steady rest

O

oldgas

Member
Did Ford discontinue the front steady rest on the 1956 Ford Fairlane line-up late in the year of 1956?
If Ford did this can i assume the steady rest is not essential at a motor mount & would be safe to not install it?
Thank you for your time in advance.
Old Gas
 
I don't know if it discontinued but think a lot of people got rid of them during engine swaps. Defiantly not used when a FE engine was installed.
 
My 55 still has it but it also still has the original Y-block. As for deleting it, I always go back to the idea that a manufacturer never adds a piece to a car unless it's necessary. Why would they increase the cost of the car unnecessarily?
 
Ford did call it a steady rest, not a motor mount to begin with. It was gone on my '56 when I got it and so far, I haven't missed it. I remember a friend back in the '60's telling me it was designed to help prevent clutch chatter as the motor mounts aged and became softer.
 
The steady rest was on my car (original 239?). When I changed it to a 312 I kept the steady rest (but did have get a 55). I figured it would cause less wear and tear on the engine/trans mounts.
 
Still present on my ’56. My car has an automatic so there must be another reason for it.
 
OK, according to Y-blocksforever, “The Y-block steady rest, used on 1954-1956 Ford engines, was designed to enhance engine stability and reduce cabin vibrations by supporting the front of the engine, often dubbed a "freeway hop" dampener. It linked the engine to the frame crossmember to reduce resonant vibrations on older chassis, though it was discontinued for 1957 when frames were strengthened.”
 
The only problem I noticed in my 1954 Customline when I swapped the 292 in was I couldn't use the thicker harmonic balancer. My machinist balanced it anyway and I just used it with the 239 pulley and timing cover to look original.
 
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