great. Northern Maine..........I know it probably doesn't happen too often ( ::)), if you happen to run into an occasional frenchman, be nice, good chance they may be my relatives, lol.
Rich, hahahaha. There are plenty of Frenchmen around here! I'm only 1/8 French....so that's enough to make fun :burnout:
I'm 20 minutes from the Canadian border.
Faboulous, where are you, if you don't mind me asking? You near Fort Kent?
Presque Isle.
Okay, I assumed you were up in the Allagash and were South of Canada, not to the West. I always forget that it also borders the Eastern part of Maine. Nice country up that way.
Bringing this thread back as winter projects are moving along.
Removed the unbelievably restrictive Y-pipe and factory unbelievably silent muffler and the rest.
UGH! Looked ugly to boot! Should be a happier engine now that it will be able to breathe! :003:
Pulled the 3 speed for an extra gear to be added.
Going with a car SMOD which was known as the town and country overdrive. No burnouts in my future, just excessive noise!
T-85OD?
Quote from: Fabulous50s on 2021-02-19 19:33
Bringing this thread back as winter projects are moving along.
Removed the unbelievably restrictive Y-pipe and factory unbelievably silent muffler and the rest.
What are you going to use for exhaust? On my 59 Tudor, which was the original 332 2 barrel FordOMatic, yeah, the Y pipe was really skinny and kinked, When I swapped to the 428CJ, I installed a set of FPA headers, and had a local exhaust shop fabricate a custom 2 1/2" dual exhaust system, with DynaMax Turbo mufflers, and the tailpipes dump behind the rear tires. It sounds pretty good, but a bit loud on the freeway at 2600 RPM. (or if a Police car is in the next lane!)
T170F out of a Granada. Car ratio, not the truck ratio which is bigger gap between 2nd and 3rd.
I have a 2-1/4" mandrel bend universal kit which I'll weld up to get over the axle etc. Going to have the local shop bend from the manifolds to wherever I cannot make the kit work.
Plan is to use Flowmaster FX (Borla knockoffs) rounds and put the mufflers behind the rear tires in the "mud opening". Goong to do a GM style angle dump tailpipe out of 2-1/4" 304 stainless pipe and polish it. Exit will be just before the bumper. I've got some of it mocked up right now, but haven't bought the mufflers yet.
Be interested to see the exhaust take shape. I also purchased the mandrel bent universal kit intending to weld it together.
I have the larger 400 exhaust manifolds on a 351c and so I purchased 2 universal kits to be sure to have enough pieces to work it from manifolds back to the rear. Also purchased a replacement y pipe from a 70's era 400 powered PU, only thing I could find to give me new header pipes and retainers.
Good heavy gauge pipe, but the bends are not mandrel bent, so I just cut it up to about 6 inches from the manifold outlets on both sides to get rid of all the crimped bends.
Since my car is a convertible, I have the X-frame to pass through front and rear. 2 1/4" appears to be the largest I can easily install due to the limited clearance in those 4 spots. Never thought about putting the mufflers at the back (which is where they are on my 62 TBird), but since I already have the factory heat shields in place, I will probably stick with the factory muffler placement.
Are you installing an H or X pipe in your exhaust? I plan on an H pipe for simplicity on mine, but just clamping it instead of welding in case removal is required down the road.
Flowmaster Universal Stainless Kit with Flowmaster stainless mufflers.
I have the FPA headers, 2.5" system w/ x pipe and Borla mufflers. Exits at the bumper corners. I found having the exits behind the tires made my system resonate a bit much for me.
I'm not sure, but it looks as if the '57 has more clearance to the floor than the '59 does.
My goal is to not have any of the exhaust lower than the frame in any place. The loooooong wheelbase of my FORDoor means I already have some curb rash on the bottom of the frame from last summer. Dont want to catch any exhaust.
Lynn, your exhaust looks fantastic! Did a local shop do that? Is it 2.25" or 2.5"? I'm hoping for something similar. Would like to keep the pipe close to the driveshaft as there is more clearance there than outboard near the frame on my '59.
Yes a local shop did mine. It is 2 1/2". Since that pic was taken I had 2 bolt flanges installed before the mufflers and I extended the headers for better clearance (so I can easily unbolt the center section). The entire system is above the bottom of the frame.
Redrilled and resurfaced my flywheel ti accept an 11" diaphram clutch...saved me over $400 to not have to order a pressure plate to bolt up the Ford Long style bolt pattern I had.
Had a local driveshaft guy make me a new driveshaft which is 3" longer for my rebuilt 3+Overdrive transmission.
Finally got all the parts so I could rebuild my 3+overdrive toploader out of a Granada. Replaced 1st and 4th gear, counter shaft, syncros, bearings, etc.
Where are you buying your pressure plates? Any chance the redilling would affect the balance?
Was quoted by Modern Driveline for a clutch kit that would bolt directly to my flywheel $480.
I only drilled 6 equidistant holes in the flywheel, all the others were already there, not sure why, 6 for Ford style long clutch and 8 were just there not threaded or anything.
Used a locally sourced clutch kit that was $120.
So I guess the real savings was actually $360.
I have a similar fly wheel with the extra holes around the outer edge. After some researching I found out they are for Marine engines. It works fine on my engine, no problem. Is there enough clearance room in the Y bell housing for an 11" clutch? I always wondered about that but never tried fitting one.
Yes.
I have a 12" LUK diaphragm clutch that bolts to the outer holes on a Ford flywheel. I haven't installed it yet.
Some FE partial rebuild pix.
Removed the oil pan for a regasket and discovered a rod was installed backwards. Big end was out of round, and had some copper showing.
Bought an NOS rod on Ebay and ground it to match the weight of all the other rods.
Replaced the cam bearings and put a Cloyes roller timing chain in. Some machine work to use my old button retainer cam.
FYI...I LOVE your car...just so you know! I especially like the color...that one and the creamsicle orange and white that they had are my two favorites.
And it going back in.....
Thank you! I'm a bit partial myself....😀
Had to have exhaust shop make my duals. My universal kit wouldn't clear.
Ended up with 2" as 2.25" made for hanging below the frame under the rear foot well.
I polished up some 304 stainless pipe I cut out of some exhaust I'd made back 20 years ago.
The final product
so...how long do they stay shiny before the driving makes them dull out?
The exhaust tips? I've put about 500 miles on the car since I did it and no signs of discoloration or dulling.
I've used the same schedule 5, 2.3" 304L stainless pipe on a few exhaust systems and its held up extremely well.
I've had 2 cars rot away and I kept the exhaust that I built off them. These were winter beater 80s cars.
Okay...I plan on driving my Courier on a regular basis once I get it done...want an exhaust that holds up. I figure to pass Rich in miles put on after about two years or so. LOL!!! I put 60k on my truck one year after I bought it...July 30 '20 - July 30 '21... :003:
Nice work, and a very pretty car. Like Hugh, I love the color combo. Dash looks great. I'm liking these 59s a lot more than I use to.
Thank you Rich, I'm still waiting on the speaker cover plate to get painted at the body shop.
The PO had rattle canned the dash in place and it was in rough shape to say the least.
Testing 13