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By iceokie - 13 Years Ago
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New forum member, new ride. Haven't had a Y-block in twenty years. Picking it up in the next few days. More details to follow.
doug
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By LordMrFord - 13 Years Ago
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Very nice! Clean and elegant.
I dont know what things are in there, but here shiny black paint is horrific to keep clean, because all those leafy trees at spring and summer, mud at autumn(and spring) and roadsalt at winter.
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By stlroken - 13 Years Ago
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iceokie, Its a beauty....now the fun begins. What engine?
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By The Master Cylinder - 13 Years Ago
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Iceokie, SWWEEETT   '55. My favorite. Is that some kind of aftermarket radio in the dash? Diggin' the seats/interior. Need more details...
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By MoonShadow - 13 Years Ago
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Welcome to the forum! Thats a really nice looking Ford you got there. Congratulations on the find. Start planning on Labor day at Columbus for next year now. Chuck
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By iceokie - 13 Years Ago
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It's a stock drivetrain with the exception of a new manifold and edlebrock 4 barrel. 272, three on the tree. Realizing that lots of you are purist's don't shoot me for listing my plans for it.
Probably, losing the continental kit. New wheels, probably black or red steelies with chrome center caps. Most certainly a Tremec 5 speed. Convert the distributor to pointsless ignition. Old-school pinstripes.
Maybes: Upgrade the brakes, a manifold change and three deuces.
Overall its a great car in really nice condition. More pictures when its in my driveway.
d
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By MoonShadow - 13 Years Ago
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I dont think you will have a problem here. This site is definately not purist by any means. Its your car, fix it up to suit you. Only rule we have is keep it Y-Block!! Chuck PS Please put your location in your tag line so we know where you are. City and/or State will do.
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By iceokie - 13 Years Ago
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Sorry for the lack of info . . . its added.
and it'll be no trailer queen. Its gonna be my driver, unless the weather is reallllly bad or its being wrenched on.
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By rick55 - 13 Years Ago
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I must agree with Moonshadow. Absolutely beautiful looking 55. Lots on here are running what you are considering. The changes we make to our individual tast are what makes our cars special.
Keep us posted
Regards
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By Talkwrench - 13 Years Ago
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Sweet..Personally I like as it is , love the continental kit  Well done and welcome..
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By The Master Cylinder - 13 Years Ago
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iceokie (10/25/2011)
It's a stock drivetrain with the exception of a new manifold and edlebrock 4 barrel
Check to see if the distributor was changed from the load-o-matic to a '57 up to compliment the new carburetor. Your engine will thank you for it.
Your car, change it to suit your tastes. Personally I like the way it looks now.
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By jonnireb - 13 Years Ago
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That is a lovely '55. I had a black mainline '55 long ago. Nowhere near as nice as yours though.
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By slumlord444 - 13 Years Ago
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Beautiful 55. The easy way to remove the continental kit is to back it up to the railroad tracks and wait for a train to come by. Just kidding. A buddy in high school had a 53 Ford with a contintntal kit and I always told him that.
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By mctim64 - 13 Years Ago
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Very nice! I like it as is. Although I would change a few things unter the hood and I like the five speed idea. I like a good "sleeper". 
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By Butch Lawson - 13 Years Ago
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Good looking car!!!! Enjoy it.
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By texasmark1 - 13 Years Ago
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Far Out!! please post more pics along the way... I find that pictures really keep me fired up and wanting to complete work on my car. Mark
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By junkyardjeff - 13 Years Ago
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I would like to see some close up pics of what ever it is that is in the original radio location,I have seen some aftermarket radios for the 55s but never anything that looks like that.
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By iceokie - 13 Years Ago
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Will do. Hitting the road this afternoon for the 10 hour drive to pick it up. Should be home late Saturday.
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By texasmark1 - 13 Years Ago
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Just noticed that the inside door handle seems to be pointing backwards... toward the rear of the car. Was this an old customizing trick?
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By PF Arcand - 13 Years Ago
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Most of the changes mentioned aren't of the "butcher" nature so are o.k. And removing the non original Conti kit is certainly no loss.
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By Jimz Bird - 13 Years Ago
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I like the total look...
Does it have a tube grill?
The lake pipes are a nice touch on the all black and no other chrome but the spots.
Looking forward to more pics!
It gets me excited to get started on my projects also.
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By speedpro56 - 13 Years Ago
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I really like the way the Kit dresses it up and in keeping the lines clean.
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By iceokie - 13 Years Ago
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Safe and sound in the garage. 22 hours round trip. But, there's nothing better than getting there and finding out its is actually as good as the pictures . . . if not better. I literally, just got in and unloaded it but its as clean as whistle and some good surpasses at a glance. Distributor is is converted to pointsless, remote trunk release, brand new tires.
I'll post the images I took tonight before it got dark, but I'm sure I'll have lots of questions in the coming weeks. But its a really nice ride.
For whoever asked about the radio I did take a picture where you can see it.
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By The Master Cylinder - 13 Years Ago
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Thanks for taking the picture of the radio. Can't say I've ever seen one like it. I really like see old aftermarket items like that. Allstate, eh? Makes the car just a little different than anyone else's.
I have an NOS Arvin heater in my '55 that I have only seen one other of, altho I know there has to be others out there. On the installation sheet that came with it, it shows that it can be installed in '55 Plymouths also.
Think about getting a Secret Radio System http://www.jsclassics.com/secretaudio.html to get rid of the Modern radio hanging under the dash.
Diggin' the hell out of the upholstery.
Bitchen car...
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By Talkwrench - 13 Years Ago
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Yup you did well dude !!
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By 55vickey - 13 Years Ago
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Very nice, the no chrome with the lakes is such a clean look
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By speedpro56 - 13 Years Ago
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Do the rear windows roll up of down? If they don't you way well have a Business Sedan which would be even rarer than a regular sedan.
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By mctim64 - 13 Years Ago
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Looks Good! 
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By iceokie - 13 Years Ago
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The windows do roll down, its not a business sedan. I checked that when we were making the deal. Honestly, I'd rather have the windows roll down than have the rarer model.
One thing I forgot to post last night (I was tired!) the odometer has 58K showing and I have every reason to believe its correct. I'm the forth owner, the two previous owners believed it to be true. They owned it a total of 30 years combined. The owner that purchased it from the original owners estate said it had 42K when he got it and it was so clean and smooth that he believed it was correct. Can't know for sure, but looking at it and underneath it I can believe it.
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By junkyardjeff - 13 Years Ago
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If that Allstate radio was bigger then a modern radio I would like to have the face so I could modify it so a modern radio could be installed in it so no welding would need to be done to the dash to accept a modern radio,I am thinking about finding another dash and a extra glove box door and using the glove box door as a patch to fill the radio hole up and cut the dash for a modern radio if I can ever find the paint code for my dash color.
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By The Master Cylinder - 13 Years Ago
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junkyardjeff (10/31/2011)
If that Allstate radio was bigger then a modern radio I would like to have the face so I could modify it so a modern radio could be installed in it so no welding would need to be done to the dash to accept a modern radio,I am thinking about finding another dash and a extra glove box door and using the glove box door as a patch to fill the radio hole up and cut the dash for a modern radio if I can ever find the paint code for my dash color.
Jeff, I have the remote radio and 10 disc CD player that I mentioned above under my seat and it is controlled with a wireless remote. I left the stock radio (well most of it, anyway) in the dash so I didn't have to disturb it and match the heater and clock. It is wired to turn on the remote radio and lights up. Buttons work and all, just nothing inside. Just my 1¢.
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By iceokie - 13 Years Ago
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I looked at that radio link. I've seen those before and they look really nice, definitely on my list.
I jumped right in tonight and shot the continental tire cover with a fresh coat of black, it had airbrush art and was customized with the P.O.'s name. Still don't know if I'm going to keep the kit but I figured I'd re-shoot the tire cover and see if it grew on me. At the ripe old age of 50 I figured out to wait on making changes . . . sometimes you wish you'd left it alone.
I'm taking it to the local cruise-in on thursday nite so it'll be fresh meat for that crowd. Should be fun and quite a change from a chopped and channeled 30 model Ford pickup.
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By junkyardjeff - 13 Years Ago
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I have a modern radio mounted under the seat on the drivers side with a marine remote mounted under the dash so I can see what station its on and the young guy at work took a gutted 55 radio and converted it to a wireless remote for the radio under the seat,so with both remotes I can control the radio easily but would rather have the modern radio in the dash. I figure with another dash and a extra glove box door as a patch panel I can have a clean modern radio installation and have the original dash in the attic in case I want to go back original.The Master Cylinder (10/31/2011)
junkyardjeff (10/31/2011)
If that Allstate radio was bigger then a modern radio I would like to have the face so I could modify it so a modern radio could be installed in it so no welding would need to be done to the dash to accept a modern radio,I am thinking about finding another dash and a extra glove box door and using the glove box door as a patch to fill the radio hole up and cut the dash for a modern radio if I can ever find the paint code for my dash color.Jeff, I have the remote radio and 10 disc CD player that I mentioned above under my seat and it is controlled with a wireless remote. I left the stock radio (well most of it, anyway) in the dash so I didn't have to disturb it and match the heater and clock. It is wired to turn on the remote radio and lights up. Buttons work and all, just nothing inside. Just my 1¢.
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By The Master Cylinder - 13 Years Ago
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Then why not just get a '56 dash then... 
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By The Master Cylinder - 13 Years Ago
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Or go this route... http://www.westernwireless.ca/cradios/carrad.html.
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By Y block Billy - 13 Years Ago
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Its a beauty! one question though, is that a 54 steering wheel, or did the mainlines have that style? all the 55's I have owned have the two spoke horn ring which is hard to find.
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By iceokie - 13 Years Ago
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Don't know about the horn ring it could have been changed out. The car is pretty original appearing, maybe the Mainlines had a different horn ring.
I've had it home for two days and worked on it both nights. Last night I sanded off the airbrush art on the continental tire cover and reshot it with gloss black. I already like it better, I'm going to keep the kit on for a few more weeks and make sure I like it.
Tonight I pulled the 4" lowering blocks out and removed 2" from them and re-installed them. I like the new stance and I like the fact I can pull out of the drive without scraping even better.
The oil light came on when I test drove it, panicked for a moment then checked under the hood and the wire had come off the sending unit. Thank God for that.
I'll upload some picks of it with the airbrush art gone and the new ride height this weekend. I'm loving the car. Don't even miss the A-Model hotrod truck I built and sold to pay for this one. First time I've owned a car that ran when I bought it.
I'm gonna need a name for her though . . .
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By slumlord444 - 13 Years Ago
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If memory serves me right the cheaper body styles had less chorme on the inside as well as the outside which included a smaller horn button without the ring. Beautiful car. Love black but it is a pain to keep clean.
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By Butch Lawson - 13 Years Ago
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Sure is a purty car. Some cars just look good with a continental kit and this is one of them. My vote would be to leave it on. I like it.
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By rick55 - 13 Years Ago
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Sure is a purty car. Some cars just look good with a continental kit and this is one of them. My vote would be to leave it on. I like it.
I'm with you Butch. With the car raised it won't be a problem to you to live with.
Regards
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By Jimz Bird - 13 Years Ago
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Yep, small horn button on the "cheap" Mainlines.
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By MoonShadow - 13 Years Ago
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I have a very good Mainline steering wheel. Possibly NOS with a few shelf nicks. If you are interested its $125 plus shipping. Chuck
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