Hello Wagon World, I'm new to this Forum, have been part of Ford Muscle for about 5 years now. I'm currently working on a 59' Ford Country Sedan and have run in to a problem with my rear upper gate. I've bent the passenger side upper hinge and am scouring the country looking for a replacement as well as a possible solution to prevent this from happening. Any help, input or leads would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Sean
to the forum. Please use the WELCOME WAGON thread to tell us about yourself. Then you have the rest of your life to join other threads for the important stuff.
Unfortunatley they're different. I believe the 57 and 58 are the same though. I've attached a picture of the internal side to give an idea of what I'm dealing with. All in all, I'm hoping to buy an upper passenger side hinge because mine is now all bent to hell.
welcome... i hope you can find your parts.. some of these old wagons are getting scarce in the salvage yards.. i have several 59 fords but they are all sedans not a wagon in the bunch.
59 was a good bit different from the 57, but I believe the roof and lower gate are the same size and shape as the 58, so I would bet they would be interchangeable. There is a good chance the 60 is as well. Don't forget that the Mercury wagons used the same basic set up, so I am willing to bet that they would also use the same hinge. Keep in mind that often, the only difference between certain Ford parts is the part number, even though the part itself is identical.
Hard to imagine, but there are some fundamental changes made between '57 and '58 bodies. So it is not logical to assume that one can retrofit bits of one tailgate from another year without research. For instance, a '57 rear view mirror will not simply bolt onto a '58. The stalk, the threads and the lock nut are all different sizes. Weird but true. What I have found is that wagons from '56 to '61 all were unique in every bit and piece in most cases because the engineers continued to improve and modify all the bits they felt were necessary to make changes to. So never assume that one part will be the same as another year without a little checking first.
The 59' rear assembly is completely different. Hatch is a different shape and the hinges are different. I've looked at the 57,58 and 60 and only the 7 and 8 are the same. I think Ford realized they made a mistake in 59 with the hinge assembly and decided to junk the design after only one year.
Jairus, You're exactly right, all a little bit different. The 7 and 8 have many interchangeable parts but the 59 is a one off. The only car that has "SOME" similar parts is the 59 Edsel. This is why I'm having a hell of a time finding these hinges. I know they're out there, it's just taking a hell of a lot of digging. I live in Tacoma, WA and am either going to have to take a trip to Sunnyside, WA which is about 3.5 hours or Salem, OR which is damn there the same. -Sean
