It has been a long. long while since I posted anything. My poor COE is buried in the garage under a stack of drywall, with one flat tire. It is covered in dust, the mice have been living in the interior, the battery is shot and now it won't start. I guess it's time to stop neglecting the poor truck... Today I broke down and ordered the new Dakota Digital VHX ****og gauges to put into the 1948 Ford p***enger dash that I swapped into the truck.. They were not cheap, but they seemed like the best solution. I'll let you know how they work. Mike
Yep, those are the ones. Mine will look like the bottom set with the black background, but the odometer will be white instead of red. They have built in turn signals, bright light, check engine, and brake lights (plus a few others) Today I got the truck to run again. It had a bad ignition module in the HEI distributor. Put a new one in and it jumped right to life on the first half crank. Wow, the inside of the truck stinks like mice..yuck!! Collecting parts to finish it: Need a decent pair of inside 38-47 Ford COE windshield post covers. Mine are pretty bent up. Need 46-46 Ford (dash top) ash tray doors with the inner rattle-control spring
Hopefully I'm back as well. I just recently traded the COE in my avatar on a 58 Brookwood that's almost ready to drive, and I've added two 48 GM COE's and a Divco to the mix. I'm hoping that I might have one of the 48's drivable but not necessarily finished in time for Cruising the Coast in October. We shall see.
I'm still here, but that doesn't mean I'm doing anything on the Autocar. Been working on an engine swap in my wife's Triumph Spitfire since October and it has become the project from hell. Hopefully, I'll be back on the Autocar in a few weeks.
Has anyone dealt with the highway wind noise of the early model Ford COE? The upper corners of my cab seem to create a TON of noise. So much that I can hardly hear the radio. I want to make if much quieter. Is it the drip rails, the door edge, the side widow reveal, the wipers, the windshield frame or a just cruel trick by ole' Henry? (and before anyone says it....is it all of the above?)
It's not just old COEs. My 37 Dodge is a constant roar inside at speed, so was my 48 studebaker. Creature comforts were not the priority then, that they are now. Much of the noise was eliminated when fuel mileage became a priority in the early 70s. I've never had a radio in any of my old/fun cars, it's just not practical. (also my hearing is so bad, I can't hear a radio in my modern daily driver)
When I put mine together I made sure the radio was a good one, Sirius and all the other swell stuff. Ha over 45 and it's like a wind tunnel. I even had to take the wiper arms and blades off, I thought they were going to come through the windsheild, they're in a sock under the seat just in case. I think if I had put enough sound deadener in I could have quieted it down, but then I couldn't have got my fat *** in side, too cozy. I sometimes forget it's a big ol' truck, until I'm climbing in and out of it.
Body fitment tolerances were not very good back then compared to modern cars. Also the top speed of those trucks when built was about 45....... I used some stick on foam weatherstripping(black) to tighten up some of the windy areas on my doors. It helped some.
My left door has a gap over the top section that I will have to address , no door seal known to man will fill the gap. LOL. Body fit and gaps weren't a concern for trucks I think, imagine in cold climates with probably no heater.....
Interesting thought about the door gaps. I might try taping over the entire door gap on the drivers side (and getting in on the other side) to see if the noise level drops. The noise gets really bad after 160 MPH, but that is just my imagination running wild inside my head...lol
The new gauges arrived and I am a bit disappointed. The white numbers and pointer seem dull and I am afraid they will be hard to read in the daytime. Nothing like the brightness of the picture Steve posted. On the other hand, it could be my old eyes giving out on me. I will compare them to my wife's car. If they are definitely dull, then I'll call Dakota Digital to see what can be done.
Thats a bit unusual for Dakota stuff, normally top quality. I can understand your concern, in my opinion the dash and instruments, seating etc have to be right considering how much time we spend there. Seems like most COE guys just can't help themselves, we just have to change the dash to something else....and in my case to right hand drive to.
They look better to me today. I think it was just an eye allergy. Plus white letters on black is harder to read.
Even if they are hard to read, you'll get to the point where you won't look at them for a hundred miles at a time. (if you have built a trustworthy truck) This is why I'm a big advocate of having both gauge and idiot light for coolant temp and oil pressure.
Steve...... will you stop messing about with that Spitfire, and get on with the Autocar for goodness sake.
From a guy that has had 2 too many shoulder surgeries, work real hard at the rehab, otherwise your shoulders will become partially frozen, as mine are, and that is forever. (or more surgery)
To me, this truck brings a vision of walking in to the hospital nursery to see your first-born son for the first time. The nurse holds him up to the window and he has one eye missing, fangs growing out of his ears and a 3' long tail with an arrowhead at the end. Yeah, you have to love him, but there is a huge WTF moment!
Perfect ****ogy. A huge WTF??? To me that **** just doesn't belong at SEMA........well actually anywhere to be frank.
In both photos no one is looking at it. That says a lot! I'd be embarr***ed to be seen in it, let alone drive it.
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