At this point, reassembly of the front suspension started in earnest. With all the factory suspension bits sandblasted and powder-coated, assembly was event-free and much more pleasant than the dirty dis-assembly stage. Check out these great photos:

The front disc brakes, liberated from a Lincoln Versailles, bolted right into place and had the added benefit of a spindle center 2″ lower than the factory ‘57 Ford spindle. This means that we can still align the car and maintain suspension geometry without having to cut coils and do other such stupid stuff.

New rotors, calipers and related hardware were installed. Note the factory “witness” marks on the heavy duty coils. Of course, all new ball joints, tie rod ends, and the like (held in place with zinc-plated original bolts) really make this look spiffy.

This photo gives plenty of detail for the restorer or model builder. The castle nuts have been cotter-pinned – checkout the shape of what a correct spindle looks like.

The rear axle was disassembled, sand-blasted and power-coated in gloss. back – but only after the mounting brackets for the aftermarket rear sway bar were located and welded to the housing. The factory U bolts were zinc plated.

The mounting parts were also either power coated or zinc plated. New rubber bushing were inserted into the bolts that attached the axle eyelet to the shackles.

See front the center of the car, the freshly-zinc plated U bolts and related parts present a very crisp assembly. Note how the axle’s colors contrast nicely with the painted under body.

Seen from the outside of the car, the same crisp assembly is presented. A chrome-plated backing plate will be bolted to the axle using the four zinc-plated bolts.

The sheetmetal under the gas tank was in beautiful shape. With fresh body-colored paint, this really shines.

The black painted frame against the painted underbody/inner trunk panel provides a nice contrast.

No bodywork was required under the floorboard – seen here mid-car.

FB.7
The spare tire well sits inside the frame.

We elected not to remove the perfunctory factory undercoating – seen here as the slightly puckered finish.

Looking forward, the structural ribs and other details should help a serious scale vehicle builder do an authentic model.