rolnthunder Posted December 4, 2014 Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 Hey everyone! Im new on this forum and I have been reading and learning more about my '53 Cranbrook everyday. After my Grandpa passed away a few years ago my Grandma was going to sell his '53. I had seen it in the shed beside their house my entire life and always thought that it look really cool so I wasnt going to let her sell it off never to be seen again. I was still in college and one morning on my way to class (I was a commuter at University of North Carolina at Charlotte) I drove passed my Grandma's house like always. at the next stoplight I was behind a rollback with an identical '53 on the back! I freaked and called my dad, I had him leave work and check to make sure Grandpa's car was still there while I chased the rollback down the interstate. Luckily Grandpa's was still in the shed and all was fine. Since then I have been keeping an eye on the car and trying to come up with a plan for it. Grandma said that once I move it it cant come back. I had no room at my parents for another project. I bought a house this past April with a small garage in the basement BINGO! Here is where the deadline and race against the clock comes in..... Im engaged, and in all the stress and chaos of planning the wedding I convinced my fiance , Jesse, how cool it would be to drive the '53 in the wedding just like my grandparents! The wedding is in June so we are looking at less than 7 months to go till the big day. Sorry for the long first post so here are some pictures to break it up. Hope yall enjoy! Also ANY advise is ALWAYS welcome because I know im going to need plenty of it haha. Thanks, Dustin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledfootslim Posted December 4, 2014 Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 Go for it man- I'm rooting for you! I had Lady Grey 99% finished in six months, and she looked in considerably worse condition than your Plymmy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolnthunder Posted December 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 I realize that what I have in plan for this build my offend a few, but thats fine because not everyone can be made happy all the time. That being said I will be sticking to what I know and what I have access to as far as parts go to keep the price tag as low as possible while build a nice car. So here we go! Here is the plan: 100% drivetrain swap -FORD 5.0 fuel injected engine originally from a 86 T-bird. This will be converted from a speed density engine over to Mass Air Flow -FORD Mustang GT T5 (world class) with a S10 tailhousing for "correct" shifter placement. - FORD 8.8 rearend from an '87 T-bird Turbo Coupe. This has the same width as the stock axle, and will be converted from a 4 lug to a 5 lug bolt pattern to enable me to run the stock steel wheels and hubcaps. Disc Brake conversion up front Other than opening the hood or knowing that there shouldnt be a shifter in the floor the car appears to be factory. As of now those will be the main focus. I have a lot of work ahead and not much time! Wish me Luck! Dustin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolnthunder Posted December 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 Thanks Ledfoot! I have been working on the car for about 2 weeks now... This is me attempting to "steer" the car onto the rollback. Locked brakes = No dice, soap was our friend. Soap played a vital roll in getting it off the rollback once it was at my house also Once it was off the rollback I had Jesse rinse it off while I was at work the next day. The following day I enlisted the help of my younger brother to help me push it into the garage. We used a highly questionable techniques that included furnature dollies and my truck. After wrestling the beast in the rain for about 30 minutes we had her nestled into her new home after being in the shed for 36 long years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolnthunder Posted December 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 Once inside my brother and I jacked her up and started taking the drivetrain out. Driveshaft removed, I have never worked on something this old before and when the spring in the driveshaft shot out it hit me in the face. I wasnt expecting it to be in there so you can imagine the surprise. Next to come out was the rear axle. That is me, Jesse took the picture. This is my brother, Austin, he is currently in college and i hope to have it help throughout the build but he stays about as busy as I do so I hope to get him as interested in working on old cars as I am Typical, everyone watching me do all the work 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolnthunder Posted December 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 I saw somewhere on here that the stock rearend is 60 3/4" wide. The T-Bird TurboCoupe rear end is also 60 3/4" wide only downside is its 4 lug but that will change. My machinist friend and I located the correct positions for the leaf spring seats set the angle and tacked them on. The following day another friend who works for nascar race teams came by to help set the axle in and pull the engine. We quickly found that despite having a machinist help me measure for the spring seats wee were off by 1 1/2". The BFH came out, brackets removed, and this time the axle was lined up while under the car and is within 1/32" of perfect. I wont blow my load all at once here, so more updates in a few days when I hope to be further along. I hope yall like what you see so far even though its really only dis-assembly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrwrstory Posted December 5, 2014 Report Share Posted December 5, 2014 Hey Dustin, Good for you!!!!!! Getting friends, brothers and your bride-to-be involved, and your goal of driving it in your wedding, is so cool! It's a really big project, (like eating an elephant) and a narrow time window but it sounds like you're off to a good start,....(one bite at a time). Keep us posted. There will be many watching and enjoying your project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwest999 Posted December 5, 2014 Report Share Posted December 5, 2014 Subscribed... BTW, is good you're setting a precedent now with you're wife to be... Letting her know that you'll probably always need "garage time"... Once the wedding is over things will change... I'm just say'n... Good luck... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pflaming Posted December 5, 2014 Report Share Posted December 5, 2014 dwest999 is spot on. Give the car your fiance's name and you'll gain some points. Welcome! The '53 is a nice driving car. You might consider a Mopar front clip, Plymouthy has done a few and can give you some valuable advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tones52 Posted December 6, 2014 Report Share Posted December 6, 2014 Wow rolnthunder, that's an ambitious plan so here's wishing you the very best of luck in making it all happen according to your plan. It's great that the car is staying in the family and that it will be part of another special family event. Please post updates and photos. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolnthunder Posted December 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2014 Thanks everyone! I realize that its going to be tough to make everything happen by June. Im confident that I will have her drivable by then, but as far as paint and upholstery..... not so sure. Those are two things I like to leave to the professionals. Grandma did say however that If I keep the original color that she would pay for that! Im sure she doesnt realize what decent paint and body cost now days. There may just be white cloth thrown over the old seats and new mats in the floor as far as the interior goes. SHE WILL be drivable though, Jesse doesnt believe I can do it.... she has seen my other projects linger on too long. More progress..... Once we had Doug and I had the axle positioned on top of the spring we started removing the engine and trans. Doug jumpe on the engine while I was under neath pulling the transmission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolnthunder Posted December 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2014 Im a career fireman, so my work schedule is different than most. If you havent heard or seen it for yourself almost all firemen have a second job, there again I work part time as a firemen for another department. I took a break from the part time this month so I can have more time in the garage. Today I started working on the 5 lug conversion. I failed to realize that the turbo coupe axle I bought was 4 lug because I was so excited that it was the exact width of the OEM axle. After some research I found that I could use the axle shafts from a V6 mustang 7.5" rearend. Lucky for me I have an uncle that buys all kinds of fords fixes and resales them so he always has parts laying around so I called him up and I scored an entire 7.5" rear end for $30! 7.5 axle I was worried about wheel fitment but check this out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Coatney Posted December 6, 2014 Report Share Posted December 6, 2014 What is the ratio of that replacement differential? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolnthunder Posted December 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2014 (edited) When pulling the axle shafts out you have to push them in so you can remove the c clips, and it took me a few tries untill i realized the ABS sensor was in the way The turbo coupe axle was tougher to take apart so I upgraded my ratchet since I had to leave my air compressor at my parents so I dont have any air tools. So I have hit my first glitch, the Turbo coupe axle were unique in that the caliper bracket was welded on vs a clamp on style used on other models. Both are shown on the axle here. Here is the issue, Id like to use the welded on brackets, 1) They look better, 2) less cutting and grinding on the axle tube itself. The issue is the turbo coupe discs are 10" and the 1996 V6 Mustang discs are slightly larger so the rub they caliper. Im thinking if I used the clamp on brackets this would be corrected but again I dont want to use the clamp ons. My thought is to grab my dremel and do some minor clearancing. any thoughts? Edited December 6, 2014 by rolnthunder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolnthunder Posted December 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2014 (edited) What is the ratio of that replacement differential? 3.56 is what I was told and according to the 87-88 T-bird turbo coupe info I have read that should be correct but there were two different ones depending on if it was an auto or manual. Since I never saw the car Im not sure, I do have the ID tag from it but havent looked it up yet. Edited December 6, 2014 by rolnthunder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pflaming Posted December 6, 2014 Report Share Posted December 6, 2014 (edited) I too am amazed at what you are doing and was surprised you did not remove the doghouse before pulling the engine., Tune up that flattie and you will save yourself a lot of work andtime. Get married, then work on the details "until the first baby' comes along. Best wishes on both projects. Edited December 6, 2014 by pflaming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merle Coggins Posted December 6, 2014 Report Share Posted December 6, 2014 What's the width of the Mustang axle? Couldn't you just use that one whole? Merle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolnthunder Posted December 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2014 Pflaming, do people normally take the doghouse off just to pull the engine? seems like it would be tough getting all the gaps correct again. Im worried now that I won't be able to get the hood lined back up. I notice I took a different approach to that as well. What's the width of the Mustang axle? Couldn't you just use that one whole? Merle They are the same, but the 8.8 is a much stronger carrier and with the gears that are already in it I'll be able to run 75 mph at 2300 - 2400 rpm. All the swap cost me was $30 extra because I had planned on new bearings and seals anyway. I was able to get the new bearings and seals in this afternoon after work which took longer that it should have because I didn't want to rent or buy a slide hammer to get some of the bearings out. My stubbornness cost me time because I used my 2 jaw puller which didn't work as well as I thought it would have. I hope to have the axle back under the car on Monday. Hopefully this will be the last time it has to come out for a while. Next week I hope to mock up the transmission and get the engine cleaned up and moved to my house. Then the real work begins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pflaming Posted December 7, 2014 Report Share Posted December 7, 2014 (edited) I can't speak for others and I have very limited experience, but I do remove the doghouse. With the doghouse off one has full access to so many things. If the doghouse is taken off in one piece which is what I do then allaignment should not be a big issue. Others with a lot more experience than I have can add their experiences and methods. Different strokes for different folks. Edited December 8, 2014 by pflaming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Coatney Posted December 7, 2014 Report Share Posted December 7, 2014 Some leave the hood on to R&R an engine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobT-47P15 Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Hi. Welcome to the forum. Good luck in your undertaking. One solution to the 4 or 5 lug wheels might be...........if the Ford rims would hold a 15" full size 53 Plymouth wheel cover, then who would see the lugs? Another question is........did this car have an overdrive transmission? If so, it could be re-sold as they are usually sought after. Have you located any source of replacement parts.........like a parts car you can buy.....maybe for bumpers and such. Just some things for consideration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merle Coggins Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 One solution to the 4 or 5 lug wheels might be...........if the Ford rims would hold a 15" full size 53 Plymouth wheel cover, then who would see the lugs? But then he'd have to carry 2 spare tires. One with each hole pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobT-47P15 Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Merle........depends what he would use on the front wheels......................so many variables.............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolnthunder Posted December 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Hi. Welcome to the forum. Good luck in your undertaking. One solution to the 4 or 5 lug wheels might be...........if the Ford rims would hold a 15" full size 53 Plymouth wheel cover, then who would see the lugs? Another question is........did this car have an overdrive transmission? If so, it could be re-sold as they are usually sought after. Have you located any source of replacement parts.........like a parts car you can buy.....maybe for bumpers and such. Just some things for consideration. Thanks! Bob, I finished the 5 lug swap the other day so that is already decided. The cool thing is that Ford and Chrysler utilized the same 5 x 4.5 bolt pattern. The front disc conversion I plan on using has late model jeep rotors that are also 5 x 4.5. so Ill be able to run the original wheels. I had thought about just using the 4 bot and get steelies that would take the hub cap. The issue there is finding the oddball 4 bolt wheels then the price. The trans was a 3 speed, that is all I really know about it. I can look and see for sure Wednesday. There is a guy up the street from me with a two door '53 Cranbrook Highway Patrol car that is %100 original. If I do end up selling anything he will get first choice since is was a friend of my grandpa. Ill post a picture of it. As far as a parts car goes... Nope. Right now the plan is to eventually smooth out the bumpers and then have them re-chromed. Thats way down the road at this point, and would happen after the wedding and when I go frame off... one day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pflaming Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 "frame off some day"? You not planning on having kids? lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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