55-57 Upper Ball Joint

[55blacktie]

Should a NOS 55-57 upper ball joint have the Ford script inside the oval? Any other identifying marks/part numbers? Thanks.

[scicala]

My '55 Ford that had original front end parts had the fomoco with an oval on the ball joints.

Sal

[55blacktie]

That's what I thought, but it's been a while since I worked on mine.

[dmsfrr]

Where would the logo be on an upper ball joint?
I've got a pair of them out of a '55 but they're really filthy. Knowing where to look would be easier.

[55blacktie]

I just looked at one on ebay. The seller claims it's NOS, but no Ford script anywhere on the ball joint. There is a part/engineering number that begins with a "J", but I can't make out the rest. The number on mine also begins with J. I also have the same Ford box, but it's for the installation kit, not the ball joint itself.

[Lamar Wadsworth]

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The one on Ebay may be NORS. If it's a good brand like Moog, it's as good as the NOS Ford part. Some people confuse NOS (New Old Stock made by car manufacturer) and NORS (New Old Replacement Part a replacement part that was made a long time ago).

[55blacktie]

According to Gil Baumgartner (CTCI-Gil's Garage), the ball joints don't have the Ford logo. He would know.

[rotorwrench]

Thompson Products predated the change to TRW. I've used those when available since they are as good as OEM. There were other companies like MOOG that manufactured steering and suspension replacement parts. Some of the parts even have cross over to other makes too. Unless it's in the original FoMoCo box with the correct part number, then it would be hard to say. Ford subcontracted a lot of replacement parts after production of a model changed.

[paul2748]

Checker cabs used the same ball joint