I am helping a friend assemble a 56 Victoria that he bought new in 56 and from what I can tell it had nearly every available option including factory air and a McCullough supercharger. Yes, he is in his eighties and has a younger brother helping him. Kind of neat that when you drive an old car around people will stop and offer cars for sale or get you involved in stuff. These guys asked to take pictures of the core support in my Victoria to aid in assembling theirs and subsequently invited me out to see their project . Long story short, none of us could find an illustration in ANY shop, assembly, or parts manual that illustrates the fitament of the 2 springs, studs. bolts, and possible rubber pads that fasten the core support to the front crossmember. I think the 2 springs are placed over the two studs that protrude from underneath the top bracket on the crossmember. I don't know if any rubber or metal washers go with the springs . He has the 2 1/2 inch nuts with the springs. Am I correct to believe that a rectangular rubber pad should go between the core support and the crossmember up on to cushion the support while the springs allow for some movement or frame flex. I have never found any remnants of rubber pads in any 56 fords I have torn down but feel that a pad and maybe some shims should be there. I worked in an Oldsmobile body shop in the 80's and learned that the lower rear of the front fenders would bow outward if the core support was not shimmed high enough. Any advice would be appreciated.     George

My Model A is set up that way. The Rad sits on top of a spring which sits on top of a rubber pad and then the cross member. A bolt goes through the rad and you tighten it down. However, I have never looked at a 56 core support but it sounds reasonable to me.

Mike

A little late to the game but at any rate, here are some photos and a diagram that will help. There is quite a bit more on my 55 Ford Fairlane build and experiences if you visit my personal website, HotRodReverend.com/blog. The diagram from the 1949-59 parts manual is a little vague, but I do believe I have a 1955 Ford specific diagram that I can dig up when I return home and see what shows there. The basic idea is that the rubber pad is sandwiched between the core support and the crossmember, with the two bolts going through to the underside. The springs are to keep tension on the core support obviously and go underneath of the crossmember. Use the nuts to keep tension. Over time, the rubber pad will do what my picture shows and will pancake out (like a lot of time - that was the original pad). Not only does the core support align the radiator but it is the central focus in the front end sheet metal. I would suggest that you snug down the two nuts until the rubber just begins to "squeeze" and then make adjustments once you have the entire front end sheet metal installed. NOTE: in the photo of the hardware - I was missing a washer (one goes on either end of each spring) and the four small body bolts were actually for the radiator to be secured to the core support.




Daniel Jessup

Lancaster, California

aka "The Hot Rod Reverend"
check out the 1955 Ford Fairlane build at www.hotrodreverend.com

Here are a couple more pictures to complement those that Daniel has posted.
  

  

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Guys, the diagrams shown are for 57, totally different then 55-56. Unfortunately the diagrams that say TYPICAL usually aren't.

I agree. I couldn't find an illustration that showed a clear view of the 2 spring with a rectangular rubber mount used in 55-56 anywhere. Looks like the rubber mount is about 1/2 inch thick when new.

Lots of illustrations for trucks but nothing for cars, strange..

I wasn't aware that Ford offered a supercharger as a factory option until model year 57.

I talked to him today and he said he ordered the McCullough unit from Fred Jones Ford in Tulsa after driving the car in stock form for awhile. and did say it was a 57 item and he installed it himself. At this point he is thinking of leaving off the factory air and supercharger and just getting it on the road in stock form. He said back in the day the factory air unit pretty much blew cold air up against the windshield. The supercharger was relatively trouble free and is currently rebuilt and mounted on a rebuilt 312. I don't know how much added value a supercharger and or factory air would add to the sale price of a 56 Victoria. If I were 87 and had parts scattered everywhere, I would probably just try to get it on the road in stock form and tinker with the accessories later. 

Photos don’t show the steady rest either. I’ve removed mine to make room the fan shroud and transmission cooling lines easier to install. 

56 Vic, B'Ville 200 MPH Club Member, So Cal.