Building My Custom 300

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Thought I'd share some of the build photos on my Custom 300, that I bought in 1998.  Just before I purchased the car it had been painted Turquoise & White by the previous owner. Great period correct colors, but I believe not originally available from Ford.   The car came to me with a 302 small block & T-10 4-speed, and a whole lot of oh-by-the-ways.  Here's a couple of shots of the beginning.  I drove it for a year and then the 302 valve train died at 35 mph, so I began the tear down & rebuild process.  I'll only be able to do a few shots a day, as I have to go into Photoshop to resize and decrease the pixel count in order to stay within this web site limits.  I'll show before shots one day & after shots the next, just to keep things interesting.

Bob                                                                                                                                         
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Well the first attempt only got one picture posted.  Let's see if I can do better this time.

Bob
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:dumbass:

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As you can see the bad news was the very serious rusting of the floor pans, front & rear, as well as the kick panels and tunnel.  The good news is that these were the only areas that I found serious rust damage.  This being a California car, built in Long Beach, it was never subject to the really tough road conditions leading to fender and body damage (just minor surface rust in those areas.  The problem leading to the demise of the floor pans was the cowl drain rubber tube leaking over 40 plus years and the moisture collecting under the rubber floor mat. 

Here are some shots of the cause of the damage and repairs done.  The floor pans were purchased from Classic Enterprises in Wisconsin, have the original stamping equipment. The tunnel and kick panels were fabricated here at Specialized Street Rods (no longer in business).  Unfortunately, because the car had been freshly painted, just prior to being purchased, I have no idea of what other areas may have significant or serious rusting damage.  After eight years, I've only seen a couple of potential problem areas (rear splash pan and roof rain gutters on the passenger side).  I also have no idea of what kind of surface prep was done, or for that matter the type and color of paint used.  When it comes time for another paint job, I'll probably do a frame off restoration (money permitting).

Bob
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[shopratwoody]

Bob,
That must have been a job replacing the floor around finished paint to say the least. Turned out well though.
I put a lift in when I started redoing mine. It was nice to have as the guy I paid to put the floors in didn,t
weld the braces or the heat shields back in. He thought he could do it all from the top :dumbass:
I've just about re done anything that I paid to have done anyway. Body guys are the worst for sure.
Laterr, Ron 

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Ron:

Yes, it was a challenge, but I'm pleased with the outcome. 

I guess I can go ahead and do the next installment of the rebuild.  The engine bay  including the firewall, front fender wells and front part of the frame/crossmember.

When I bought the car the entire engine compartment was done in black & white speckled zylotone.  It looked like a pick-up bed with a rear engine mounted in it.  Very, Very ugly.  When the 302 engine died on me and it was in the process of being replaced, I worked on the big ugly.  Here are a couple of shots of the problems.  My next post will show the refurbished engine compartment and components.

Bob
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Here is what I changed it to, while the engine was removed.  I had the firewall , fenderwells, & battery tray mediablasted.  Then all were painted at home in my garage.  I decided to deviate from the solid white or black engine compartment and two tone it.  I think it turned out pretty good and get lots of compliments at the local car shows.

Bob

[Frankenstein57]

Do you have a number or website for classic enterprizes?how was the quality and price? thanks,Mark

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Mark:

I'm not sure how to answer your question re Classic Enterprizes, I don't believe I've ever dealt with them.  Lots of dealings with Dearborn Classics, Concours Parts, Dennis Carpenter, Macs Auto, Summit & Jegs though.

I guess the next part of the project is to show the various areas of concern when the front clip was off and the engine removed.  There are some areas that should probably be strengthened before you double or triple the original horsepower of your 57.  Specifically the cross member welds on the motor mounts, transmission crossmember and upper rear shock mounts.  I found that my 57 was probably made on a Monday or Friday, as the welds in these areas were all partial welds, at best.  They held up for over 40 years with a stock six (from the factory) and a sick 302 (when I bought it).  But, I feel a lot better now when I hit the pedal & pop the clutch. 

I shot a couple of before pictures of the partial welda and one after the fix.  I had to redo all the areas mentioned above.  Check these two sad welds out and the repair..

Bob
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The next series of shots deal with some of the the repairs, other than the welds, done while the front clip was removed.  The entire firewall & front frame got media blasted and then the steering parts were refurbished with new ball joints & tie rod ends.  I should have also rebuilt the steering gear box while everything was disassembled, but when I drove the car it didn't seem to bad.  I may still do it in the near future, but the car drives well, tracks true and holds its alignment well.  But, I sure wish I had the same muscles I had when I had my first 57, a 3700 lb car without power steering is proving to be somewhat of a challenge when parallel parking.

Bob
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There have been lots of questions and responses regarding motor mounts for fitting the small block Ford engines (289, 302, 351, & strokers) into a 57.  Before I tried to fit my 351 into the car I remembered that when I pulled the 302 out of it in 2001 the motor mount bolts were in only finger tight and the engine didn't sit quite right.  I obtained a junk 302 and checked into the mounts with the front clip removed.  I observed that the small block mounts, when bolted to the 302 would not sit flush or go far enough into the motor mount holes on the cross member.  No matter how I jockied the engine block around it just wouldn't sit down into the motor mounts.  I also wasn't thrilled with only having one bolt going into the motor mount on the cross member.  That is when I found the Butch's Rod Shop ad in a Streetrodder Magazine.  I like what I saw and decided to purchase a set.  These mounts with their lower portion a triangular shape that sits flush on the angled cross member motor mount and using two grade 8 bolts to snug the mount down works very well.  On top of the triangle sits a bushing with a rubber snubber inside it that bolts to a flat plate which bolts to the small block.  The pictures that follow say it much better.  It works great and all 400 horses are solidly mounted to the 57's motor mounts on the cross member.

There may be some differences between the original Y-block mounts on the cross member and the 6-cyl cross member mounts, because Butch's had you specify which you needed.  I understand that Butch's Rod Shop is no longer in business, but I heard that a successor business still carries these motor mounts.  They were/are both located somewhere in the Midwest.

OOPS!  Looks like my files are too large to get all the pictures of the motor mounts into this posting.  So check below and I'll do a separate posting.

Bob
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Here are a couple of comparison shots of the Butch's motor mounts vs the stock small block motor mounts.

By-the-way I hope these shots and comments aren't boring.  I know I sure learned a lot when I was going through the process and getting my 57 back on the road with a 2001, 2, 3 & 4 drive train replacing the original.

Bob
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[RAWms]

Great journal Bob!  Keep it coming.  I very much enjoy reading.   r

[shopratwoody]

Bob,
Good documentation. I don't think the 6 cyl mounts make a diff. I bolted a 427 in mine in the 60's.
It ran 11's for years with that set up. Just chained the left front down like we alll did back to keep the
mounts from breaking. Never a problem with that or the welds.
Thanks again for your efforts.
later, Ron 

BTW' it was a six cyl

[FORDNUT]

Hey Bob. I used that same mount from Butch's on a 46 Coupe streetrod I built in the early 90's. I also liked it. The only problem I had was keeping the flathead-type biscuit from deteriorating. For some reason my Windsor would beat them into submission after about 6 months. New pair and we were ready to go.

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Fordnut:

I had exactly the same problem and I thought it was due to Southern California's smog & ozone, or the 400 horses now up front.   I solved the problem by replacing all the original rubber in the Butch's mounts with polyurethane substitutes I got from Energy Suspension  (I can't remember the companies name, but if you are interested I can look it up tonight).  The new set-up won't deterioriate.

Bob
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