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Ford Blue blood · 2012-03-20 17:40

and the rest of the radiator install.....plenty of room for a fan!

glen b henderson · 2012-03-21 10:32

Looking good Bill, that old core support looks like mine did before remaking it. Those guys out west don't know what they are missing do they?

57AGIN · 2012-03-21 13:43

Glen:

Oh yes we do, just not to the extent that those living East of the Rockies or where they salt the roads in the winter. That was one of the repairs I recently had to do on my 57. Obviously the rust damage was nowhere near what you need to deal with. Of course floor boards are a different matter. I think that we all have nearly the same problems with floor boards, tunnels and kick panels.

Bob
57 AGIN

Ford Blue blood · 2012-03-22 07:55

Thanks Glen. That core support came out of the Kansas car I parted. Figured to repair it one day.

That car was rusted really wierd. Frame rusted in half at the middle of the door area, front fenders ate up at the head lights and bottoms, floor and quarters completely gone except over the tank. The good, this car had a perfect hood and trunk lid, perfect splash pan, perfect doors, perfect gas tank, perfect upper grill panel and grill. Still had all it's glass. A running driving car except for the rust. All the lights still worked!

glen b henderson · 2012-03-23 08:30

Bob you must to have come to AL and took one of our parts cars back west, that looks bad! I need to figure out why I can't post pics here, but I have some over on the Y block site that shows my so called rust free west TX car. One good thing about working on a project like this is that you sure get to hone your fab and welding skills, I love it!

57AGIN · 2012-03-23 15:23

Glen:

I can't fly under false colors. A welding torch in my hands would be dangerous me and disastrous to the part I was trying to weld. LOL However, all our 57 Fords throughout the country and world (maybe excepting Saudi Arabia) are subject to the same floor board rust issues. Courtesy of the Ford engineers who developed the little rubber cowl drain tube passing through the passenger compartment. That little piece of rubber connector has caused all our grief and sent a good number of otherwise decent cars to the crusher. Oh well, other than that the Ford engineers did a pretty good job.

Bob
57 AGIN

robhaerr · 2012-03-24 10:11

...heading out to the garage to see what condition my cowl drain hose condition is in....

gasman826 · 2012-03-24 19:10

WHY?

I didn't think in rained in Southern California!!!!!!!!!!!!!

robhaerr · 2012-03-24 20:42

I do keep the car out of the rain...wipers don't work. Need to get one of those electric units.

Suppose to rain tonight/tomorrow. I live pretty close to the Auto Club Raceway in Fontana, CA...keep an eye on the NASCAR race tomorrow. If it's raining there, it's raining at my house about 7 miles to the west.

57AGIN · 2012-03-25 00:14

Gasman:

You are pretty close to right about the rain in Southern California. However, unless we never wash our 57's, we still have to worry about those little tubes.

Back in 2004, when the Fun Ford Weekend had a show & race out at the California Speedway in October. We had a gathering of twenty (20) 57 Fords and we were over 20% of the entire show & shine. It was the first show my just back on the road 57 was at. Unfortunately, it rained us out on day two of the weekend and I was forced to drive my 57 about 50 miles in a driving rain. Fortunately, my wipers worked as did my cowl drain tube. I was lucky, and my baby didn't shrink. LOL

Bob
57 AGIN

gasman826 · 2012-03-25 09:07

Quote from: robhaerr on 2012-03-24 20:42
I do keep the car out of the rain...wipers don't work. Need to get one of those electric units.

Suppose to rain tonight/tomorrow. I live pretty close to the Auto Club Raceway in Fontana, CA...keep an eye on the NASCAR race tomorrow. If it's raining there, it's raining at my house about 7 miles to the west.

I've been it some real 'trash floaters' and had more water inside than out. I changed out the OEM wiper motor for a 'cheap', aftermarket electric. It was an easy swap. It worked and parked OK but the wiper sweep was reduced and the cable/pulley system slop was still there. I modified the switch bezel and used the original knob. This time around, I am changing out the entire system and using Speciality Power Windows (SPW) wiper kit. With new transmissions, cable in tube drives, and adjustable swipe motor, this system is very smooth and quiet. A add-on intermittent upgrade is also available. I have mocked up the kit only...no windshield. I have no more water diverters, no cables and pulleys, no access panels in the firewall, and no wiper motor hanging on the firewall. All access is through the fresh air intake panel and under the dash. Unfortunately, it does require modification to the car. I would not recommend attempting an installation on a finished '57 Ford.

robhaerr · 2012-03-25 09:52

Ha...I don't wash my wagon with a hose. Did it once, noticed water pooled in the headlight bezels and figured it will be best to keep as dry as possible

Washing is now with wet microfiber clothes.

We hijacked this thread pretty well!

Rob

512Fairlane · 2012-04-06 22:15

Looking good there. Thanks for the tip on the Summit radiator. That looks like it will work will for my 5.0 swap also. Love the Clevelands. I would recommend changing that harmonic balancer though. We spun a ring off of a Cleveland balancer before. Never did find it. Of course that was on a 7800 RPM drag motor but still.

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