The Ford Barn

EricCJ · 01-05-2025, 07:06 AM

My thoughts on the '55. She will be a daily driver and do most of my road trips for fun. Because of this I am contemplating design changes.
1) electrics are pretty hacked to the point were I wasn't sure if it was suppose to be wired as 6v or 12v and if it was suppose to be + or - ground. So I decided to go 12V (-) grd. using 2- 6V batteries in the trunk so I can utilize 6 or 12V for accessories.

2) I have a wife that wants to be able to drive it, so it may get PB and/or PS. I had a '56 when I was a kid for about 10 years with MB and MS and had no issues, but she would like power everything so I still haven't made a decision yet.

3) I have driven it as is, and it's a 3spd manual. All my cars are manual so that wont change, but in search of a better road gear I have elected to modify a wide ratio 4spd top loader, then up the rear gears from stock 3.79 to somewhere around 3.08. That will retain my original 1st gear ratio, and up the final drive ratio.

4) other than that , nice tunes and possibly integral AC.

Any input on any of this would be welcomed.

01-05-2025, 07:06 AM	#1
EricCJ Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2025 Posts: 14	55 T-Bird Blueprint My thoughts on the '55. She will be a daily driver and do most of my road trips for fun. Because of this I am contemplating design changes. 1) electrics are pretty hacked to the point were I wasn't sure if it was suppose to be wired as 6v or 12v and if it was suppose to be + or - ground. So I decided to go 12V (-) grd. using 2- 6V batteries in the trunk so I can utilize 6 or 12V for accessories. 2) I have a wife that wants to be able to drive it, so it may get PB and/or PS. I had a '56 when I was a kid for about 10 years with MB and MS and had no issues, but she would like power everything so I still haven't made a decision yet. 3) I have driven it as is, and it's a 3spd manual. All my cars are manual so that wont change, but in search of a better road gear I have elected to modify a wide ratio 4spd top loader, then up the rear gears from stock 3.79 to somewhere around 3.08. That will retain my original 1st gear ratio, and up the final drive ratio. 4) other than that , nice tunes and possibly integral AC. Any input on any of this would be welcomed.