My 56 Ford Victoria Build Thread

[Kevin54]

Hey Venture......Go to your local paint store and pick up some empty quart cans. Sherwin Williams, or even Lowes, or HD. And put your Chassis Saver in new cans if you have any on the lip of the gallon can. Then put some Saran Wrap down, then put the lids on.

If you have any of the Chassis Saver in the lip of the gallon can, and it gets a chance to dry, it is NOT coming off without destroying the can and lid. Empty unmarked cans are cheap, so I alway have a few around to store unused paint in ESPECIALLY Chassis Saver.

If you don't mind me asking, what did a gallon cost? I was getting quarts for $26 a few years back. I haven't bought any in a while though.

 

[venturesomerite]

Good tip, I'm going to pick up a can.

I believe it was 100 bucks shipped for the gal.

 

[venturesomerite]

Officially have worked on her more in the last week than the last 3 months. lol.

New brakes in the rear (still have to have the drums turned), lubed the parking cables, which are thankfully good to go now.





Flipped the chassis over and painted the top.It's getting kinda old flipping this thing around by myself.




Also painted the oil pan black. no pics though.

 

[rburke65]

Love the car. Good luck and keep pecking away on it and you will get there. I found that even if I only went to the pole barn and swept the floor, it kept me involved every day. It took me 11 years for me to do my Impala....but I got her done!

 

[venturesomerite]

Got ball joints and bump stops in.





I tried to start butting the control arm bushings in and managed to ruin one. New one on the way. tips?



also decided I didn't like the oil pan in black. So now it's gold. Gonna do the motor in this metallic gold and low gloss black. Not finished being painted yet, but you get the idea.




Also thinking with these valve covers to do them in low gloss black and the fins in the same gold the motor will be. This is obviously just a quick "will I like it" spray.

 

[venturesomerite]

I took the rear, wheels, leaf springs and drive shaft out of Vicky today.




I will be painting and re using these leaf plate/traction bar combos.



Rear ready to go in.




My current rear selection. I sold a 9" over the summer too!




Oil pan painted. Yeah. it's got it's share of dings, but I'm trying to reuse anything I can and it doesn't leak, so F it, it's good.




Valve covers masked, ready for black. Well see just how much gold comes off with the tape.....

 

[brassspike]

WOW, you've been roll'n on that thing! I'll get you the info on the wheels asap (I forgot). If you had the same width rear, I'd make you a killer deal on my brand new wheels and tires that would fit. I've decided to tub the outer wheel houses on mine...for bigger tires and wheels.
The old girl has been making me work for it this week. Doing the right side now. PITA to get things just right. I hate loads of filler!

 

[venturesomerite]

Brassspike - I was just eyeing up into the well today when I was taking the rear out, and thinking about doing the exact same thing, since I didn't realize that the inner can't get any better without moving the frame. Def let me know what you end up running and please post up some pics of what you do. (or just start a thread on your car so I can follow along!)

As for filler, don't know if you saw the pics earlier in the thread, but trust me, I know. What brand panels are you using? Also did you do any bracing before removing the rockers and ****?




Another Update:


well, a ton of the paint came off with the tape. That was a waste of time...

So I just mixed up a color that was pretty close and painted it on with a pinstripe brush. Probably just should have done this to begin with.





After. Also painted the breathers to match. Still gotta get grommets for them.

 

[brassspike]

I've cut one side out already so I'm committed....or need to be committed! I have had the metal rolled but haven't picked them up yet. Weather is bad here for a few days so it will be a while.
The good panels are from EMS. I used Mac's panels for the floor pans and they were pretty crude. They required a BUNCH of "massaging" for a good fit.
It will be a bit before I replace the tires and wheels that I have. It looks like I will be getting 2"+ from the tubb. As you see there is nice room on the inside of the wheel house so the limit will be the lip of the fender. Right now I have about a half inch to the spring. Looks good there. I'll look to see if I have a picture of it before I started the body.

 

[venturesomerite]

painted/coated some more stuff today.

I will be reusing these coil overs on some new shocks.

before



after paint and clean up




Old sliders from springs.Guess I should get some new ones....



Springs coated in chassis saver.




Traction bar/ leaf mount combos. also coated in chassis saver.

 

[brassspike]

Tires are 255 45 17's on 8" rims. they are just over 10" wide. They will fir the original wheel wells with a little left for movement. Your challenge will be fining the correct back spacing for your rear. I hope to get to 11.5 inches with the outer tubs. Guy called yesterday and said he had the metal rolled but the weather here has been really bad. Might not get to it until next week.

 

[56vette461]

WOW, just stumbled onto this thread. I'm hooked. In 1961 I was in high school and bought my first car, a 1956 Victoria 2 door hardtop. It was already faded, miss-treated and beaten up, but it was all mine. It saw a lot of time in the schools auto shop and the service bay at the station I worked at on weekends. It stayed with me through college to my first full-time job. I loved the car and wish I had it in my garage today

 

[venturesomerite]

I've been working on repairing the chassis off and on now. I have the front cross member all repaired, but not having good luck in the rear. Every time I cut a section of the chassis (just the bottom of the "box") and weld in a new peice, I run into a thin section next to it causing blow through. Just keeping on going, cutting further past till I find something good.

 

[venturesomerite]

Been quite some time since I have had a chance to work on her. Unfortunately, she shares the space with my business ****, so that takes spacial priority.

Still waiting on some parts from macs. Ordered the bolts that hold the lower a arms onto the chassis back in January, they still promise me next week everytime I talk to them. Need to find me a new source for parts, not really like Macs too much any more.


Even If I had the space, I can't put the chassis together with out them so I'm screwed either way.

 

[Elmo4895]

I like your work and think a 56 ford is neat. My first car was a 56 Mainline two door. The front x member failed in a power slide. The x member sat directly under the battery and most were rotten there.

 

[venturesomerite]

Update without much to tell.

Car has been shoved off to the side and piled on, because I don't have the room to work on it.

As she currently sits:






Parts in the "car loft" I had to cobble together out of scraps just to have somewhere to put the ****.





Here are pictures of the "****** Mount" that matches the job they did on the tunnel. I've been meaning to post pictures of it for a while now.






Went to Hershey for the first time, Not a lot of love for 56 Ford cars there, or it all got scooped up before I was there. Either way I did snag a few things. Got some side trim for the doors (back ups - Hey, it was $50 why not), got a batwing air cleaner (have always loved these! - even before they got popular again), Hard to find manual shift column piece (I have like 2 autos, been looking for one for a while) and I spent some money on literature. Basically bought everything that said 56 ford car or Victoria that was reasonably priced.

 

[Custom_Crestline]

Hey! I love mid fifties fords, and if I'm not mistaken this car has a build thread on the HAMB as well?
Did you ever get your control arm bushing problem situated? I used lithium grease and a press for mine and it went really smoothly. The hardest part was figuring out how to set up the control arm camber adjusting Rod.

 

[venturesomerite]

Yes, it's on hamb too. Havent been able to touch it in quite a while, I don't have the room to build a chassis right now. Car has **** piled all on it. No I haven't done the bushings yet.

 

[afbrian13]

Its looking good! We picked up a 61 Falcon on sunday. Running and driving, but we'vebeen working on the little things already. Keep it up!

 

[venturesomerite]

Well, sorry for those who though this was a real update. The car has been buried for a while.

I will be closing on my first home soon (fingers crossed) and my intention is to leave my other 56 ford and my 72 Nova at my mom's where they have been living since I rent and have no garage other than my workshop where I have to keep the vicky. I hope by leaving them there for a while, I can get something done on the vicky by having her be the only thing in the garage. This way I have some space to do... Something!


On a side note, I have decided against putting the FE back in, Instead I am going to sell off the FE, the top loader and the ansen bell housing to fund my (secret) new pursuit. Needless to say, I won't put it on hamb, as they wouldn't like it very much, since it has glow plugs instead of spark plugs.

 

[8man]

Wow! I just went through your post. HACK doesn't even begin to describe what someone did to that poor car. Love the 56 Fairlane and it's really cool that it's your dad's car. Keep plugging on it and remember as a friend told me "it's a journey".

 

[venturesomerite]

Wow! I just went through your post. HACK doesn't even begin to describe what someone did to that poor car. Love the 56 Fairlane and it's really cool that it's your dad's car. Keep plugging on it and remember as a friend told me "it's a journey".

Yeah, I think my dad had bought it because it was cool/cheap or both. Plus side, the bar is set pretty low for the car lol

 

[jarhead]

If you have not found out yet the rod cap shows a C6AE which means it's at least a 66, maybe 67.

The head/intake manifold design shows me it is a FE (Ford Edsel) motor. Could be a 352 all the way up to a 428. Most likely it is a 390, but need more part numbers to confirm.

Some more misc pictures of the engine/components. Any and all help I'ding what I have would be great.

 

[venturesomerite]

I believe it to be a 360 truck block with 390 goodies and crank on it.

 

[hemifalcon]

man.. as rusty and hacked together as that car is--you have to remember you're on the east coast which is likely worse than our cars in the rust belt of the Illinois/Wisconsin/Minnesota/Michigan areas with the salt. That car was likely a hot ******* when it was up and running originally--and if it was in fact going down the road--you have to imagine that there is worse "custom" work and "restoration" repairs on other vehicles.. Glad to see you're doing this right.. your skills will improve greatly as you continue along..

 

[fabjunkie]

You've got a good start on it, progress is progress. Glad to hear you're getting a new place and space to work on it. I'm in the middle of switching houses right now too and have to build another shop before I can start tearing into mine. '56 Mainline I picked up last summer. It's currently got a hipo 289/AOD from a '68 Mustang. Mine is an old hot rod too, already nosed and decked, interior done at some point. The 289/AOD is already destined for another project and the new drivetrain (not Hamb friendly either) is sitting in the donor also waiting for a tear down. I've got a lot of the same rot that needs to be addressed so don't feel lonely.

Here's mine.

 

[ez-duzit]

My 2nd car was a 1951 Ford Victoria, which I believe was their first 2-door (pillar-less) hardtop--very beautiful for its era. My 4th car, ca '60-'61, was a 1956 Ford 4-door sedan. This was head and shoulders a better car than the early flathead, with much better steering, brakes and handling, better heating and defrosting, better visibility and a much more comfortable and quiet cab. It was the only car I've driven to 120 mph, about 20 mph more than the factory claimed for top end.

These were really nice cars, in those days.

 

[venturesomerite]

Fabjunkie, that's a good start there. The nose/deck looks good on it, and I like the simple trim. You don't see that a lot. You see a lot of the airline trim.


Ez-duzit, that 120 must have been a white knuckle ride!

 

[venturesomerite]

so no update, still collecting parts... when I can. Project is not dead, will never be, but will always move as slow as 2 degree molasses.

I still haven't even moved my tools to my garage at my new house. Garage is just piled full of stuff for temporary storage. I do have my spare chassis at the house, I'm going to try and get a roller going over the winter.

 

[venturesomerite]

no, the project isn't dead.


Been working on the chassis. Still ordering misc BS as I find that I either lost it, or forgot to order it.

Hoping for a roller by spring. Rebuild motor and trans over summer. Start on body in winter.

 

[Badhabit]

We need a "like" button

H

 

[venturesomerite]

 

[venturesomerite]

I've been working on the front end lately. Finally finished painting most of the parts. Started putting it all together.






I'm now also going to seriously think about changing over to a power steering box because I was taking some bolts off the old chassis, and finally noticed THIS on the steering box:




Someone took it upon themselves to make more room for the exhuast manifolds. Oh when will this **** end....

 

[My Old Tools]

Here's a bit of inspiration. Minter knows Fords
https://www.amosminter.com/Minter_Fords_For_Sale.html

 

[C_F]

Just spotted your thread...cool project!

 

[venturesomerite]

Just spotted your thread...cool project!

Thanks! It has been/ still is a bear

 

[mikhett]

Great Job,Brian I'm also restoring a 56 Victoria.Check my profile "Mikhett" on the HAMB.PICS ARE IN MY PROFILE.MIKE

 

[venturesomerite]

Great Job,Brian I'm also restoring a 56 Victoria.Check my profile "Mikhett" on the HAMB.PICS ARE IN MY PROFILE.MIKE

Looks good, I wish my car body was that far along! I have a thread over there too.

 

[wrenchr]

I've been working on the front end lately. Finally finished painting most of the parts. Started putting it all together.






I'm now also going to seriously think about changing over to a power steering box because I was taking some bolts off the old chassis, and finally noticed THIS on the steering box:




Someone took it upon themselves to make more room for the exhuast manifolds. Oh when will this **** end....

Feel your pain, my f100 had lots of **** to be gone through. Cars that old have more than likely been through a lot of owners and their short cuts.

 

[41ratrod]

Project looking good have you gotten anything done lately ?