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