Today was a good morning we start around 9:30 and worked on getting the car ready to fire. First thing we did was finish wiring the car up, next we removed all of the spark plugs and turned the motor over to get the oil pressure up. Once that was finished up we started getting the plug wires on and the # 1 cylinder up. Noticed we need some new points ( Idiots at the part stores! Are there no real parts people anymore?) I had to go around the corner and look up my parts in the catalog, because god forbid one these stupid ass highschool kids look any further then the damn computer screen. And I quote “My computer dont go back that far” and “what are points”…………………anyhow I am getting of track. Got back to the shop got the points in place, got the distributor in and started to look for the gas can. Had no keys so I had to jump the car to get it to fire, but we finally did after a few problems with the starter and fuel pump, but worked through it and as you see below in the last post the motor fired.
After playing with that we started to french the license plate in. Since I installed a different tank and mounted it up through the trunk I had no reason to leave the tilt license plate in place, besides we had a lot of rust in that area. We cut all of the rust out and started to installed the new box.
I found a new gas tank for the Merc………….. well not really this tank is really for a 56 Ford but the new 54 tanks were outrages on prices. It seems all workout in the end anyhow. The back of the car where the gas tank snout come’s out has some rust and we need to do some work to smooth things out. So we just decided to take this beautiful new tank and cut the snout off . Then we welded it shut and relocate the filler neck . Now I can bring the neck up inside the trunk. This way I can lay fresh new metal across the back and eliminate the gas tank hole and license plate cover. We will now build a bracket off the bottom of the bumper and install a chrome license plate cover with a light and install it there.
The 1954 Mercury Sun Valley included Mercury’s first ball-joint front suspension, only four grease fittings, and more insulation than ever. 55 Years later it time for me to replace these bad-boys! Remember my car is an original 50,000 mile car and has been sitting for over 30 years………..anyhow I had a hell of time finding some upper and lower ball joints. The ones I did find these guys wanted me to give up my first born! A friend of mine who works for Federal-Mogul has mass knowledge and the ability to pull some old part numbers found these for me today.
I was informed that the Moog numbers where:
K860 – Upper Ball Joints
K870 – Lower Ball Joints
Moog discontinued these back around 1984 and 1987 respectively but I found them on eBay “NEW”for roughly around $30-$35.00 dollars…….allot better then the $ 150.00 a piece the local auto parts stores wanted.
Slow and Low……that is the progress the car has taken on in the last few weeks! I have had a baby boy and that has slowed progress up on the build, but not to worry we are back at it and hitting it hard. I have got the motor and tranny back in place and done. We have installed a new booster and master cylinder and have all the brakes bled and finished. I have ordered the new gas tank, carb, alternator, and all of the other nickel and time your ass to death pieces.
The latest project has been lowering the merc’s stance. I did a 2″ drop in the back and a 3″ drop in the front. For the back I used Speedway Motors lowering block kit part # 910-43809 running $29.99 and for the front I used a set of coils out of a 1986-97 Ford Aerostar Moog Coil Spring part # CC850 running $60.00 and a set of Gabriel gas shocks part # 82026 running around $34.00.
The Aerostar coil springs are almost identical in diameter, coil width and top/bottom shape as the original springs, but they provide approx a 3″ drop. Better yet, they are only about $60 bucks!
Details on the part:
Moog PN CC850
Fit 1986 – 1997 Ford Aerostar (3.0 or 4.0 engine)
This week we will be installing the fuel tank and getting the car wired and fired. Hopefully we will also get the cars exhaust done in the upcoming weekend!
GreaserAlley 
