1957 country sedan build

[RICH MUISE]

I used ss line clamps. A neat cheap tool that will get the job done quickly (as far as clamping) is the combination drill and tap from Harbor Freight. A variable speed drill and some tapping fluid are a must. I don't really see a need for the rubber.....think down the road 10 years when the rubber is old and hard. A solid clamp every few feet is going to keep it secure to the frame.
A pic I took yesterday shows one of the mentioned line clamps. It's just below the flex line bracket. Sorry for all the dirt...it use to be sooo pretty under there, lol. Yes, my lines are moved to in front of the control arm for the disc brake conversion.

[KYBlueOval]

Rich.........What Car or Truck did the Windshield Washer Tank come from?  And as long as I'm asking questions, what did you use for the Nozzles? Photo of the Nozzles?
Thanks
John

[1930artdeco]

"The reason for the cracked lower A arm might be loose shafts in the frame. inspect those areas closely on the front and engine crossmembers. there are some reinforcement brackets welded to the crossmembers and those welds might have broken loose from an impact, sloppy factory welding or simply decades of abuse. I had to reweld several of these on my Del Rio frame."


Guenter,

I found a small square piece where the front lower bolt goes through the frame to be totally loose. Is this piece that you are referring to that needs to be rewelded? Also, the front lower bolts both have half round washers behind the bolt heads. Are these just spacers for alignment?

Thanks,

Mike

[Rancher]

That probably can be done. but come to think of it. Ford used a sort of 'interlock' process on welding their frames. there are certain slots and tabs, that would join, and with tabs twisted. would hold things together before the frame got on the welding jig. There could be certain areas in the frame rails, that have internal sort of bulkhead plates, that were used for the interloc process. That said they could possibly block the passage for your brake line routing.

Hello all,

I'm the new guy, blowing the dust off of his long-stalled project, '57 Ranchero. Since I'm almost on the same page this might be as good a place as any to land.

I thought one of the first things I should do is "plumb" a new fuel supply to eliminate the 35 feet of hose that some long forgotten "mechanic" installed.

The irony is that the original tube is still in place and looks to be in good condition. However, I didn't want to start out with fuel problems on the shakedown/evaluation run, so I decided to install another, for now at least.

Anyway, I will second that definitely it's not possible to route tube through the frame. As DJ describes, there are "flags" of steel inside the side-rails that can't be passed.

I'll also second that it would be very difficult in one run to follow the OE tube's  path while body is on the frame; that's a tough crossover and turn just ahead of the rear tire.

I thought about routing the tube on the outside of the frame further back, to the axle "hump," and then crossing to the inside. I decided that in the event of a tire failure it'd be better not to have the gasoline line within the wheel well.

Finally, the new temporary line follows approximately the original but with a more gentle angled crossover. The tube is ZipTie anchored for now.. I'll tidy that up later, or use the OE tube again,  but wanted to get a test drive in.

Glad to meet y'all.

[RICH MUISE]

Rancher..welcome. I'd recommend starting your own build thread. It keeps things less cluttered and easier to find. For some reason I thought you were from Sweeden??
John.....the washer assembly is from a 2000ish Mustang. Has the built in pump and only a small part of the filler neck sticks thru the fenderwell. Makes for an easy and neat install. It was part of getting my steering column fully functional. For nozzles I used a set of repops made for Chevy headlights. I forget the model Chevy it was made for. I'll get some pics tomorrow unless I can find them already posted here.

[mustang6984]

Rancher...welcome to the House of Nuts...we're all harmless...and some here are pretty brilliant in a crazy sort of way.    Enjoy! 

Oh...where do you get mail?

[djfordmanjack]

Mike, I don't think any of the lower A arm (bolt) washers are for alignment. all alignment seems to be done with the upper A arm only.
yes the rectangular plate is originally welded to the frame crossmember, you should be able to see the old tack welds.

"The reason for the cracked lower A arm might be loose shafts in the frame. inspect those areas closely on the front and engine crossmembers. there are some reinforcement brackets welded to the crossmembers and those welds might have broken loose from an impact, sloppy factory welding or simply decades of abuse. I had to reweld several of these on my Del Rio frame."


Guenter,

I found a small square piece where the front lower bolt goes through the frame to be totally loose. Is this piece that you are referring to that needs to be rewelded? Also, the front lower bolts both have half round washers behind the bolt heads. Are these just spacers for alignment?

Thanks,

Mike

[djfordmanjack]

this is the only pic I have.

[djfordmanjack]

sorry for the poor pics, but these are the rectangular reinforcement plates that are spot welded to each side of the crossmember. usually coming loose with front suspension impact.

[1930artdeco]

Thanks Guenter,

I figured that those were the pieces. Looks like it is grinding time! Then I will tig them back on. It doesn't surprise me they broke off, what with what this car has gone through. I discovered that the NOS lower ball joints won't mate up because the lower arms are beat up just enough they won't mount. So I will have to heat them up a tad and reform the area where the ball joint goes.

Mike

[1930artdeco]

Finally an update. I got the front brake line installed yesterday. Well at least mocked up and in. I need to clean the little brass junction block and install that. Working on the rear lines now. I like this NiCop stuff.

All ball joints are out and one lower arm is going into the shop this weekend to get welded up. Then off to the blaster and paint. Then new bushings and ball joints are going in. So, hoping that in a few weeks she will have a front suspension again🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉.

Mike

[1930artdeco]

Ok! Got the rear shocks in and have figured out how route the fuel and brake lines. There is a spot behind where they are supposed to go between the body and frame where I can route them. I will just have to make up a support for them. Other than that, they will follow the regular path.

Still trying to figure out how much to grind down an Allen key so that I can drain the diff. The rear brake line is mocked up and ready to be installed after I sonic the brass brake parts. Also, got my springs in and they are about an inch shorter than the originals. But they appear to be beefier coils and should not collapse when I stuff an engine in. So by the end of the month I hope to have the front suspension installed🎉🎉🎉🎉.

Mike

[Ford Blue blood]

I made a tool to get at the drain plug.  My local ACE has a nice rack of steel, bought the right size square stock and stuffed a short part into a twelve point socket.  Just need to round the edges slightly for a good fit.

[gasman826]

SNAP-ON PPM410  3/8 drive 5/16" external plug drive, four point

https://www.ebay.com/itm/392994826118?hash=item5b80512786:g:vLAAAOSwb~RfmdCB

[terry_208]

Just a tid bit of info:  IIRC, years ago the military used 5/16 drive sockets it the hope that Sm's wouldn't steel the tools.  Seems like my dad p/u a set at an auction and offered them to me but being young a foolish I didn't see a need for something odd like that.