A Diamond in the Rough

History is a big part of our Houston County farm.
My wife's family has been here since before there was a Texas and much of that history can be found around the farm.
Sitting nearby our home was a relic from the recent past, a 1955 Ford Fairlane Town Sedan.

The car was last driven in the early 1970s, so for the past 40 years its home has been a pine forest alongside a dry gulley.
It took three days of work to get the old car out of its old home. Much of the time was spent cutting a path to it to get a trailer close. Then there was the digging and getting some semblance of rolling stock under the frame to get the car onto the trailer.

Once it was on the trailer it was hauled out of the woods by a 1966 Chevrolet C-10 pickup, part of my own family's history. The truck was bought new by my grandfather in 1966 for a whopping total of $1,700 and it has been in the Stewart family ever since. My 2-year-old daughter is now the fourth generation Stewart to ride in the old truck, and hopefully like her old dad, her first driving experience will be behind the old three-on-a-tree traveling down a red-dirt road.

Forty years of sitting in the dirt is a long time, and there definitely was some decay present, but it all was in the usual places, but overall the car is pretty solid. The one problem spot was the front end.
In the fords the engine mounts to a cross member, which also serves to hold up the lower control arm along with the front cross member.

The front cross member was rusted out, while the other one was removed along with the engine to service a sawmill. Most of the front suspension was missing as well.
The good news is the engine is still around and in good shape, it will get a rebuilding, but it id definitely in good running condition. The front end, well, that's a different story.
The lower control arm was missing on both sides, although the coil springs were there. There is nothing money and patience can't get, though, as a three-week search on eBay turned up the needed parts. They all are currently rolling in, and in a couple of weeks with the help of my expert-welding brother-in-law, the car should be put back together and rolling.
Keep your fingers crossed on that one as that is the main push for the restoration at this time. Once completed, the car will have a new front end and actually be improved from the original, while still keeping the same look and feel as the original.
Once that is complete, hopefully by May, a rebuilt Hi-Pro engine will be installed. It will be a 272 V-8, just like the original, but the engine comes with a 7-year 100,000 mile warranty. Those V-8s weren't packed with stump-pulling power, but they did the job. This particular version of the engine is rated at 172 horsepower, which is more than adequate for us, and it keeps the car in matching numbers.
The list of needs seems endless for the old car, but once they start happening the work begins to roll as the sheet metal work will be delicate, but not overly difficult, and hopefully by this time next year, folks will get to see it on the highway.
We will give updates on the old car as the work progresses. The front end parts should all be in by Easter and hopefully there will be updates and requests for advice along the way.

Thanks,

Wayne