I have been thinking about whether I can clean the engine bay, frame and underneath the car.  Just can't figure out how to do it in my driveway without making such a mess, I might get arrested.  I was hoping I could find one of those plastic molded wading pools for kids and putting under the car as I clean it.  Not sure if it would work, but maybe with some scrub brushes it would, spray it with Gunk degreaser, and then spray water from a pump sprayer like you use for weeds.  It's not high pressure but it would be less volume and maybe easier to manage and catch the run off.

Thanks, I saw the pressure foot on the speedometer cable today when looking at it.  I'll try to clean up the gunk and find the bolt.  It looks like it will be easier to get to if I can get the cross member off.  I have 4 of the 6 bolts off (I missed 2 of them that were kind of hidden).  On the transmission tube, I had two different garages try to get it off, one put some heat on it, but I'm not sure they used enough heat and heated the nut itself.  We did use a bunch of PB Blaster.  It looks like it should clear, but if it doesn't when we try to pull the engine, I may just have to cut it off and replace it.

Hi. Before you go too much further can I give you some thoughts. Try to clean up the outside of the engine,, transmission, frame , cross member NOW. If you can get the car outside and back up on jack stands then put a tarp ( think Harbor Freight) down and pressure wash it as much as you can. Dry. Spray it with Gunk engine cleaner and pressure wash it again.
If the dip stick tube is still attached to the trans pan, I can`t see how you will be able to pull it with the engine if the trans is still in the car.
Watch some Youtube videos about things to help. How to remove stuck nuts, Engine levelers. Any thing else that seems difficult to figure out. It is all there for you to watch. Pete

PS. After the drivers side of the FOM is clean enough to see, look for an oval plate about 3 inch long. This has the FOM ID on it. Look for PMD, PMB thing like that.

The thing you're trying to get off, I think, is a vent. 
The whole pan coming down is usually a real mess.
I drilled a 5/16 hole in mine and got a short screw, big washers and a nut. A couple of nylon washers, like on the oil pan, and voila.
Oddly a good hardware store will have everything you need.
I'm doing this all on my 61 Galaxie. Wire wheeling 56 years of crud has been a real ride.

The nut on that tube has possibly been on there since it was new. Be patient and make sure the nut turns free of the tube. I've seen a lot of them get twisted. If you have a heat source you can heat up the nut and spray PB Blaster on it. This will peculate the oil into the threads. Much like soldering copper tubing. The speedometer cable runs to the side of the tail shaft on the drivers side. If crudded up it would look like a round tube entering the transmission at a 90deg angle. There will be one small bolt and a pressure foot that hold it in. Once the bolt is out and the foot pulled back you can pull straight out on the cable. It may be a little tight but it will come out. Possibly you could rotate it a bit to break it loose but be careful not to twist the cable housing. As far as the repair put an ad up in the Classified/wanted section looking for a re-builder that is know to the Y's guys in your area. There are some members down your way that should be able to help.

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

Glad to hear I can pull the engine with the Tranny tube attached to the engine as I took the pan with the tube to two different shops to see if they could break the nut loose and neither could, so I don't feel so dumb now.  I soaked it with PB Blaster and will let it sit a couple of days and try again.  If not, I'll re-attach the pan and tube. 

I think I located the speedometer cable attached way back on the housing extension (further back from the cross member).  Is that where it is located?  It looks hard to get to and it is so gunked up, I can't tell how it is attached.  How do you remove the speedometer cable from the tranny? 

I don't yet have a transmission shop lined up yet, but I have visited several.  If anyone has any suggestions, I'm open.  I live in Raleigh, NC if that matters.  One place I visited said they would look at it and evaluate what needed to be done for just $90 and give a price, and they have a minimum rebuild charge of $1,000.

Zuburg, you mentioned you weren't sure if the trans was original to the engine or 'Bird.  Is it water cooled or air cooled, as in are there lines going to the radiator from the trans.  My understanding is that most 56's came with water cooled and since the 239 appears to have been discontinued in 56, it would have had an air cooled originally. If it's original to the 'Bird, it should be a three speed, though in normal driving you only use second and third.

Don
1955 Thunderbird, 1956 F100 in progress.

You should be able to pull the tranny dip stick tube with the engine. It will be a lot easier to manuver with the transmission out. Got luck on the pan drop. I used to end up wearing the fluid. Have you found a shop to go through the transmission yet?

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

I decided to use a screwdriver before I read the latest post. I should have put a few of the bolts back. The whole thing dropped down. A little bit messy, but fortunately, the pan dropped straight down and landed on a drip tray I had and the pan stayed about 2/3 full. Now my next chore is to break the nut free that holds the dip stick tube. I've tried a big wrench and hitting with a small hand sledge after soaking with liquid wrench, but no luck yet.

I'm doing all this in prep to pull the engine and transmission. I have a new long block and will have the Tran worked on as well.

I'm thinking it will turn into more work such as new exhaust and some suspension work, unless I run out of money too quickly.

Put enough bolts loosely in each corner to hold the pan then use a putty knife or screwdriver to break the pan loose. It has a gasket that will need to be replaced and you should probably do a filter kit while you have it open. Sometimes a couple of soft whacks with a rubber hammer, or a regular hammer striking a piece of wood, will do it. You can take the large nut loose on the filler tube but it will also be held by a bracket to a upper transmission bolt. The transmission bolts are difficult to start and will probably require several extensions and a universal joint to get off. Sometimes you can see the very top two by looking down the back of the engine at the firewall. Are you suspecting a leak in the front transmission seal? Chuck

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire