to get this.....

I just got back early this morning (about 3 am) from Silverhill, AL, chasing a Y block 55 Sunliner. Finally caught her - I dragged my Father-in-Law along with me for the 935 mile trek down to the Gulf coast. (we traveled 32 hours of road time in less than 48 hours of being away from home) She needs a lot of work, no doubt, but $2700 caught her, er...me,, and now I am off to rip into sheet metal. You fellas would not believe the cross member and that frame underneath, not to mention the excellent, and I mean excellent, floor panels. She is not complete - missing some interior, etc, but a good starter. A Y block is going back in her (the current 272 - I have not checked, but it does look to be original, no doubt.) The big X member on the convertible frame - if I wanted to put in an aftermarket transmisison, would that cause any problems?

I have several blocks and what look to be a good set of C heads. May go for a mild build here, but memories of a Y block mag article about Frank LaForge's 55 Suliner come to mind, complete with Jerry Christenson headers. Let the fun begin!

Dan

Daniel Jessup

Lancaster, California

aka "The Hot Rod Reverend"
check out the 1955 Ford Fairlane build at www.hotrodreverend.com

Congratulations!

Looks like you are in for a lot of Fun.

88% of original size (was 574x16) - Click to enlarge   God Bless.   Tim                           http://yblockguy.com/

350ci Y-Block FED "Elwood", 301ci Y-Block Unibody LSR "Jake", 312ci Y-Block '58 F-100, 338ci Y-Block powered Model A Tudor

tim@yblockguy.com  Visalia, California    Just west of the Sequoias

Way to go Dan,

Keep us posted with some more pics,

1957 ________________ Ford

\___((_______________))___/

(@)________V__________(@)

[________I_____I_________]

__[__]__ o_______o___[__]___



Y Blocks, The New Flathead!

A picture tells a thousand words. Keep em comin Daniel.

Hang loose and enjoy the ride.

Brisbane Australia

good on you dan & i would believe the frame underneath our utes used the sunliner chassis so i have the same x member they sure are massive & yes it is tight in the transmission area my fordo is almost shoe horned in but a later tranny with a shorter extension  housing might fit better but then you may have problems with the tailshaft over the x member.

moz. geelong victoria australia.

graduate 1980, bus, truck, car, hot rod, boat, submarine, hovercraft, hydrafoil, firetruck, mobile home, jet, helicopter, cruise ship, motorcycle, bicycle, santa's sleigh, clock, alloy bullbar, alloy fuel tank, lens, dr who's tardis, matter - anti matter warp drive buffer & y-block lover

Daniel,

           good luck with that project, looks like a handful. I have a question about the Uhaul trailor. We tried to haul a 56 4 dr. on one  a while back, and it wouldn't fit up on it. It was too wide and I think too long as well. Didn't know this till after we rented it of course. Did you have any problems concerning that?? Maybe Uhaul has a couple of differnt size trailors?

                                                                            Michael

Michael

Sandy Valley, NV

You know the paint doesnt quite match, right?

Seriously, congrats!  I am jealous - I need another project!  How did you find it?  Do you know the history (how many owners, etc?) 

The x-frame makes trans stuff really hard.  Had I known then what I know now, I would have converted to a modern trans while i had the body off.  Probably not that big a deal now, but I dont have a lift to work on the car which would really complicate things with the x-member.  Of course, the fordo works pretty well too.

BTW, I have the stainless window frame for the drivers door glass (big "L" shaped piece that goes on the window that rolls up & down) that I was going to be listing on ebay.  Let me know if you need it and maybe we can agree on a price?  Its in good shape, just needs a polish...rather have it go to someone here...

Ron Grove

Wauconda, IL

Keep posting pics on your progress, I can't wait to see it completed.

John F

Ballwin, MO

88% of original size (was 574x16) - Click to enlarge

No problem-It"l buff out 

Nice score,Oldmics

I took the photos of the car to church this morning - all the fellas were telling me what a good deal it was, etc, etc. You should have seen most (not all) of the women! Hilarious! Some of them quipped, "there's nothing left to restore..."

My mom had to chime in. She has been supportive since I was 16, getting into my first Y block. After she saw the photos I e-mailed to her, she said, "you got a good deal. people were paying more than that 25 years ago!" Go mom!

She needs some sheet metal work, no doubt - all that bondo has GOT to go. The inner fenders are in excellent shape - they are really solid, with no pitting.

Michael - About the U Haul trailer, this is the first I have rented from them. My buddy who has a 68 Charger with a real bad Hemi that Goldberg tried to buy one time (don't ask me, I don't know much about Mopars, but Mike's a good guy) was going to let me borrow his nice trailer. One of his employees dropped the thing, the eletrics all went out, etc, etc., so I had to rent one. I called ahead to double check fitment. This one was perfect. The car went on with 0 clearance issues. How old it is, I don't know. I can remember that the fella on the phone had asked me if I wanted a 1 axle or 2 axle car trailer. That may have made a difference.

I "found" this one on the Ford barn website. I have bought a few parts from people that list items on the site, but never a whole car, and never this much money. The owner said that quite a few people had e-mailed him to buy it, but no one ever called him to speak with him - evidently I was the first, so I got first dibs, and he was pretty good to me. Threw in all that he had - even a new convertible top pump, new ignition switch, a couple of extra fenders that can be repaired, etc.

rgrove - I don't need the stainless around the door windows, but I do need the actual glass channels (both pass and driv sides) that the regulators attach to. Sounds like you know a little about 55/56 convertibles. I have only helped on a 67 Mustang convertible for my brother. Question: there's jsut about no interior in this car, not even the old panels, etc. What kind of material were those rear door panels (the ones that hid the sides of the bows and doubled as armrests I guess) made of? metal? fiberboard? Looks like they would have been a few pieces to make up the whole panel.

On a different note, I have heard tell that the best replacement sheet metal to buy outside of NOS is EMS brand panels???

Daniel Jessup

Lancaster, California

aka "The Hot Rod Reverend"
check out the 1955 Ford Fairlane build at www.hotrodreverend.com