1958 Ford Ranch Wagon "Class Project" - year 2

Session 4

This week we kept working on the front suspension and got the motor put pack to together. Here's Mitch and Anika assembling front end components.


Here's how we keep the students on track


All hands working on getting the motor ready to reinstall

 

Sharp looking pitcrew!

I check my old lists until they're all done, and then type them into an Excel Spreadsheet with start/completion dates and why it took me more time than it should have - parts lacking, other steps before (and what), etc. So that when I do another car, I'll prepare better.

 

Wow - you're more detail oriented than I am! We have a calendar in the shop where we track our goals and I track expenses in a spreadsheet, but once the tasks are done we just erase and write more.

 

great work they and yourself are doing, will be watching this alot

 

Could turn into a hobby someday...

Us engineers probably die more often from Paralysis Through Analysis than any other cause. But I've done my Interior 3 times in 2 years, and found that I saved a lot of time by reviewing my last journey in the wagonitisphere.

 

Session 5

This week was mostly about cleaning and painting, with a little front end assembly going on.

Here Anika and I coax the lower control arm bushings into place with the handy Harbor Freight "press".


Meanwhile, Mitch and Jake worked on the firewall and frame


By the end of the class, it was looking pretty good.


Most of the suspension parts are cleaned up and ready to put back on.

 

Spit-polished! Nice work.

 

Session 6

Today we hit a new low for participation in the auto shop class. Both my helpers were out today, Zach has dropped the class, and Jake & Mitch were AWOL. So that left Anika and I to assemble the front suspension.

Between classes we finished getting all the suspension components blasted, primed, and painted.

Here's all the pieces ready to go on:


We replaced the tired old stock springs with new springs from a 1990 Aerostar. They look identical except for being slightly shorter. You can see more info on this conversion here. This should result in a lower, better ride.

Here's Anika finishing up the passenger side. She did almost all the work assembling the front end.


Now we're ready to drop the motor back in.

 

Man, I'm blinded by the light! Nice work!

 

Session 7

We're focussing now on getting the engine back in and running before Christmas.

This week we worked on the following:

• Shimmed the upper A arms
• Installed the front shocks
• Assembled and installed the front bakes (we did one twice )
• Installed the master cylinder and front brake lines
• Installed the sway bar
• Touched up the paint on the frame
• Replaced the transmission tail shaft seal
• Started cleaning up the '58 radiator that I bought a few months ago

Here Zach (not dressed for the cold weather) and Jake work on getting the front end straight.


Here's Mitchell assembling the brakes.

 

Nice progress! Good to see Zach is still with the pit crew.

 

All the progress looks great! Yall keep up thr good work.

 

good to see them so keen to jump at the chance to work on cars.

 

Session 8

This was our last chance to get the motor in and running before Christmas.

The first thing we did was start lowering the engine into place.


As usual, it took 15 minutes to get it almost into place and another hour or so to finally get it bolted in.

We hooked all the wiring back up temporarily so that we could start it up.


We also got all the front sheet metal ready to take to the media blasters. I'm hoping to take it in over the holidays so we can start in on body work after the new year.

 

Looking good!I love seeing young people with an interest in old cars. And especially neat that there is now a girl involved. Some of these people may grow into the go-to people for the old stuff in the future. We need MORE of those! Good job, pick.