Rons1stRod saying hello!

Hey guys, working on my first rod, a 55 Ford Fairlane 2 door coupe. I've pulled it apart, ground the chassis down to bare metal, rebuilt the front end with disc brakes and lowered spindles from a Granada / Monarch, set in an 8" Maverick rear axle and have a 429 attached. I POR15 coated the chassis. I cleaned the underside of the body, cut away rotting floor supports (floor pans are good) and made and welded in new ones. Self etch primered it front to back then coated it with rubberized undercoating. Setting up a Granada steering column to join up with the steering gear box from the same. Have ground the paint off the body using my 4" grinder with wire wheel and now have bare metal body. Continuing to do the same inside body then will prime it entirely with self etching primer and most likely sit for a while as I "conserve" some money to move on further. I built a 24 x 30 shop with 12' ceiling and installed a 9000 lb hoist for easier working. Love it! Anybody have any insight on the "hollow" tubular steering column and how to remove the rag joint and set up some Borgeson U Joints to connect to the gear box? Always appreciate helpful hints! Thanks! :whacked:

Got a soft spot for them ....'55 Fords....that's what She Who Must Be Obeyed was driving when I first met her.
Initially I couldn't have cared less for the shelia, it was the car that took my eye.
Now?.....Well we've just celebrated our fortieth wedding anniversary, and the car is long gone. :(
Welcome aboard Ron, it's a cool place to hang out!

Hey thanks Johnboy, is there a way to post "progress" pictures of my project in this site? I've been looking for some place since I signed up.

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Originally Posted by Rons1stRod

Hey thanks Johnboy, is there a way to post "progress" pictures of my project in this site? I've been looking for some place since I signed up.

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Looks like you figured out the gallery since you posted this entry. Good for you. Welcome aboard, looks like a very good start.

Johnboy, does your better half read these posts? And most importantly, is the doghouse carpeted and air conditioned? :LOL::LOL::LOL:

Yep, stumbled onto the place where you post pictures alright! Geez, sorry, I ONLY posted a few thousand of the zillion I have though!

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Originally Posted by nitrowarrior

Johnboy, does your better half read these posts? And most importantly, is the doghouse carpeted and air conditioned? :LOL::LOL::LOL:

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Yeah, She knows She's called that, (She Who Must Be Obeyed,) She knows too that it was the car that was the attraction initially.
If I call her that in public She gives me what can only be described as a 'look' and says "Yes, at all times and without question."
And yes, the doghouse, my shed, is air conditioned, and although it's not yet carpeted, I've got the carpet. And a beer fridge!

And Ron, good on ya for working out the gallery. Bob Parmenter posted some pics of our cars there for me.

You have it covered then........I still say she's pretty understanding if she's aware of that old situation with the car and all.

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Originally Posted by johnboy

And a beer fridge!

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And these Kiwis know how to do a beer fridge!!!

Just don't ask him how the tile work on the resort is going though!:D

Ron, you are doing right by that little '55. It's obvious you have taken the time to do a great job. Plus, I like them bbf engines. :)

As for how to keep a project logged........simply keep coming back to this thread and adding new posts as you do stuff. That is how I kept my build thread alive......every once in a while toss in a cat picture or two, and Bob will be "kind" enough to insert some pictures for you. Nothing to it. :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:


Don

Ron, it looks like you are building one sweet double nickle Ford. I've always liked the 55 and the 56 Fords. Keep posting pictures of your progress.

:D :D And that's just the outside one.......wait 'til you see the walk-in one inside!:D :D
And yeah, Bob, you're right abiut the "Last Resort".......I've seen the builders two days so far this month. :CRY: :mad:

Ron, the work you've done on the car so far looks pretty good, I reckon you'll have a bobby dazzler there.
It's obviously not going to be just a patch-up job. Good on ya!

Thanks for the input guys! I'm learning as I go, that's for sure! I was very fortunate to build a decent shop with hoist and equip it with great tools. I got impatient with chemical paint remover so I went with my grinder and a wire wheel to remove the paint. Geez, what a dirty mess that is! My sweet old neighborlady has a covered patio about 25' from the door of my shop ....... she's out vacuuming after every time I clean up. I wonder if that's why she's moving??????????? hmmmmmmmm, good thing I'm her Realtor! Hey, anybody needing a referral to a great Realtor nearly anywhere in the world, call or email me! Ok, enough commercial.

So, I'm removing the rusted outer rocker panels now, thank God for air chisels! Then I'm going to clean out the floor pans inside, underside of the roof and prime it. Got to work on connecting the steering column to the steering gear but guess there's no hurry on that. Picking up a 55 Fairlane Fordoor for parts in a month or so. Good glass and stainless and has a few minor pieces I need for my project. I'll keep posting pictures as I take them. I've got a lot more but no use putting them all on. By the way, what is a "Bobby Dazzler"?

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Originally Posted by Rons1stRod

By the way, what is a "Bobby Dazzler"?

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It's from a foreign language!:LOL: Brother Norton sometimes needs translation.......:D

See this;http://www.allwords.com/word-bobby-dazzler.html

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Originally Posted by Rons1stRod

By the way, what is a "Bobby Dazzler"?

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Sorry, I sometimes forget that you fellas and fellasses don't speak God's Own English. :confused: A bobby dazzler is something that's bonzer.
Antipodean slang.....both those terms mean something that is top notch. Top of the class. Really nice to look at.
In your vernacular, isn't it "bad"?
As in something that's: "Real bad, man," is something that's good?

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Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

It's from a foreign language!:LOL: Brother Norton sometimes needs translation.......:D

See this;http://www.allwords.com/word-bobby-dazzler.html

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Hey Bob, if you think I'm bad, you should try translating some of those that post in "txt". Now that's a language I find hard!

Ron, Welcome to CHR. Nice to see the work on your 55 is really coming along. My first car was a 56 Crown Vic. Had it 2 years and then traded it for a VW Bug to take to college. Bug was thrifty, but I would have rather have kept the 56, much bigger backseat for .....entertaining, ....among other things.:LOL: :LOL:

**) Bad, right on dude ......... all appropriate ............ IF YOU'RE 18! Now in the words of Boyd Coddington, it's "Bitchin" ........ Bitchin another old time slang word meaning "cool man"! So as we like to say in Eastern Washington on every 6th Sunday, "Tie me kangaroo down boy" ...... yeah, that's the ticket! :whacked: :whacked: :whacked:

:3dSMILE: Hey Bob! Sweet ride! Wowzers! You guys are sooooo much better building these things than us "average" barely any talent guys! Like I said, Wowzers! Very nice, bad, "Bobby-Dazzler" heh heh heh!

During my test fit of the mid 70s Granada / Monarch column to steering box from the same, I'm confronted with this kind of line up "issue". So here are a couple of questions:

1. This Ford column has the rag joint on the end of the "tube", I haven't looked "up the tube" but was wondering how you would connect a U-Joint to this and then to the box?

2. Is this too sharp of an angle to use a double joint on?

3. Would you think I should cut the column back a bit and use a u-joint with shaft to another u-joint?

4. Heim Support in there too?

Let me know what you suggest if you don't mind!

Thanks much! :)

:HMMM: oh, one other thing ........... would looking "up the tube" be considered "indecent"?:eek: :eek:

Hey Johnboy, look at "me knew signature" ..... in honor of my new favorite "slogan"!

"Tie me kangaroo down sport" is an Ausbloodytralian saying, there are no kangaroos in New Zealand......and to imply that a Kiwi is somehow associated with those shackle-dragging descended-from-convicts sheep-shaggers is worse than asking a Canadian what part of the United States he's from! Or a Dutchman if he's German! :eek: :D
But I had to laugh when I saw your signature.....I suppose every country has slang expressions that are peculiar to its natives. I know that when She Who Must Be Obeyed's cousin visited from Scotland he had trouble understanding us at times......I introduced him to someone: "This is Bob, he's bones of ours," and Bob just gaped, "I didn't know wtf you were talking about", he said later. "Bones? Whats that mean!"
"You're a relation you eejit".
"Oh!" :LOL: :LOL:

Asking a Canadian what part of the US he's from would only confuse him. EH? :rolleyes: Any more, us "white boys" is the minority here and the only minority with less"rights" than about everybody else! We are indeed, a melting pot of nationalities, and more lately than ever.

No roos here either I'm afraid, just rattlers :eek:

Bitchin', right on or the one most dissatisfied young folks say today, "WHATEVERRRRRRR"

I have a small block chevy in my plymoth with a turbo 350 and 10 bolt rear gear that is 323. when I am running down hyway at 65 , it is running at 3200 rpm 70 is 3500 . I would like to lower the rpm for cruising , but dont want to lose my accelleration ( pulls hard through first and barks the tires in second !) I have thought about a 700 r4 , but have not had very good luck with them in some other vehicles i have owned . If I change rear gear to something like a 308 then I am afraid I will lose some of the giddy-up. And I like my giddy-up ! Any ideas ?

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Originally Posted by johnboy

........ there are no kangaroos in New Zealand......

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But there are some ewes of low moral character...............:LOL:

Wadd101, welcome to the forum. To get your question answered it would be best to start a new thread in the "New Members Forum" instead of posting on a previously started thread.

As for your problem best bet, although not cheap, is to sell the 350 and get a 2004R. 4 speed with a better overdrive gear than a 700R4. Of course when you start a new thread in the correct forum you will probably get 50 better answers from other members.

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Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

But there are some ewes of low moral character...............:LOL:

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That's not a New Zealand sheep! That's an Ausbloodytralian sheep. Our sheep are far prettier! :LOL:
Shame on you Uncle Bob, you're giving young Ron (who's thread it is,) the wrong impression of us Kiwis. :eek: :LOL:
You had better claim your thread back Ron before it gets hijacked beyond control!
Next he'll be posting up wet tee shirt competitors on a trampoline! :LOL:
(Maybe I shouldn't have given him the idea.) :confused:

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Originally Posted by johnboy

........ you're giving young Ron (who's thread it is,) the wrong impression of us Kiwis. :eek: :LOL:

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I don't think there's ANY way that's possible Johnny..........:LOL: :LOL:

:LOL: Oh EWE guys! I'm a grandpa, not so young any more! But what about my question regarding the steering box ujoints? I'm enjoying all this "Down Under" education and all but any ideas on that? Page up and look at the picture I so brilliantly submitted.

Oh Mopar 34 (Bob - there's so many of you!) I started my now 32 year old son out with VWs. We pulled his first car out of a mud hole when he was 14 and over the span of 2 years, his Grandpa (my dad), he and I, built an award winning 71 Super Beetle with an 1835cc engine. Lots of fun! It gave my son the understanding he needed about cars, what makes them tick and how to fix them when they break or as in his early years, when he broke them! He's now a project manager with a huge company that makes excellent money as there is very little mechanically he's not willing to tackle rather than take it somewhere to have it fixed. I'm proud of my son!

My grandson was over the other night (he's 2) and loves playing trucks. Now I'm a FORD guy and even at 2, he knows it. Out of nowhere, he stops playing with the truck he had in his hand and looks at me and says, "I like Chebby's!" Of course I about fell over and then started him learning how FORDs are "better". He's a funny kid and his daddy probably taught him that! His mommy, my daughter, about fell out of her chair when she heard it.:LOL: