I sold my '58 last year to help fund 2 other projects. Owned the car for almost 40 years. I hated to do it, but it went to a good home where the restoration was started immediately. I love 2 door wagons.

Invest in the best 1350 joints and billet caps that you can get. With a spool, especially on the street, the stresses placed on those pieces, as well as axles and wheel studs, cannot be overstated.

All good points.

Wait? What, what.....what just happened here?
Did Frank just agree with Bill and Brent?
Where am I? What has happened to this place? 

I get the serrated cap concept, but don't like the idea on a steel rod. Just like the 'cracked caps' they use on today's engines, they are a one and done deal. For an aluminum rod, they make good sense.

Nice Shady , They are 59 Fords on the transport?
The things in the window, is that different insulators from powerlines?
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Yep, those are power line insulators. Got a collection of them myself. Kids today would probably think they're butt plugs.

i've been collecting parts for my build but crap like this is why i'm seriously considering jumping into a 460 based motor..

It's still easier now to find parts than it used to be, even in the '70s and '80s. And there are still several good options for FE heads. It's hardly a 'make or break' deal.

I had this same problem with mine after putting in new blocker rings and replacing 2nd gear, from wear on the engagement teeth. It was hit or miss as to whether or not it would go into 2nd at RPM. It shifted better before, with the worn factory parts. Everything looked good, and everything was in spec with new input and output bearings and no excessive nose movement due to shaft wear. I've seen the same problem before on a 302 Maverick, after a toploader rebuild with new blocker rings. I have no way of verifying it, but I think that new blocker rings are not of the same quality that the factory stuff was. Whether it's the friction "ridges" or the cone angle, I don't know, but they just don't seem to work as good. The engagement teeth on the new gear looked fine, but maybe the friction angle was off on it as well, being a reproduction part. The friction angles really need to be perfect for them to work as they should. In short, reproduction parts just aren't up to the quality standards as the factory stuff, IMO. No shock there though, as that is pretty much to be expected with reproduction parts. They work fine for street duty, but just don't cut it for high speed shifting.

You could go the route of eliminating every other tooth, as they did in the days of yore, but I don't know if that'll cure the issue. I ended up switching to a Jerico since I was getting more serious about racing it, and I knew I would just end up hurting the toploader, so never did bother to "cure" the issue. If I had been serious about keeping the toploader, I suppose I would have tried to locate some NOS original rings and a 2nd gear, to see if that helped, but that certainly would be a PITA.

I made a set just like that when I put my C4 block 390 in my '68 Highboy. They're just used for adapting early blocks to later chassis mounts. I just used 1/4" steel plate, for about $10, and a couple hours time to whittle them out.