Stooge's Longer term car projects, Part 2

[Kev442]

I understand sleeping on it, it's not chump change. It is OBO, so he threw it at the wall to see what would stick IMO. In a week he will accept a lower offer no doubt.
I personally think they are what seperates your ride from the much more common business coupes, I've said before the jump seats are very neat!

 

[Bob Heine]

I'll be thinking it over until theyre sold so i can kick myself later for not acting on them

Dan, the ad says $500 or best offer. Figure out what's in your toy money piggy bank and make that your best offer. If you don't get it at least you tried.

 

[Stooge]

I understand sleeping on it, it's not chump change. It is OBO, so he threw it at the wall to see what would stick IMO. In a week he will accept a lower offer no doubt.
I personally think they are what seperates your ride from the much more common business coupes, I've said before the jump seats are very neat!

Dan, the ad says $500 or best offer. Figure out what's in your toy money piggy bank and make that your best offer. If you don't get it at least you tried.

Well it sounds like i bought a pair of fold down 84yr old opera seats from Wisconsin today! Made an offer of $400, seperate from shipping costs,i might have been able to offer a little less, but i didnt want to be insulting or **** around back and fourth, and ill prepay the fastenal shipping, which im guessing will be in the $125 range. It was an unexpected expense, i can swing it and really, the $500ish dollars is a drop in the bucket in the overall car, and will add alot to it over just having a covered piece of plywood seperating the trunk from cabin. I dont know what i'll do yet for the surrounding space, but that stuff can wait.
This car's sneakily getting nicer and nicer!

 

[xtremek]

I like them and think you made a really good purchase, not that my opinion matters.

 

[Kev442]

Awesome!
I think they are as much of the go fast idea of the Century as the big engine. I used to go to a lot of car shows and have never seen a GM jump seat coupe.

 

[Bob Heine]

Dan, that's great news. Rumble seats are cool but those jump seats are in another league. I didn't even know they existed.

 

[Stooge]

I definitely agree, and it is one of the special things about this car, and im trying to do it right'ish, so getting the rear seats, even if they wont match at first, is a good get. i sent off a request to fastenal this morning, so hopefully i'll hear back soon since it sounds like the seller has them all packed up on a skid, ready to go!
i was trying to make some sense of how they are supposed to mount, based off of the pictures from the ad, but theres not much back there. I found a small picture in the service manual without the side cushion mounted and unupholstered backing, and it looks like it was just mounted to some wood, so i'll do some research and see if i can find some coupe restoration pictures to see how they did it.


I went to see how the header looked after a few days of drying and was thinking of taking a torch to cure them, BUT instead the paint decided to wrinkle in a few spots and peel off, so im taking that as a sign that they should be polished ceramic powder coat, along with the exterior of the not-yet-built intake, to match. Not sure what happened with the eastwood paint, i had scuffed it up to give it a better grab, cleaned it with acetone then wax and grease cleaner, and was wearing rubber gloves handling the header. its not staying, but its annoying







Since i had the stuff for the doors, i got the latches freed up and got both doors' interior and exterior handles working, though i need to find or make another pull rod for the passenger side. i switched the door lock to driver side rather than the factory passenger side, but i would like to find some handles in nicer shape. these are pretty pitted and the chrome is flaking off and can be pretty sharp.







I didnt have any screws that would fit the door catch on the body door sill, but thankfully whoever completely blew this car apart, almost obsessively went through and bagged and labelled every nut, bolt and washer, and after going through some of the mail crates that came with the car, i found what i needed. Alot of the bags and envelopes seem have gotten damaged over the years and theres alot of loose screws and shredded envelopes, but its handy to have.






This is the worst box, some of the other ones are pretty neat looking with the envelopes intact and in bags


Some shiny block huggers for the plymouth. The heads on the new engine had been ported and polished quite a bit, so the old headers would have blocked a portion of the exhaust port.


And pulled the door off to finish up the repairs on the door sill, and fix some old repairs on the door itself. Then changing the out of place, welded in license plate box to a recessed in style, and changing the taillights from some some teardrop ones, to frenched in buckets. im not sure what they are supposed to be out of of, i think he bought them from speedway. but they should look good

 

[xtremek]

Bummer on the header. Lesson learned.

 

[Kev442]

I haven't decided if all that bagging was to assist in parting it out or restoring it by the guy who did it. Considering the amount of the car missing, I've been leaning towards parts.

Plymouth looks pretty good for a bondo queen. Mine's gonna be a bondo queen too, so hopefully it looks straight.

After seeing the header in black, I'm thinking shiny is better?

And the Milwaukee area coughs up another, not the same city as your seats though...

1938 cadillac coupe - auto parts - by owner - vehicle automotive sale

1938 cadillac coupe, no motor, no title just bill of sale. Body came from out west. Buick front clip. Body is sitting on a 1940 Olds frame. Great project hot rod, very little rust. Missing trunk...

milwaukee.craigslist.org

 

[Stooge]

Bummer on the header. Lesson learned.

Yup, i think with a painted engine (it will obviously get painted) it would have looked fine, but its going to one of the cool, special things on the car, so i'll be pursuing getting a polished ceramic coat like hop yard was showing his stuff was done in. having the intake and header match and be shiny against the black car should look cool enough

I haven't decided if all that bagging was to assist in parting it out or restoring it by the guy who did it. Considering the amount of the car missing, I've been leaning towards parts.

Plymouth looks pretty good for a bondo queen. Mine's gonna be a bondo queen too, so hopefully it looks straight.

After seeing the header in black, I'm thinking shiny is better?

And the Milwaukee area coughs up another, not the same city as your seats though...

1938 cadillac coupe - auto parts - by owner - vehicle automotive sale

1938 cadillac coupe, no motor, no title just bill of sale. Body came from out west. Buick front clip. Body is sitting on a 1940 Olds frame. Great project hot rod, very little rust. Missing trunk...

milwaukee.craigslist.org

i hadnt really thought about this much, i was kind of just assuming someone completely/ lovingly/ crazily disassembled it, project stalled and someone else decided to sell it all. BUT looking at some of the early pictures i have when i brought it home and there were still price tags on everything, it certainly seems to match the handwriting of the envelopes, so there goes that theory! Kind of curious what lead to it being completely taken apart, and maybe sometime in the future, i'd be a little interested in finding some history on the car if i can, but mostly im wondering who the person was, who bought a somewhat sporty, semi luxury car new.


Hard to read the labels, but the 37 Buick certainly looks similar to the hardware envelopes a few posts up





I made a thread over in the pre war Buick group on the AACA forums, and was not disappointed. Someone just sent over a handful of very helpful pictures, that makes this make alot more sense on where it should mount, what they mount to, etc. Just a wooden board as a backing, so that easy enough. The owner of the plymouth is a construction contractor, so i'll get grab him sometime and make something up . The Plymouth's condition i think is what makes it kind of fun, it doesnt have to be perfect, its just an old hot rod for an longtime hot rodder, so anything i do fixing the body up, can only be an improvement. Making some fixes on the doors next since i have it off the car and on a body stand

 

[xtremek]

I so love your updates, you and Kev's. They're real projects, something I can relate to.

 

[Stooge]

Took an early lunch at work yesterday and went to Fastenal to pick up the seats. $210 to ship them from Wisconsin to a little outside of Boston, and took about 6 business days , (Thursday to Friday) so not bad, and im in $610, and im pretty happy to have them. one of the fold down seats is missing the support leg/ actuating lever for the latch, Not a big deal now, since i dont see them being used really, but its something im going to look for. Fortunately the inner latch mechanism in there, but the leg is missing. its simple looking, so if it came down to it, i could probably cobble something together for the interim. I'll message the seller this morning and see if he has it, but i doubt it. i need to drag some big sheets of cardboard home to make a template for the seat boxes to sit in before cutting it out of plywood, im guessing atleast 5/8". will also have to weld in some floor brackets to support the bottom of the wood board, and maybe some sort of reinforcement pad/ catch on the floor, for the leg to sit in so its not just sheetmetal, (the guy who forwarded me pictures of the un-upholstered rear seats ,mentioned doing this). Im going to try and do that sooner than later so i can get them figured out and bring them home away from sparks and soot. A few little tears here and there, but upholstery can be a down the road thing to pick away at, after its running and driving.

 

[Kev442]

Love them. I would be begging to ride in the back seat.
They'll even be decent road noise insulation.

 

[Bighead38]

Jump seats are too cool. I’ve never seen them before.

 

[Stooge]

Love them. I would be begging to ride in the back seat.
They'll even be decent road noise insulation.

That was a big one, cutting down on noise inside that big tin box. i've been planning on using some sort of plain black dynamat alternative so theres the foil and emblems since i figured the inner walls would be exposed. I still plan on using it, probably this stuff https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BKKZ1AM/?tag=atomicindus08-20 . i think i used noirco in the white truck's dash and maybe doors when i ran out of fatmat. I was looking for fabrics to see what would be close to the seats, and fit the budget, and came across this guy on ebay who makes headliners for cars from the 30's through the 70's, and for what seems pretty cheap, $295 https://www.ebay.com/itm/224477111017?hash=item3443e0e2e9:g:4akAAOSwVrta4aLM so maybe i'll try and see if i can swing the headliner and fabric for the seat mounting board at the same time so they match. There will still be some bare spots around, but for the most part would look more finished. Not a high priority, but something to keep in the back of the head. $300 for just the headliner would be worth it i think, even if it wasnt a perfect, reproduction one, as long as it fit'ish.
I dont know if i would trust my size on those little seats, though they are a little bigger than i was expecting, im probably goign to have to borrow someones kid to test them out! I checked what i had for plywood, about a sheet and a half of 1/2" and a sheet of 1/2" mdf, and realistically, probably too thin for my purposes. i was talking to a buddy this morning, and he said he thinks he has a sheet of 3/4" and the owner of the plymouth , (owns a construction/ contracting business) is checking his stock, before i go spend however much a sheet of plywood is these days!

Jump seats are too cool. I’ve never seen them before.

Thanks! Before delving into these prewar buicks, i had never seen them either. Really glad i decided to scoop them up, and even if they dont really get used, they are really cool and add alot to the car.

 

[xtremek]

Fabbing the missing leg looks like it should be very simple to make. Very nice score.

 

[Kev442]

I find this '37 Chevy Deluxe floor pan completely baffling. They dished it out, then had to put a pumpkin bump in it. What's up with the big curved dip and the toe board they had to crawl over? Weird.

 

[driftpin]

Thanks! Before delving into these prewar buicks, i had never seen them either. Really glad i decided to scoop them up, and even if they dont really get used, they are really cool and add alot to the car.

I used to live where Checkers were manufactured, I used to drive past the test track occasionally on my way through the city, from outside. Checkers had jump seats into the 1960's that I knew-of. Yes, I agree 3/4" plywood sounds like a better choice. Do you think you need a more-stout metal seat support 'stick?'

 

[Stooge]

I find this '37 Chevy Deluxe floor pan completely baffling. They dished it out, then had to put a pumpkin bump in it. What's up with the big curved dip and the toe board they had to crawl over? Weird.

Looks slightly similar to what was left of the buick's floor when i got it. Not exactly sure what the little curved step is for, its right before where the frame kicks up a bit for the rear end, (you can see the angled sides that are there to clear the frame near the wheel tubs) I stayed pretty close to the shape of the original floor and made a new curved step piece

I used to live where Checkers were manufactured, I used to drive past the test track occasionally on my way through the city, from outside. Checkers had jump seats into the 1960's that I knew-of. Yes, I agree 3/4" plywood sounds like a better choice. Do you think you need a more-stout metal seat support 'stick?'

Im not sure about the thicker seat post piece, i was thinking a piece of stainless rod the same diameter as the one that i have, and make, then weld the block/ pivot end to it. The rod isnt what im partivularly worried about strength wise, the fold down seat portion that you sit on is pretty small and is just a slightly flimsy wood core. Im guessing it will be pretty seldomly/ never used so it should do its job.

Made a big cardboard template for the trunk divider and seat tin cans, acquired some 3/4" sanded (from a shipping crate cause this is a high end build) and i had already decided to make it in 2 seperate pieces so it could clear some factory bracing on the sides.







Still nedd to some trimming and sanding, and i need to bevel some of the rear facing sides so it can **** up against inner sheet metal a big better, but its getting there. Theres a threaded bracket on the backside of the seat can so ill make some accompanying brackets on the floor to secure them, and some threaded inserts in the wood to match the factory brackets. Both the seat board and the side cushions will move back atleast an inch from where they are now.











Probably not much progress this weekend, a new dog is staying over the weekend and i dont know how she is being left alone much in a new place

Georgia

 

[Bighead38]

Cool pup.

I love those jump seats so much.

 

[xtremek]

It's going to look really cool. I'm kind of giddy for you.

 

[bugnut]

CAD for seats Awesome work!

Checkers? Jumpseats oh heavens yes. I sat on one many a mile! Family of 7 dad loved Checkers! Had one from 1966 till just before he passed in 2015. He swore by them! Bought a couple new, picked them up in Kalamazoo.

and we now return to our regular programming

 

[BORING HOP YARD]

Great work, and that's a good looking pup.

 

[Kev442]

I should have known those seats were going to be fitted pronto!

You probably still got more done this weekend dogsitting. I carefully transferred my measurements from the mocked up frame to the good frame and it still didn't come out right. Need to adjust which is going to be very time consuming.
Oh well, I present my engine mostly installed. Looks like a major firewall notching is in my future too.

 

[xtremek]

Kev, I don't think there's an inch of clearance between the firewall and the distributor in the Girlfriend.

 

[Stooge]

It's going to look really cool. I'm kind of giddy for you.

I am too! its still a ways away i think, but ive been looking at headliners and materials this weekend, and trying to figure out a way to cover the backboard in a way that i cant screw it up too badly. there's still some material in the seat bucket to try and copy, how they did it before. It doesnt have to be perfect, i just dont want it to be too obviously ******

Thanks guys! Its coming together a little quicker than i was expecting, but i still need to get the right hardware, and do a little more before i can get it home and out of harms way. I need to hog out the recesses in the top of the wood/ seat for the latches, and make the new rod, and figure out how the side cushions mount at the top, since they are just ziptied in place currently.
I got a little bit more done last night and sweated my *** off inside the car, making adjustments and marking holes and even got the passenger side functioning, though i didnt test it out since the buckets are not screwed in yet. Used the hammer in threaded inserts for the factory board to car body mounting holes, and i'll make some new brackets to accept the factory threaded brackets on the backside of the seat buckets, so still a good bit to do before i can get them out of there.









I dont know if this will work, but a little 10second clip of it working

The dog went home yesterday afternoon, and was probably one of the easiest dogs i've ever had stay over. Theres a big state park about a minute or 2 down the street, and the city dogs, ( my buddy the dog walker works in South Boston) always seem to like it there





Kev, that ***** about the measurements being off, are the engine frame mounts welded in already, hard to tell from the picture of it they are just in place. That is suuper close to the firewall! My truck firewall has a pretty generous factory engine clearance, but when the engine got lifted up with the lifted crossmember, i really should have opened it up a bit. Hard to get a distributor in and out, hard to get the drill in place to prime the oil pump, hard to do everything on that car!

 

[Kev442]

No, nothing got final welded. As it sits, I have a driver side exhaust manifold problem, which was not there on the test frame. It's a small adjustment at the motor plate needed that will rotate the whole engine.
1/8-1/4" down there might translate to 1/2" more gap where I need it. I started messing with shim washers to figure it out Sunday afternoon but ran out of time. As for the firewall, the distributor is touching right now (switching to HEI makes it worse) and with the crazy factory tilt to the engine I need more tilt. Olds actually had an angled intake manifold to have the carb sit level, I'm going to compensate using big and little tires.
You reallly gotta like the '61-'64 Olds to keep them on the road, they are a nightmare to modernize the drivetrain. Many people get a specially adapted TH400 ($$$) to solve the Roto 10 transmission issue and keep the 394, but even the motor and transmission mounts are hard to find these days.

 

[lardy1]

You're coming along very nicely on the Buick. I haven't commented in awhile but I ran across this article you may like about the straight 8 Buick engine. Nothing technical.

Every Spark Sets off a Cyclone: Inside the 1931-53 Buick Straight Eight

Along with Packard, Buick was one of the two leading proponents of the straight-eight engine in America.

www.macsmotorcitygarage.com

 

[Stooge]

You're coming along very nicely on the Buick. I haven't commented in awhile but I ran across this article you may like about the straight 8 Buick engine. Nothing technical.

Every Spark Sets off a Cyclone: Inside the 1931-53 Buick Straight Eight

Along with Packard, Buick was one of the two leading proponents of the straight-eight engine in America.

www.macsmotorcitygarage.com

Hey thanks for sharing, thats a nice little article!

Not a ton going on this weekend, i think i started to irritate my slipped discs last week, (i still havent pinpointed what i did, i noticed some sudden back pain walking out of a grocery store?). It doesnt really hurt and i can stand fine, but i've been taking it easy as a precaution the last few days sort of.

Im waiting on some materials i ordered, mostly some odd sized tubing, and since i just needed some little chunks of it, i used onlinemetals.com, i've used them before when i just need something small, but its pretty convenient since it usually gets to me next day. some small 1/8" wall, .5"x 1.5" 304 stainless rectangular tubing is on its way to make the new seat handle bracket, (it seemed like the best way to do replicate a really tight, and square bend in such a small area, but i did get a polished 1/4" stainless rod and had a little piece of 1/4" 304 plate and cobbled out the sort of toothed/ sprocket head for the seat mechanism. Im still fiddling with it a bit with some files to clean up the teeth, but it works and actuates the mechanism in the seat. Stainless because its supposed to be polished/ chrome and the likelihood of me paying to get them chromed when i get the bumpers chromed, is very slim, but i can polish these up if i want.



Not much experience in stainless tig, and its pretty small with big clumsy hands, but i knew it would be sanded down eventually.







Played with the plymouth door for a bit saturday and started hemming the backside, and made a die for the corking tool i bought from Cornfield Customs awhile back, which uses a UHMW poly block thats held in place in a striking handle. And started cleaning up the backside where the new metal meets the old stuff.








And since i scrapped the 4 carb intake plan in lieu of a dual primary carb intake, i made a little cardboard template to get some measurements for materials. the carb spacing on the cardboard isnt where they are going, i just needed to make sure the width was correct for the base. I've been talking myself in and out of buying the new carbs now so i can finish the intake, and not really need the carbs for awhile, or wait until im closer to starting the engine. Im leaning towards getting them sooner than later since i need to set up the pedal and linkages, but they are $500 a piece so its taking some convincing!



Im also redoing the rear of the plymouth for the taillights and license plate box. I dont think i have a good before picture of the license plate box, but instead of being sunken in and flush, it protruded outwards, (like as if it was put in backwards). it was all covered in dynamat, and this was done by a previous owner, but here is the backside of the license box. looks like parts of the original trunk/ handle were just completely covered, and it was all slathered in bondo.





And while ive been taking it easy this week, i was playing with my new jigsaw and the scrap cut out pieces from the buick's seat project and broke out the paints. i think this should work?

 

[Bob Heine]

Dan, is there something unique about the two-barrels you plan to use? I had to buy a base on eBay to have matching bellcranks for my dual 2-barrel setup but I found a 94 Holley clone on Amazon. It's a 1939-1953 Ford or Mercury flathead 94 carb for a less than $200 (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08F2G6RNP/?tag=atomicindus08-20)

 

[Stooge]

Dan, is there something unique about the two-barrels you plan to use? I had to buy a base on eBay to have matching bellcranks for my dual 2-barrel setup but I found a 94 Holley clone on Amazon. It's a 1939-1953 Ford or Mercury flathead 94 carb for a less than $200 (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08F2G6RNP/?tag=atomicindus08-20)

Nothing too particularly special that i need. From my reading and talking with people smarter than I, it seems like the trick is using 2 matching, primary carburetors over the compound progressive primary and a secondary from the factory, so im looking at using Stromberg Big Primary 97's they came out with a few yrs ago. The price im fine with, i just hate having stuff sit around and collect dust where they wont be touched for a bit, and after i juse them to set up the intake, linkages and pedal, they'll go back in the boxes for a few months. But i need them, and its either pay for them now or pay for them later, so i'll probably buy them sometime in the next few weeks, and i know im going to want to see them on the intake when i get that sorted! https://www.stromberg-97.com/product-index/stromberg-big97/?cat=big-97

 

[xtremek]

Looks like some good progress, your back considered.

 

[Kev442]

Kinda neat to see the Plymouth worked on after all these years. A good change of pace too, along with the artwork.
As opposed to me staring and cussing at the same drive train for over three weekends now!

 

[Stooge]

i tried to keep busy on my long weekend! I swapped over the new carburetor and distributor and i put new plugs in the white truck, a little anticlimactic where it started up first try, but thats alot nicer than having to start chasing things, especially where those plugs are a huge pain to get to. I need to charge up an extra battery to set timing since the battery is way out back under the bed out of reach from the timing light. I think i want to spruce up under the hood a bit, get rid of that cheesy flex radiator hose that i've been putting off changing for a decade, maybe paint the engine black, repaint the valve covers, and change a few other things. The Bowler transmission Tru-shift bracket doesnt fit the new carb linkage very well, so i'll need to poke around and figure that out sometime.

2021-07-19_06-44-35 by Dan Haas, on Flickr

Started to make the rest of the buick seat handle piece that was missing. I figured the likelihood of making a tight enough bend to match the factory bracket was pretty slim, so i found a piece of .5 x 1.5 x .125 stainless rectangular tubing to start with
20210717_111328 by Dan Haas, on Flickr

20210717_111400 by Dan Haas, on Flickr

covered the original bracket in a few layers of tape and used a razor blade to trim it out to make a template

20210717_113657 by Dan Haas, on Flickr

20210717_114247 by Dan Haas, on Flickr

20210717_114526 by Dan Haas, on Flickr

A few die grinders, some heat, a hammer and a vise later, i had this
20210717_123836 by Dan Haas, on Flickr

I left it a little rough so it can be sanded and polished at some point in the future.

20210717_141614 by Dan Haas, on Flickr

Stock, the handle was riveted in place in the bracket, I'll probably either try and use some close/ correct'ish looking hardware so its removable just in case theres a reason to take it apart.

20210717_141657 by Dan Haas, on Flickr

20210717_142720 by Dan Haas, on Flickr

(the floor started to show some rust from me sweating so much in the car setting the seats up!)

20210717_144204 by Dan Haas, on Flickr

20210717_144034 by Dan Haas, on Flickr

And made a little more progress on the Plymouth's door, just a first pass and i have some planishing to do and finish the folded edges, but its alot cleaner than the half a dozen pieces of old piled on pieces there before
20210718_112249 by Dan Haas, on Flickr

2021-07-19_07-06-31 by Dan Haas, on Flickr

And started mapping out the new license plate box. Its probably about 1.5" narrower, and atleast .5" shorter than what came out, so i'll need to make some new surrounding filler pieces. Sort of arbitrary measurements trying to find a center point since i was basing half of them off of bondo'd body lines, but just trying to make sure its not glaringly off center

2021-07-19_07-07-29 by Dan Haas, on Flickr

And saw this yesterday, seemed a little too specific!

20210718_150811 by Dan Haas, on Flickr

 

[BORING HOP YARD]

Nice update! I look forward to you driving your truck around when ever you want to. Your making good progress on the Plymouth's metal work. Its going to be a nice one for sure.

 

[stinkity stoink]

Great work on the bracket. Keep at it !!

 

[xtremek]

So is the pick up pretty much ready for cruising? The jump seats are coming along nicely, and so is the Plymouth.

 

[Stooge]

Thanks fellas, i really appreciate it, and i have to admit that im pretty pleased with how the bracket and handle/ the seat project in general is coming out, especially considering theres not much money into it, and the work hasnt been too tedious really.

The truck doesnt have any rear springs/ shocks in it currently. im sort of dragging my feet on it since ideally, i would like to weld in new lower shock brackets, but i dont have juice in the home garage to crank up a welder for it. im trying to convince myself to just pull the rear and bring it to the other shop to weld them in. The current lower brackets would work, but i would like to reposition them and move them a little higher up, but the difference would be a few inches and i'd like to just buy the new coilovers once.

Theres also been rumors about a certain 460 big block and a C6 being finished and coming home to meet the Edsel soon! Sounds like the transmission is done, and that he's re-assembling the engine. My buddy who owns the car sort of put it on the back burner the last yr with pandemic finances not being certain, but with stuff going back to normal, he's alloting a couple grand to get the ball rolling again. I think he's mostly paid up to the engine builder, and wants to check off a few of the essentials to get the engine situated. Distributor, plugs, wires, carburetor, trying to find some exhaust manifolds that will fit, shifter and trying to find a suitable gas tank should make quick work of a couple grand!

 

[BORING HOP YARD]

I don't know if this will help you, I took a 1x1 square tube and drilled a couple of holes to take the place of my shocks until I could determine what parts were needed to fit the shocks / coilovers. Might help you get from point a to point b. To bad you don't have access to a lift, it would make the job much easier to find the up / down travel limits. Sorry, I hate welding on my back! Glad to see the Edsel will be getting some love in the near future. Keep up the good work Dan.

 

[Stooge]

I hear you! i love working on cars, but i hate working UNDER cars!
Fortunately the rears were pretty easy to measure for with the 4link in the back, with the tires on the ground, i just lifted and lowered the frame to where i thought a good ride height would be, and measured from bracket to bracket. Its not a crazy long shock that i need, but whats optimal for coilovers, is different than what i wanted when i had 13" of movement with air bags, so the shock length at a good coilover height, would be pretty long in current form. Now if i buy coilovers based on the current lower brackets that are there now, they would be too long for if i want to revise/ reposition for new brackets.
Or i'll just stop dragging my feet, buy the coilovers that will fit there now and maybe drive the truck instead of letting it sit another year?

I think im more excited about the Edsel getting the engine and trans back than the owner is! Especially i was just rewatching the Hirohata Merc video Hagerty did last year, and that always gets me excited for '50s stuff! im not as well versed in Ford stuff and what the go to stuff is, so i've been doing some research this morning on what the big block ford guys like for distributors, starters, carb sizes, etc. Big emphasis on simple and reliable, and trying to keep it relatively budget friendly.

a really great watch if anyone hasnt seen it already, some parts even give me goosebumps!