Projects '59 Thunderbird Radical Custom build.

definently option 2 for the column.

I missed you at the Autorama, stopped by the canned ham, but you must have been walking the floor.

 

Sorry to have missed ya! You, and the sea of public opinion against the thick Mustang column has convinced me, today I decided to go with a new, shorty column. I researched the Mustang harness wiring diagrams, ignition pin outs, intstrument panel pin outs, and I think it'll be pretty easy. After all, I made my own harness for the LS in the Diamond T, how hard could it be to wire in a different ignition switch and turn signals, right?

So, chrome, brushed stainless, or painted?

 

Wow, tough call. Do you want everyone to focus on the steering column area, or should it blend in so the rest of the interior stands tall?

 

Painted.....

 

I like your instument cluster in the car now.

I think I would get a 140 MPH speedo from the later model mustang though.

 

I'm thinking painted too, although first I thought brushed stainless to go with the steering wheel spokes. That might be a bit much though, and the contrast would look good, and it'd be nice painted the same color as the dash.

 

FlynBrian succumbs to peer pressure. Goodbye, 80's Mustang steering wheel! Goodbye ugly steering column with unused swathes, clunky jacket and wrong vibe! Hello big expense for stuff I already had, and worked fine, but prettier…

I'm leaving the column if for now until the new stuff comes, because I'll need to sort out the wiring for the dimmer, turn signals, and cruise. Looks like I can keep the cruise, I'll add wire, and put the switches in the console.

See how easy that was, to convince me I was making a mistake? Now, I need encouragement to replace the wheel in the '48 Pontiac, 'cause it's ugly too...

Brian

 

Go easy on your self Brian.
I can remember the times when the first thing that got changed on your car/hot rod was the steering wheel. Usualy for something smaller and newer.
I personaly have always loved the look and feel of the original big wheels. To me it is one of the "Things" that help define these cars.
I am sure that what ever you choose will be done with your usual good taste.
Torchie.

 

New bits are now ordered, and I went with a raw column, to be painted black to match the interior. (Another build decision made there, leave the black and white interior, instead of going with red and white.) The wheel, a completely custom built piece, I'll save photos of until it gets here, but I'm excited about it, and think it'll be the perfect compliment to the car.

Can you feel the anticipation?

 

im feelin' it man.....

 

Two words, "Black and white". I hope it looks as good in person as it does in my head…

 

Hey Brian, mock up the the steering wheel and column and post a few photos of the whole shebang. I'll photoshop your different ideas.

 

The 80's called, and wanted their dashboard back. The original '59 gauge panel and glove box door are back in, along with a new white face tack where the clock was, and a 3 gauge trio.

Now, you'll have to wait to see the new wheel, but it's being made right now, and will ship next week, so we'll soon get to see the whole "new" package.

I fired the car up to make sure the new ignition switch worked, and everything was fine. I need to figure out the GM style plug on the column, and how to wire that into the Ford harness, but I've got the schematic for the under dash harness in the car, the switch pin-outs, and a voltmeter, so it should all work!

Brian

 

Love that 140 mph speedo!

 

LOL, the car should go faster now, 'cause the Mustang speedo only went 85 mph!

Brian

 

I have full squarebird wiring diagram but it's too big file to upload here. I can email it if you think it would be helpful Brian. I really dig your build, PM me if you need the schema.

 

Thanks for the offer, but wiring harness isn't the original ;-). It IS a Ford harness though.


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Got an email from the wheel vendor, it's been made, and shipped today! Speedy. I should be so fast…

Brian

 

I like that dash now, very, very cool build.
I love your attention to detail.

 

Looking at the gauges today, the original clock and the new Sun elec. tach are the same diameter, and the spacing of the numerals is close enough that, for the cosmetic purpose of the tach, I simply mounted the tach guts on the clock face. A little work with a cut-off wheel gutted the rear face of the clock, which kept the gauge spaced perfectly from the lens. My wife pointed out that I needed to "clock" the gauge in the panel, as I couldn't let of go tach needles orientation at what would be 8 o'clock. I had rotated the face so that the 12 (the new 0 for the tach) was at the 8 spot on the dial. Which of course looked goofy. So, I fixed that, rotating the gauge in the dash so the 12 was back at 12 o'clock, and then I pulled the needle, and "clocked" it so it pointed at 12, which is now "0" for tach purposes. Anyway, it looks pretty cool, and the total investment was $30 for the Sun tach. Cool, huh?

 

Very cool, I like that idea a lot.

 

Clever boy flyn! I like this kind of stuff!

-Dave

 

It looks, to me, like the needle is pointing at 1 instead of 12. Am I missing something?

Excellent idea, by the way. I wasn't feeling the tach's original face.

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I'm thinking he means 1200 rpm.

 

Odds are the tech isn't powered in that photo, and doesn't zero until it is.

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Ahh, that makes sense. Thanks!

 

You're right, I ended up with the needle resting at 12:00, after realizing I'd initially put it on 1:00, forgetting that It needed to rest on zero, and there isn't a zero on a clock face! I just pulled the needle, dropped it back to the 12. That's where, on the original tach face, zero would have been, the sweep of the dials are the same (or close enough). We'll see when I fire it up with the panel installed if I need to index it a little one way or the other, but it should be close. When I loaded the photos, the thumbnails are so small it's hard to see much detail, and I missed that I didn't have the correct photo.

Brian

 

I might be alone in this thinking, but I kinda like the clock rotated the way you had it first. Not everyone would pick up on what it is, kind of an inside joke for those in the know. The tire kickers would just think your clock is messed up.

 

If it hadn't been for the numerals then being upside down, I would have. And, they're stamped into the face, not just a silk screen, so re-finishing it wouldn't have helped. I like it fine at 1200=zero, most people will not even notice there's anything awry, just a clock that's right twice a day!

Brian

 

Brian, you could make a new face (white outer part) that will slide over the existing one, so you could have the correct numbers and orientation of the gauge. Wouldn't take much to whip up the artwork on a computer