1955 ford radiator core support question

[steve fritz]

Putting the front clip back on my 55 Wagon project. The 55 core support has two mounting studs on the bottom spaced about 8 inches apart. These go through a couple rubber insulators and then into two rather large oblong holes in the chassis frame. My question deals with what then secures these studs below the chassis? Are there washers and then small springs and then a retaining washer and nut?
I have looked through the Ford text catalogs and the illustrations I find do not show any attachment details.
Any details would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Steve

 

[Daves55Sedan]

The only rubber spacer I know of is one rectangular shaped rubber pad that sits flat on top of the front crossmember center section.
To install the radiator support "U" frame, set it down upon the rubber pad (poking the two studs thru the slotted holes on the back of the crossmember.
Now go underneath and push a spring up into the stud, followed by a flatwasher, then a castle-nut. Repeat for second stud.
The weight of the whole front clip rests upon that one little rectangular rubber pad. After it is all installed, go down again and snug up the two castle-nuts a little. It is not necessary to crush the springs all the way down. Leave some slack in the springs.

 

[steve fritz]

Dave....that sound right to me, just wanted to verify from one of you guys that have had experience with this. The rather large oblong holes in the frame front cross member had me concerned that maybe I was missing a sleeve or something before I put those springs in place. Do you think there should also be a flat washer between those springs and the underside of the frame cross member? So you would end up with a flat washer on both top and bottom of the spring?
Steve

 

[Jwawhite]

Here's a pic of my set up.

 

[scicala]

Steve, that picture from Jwawhite shows a flat washer on both sides of the spring.


Sal

 

[steve fritz]

Sal.....I see that and I think thats the way to go. Otherwise the spring just goes up into that oblong mounting hole in the frame. The upper washer will prevent that from happening as you tighten the nut.
Sorry , I should have been a little more careful when I took everything apart. A few notes would have helped me get it back together right.
Hope all is well with you! I'll send some more pictures next week.
Steve

 

[KULTULZ]

Here's a pic of my set up.

Don't forget JW, your setup is not OEM. It was cobbled when they put the 5.0L/AOD in the car.

The 55/56 setup is not shown in last cataloging, they showed a 57. If you look at the ILL for a 54, it will show the assembly sequence pretty accurately. The elongated holes were for sheet metal adjustment.

 

[scicala]

Sal.....I see that and I think thats the way to go. Otherwise the spring just goes up into that oblong mounting hole in the frame. The upper washer will prevent that from happening as you tighten the nut.
Sorry , I should have been a little more careful when I took everything apart. A few notes would have helped me get it back together right.
Hope all is well with you! I'll send some more pictures next week.
Steve

Yes Steve, it sounds like the way to go to me, even if an assembly manual shows different. You will still be able to shift the front clip slightly for alignment even with the 2nd washer.


Everything here is fine with me and family. Hope the same for you. Just waiting for it to be over and resume normal life.


Sal

 

[Daves55Sedan]

Do you think there should also be a flat washer between those springs and the underside of the frame cross member? So you would end up with a flat washer on both top and bottom of the spring?
Steve

Yes mine has a thin flatwasher on top of the spring (probably not the original ones) and a heavier ne under the spring.

 

[steve fritz]

Thanks again Dave for checking on this for me. Appreciate your reply.
Steve

 

[JeffB2]

There may also be some mounting differences depending on if the car had a Six or a V8,the Six cylinder radiators are further forward due to a change in sheet metal as shown in this illustration of a '54 note panels in the lower right corner. Probably 1955-56's did something similar.

 

[steve fritz]

JeffB.....could you possibly email that diagram to me at my regular email id? I have not seen the 6 cyl version and my car was an original 6 cyl car. Since has been changed to 272 V8.
On email I can click on the attachment and get a bigger picture to see the detail better.
Thanks for your help if you can do that.
Steve
smjfritz@charter.net
or even text it to me if that would be easier for you 608-738-1861

 

[JeffB2]

JeffB.....could you possibly email that diagram to me at my regular email id? I have not seen the 6 cyl version and my car was an original 6 cyl car. Since has been changed to 272 V8.
On email I can click on the attachment and get a bigger picture to see the detail better.
Thanks for your help if you can do that.
Steve
smjfritz@charter.net
or even text it to me if that would be easier for you 608-738-1861

This illustration is for a '54 is that what you need ?

 

[steve fritz]

Jeff.....no , I have a 55.
But thanks anyway.
Steve

 

[Stiggy]

Steve, as Daves55 said above, it's a rectangular shaped rubber. Mac's, Carpenter, and Larry's Thunderbird's have them. Tee - Bird
products are the only one's that show an illustration of where it fits.
It's in their catalog on P39. The part # is B8125A. Hope this may be of
some help to you.. Allen
PS ~ I've taken a picture of my one.. not sure if it's attached to this.

 

[Hot Rod Reverend]

take a look at this post and explanation - just too much to place on the forum so I have it all on my personal website: https://www.hotrodreverend.com/post/2017/09/22/55-ford-fairlane-restoration-blog-part-12

I can attest to the fact that the core support is not only the "frame" for your radiator, but more importantly it is the anchor of the front end sheet metal. Proper alignment of the core support is critical to further adjustments of the fenders, etc.

 

[JeffB2]

Jeff.....no , I have a 55.
But thanks anyway.
Steve

Check out Hot Rod Reverend he can hook you up up with the '55-56 Illustration he has the Parts Manual CD or thumb drives available at a great deal for members. If you have a 1949-59 Ford these are the best money you will spend on your project.

 

[Daves55Sedan]

There may also be some mounting differences depending on if the car had a Six or a V8,the Six cylinder radiators are further forward due to a change in sheet metal as shown in this illustration of a '54 note panels in the lower right corner. Probably 1955-56's did something similar.

On '55 and 56's, there is NO difference at all in the support bracket nor the mounting between the 6 and 8 cylinder engines.
The six cylinder radiator core itself is exactly the same as the 8 cylinder. The mounting brackets on the side of the 6-cyl radiator are different so that they push the radiator forward into the opening of the top radiator air deflector.
Pretty wild huh?

 

[Daves55Sedan]

STEVE....if you still have the old 6-cyl radiator in your car and using it with a 272, it might be a good idea to swap it for a V8 radiator. The V8 radiator side mounting brackets are shaped that they push the radiator back closer to the fan blade. Without having the proper radiator, you could be experiencing engine overheating.
However, nothing different needs to be done with the radiator support bracket and mounting. Those are the same for 6 and 8 cyl engines.

 

[KULTULZ]

There is no ILL of a 55/56 FORD core support mounting in the FINAL ISSUE 1949/59 MPC. It shows a 1957 install.

Shown below is a clip of the 55/56 install from CASCO. They must have sourced the ILL from an early issue catalog