I had some trepidation about this engine and am glad it seems OK. Here's the story: This engine came out of a 1985 Chevy wrecker at the shop where I used to work. It was not the original engine; it had been rebuilt by a commercial engine company (I can't remember the name, but it's similar to Jasper Engines). At some point it burned a valve and started "chuffing". The shop owners pulled this engine out and replaced it with a junkyard engine. They pulled the top end apart and sent the heads out to have the valves done. The valves and seats were ground, two burnt valves replaced, and springs shimmed. I was under the impression that the rings and bearings were replaced, too, but that is not the case; it was strictly a "top end job". Before the engine could be put back in the wrecker, the hydraulics had a problem and the shop owner decided to just get a newer wrecker - a Ford diesel. This engine sat in the back room of the shop for a couple of years and was finally bought by a friend of mine. Then it sat in his garage for a good while. All together it sat for nearly ten years! That's why I was concerned about its condition.

I started to tackle the rear brakes today. I jacked up the rear end and removed the right rear wheel and drum. I bolted in the new wheel cylinder and spent a couple of hours running the right rear brake line over to the junction on the flex hose. With that finally done and in place I thought I might assemble the brake shoes and all their attending pieces. I opened the small parts package and discovered there are no link pins (the little forked pins that connect the wheel cylinders to the shoes). I went to the local parts store - no luck. I came back home and searched Ebay and Amazon - no luck there either. Nobody lists link pins for a 1957 Ford. If you've been following this thread you know I had the same problem trying to find brake drums a while back. if I hadn't already spent a bundle on parts and invested a bunch of time, I would convert this rear end to disc brakes! Anyway, I bought some nondescript AC Delco link pins on Amazon and hope I can make them work. I'll let you all know...