57 ford questions

i have a 57 ford station wagon country sedan my grandpa gave me.

its been sitting in his backyard for like 25 years. the door frames and floors are pretty much all rusted. but the seats and interior are still in great shape cause its been coverd and the seats have been folded down.

right now im using it as storage for all my mustang parts haha.

its got a 272 in it, but the tranny is out.

anyone know of any websites that have 57 station wagon parts?

and how big of a deal is it to swap in a 302? is there any mounts made for it? and what a bout a c4? where could i get a tranny mount, if there is such thing made for a c4.

heres a little background: im 19 and i have a 66 A code mustang that i stripped about a year ago with plans to restore it. its been in my garage waiting to have the bodywork done and be painted. i work at a high performance engine shop and i built my engine and tranny. 306, mild cam, alum heads intake, built for small shot of nitrous basically. and a c4 reverse manual valve body. my plans were to make it look like a restomod show car. but i dont have anywhere to work on it. so i kinda want to drop my engine and tranny into the wagon and drive it like it is, basically as a ratrod.

heres some pics. my grandpa also has 2 model As back there. 1 coupe 1 sedan. both in a million pieces. and the chrysler cordoba, and a late 80s dodge motorhome. and my dad has a 66 mustang coupe and a 31 model A coupe.

 

Good project, 57CS.
I know lots of guys have put the 302 in a '57 - even vintage '63 390 will fit. Just keep leads for parts. In the meanwhile, check this one out.......

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1957...id=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=65:7|39:1|240:1318

 

wow thats A LOT of good pictures on there. thanks krash.

one of my other plans was to put a BBF in it and some slicks. but since i dont see the light at the end of the tunnel on my mustang, i might as well put the fresh engine into the wagon for now.

if you get any more info on the 302 swaps please let me know. im having trouble finding any articles or builds or anything.

 

Welcome! Great car! Originial California Black Plates!!! I'd like to see the Model A too, we had a pickup with a 350/TH350. They're neat rides. Definately a lot of potential in that wagon!

 

heres my grandpas coupe. he bought it just like this 30+ years ago.




heres the sedan, its the worst one of em all, but perfect for a ratrod setup



the model As and my wagon are at his rental house, along with all that other **** surrounding everything. i wish my grandpa would let me go up there and clean up so i could get the wagon onto the floor he built so i could work on it. its on gravel right now so i cant pull the engine :/ .


heres my dads 31 coupe, along with his 66 mustang and 71 ranger. and the rearend of my stang in the garage.




and heres my mustang.



and my 306 i built at work. dynoed 340hp 335tq

 

Wow! Is that a car family or what!!! Plywood on the gravel to pull the motor. Works for me. Run down to a Habitat store or a lumber recycler. If gramps won't spark, spark him!

 

Wow, love the collection! Gotta love when the family is all into it. My dad's getting out of it after this 57 of his is done, so I'm back on my own. Cherish all the tim working with your dad and grandpa you can!

 

Yeah, sometimes they wanna be asked nicely. Sometimes you just have to work around the immovable ones, and then they know you mean it.

 

thanks norm, ill try the ply wood deal again. the wagon used to be sitting at a diagonal to the fence so we jacked it up on some plywood so we could use a come-along attached to the fence and drag the end of the wagon so it was parallel to he fence. but the jack just crushed the plywood. maybe 2 sheets of 7/8" would do haha.

hmm, ive got some figuring out to do.

my grandma had a mini stroke last week and most likely wont be seeing her home again. they moved her to a convalescent hospital and she is so pissed haha. my grandpa is starting to realize that hes not gonna live to 120 so he needs to start cleaning up his houses and straightening out bank accounts and inheritances and stuff. he still thinks hes gonna get around to having the model As restored. which is a dream and a half.

first thing i have to do is move the wagon somewhere so i can work all around it. cause its closed in on 2 sides with fences.

this is gonna be tough lol. another thing i forgot to take into consideration was the brakes and suspension on the wagon, theres no way i could leave it all like it is and drive it after sitting for 25+ years.

 

You've got lots of Disc Brake options for Fords, especially if you're gonna Ratrod it. Suspension depends on the look you want.

They're Leaf springs in the rear, right? Add a couple short stiffeners or have yours re-arced at a truck suspension shop. The Front is kind of locked in with the coils, but you could beef it up with a better swaybar.

One guy who'd really help with that vintage is The Rev. Right up his alley.

 

oh i could do an infinite amounts of things to it, but, i have my mustang as my full blown project.

i just wanted to drop my engine and tranny into the wagon and drive it. but im sure the brakes would have to be redone. and at least all the rubber and bushings changed in the suspension.

and i think ill leave the rear where it is

i want this thing loooooooow

 

This would make a great push car if you ever got into drag racing. Hope I didnt' miss anybody else saying it, because I'm sure it crossed all our minds!

 

what do you mean push car?

one of my ideas was to tub the rear so i could fit slicks. and build a full cage lol.

 

Drag racing in the 50's involved push-starting the car with another car at the beginning of the track, and often they were big station wagons such as this.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3203/2854902188_2429934fa5_o.jpg
http://www.cacklefest.com/BG2006/CF-Greek-push-down-2.jpg