My '57 Ranchero build in pictures

[RICH MUISE]

funny when you think about it.....those huge motors are actually smaller cubes than what was offered in '57

[RICH MUISE]

I can't believe you got that monster exhaust manifold in there, but I worry maybe you've cut too much off the control arm bracket. Also, have you fitted a control arm on there, and the bolts?
You may want to consider swapping the exhaust man. studs for bolts. That allows for manifold  removal without pulling engine.
I thought The Mark VIII oem passenger manifold had a catalyctic converter welded to it......did you modify a driver's side manifold to get you where you're at?

[gasman826]

...cut my upper control arm mounts completely off and relocated.  Added 5 degree anti-dive.

[dmkberger]

funny when you think about it.....those huge motors are actually smaller cubes than what was offered in '57

Rich, I was talking about cubic inches around the exhaust manifold. The Drivers side has the cat attached and will be relocated about four to six inches downstream to make clearance for the rack and pinion steering shaft and bearings.
I have not made any changes to the front suspension at all, I have made sure the control arms will fit properly with the engine in and the exhaust manifolds in place. I put this thing together and take it apart and make changes and put it together again over and over till it's right. I'm retired, not by choice. I've had a couple of strokes and now I'm dealing with Leukemia and just recently I found out I have Diabetes as a bonus! Having to learn to walk and talk and read and write again is not an easy task, So I started building cars again and fired all of my therapists. My way works so much better and I have stuff to show for it!

[dmkberger]

I see you have the rack and pinion set up I intend to use on my car. When it gets to that stage of the build. Looks like I see air bags under there. Aren't you afraid of reliability issues with that set up?

[dmkberger]

Here's a shot of the engine in the car during the fitting phase.

[dmkberger]

The engine is not wearing the exhaust manifolds in that shot, but I've had this engine and trans in and out of this car a lot... I mean, A LOT!
That picture does not have the firewall mods made to accept the Lincoln air intake tubes and such and I had not done all of the grinding to remove the bad welds and bad paint from the previous owner. First I had to UN DO all of his.... how shall we put this... crap. Crap is a good word for what he did.
This picture shows some of the aforementioned "crap".
He took the fuel filler door off and threw it away. He then welded over the hole, after cutting the lip off all around the fuel door opening. Then, he filled the hole with tin and moved the filler tube to the drivers side rear of the bed, he cut the tin cover in half and he welded in a piano hinge at the wrong angle. So when you want to put gas in, you put the key in the tin you would remove to access the tail light, and then the tin opens about an inch and a half when the tin hits the bed allowing only tiny little hands to get in to turn the key on the locking gas cap and then you might be able to spray fuel at the tube.... What a horrible job to have to repair. Finding some of these parts is crazy. Some of the parts are made of unobtanium!!

[dmkberger]

This is where I am moving to after the floors and engine and transmission are all fitted

[dmkberger]

You can see in this picture that the fuel filler door mounting screw holes are there, but he cut out the part that was spot welded to this part?
So, I get to replace a good portion of the drivers side quarter which I have which includes the fuel filler door, hinge and all of the hardware.
This is what makes my days so special, cleaning up other peoples crap, before I can build the car that I want. What more could a guy ask for?

[dmkberger]

Here's the latest from the wet cold south west Arizona area I live in...
I've been fitting the steering column and finishing up the top of the floor. Then I get to move on to the right rear corner...

[dmkberger]

Gassman826,
I need to see a couple more pictures of your rack and pinion build/set up. Is that part of your build on here? That is exactly what I was looking to do. What rack is it, what car is it out of and the mounts... I need to see the mounts for the rack. It looks like a GM rack, Cavalier or something of that nature. I am hooked and need to know more!!!

[gasman826]

I think this thread will answer many questions:
http://57fordsforever.com/smf/index.php?topic=518.0

My rack is a reman from Cardone.  I found four part numbers for the same application.  I worked with a vendor that had no problem ordering each part # for my review.  I found no difference in turning radius, lock to lock or any fitment except for the configuration of the sector shaft spline.  Three of the four part #s did NOT have a readily available aftermarket compatible u-joint to connect the rack to the steering column with a double u-joint.  A small bit of the shaft needs to be cut off.  Just my experience and I'm sure others have different.  There is a rumor that Turn One will modify these racks to compensate for the increased turning radius (common Cavalier rack conversion complaint).  I can't verify this service yet.  It might save some money to acquire a used rack and send to Turn One to rebuild and add the reduced turning radius feature.

[dmkberger]

Gasman,
I have to thank you for the link. I had looked at that quite a while back when I was still suffering from the effects of the Chemo for my Leukemia. I've gotten through that for the most part.
Some days are great and some really suck, but we push on and make the best of it. I am looking to do the exact rack and pinion set up on my car, what I don't see is the drivers side mount to the frame. Is that inside or outside on the frame rail? The passenger side is clearly visible. Funny, I used to be a Tech with a GM dealership before going to a Rolls Bentley Cadillac dealership and I used to install those racks in cars under warranty, Cavaliers and all of the other J body cars.
Back to the build today until my Suburban upper control arm bushings show up. Gotta have a truck and mine's been down a week with this control arm bushing mess. Upper and lower all taken out by a leaking power steering hose... Oh well here we go! 

[gasman826]

Air Bags:  love 'em.  Great ride.  Maintains the ride height no matter the load.  Light weight.  All four bags have independent feed lines so one failure can be isolated.  If one bag fails, nothing rubs so car can still drive.

R&P pic attached:  I made the main brackets out of 6x6, 1/4" wall boxed tubing.  The Wurith-IT design used 6x6, 3/8" angle iron.  The box tubing is a much nicer looking product, has rounded corners and 1/4" is more than enough.  If I was to do it again, I would trim the brackets down and weld them on like it was part of the car and not an add-on.

[RICH MUISE]

Great info and work as usual, Gary. If you ever hear anything about Turn One actually modifying our Cavalier racks, please let us know. That's something I'd definitely be interested in.