Body to Frame Mounts

[kirky2]

I am busy fitting 2 new front floor braces to my '57 and need to know the following:-

1) Does the Skyliner have stiffer, less resilient mountings than other Fairlane models in order to help reduce body flex and so alleviate some potentially troublesome mis-alignment issues with the fitment of the mechanical top?

2) My car seems just to have had a hexagonal washer under the head of the bolt passing down from the cabin floor and nothing else - ie. no rubber pad between the underside of the washer and the floor. Also there was only a square rubber pad and a 0.125" adjusting shim between the underside of the old floor brace and and the supporting bracket on the frame. Is this all that is used on the Retractable set-up because it seems to dispense with the more complex tapered insulators and cup washers used on the other models. I cannot find an exploded view of this hold-down feature and its component parts. Any advice would be most welcome in helping me get this aspect of the rebuild right. (Incidentally, the hex. washer is dished, perhaps implying that a round rubber pad is meant to be fitted between its underside and the cabin floor. Also, the underside of the floor brace when in situ has a c. 1.125" dia depression (much smaller than the square rubber pad which sits on the frame bracket) at each of the 2 mounting points, again implying that something is meant to fit there.
The MAC catalogue doesn't make things clear.

Thanks, kirky2

[Dave Owens]

Kirky,

The Skyliners do have different mounts than the rest of the Ford lineup. They used a square pad between the frame and the body along with shims. I will try and take a few pictures and post in the next day or two.

Dave

[kirky2]

OOh - thanks Dave, I Look forward to those pictures. Does that mean no round rubber donuts or cup washers or tapered insulators are used on the Retractable application and if so, was this done to reduce the amount of misalignment possible twixt front and back and so help ensure a better chance of top locating down properly onto screen when powering up and over. For similar reasons, maybe the soft top (convertible) used the same approach to body mounts and Ford just accepted some extra harshness in vibrations on passengers as a consequence?
kirky2

[Dave Owens]

Kirky,

Here is a picture of the mount. If needed a shim is used on top of the square rubber pad. I agree Ford probably used these pads to reduce body flex. My car is equipped with factory air suspension thus the copper and plastic lines.

Dave

[kirky2]

Hi Dave
Thanks for photo: so is there NOTHING but fresh air in the 'cavity' created above the square rubber pad by the fact that the floor brace is dished UPWARDS in the region of the bolt - (I guess to meet a similar DOWNWARDS circular pressed feature in the floor so that they nominally touch, in fact.)
Are we saying that there is only ONE resilient feature in this whole mounting assembly and that is the big square rubber pad? - and that there is not supposed to be a circular rubber pad under the dished hex. washer?This seems unlikely.
(I'm sorry but I am not savvy enough to add a photo attachment to explain what I mean more clearly)

[Dave Owens]

Kirky,

Nothing is under the hex washer although sealant should be used under it to keep dust and water out. I have attached a picture of a washer prior to removing from my car and one after I remounted the body.

Dave

[kirky2]

Hi Dave
Thanks for the helpful photos.
If you can open the 3 photos attached (sorry, I am a complete Klutz at the computer) you will see the pressed depressions on the underside of the floor brace (and incidentally, the top side of the cabin floor) and how the square rubber pad and shims are much bigger than this depression and so won't drop into it. Hence my question about 'fresh air'. Also the holes in the floor and the ones in the old brace (thru. which the 0.375"dia bolt passes) are 0.75"dia - ie. loads of clearance/big tolerance (the new brace has yet to have these holes drilled) which might imply a rubbery grommet is intended to be used there.
MAC Auto Parts won't sell me individual square rubber pads but only a kit of 16!. Could this be because, in the Club's experience, it is a bad idea to mix hardened old pads with presumably softer new ones?

Sorry to be such a pain with this issue.
kirky2

868788

[Dave Owens]

Kirky,

There are square shims usually on top of the rubber pad thus it does not push into the depression on the brace. The larger hole is most likely to accomodate manufacturing tolerances of the frame and body. This would allow some misalignment.

Dave

[BobEL]

The Retrat body was mounted to the frame with laminated paper pucks (about 2" square and 3/4" thick) between the frame and the body. If excess space was pesent then "C" shaped square steel shims were added so as not the distorte the body when it was tightened to the frame.

[kirky2]

Dave and Bob
Thanks for your help. I guess I didn't realise the 'rubber' squares were actually compressed paper but this maybe can be explained if the Ford philosophy behind mounting the Retractable body was to to minimise movement between body and frame to help guarantee alignment of 'Top' to screen and accept that the extra harshness in the cab compared with the other Fairlane models (with their more rubbery mountings) was the price which had to be paid for the required precision.
Would Jerry's Classic Car Parts be a good place to contact for further advice and parts?
kirky2

[Dave Owens]

All the major advertisers in the Skyliner handle the pads. Some even sell a kit with pads, bolts and clip nuts.