The 300

[Jeff Norwell]

The next step is cutting up the Z-bar to fit,Brake lines are in,fuel lines are being twisted and put on.The dash and insulation are the next to be applied as well and wire the car.The original wiring was horrible... just very old..but I have kept it to use(if possible) the male and female ends.....I am running a dealer Heater... where I live..I need it.
I did break down and buy a dual master...... safety first.... much pressure from my pal Rob,Tom the Painter and my bro in law Jeff.The pedal set up is in and works well(thanks to Fordaholich here on the board)
I have got pressure to run discs up front.. and I know it's much better stopping power... but on this car.... no..I'm sticking with drums.

[djfordmanjack]

Jeff. your 'OG Ford only' attitude will also help avoiding cheaply made aftermarket parts, that will rust and fail before you can take the car out on the first shake down ride !
engine is looking great !

[Jeff Norwell]

Jeff. your 'OG Ford only' attitude will also help avoiding cheaply made aftermarket parts, that will rust and fail before you can take the car out on the first shake down ride !
engine is looking great !

hahahaha... Thats Funny G!

[hiball3985]

Jeff. your 'OG Ford only' attitude will also help avoiding cheaply made aftermarket parts, that will rust and fail before you can take the car out on the first shake down ride !
engine is looking great !

I agree and I'm glad you are using as much Ford as possible. G forgot to mention first you have to hammer to fit, weld shut and paint to match before the after market stuff fails. I went through this when my factory FE single four barrel manifold burned through the exhaust crossover ( DAMN ETHANOL )  Replaced it with an Edlebrock that the solid lifter push rods would rub on the holes in the intake, had to remove it and open up the holes..

[hiball3985]

An after thought. I hope who ever installed the intake manifold blocked off the exhaust cross over ports. These early aluminum manifolds were very thin in that area and burn through easily.

[Jeff Norwell]

An after thought. I hope who ever installed the intake manifold blocked off the exhaust cross over ports. These early aluminum manifolds were very thin in that area and burn through easily.

A gentleman named Don Palmer built the engine..... and around here , he is the FE go to guy..... I will ask and see..... He talks about all the crappy fuel around so........

All I know..I ain't taking it apart at this time! hahaha

[hiball3985]

All the flooding in the mid west didn't kill enough corn for my satisfaction 

[gasman826]

I've considered a draft breather tube as an oil fill option.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-FE-427-428-Cobra-Shelby-Intake-Breather/333077642083?hash=item4d8cf97b63:g:dDAAAOSwWTZcXhgt&vxp=mtr

[Jeff Norwell]

Moving along.. plumbing the engine dept., Alternator Brackets being fabricated,but brake lines and fuel lines all in.... Since Ford in 57 used staples on some of their rubber anti squeak areas... on the inner fenders, my pal Rob used early Ford firewall welting instead of cheap chinese rubber.Using the existing staple holes, he tricked up some safety wire.Keep it all Ford.
The doors are all aligned and now fitting proper.

[Jeff Norwell]

So.... the only thing not Ford on this car.. is the Alternator.... why? A GM 1 wire is so less complicated and easier than Fords.(Henry Ford, forgive me) I was gonna do the small alt. in a Generator case....but, its a lot of work for not that much importance..... and as lovely as Powergens are.. too much $$$$. Again my pal Rob came up with a slick solution.Using a bracket off of a Ford piece and some home made ingenuity .... he came up with a slick and down low hidden unit.A little black paint and its good.Easy access and low... perfect.Alternators are ugly......and best to keep the crazy Uncle in the basement.A few spacers and were off to the next phase.

[suede57ford]

Things are progressing well.  Great idea with the safety wire and tool for the welting.    The alternator bracket looks OEM for the time period as well. The correct fuel filter, correct bolts, along with black dist cap and wires is a nice touch.  Everything looks like Henry might have done it himself.

[Jeff Norwell]

One thing I never noticed.. is that the Dist. cap needs to be changed out...I think Don P. used it to find TDC.... and possibly forgot to swap out a newer cap... there is a hole in the cap... (to find TDC as mentioned)...No problem.. just glad it was caught.The engine was on the dyno  when I picked it up.

[iamflashman]

I love watching this car progress.  When is it going to make it to the lonestar roundup?

[Jeff Norwell]

I Would LOVE to make it for 2020.... thinking last night.I just may forgo the paint work in the near future ..I want to really shakedown this car mechanically before applying make up.Work/Family always play into fun travel time... and the drive in an old car 1500 miles is very fun for me.I also want to visit Jay in the Boston area very soon and want the 57 to be part of that trip.

Really going to try.

[Ford Blue blood]

Jeff if the GM alternator bothers you take a look at Fords 3G.  It is two wires, the big fat one to the battery and a small skinny one to the  run terminal on the ignition switch.  I will dig out the part number for it after I hit the shop.  Basically a bolt in to replace the "one wire" which are prone to having a diode fail and slowly pull down the battery.