55 Ford drivetrain upgrades

I did not get too crazy in the gear changes and went from 2.79 to 3.00 gears just to perk the motor up a little,the guy I had build the motor stuck in a cam that comes in around 2000 rpms and I noticed it runs better above 70 and gets better gas mileage at the higher speeds so I want to speed the motor up a little so I wont have to go as fast to get the motor in its sweet spot. The new rear end got rid of some of the howl so its most likely the bushing in the tailshaft which went bad due to a too short driveshaft,due to it being a convertible that has a big X in the frame I could not just pull the tailshaft and replace the bushing but would have to pull the trans so since it had a wimpy 3rd gear shift I had another trans gone through so it will go in this weekend and will be ready for the trip to Florida. I am going to build the new motor around the 3.00 gears so the effiency will peak around 75.

I'm sure everyone else has seen your car but I'm kind of fond of these mid 50's Fords and Mercs. Wondering about a link to some pics.
Your Beggin' Friend
Arieldouglas

Not good pics but my red 61, Doug's Merc and Jeff's 55

Here's a link with some pics. Half way down the page you will see Jeff's cars. The blue rag top is pretty cool.
http://www.scroungers.net/t125-club-car-and-projects-past-present

that red car sure was a BEAUTIFULL CAR.....

I miss it.

All that red car needed was a upgraded drivetrain and I would have taken the 235 for a spare which I might need now.

Drove it for awhile after work and happy with the 3.00 gears and not looking forward to changing the trans,if it was anything but a convertible the trans would real easy but convertibles have a X frame and there is some work involved in changing the trans in the convertibles.

Is it one of those jobs that's almost easier to just pull the engine?
Thanks for the pics!

I have to shove the trans back enough to remove the convertor and lower the front of the trans down and then pull it out,I done it that way when it still had the original cast iron trans back in 85 myself but the C-4 is much lighter.

junkyardjeff wrote:All that red car needed was a upgraded drivetrain and I would have taken the 235 for a spare which I might need now.

That little 6 banger ran good. Cheap on gas too. I broke 100 mph in it chasing the cop car down that was escorting us down during the Power Cruise. It was a long haul back to the front after sitting on the side of the road getting pics of all the hot rods. So I know it would at least hit a triple didget speed it just took it 4 miles and a down hill to get it there. lol

RebStew wrote:
Not good pics but my red 61, Doug's Merc and Jeff's 55

That’s a pretty cool picture. Lots of water under the bridge since then. That must have been 5 or 6 years ago, boy how the time flies. That was about a 200 mile stint for Junkyard Jeff and me one way. At that time it was the farthest that the old Merc had been run besides going to Indianapolis a time or two. I think that was the first summer it was on the road. I’m pretty sure that was the farthest Jeff’s Sunliner had been at that point also. I forgot that that old thing had some color on it. Man, that Merc truly was a BEAUTIFUL CAR. I remember arguing with Madonna about going past the red car of the Road Captain while we were on fire. Everybody else stayed right in line except us, and I think we had finally coerced Junkyard Jeff to drop out of line and make a run for the front with us.
That was a lot of fun even though the show/meet at the drive-in was pretty much a bust.

That blu and white is what I'm leaning toward. Or blue and light blue.

That was early 07 and the first long trip for the 55.

FalconEddie1964 wrote:

RebStew wrote:
Not good pics but my red 61, Doug's Merc and Jeff's 55

That’s a pretty cool picture. Lots of water under the bridge since then. That must have been 5 or 6 years ago, boy how the time flies. That was about a 200 mile stint for Junkyard Jeff and me one way. At that time it was the farthest that the old Merc had been run besides going to Indianapolis a time or two. I think that was the first summer it was on the road. I’m pretty sure that was the farthest Jeff’s Sunliner had been at that point also. I forgot that that old thing had some color on it. Man, that Merc truly was a BEAUTIFUL CAR. I remember arguing with Madonna about going past the red car of the Road Captain while we were on fire. Everybody else stayed right in line except us, and I think we had finally coerced Junkyard Jeff to drop out of line and make a run for the front with us.
That was a lot of fun even though the show/meet at the drive-in was pretty much a bust.

Arieldouglas wrote:That blu and white is what I'm leaning toward. Or blue and light blue.

I think it was Niagra blue.

http://mustangattitude.com/cgi-bin/chipdisplay.cgi?year=1956&manuf=Ford&smodel=Mercury&info=&page=1

What I came up with for factory colors is Niagra blue and Lauderdale Blue. If I go that route. I still have time to decide so let's hear some opinions. I'm sure Blue Eyed Devil has a least One.

Arieldouglas wrote:What I came up with for factory colors is Niagra blue and Lauderdale Blue. If I go that route. I still have time to decide so let's hear some opinions. I'm sure Blue Eyed Devil has a least One.

Not Blue Eyed Devil but I do have an opinion..... I like the Niagra Blue with the White. I am afraid the two blues side by side wouldn't show enough contrast because there isn't enough tonal difference between them. That's just going by FalconEddie1964's link (which is a pretty cool reference that I saved, btw!) and computer displays don't always faithfully reproduce colors. Only way to know for sure is have a couple of pints mixed and spray them side by side....

I know this doesn't have much to do with Junkyard Jeff's Sunliner rearend and transmission but the 56 Fords did a dark and light blue combo (got one at home in the garage) along dark green and light green and dark and light tan. That was the only three color combos for the Parklane wagons.

Truxter Fordly wrote: That's just going by FalconEddie1964's link (which is a pretty cool reference that I saved, btw!)

I thought it was pretty cool too and saved it. I was at a hobby shop here and they had one blue and blue. Till i saw that, I was only thinking blue & white.

Jeff,
Can we just have this thread?

Jeff's Sunliner must have been Sea Sprite Green? I know the third member was red oxide and it didn't match and the transmission will be raw aluminum (unpainted). The 56 Fords were Diamond Blue and Bermuda Blue (I think).

My 55 is mountain green.

Got the rebuilt trans in today and know how folks with the 58 to 64 Chevys feel when pulling a trans,shoved it all the way back and lower the front slightly and remove the convertor and unlike the Chevys I can remove the bellhousing which makes getting the rest of the trans out more easily. I removed the original trans to reseal it 25 years ago by myself and it was the all cast iron trans which was much heavier then the C-4,Doug came over to help and no one hurt any body part so it was a good day and will finish it up monday.

junkyardjeff wrote:Doug came over to help and no one hurt any body part so it was a good day

That's always a plus

Yep, no blood or left over parts. Started the day with one transmission in and ended the day with a fresh one completely bolted in. That makes a pretty good day. It's a lot of fun when it all works right, but how often does that happen?

Trans is filled up with fluid and goes into gears and shifts so its ready for the road when it quits raining,I need to get some miles on it before taking off to Florida.