57 Custom 300 Body Off

[suede57ford]

Great job! Nice looking car with sensible parts and great planning.  I'm interested in how the rear suspension rides after it's finished.  Looks like you could have went with a bunch wider rear tire, which is what I'm interested in doing.

[fdlrc]

Thanks, I'll post review of rear suspension after I get some miles on it. Those tires and wheels were what fit at the time with the leaf springs. I will fit wider rear tires once the car is assembled, it certainly has crossed my mind.

By the way, I have relatives in Lubbock and get down there fairly often. With the list of cars you have, I think I know where to head for shake-down cruise! Of course by the way of Amarillo, huh Rich.

[fdlrc]

Good help is hard to find.

[rmk57]

  I like the idea of the 4 link rear but I wonder if you would get any binding when turning, like backing out of steeper driveway on to a flat road. I guess you could use rod end joints
in the front to give a little more movement if you need it. Boy, that sure opens it up for a larger rear tire.... I like it.

[fdlrc]

Binding, are you referring to the ability of the axle to have free movement up and down with no restriction? I know with the frame on stands, and the coil-overs removed, the axle has more travel than one would ever need. Unless your building a Baja racer. I did opt for longer 4-bars vs. the shorter ones used for drag racing.

[Tom S]

Binding, are you referring to the ability of the axle to have free movement up and down with no restriction?

I may be wrong but I thought he was asking about binding when one side of the axle is quite a bit higher or lower than the other.
I'd say that there is enough flex in the, I assume, polyurethane bushings, in your rod ends that that's not a problem since they aren't gonna twist but a very few degrees anyway. It's been workin' fine on these 4 bar setups for years.

[rmk57]

I may be wrong but I thought he was asking about binding when one side of the axle is quite a bit higher or lower than the other.
I'd say that there is enough flex in the, I assume, polyurethane bushings, in your rod ends that that's not a problem since they aren't gonna twist but a very few degrees anyway. It's been workin' fine on these 4 bar setups for years.

Yes, that's what I meant.

[fdlrc]

Yea, they do have the poly bushings. I know this system has been around for a long time, in many different configurations, but this will be a first for me.

[fdlrc]

Regarding rear quarter sheet metal panels: I had a miscommunication with guy that's helping me with metal work. I needed to replace rear quarters on both sides. We talked about me getting them through EMS. Well he ordered them through Mac's. They were so bad, I can't even explain. He told me he even called UPS because he thought they were damaged in shipping, but the packaging wasn't damaged. I bought the ones from EMS and what a night and day difference! I need to post this review in the parts section.

I should have taken pictures of the two but I didn't think about it.

[fdlrc]

Just got these back from Quality Plating, Yuma Colorado. They fixed two minor dents, four cracks, added one mounting tab that was missing then triple plate re-chrome. They are as good in-person as the pictures show.

Only plating shop in Colorado that I know of.

[RICH MUISE]

And what's a good grille plating nowadays running? Yuma? I'll have to google that one.

[fdlrc]

Northeast Colorado on the plains. $530 for three grill pieces, $65-hood ornament base and $165 for the three dash pieces. I had quotes of up $2000. See post where I reviewed this shop.

[RICH MUISE]

reasonable prices, thanks for posting. I had never heard of them, so very good to have a plating source in this day and age. And, yes, I had googled Yuma. Not a place you're likely to find yourself passing thru unless you're headed for nowhere.

[fdlrc]

Lower dash extension. Gen IV hangs lower that old heater box so I figure I can add my vents and gauges plus it will help hide A/C box. It will be mounted slightly toward the firewall so attachment line won't be visible.

[RICH MUISE]

That's thinking outside the box! I'll be anxious to see how it looks all painted and assembled. You're kind of a tall dude, at least next to me, I assume you checked the drop to make sure you had room for a knee or two. I did a lower extension as well, but mine are more out than down.