Getting a Wagin Ready for the 2014 Hot Rod Power Tour!

much more stylish

 

Chugged away at it some more yesterday.

Our plan was to do the front suspension, but unfortunately they sent me the kit for a Ranchero rather than a Ranch Wagon. After a few calls back and forth with the supplier, they came to understand the difference and sent me a new kit today so I should have it by the weekend. The downside is that the Ranch Wagon kit does not come with new upper an lower arms so we will have to clean up the old ones and reload them with new ball joints. Not the end of the world but it was not one of the places we planned on spending time. Oh well….

Anyway, we got the outdated single bowl master cylinder out and also cleaned up a lot of the wiring cleaned up under the hood and we will redo what is needed after we tuck in the 351.

We also removed the fender liners and brought them to the paint shop for blasting and painting. I am doing them in a sen--gloss black. I will say while we were stripping things down I was impressed to see how good the condition of the frame, floor plans, and body are in this car despite its outward patina appearance.

We also pulled the heater box off the firewall. It is in bad shape and needs to be either repaired or replaced. Today I was able to find one in Canada so I bought it and it is being shipped down. Sometimes finding the parts for these cars is a battle that could not be won without the internet!

The heater box:





What is left under the hood:







We also cleaned up the 351 and started reassembling it. The valve covers are on and so is the lower intake. I laid the upper on there so that I could see how it would look when bolted all together. I will also be dusting the trans with fresh paint before it is reinstalled.

The engine as it sits now:

 

Good work!

 

Lookin' good!!

 

Hoagy Carmichael, and yes, Georgia's on my mind. My dad and I went Hemi hunting down there in 1970. We wanted 392 Hemi heads and cam and solid lifters and dual carb manifold from a 300D 1958 Chrysler, and found it in Georgia! Gorgeous state, and those Pecans and pecan pie. Nummers!

You don't mess around! The snow-free weather really helps, huh?

As others have already said, nice work.:2_thumbs_up_-_anima

 

I hate the snow!!!

I left New York 6 years ago and have not looked back (except to see my family and get good food -- New York is top notch for that!!!).

 

I hear ya... My Mexican wife loves it until this cold kicks in. -40C ain't humane!

 

The good news is that I got home and my wife was complaining that there was a heavy box on the front steps waiting for me. Yahooooo! Suspension parts!!!

I know what we will be doing on Monday!!!!!

In the meantime, I think I have rounded up the rest of the brackets that I need for the front of the motor, plus I got new dipsticks (did I mention how loooooong the dipsticks in the donor van were??).

Looks like we should have plenty to do on Monday.

 

Wouldn't the ranchero and wagon be on the same chassis?

 

Nope.

The Ranchero, Falcon, Comet, Mustang, and I think Fairlane, all share the same platform.

The Ranch Wagon shares the larger platform of the Galaxie.

 

Busy day today although I don't have a ton to show for it.

I got my floor covering ordered from ACC. It will be a blue heavy molded vinyl. They warned me it won't be easy to install but they said it would be worth it. I am going with this instead of carpet because it will go with the theme of the car better. Also because this car will not get a permanent spot in the shop I feel like the vinyl will hold up better.

I also ran down some more blankets so that I can finish up the interior by doing the rear seat cover. I ran short when I had the prior interior work done so I am happy I solved that problem.

We also picked up the fender liners from being blasted and repainted. They came out great and will look good tucked back in the car.

We did get some mechanical work done too.

We pulled apart the passenger side suspension and rebuilt it, which included stripping away 50 years of caked on dirt and beating out factory ball joints and bushings. NO FUN!!!!!

The plan next week is to get the driver side suspension done and hopefully build up the front disc brakes. Then we will mount the power master and do the hard lines for it.

Then it should be on to installing the engine, trans and electronics.

Here are this weeks pics:

The suspension as we started:



The suspension torn out and the frame rails cleaned and painted:



The finished passenger side suspension:

 

I used my snow break to order up the steering components for the car. I got them all. Parts for old cars are getting expensive. Expensive, but worth it.....

 

I can't believe what the 1960s Galaxies are selling for. Don't know about the wagon models, but the sedans and hardtops are in the 20 to 30K range! Hope they come with a prit-polished Floor Pan!

 

Very true!

 

Yesterday we got the driver side suspension rebuilt (thankfully it went faster than the passenger side).

We also hung the disc brakes - I think they came out looking pretty good.





I was able to round up almost all of my steering components and the last few bits and pieces shoudl arrive during the week.

We also set the motor in the car to test fit it and the transmission. We ran into a few snags. The rear sump oil pan will NOT work so last night I had to order a front sump pan, new oil pick up and a fresh oil pump while we are there.

Here is how the motor looks sitting in the hole:





Next Monday I have to play a lawyer on TV so I won't get to do much but my partner said that he would work on fabbing the motor and trans mounts up so that we can keep moving.

The car is really taking shape.

Oh, and my vinyl floor covering came in and looks great. I cannot wait to get it installed. I think it is a good look for this project.