Features Bought myself a '53 Ford

I have a fire extinguisher ready in the backseat.

And so far I have only driven the car during daytime so I keep my lights turned off to minimize the risk.
But it's illegal to drive with no lights even during daytime in Sweden so the wiring definitely needs some TLC very soon for more than one reason.


Would love to get new factory correct cloth wiring but it quickly gets expensive so I'm thinking about just getting a Rebel Wire harness. Will probably go 12V at the same time.

 

I'm running a Rebel harness with 12V on my '53. All stock gauges and switches work. Clean install and reliable combination. I used some woven wire loom that mostly hides the modern wiring. Aside from the alternator it's hard to tell that anything is not stock.

 

That is what mine is and I stayed 6V as it worked good. They are an Alliance Member here so mention that you are a member here.

 

Sounds good.

Well, my 6V system actually works well too so I guess I could always get their harness intended for 6V (heavier gauge wire) and just swap the bulbs, coils, battery etc. later on if I wanted to.

 

That was my intention when I got mine and if it is ever switched the heavier wire will not make a difference. Now going from 10V to 6V would pose a problem with a 12V harness.

 

Began scrubbing the surface rust on the front end with those soapy steel wool pads today.
It's cleaning up very nice.

Even though I'm not done yet I'll show some before and after pics.

 

Great!!!

 

Thanks

 

MAN! In no time it is almost going to look like you painted that car. NICE! Make sure that you wax it or do something to protect your efforts.

 

It's coming out better than I thought.
Don't understand how there could be paint left under all that rust

 

Got up early today to finish what I started yesterday and sealed it all with a coat of wax.




Other news is that I'm working on a deal for the missing trim piece above the grille opening and the one missing on the right rear quarter.

And I have decided that I'm going to try and turn this into a mild low budget custom, beginning with shaving off the hood ornament and emblem this fall/winter.
Would also love to find an old bullet delete for the grille.

 

@Mikko_ you have done that car right and it looks great!

 

I do like these cars with a shaved hood so played around a bit.
Need to figure out a way to blend the fresh paint under the emblem with the crappy paint on the rest before I do anything permanent.
I'm not a fan of fake patina but I do think it's ok to do on smaller spots to make it all flow.

Would love to find a bullet delete for the grille so if anyone reading this has one to sell, hit me up.

 

Are you still planning to replace this or delete it altogether. It would take some work and fabrication but.

 

The trim piece above the grille opening will not be deleted.
But I am looking for one in decent condition, the one that came with the car is rotted and full of holes.

But I would like to find a center piece for the grille without the bullet, like on this car:

 

OK. I see your vision now and I agree it would not look good without the chrome above.

 

The paint cleaned up pretty good! Much nicer than when you started.

 

Definitely an improvement.

 

Those bullet delete pieces are hard to find. One popped up on the HAMB classifieds earlier this year and sold really quickly.

 

Seems like they are hard to find, been searching the net and nothing has popped up anywhere.

 

The paint on old Fords is like iron. I sanded some down to the metal to bond my tear drop scoop on. It was quite an effort, so don't be afraid to put some muscle into the finish.

 

You might remember that I covered up the red oxide primer spots on the car with some blue spray paint a couple of months ago, looked like this:



I haven't been happy with the difference in color so I got some paint custom blended for my car and put in a rattle can.

And it came out pretty darn close to the original, faded Glacier blue I must say:

 

Hey, it showed that you care. Now it looks like it was never even there.

 

And an outside picture in the early morning before I went to work.
As you can see the hood ornaments are now gone and the holes filled, also removed that ugly antenna that was on the right front fender.

 

Looks great, the new paint on the rocker matches very well and the front clip really cleaned up, looks worlds better than when you started.

 

You have erased years of neglect and improved the patina that cannot be reproduced.

 

Thanks, I'm very pleased with how it looks right now.
Quite the difference from when it got here 5 months ago.

 

You might try Owens Auto Salvage (FLAT-TOP-BOB) for the trim piece, I purchased a lot of parts for our '54 Ford, he has a 100 acre yard and a lot of '52-'54 Fords. HRP

www.owenssalvage.com

 

Thank you HRP.

 

Sunday drive.