The 300

[KYBlueOval]

Jeff, very nice work sir. Been down that exact same road with my Ranchero. The black front seat that I see in the photos.......is that the seat I shipped to you?
John

[FiveSevenLiter]

Chin up Norwell, you know you are going to have fun driving it!

[Jeff Norwell]

Jeff, very nice work sir. Been down that exact same road with my Ranchero. The black front seat that I see in the photos.......is that the seat I shipped to you?
John

Yes John. it is!..... I am getting it upholstered very soon.

[Jeff Norwell]

Chin up Norwell, you know you are going to have fun driving it!

Oh .I'm not depressed in the least...I am quite happy to get this thing straighten out...... I am in a good place.... and with the help of some good friends..I have no issues........I have had some good advice Here and abroad.!

[Jeff Norwell]

The 460/C6 has left the building......

[Jeff Norwell]

A very fresh 428/4 speed is ready for installation....

[lalessi1]

Awesome work! I have never seen headers like that (love the 428), they are WAY COOL!!!. Toploader? what gear shifter are you using?

[Jeff Norwell]

Lynn.... The headers are Hedman units from 61-62.... made for a FE swap into a 57-59 Ford pass. car. Got lucky a few years ago...Never seen a set since....
As for a shifter....I was looking at a super comp 2(?) Hurst unit.... nearly fell off my chair when I saw those prices.....
But Have not made any decisions yet.

[Jeff Norwell]

Btw Lynn.. looking close on a thread you did a while back on your Transmission mount....
Plans are to use a Modified Z-Bar set up for Clutch and such.

[Jeff Norwell]

The worst area on the car was the dreaded dog leg/A pillar section... and the forward bottom area around the front windshield.I was horrible.
I had a complete parts car when i purchased this car... and that area(s) on the parts car.. were perfect.
So repairs were made.

Before ......passenger side



Drivers side ........

[Jeff Norwell]

With the old body work on before.... you would have never really seen anything... until you began to dig.... someone did a patch sleeve panel over top on the drivers side....

But.... all cleaned and replaced....
all the internal metal was cleaned as best as possible and coated in the channel areas of the A pillar and inside the affected dog leg/drain area.
Paid VERY close attention to Guenther's post on his repair work to his wagon.... that guy is fantastic.

[rmk57]

I noticed the car has the upper block off plate for the heater, so it must have been a southern car at some point. I'm wondering how it became so rusty.  Looks like it's turning really nice and will be a blast with the 428, 4-spd in there.

[Jeff Norwell]

It is a southern car Randy.I decoded the VIN plate.. was made in October of 57 at the Dallas plant..... Same plant my other 57 was made.... just a month before....
The story I got from the previous owner is that he bought the car from a Native kid...... who lived on a reservation in Iowa.... and there it stayed.
The previous owner I believe...... had this car from the mid-80's on.... so.....
Where the Native kid got it from.... no idea.

But were gonna save her! hahah

[lalessi1]

Jeff, I am using a Competition Plus on mine. The Toploader requires a 90 degree bend in the 1st/2nd actuator arm on the shifter. Hurst has 2 models (that I know of) that offer this. One 3913180 has an integral handle, the other 3915405 has a bolt on handle. I tried both, the 3180 requires a bigger hole and it does work with a small boot, the other 5405 requires a smaller hole and allows you to posistion the shifter knob where you want it. The 5405 is for a 63 Corvette and I bought a used one on eBay. I can help with the mounting plate and rods if you decide to go that way. The 3915405 is under $200 new from Summit.

[RICH MUISE]

Great stuff going on there Jeff. I gotta ask........the black and white one I saw at Bob's didn't have rust that bad, did it? Of course, I only took a quick look, but it sure looked solid.