got my 51 shoebox dash finished

I finally got around to rebuilding my 51 Ford Shoebox dash. I painted with with Eastwood's rust encapsulator and then their extreme ch***is black. I refinished the grill mesh with Silver Cad paint. I wrapped the underneath side of the grill with ultra-suede to fill the spaces and get a solid background. I installed new Autometer gauges to go along with the 4.6 mod motor under the hood. I pulled the stock switches I don't need and only had to slightly trim the holes to fit the gauges. Keeps the stock look but updates it a little. What do you think?

 

looks real nice to me. Looking forward to additional updates on your 51.

 

Gaaaaay!

 

So you left rust on the dash and just painted it over with the eastwood paint? That stuff is fine for areas that are hard to get too, ch***is stuff, etc, but I wouldnt trust it to stop rust from coming through paint. Its easier to get rid of the rust before you start.

 

No, I sanded it down to bare metal. I sprayed it with the encapsulator to keep the rust from coming back and to kill any spots that I missed or in the little pits I couldn't get to. The encapsulator kills the rust and acts as a primer for better adhesion.

And you are gay Chaddillac.

 

Looks nice.

 

so where's the rest of this gay car?

 

Well, not to scare you or anything.....

If you have totally removed all of the rust (and the proper use of metal prep, can be a good idea), and sealed the metal in epoxy, and then primed, there is no need for any of these magical rust encapsulators (eastwood, por-15, etc). Nothing seems to adhere to metal as well as epoxy sealer, and its the best product to put down on bare, clean metal. The rust coatings do not "kill" any rust, they simply help to delay its growth and try and prevent it from bubbling through your bodywork/paint.

I tried eastwood rust encapsulator years ago, on well sanded metal, that had some pitting, and when going back to re-do the panel many months later (and with a bit more experience under my belt, media blasting first to get it right), The bodywork done over the eastwood encapsulator virtually flaked off, taking the encapsulator with it! What was left was clean sanded metal, now the rust had not gotten any worse, but the adhesion was not good at all.

It seems that these rust coatings are a good temporary choice, but its been a well discussed topic that they only stick well to rust, NOT sanded clean metal. POR15 has the same problem. They will flake right off of clean sanded metal.

 

Most recent shots I have. I need to get a shot of the car since we primered it.

 

What kind of engine management system you running on the mod motor, and how much trouble did you have shoehorning that thing in there?

 

I beg to differ. Maybe the formulation you used was ****, but I have used the rust encapsulator for years with excellent results. I know of several professional (5-star rated) body shops that use rust encapsulators. It is all in the preparation. If I was painting the dash with standard auto paint, single or 2-stage, I would have gone the route of epoxy primer\sealer etc. This is a dash on a hot rod with new weatherstripping, gl***, etc. I think it will be fine.

 

Also, those motor mounts look pretty sweet. You fab those?

 

The engine swap was cake. I used motor mounts from Hanksville Hot Rods, along with their AOD crossmember. Went in the car in about an hour. I am running the stock ECM with a Detail Zone wiring harness. I am also running custom headers from Hanksville. Made it super easy. Clears everything.

 

They look really nice. Hanksville makes these on a jig, so they are pefect everytime. The motor even clears the firewall with plenty of clearance. The motor does sit a little high in the car, but thats ok. We had to cut the floor open about 18-inches square to clear the ******, but even that was minimal.

 

lookz kool

 

The dash looks killer man!!! I love it!!!

 

It's going 70 and it isn't even in the car yet, that's a good sign.

 

Did you think about black faced guages? I think the white is distracting, as the other guage and all the knobs are black. $ .02

 

I like the white face gauges. These are closer to the factory than a black face gauge. Beside, the white face offers some contrast to the semi-flat dash paint.

 

is the front of the frame high on the drivers side?

 

Paint the knobs white.

 

I'm kind of Big on 51 Fords and by no means a "do it stock" kind of guy. What I am kind of **** about is balance. You don't have it yet. Depending on what you do on the rest of the Car the White gauges may be fine but the Clock and Radio really Blow next to them. Take the time to take both of them apart and get some paint that matches even if you half to get it mixed and make them look like a Set. It isn't that hard to do. I even have some spair pieces should you f--k something up. Also loose the Black knobs and get a set of New Chrome 49's. They will look good with the rest of the Car.
The Wizzard

 

agreed.Looks good.

 

That shot of the front end was taken with the suspension just in, it had not settled yet, so it sat a little high on that side.

 

white knobs could be cool.

 

Hey, thanks for the feedback on the motor mounts. Can you post pics of the headers too? Thanks!

Hank

 

As soon as they are done I will! We did a volvo gearbox swap which causes an issue with fitment of the driver side header. If we used the stock box, they would be perfect. The project stalled on the wiring of the engine, and we just need to get back on it.

 

Ahhh...I forgot you changed to the Volvo box. Do you still need help on the header? If so, pm me.

 

Just took my dash out any tips?
Its the same thing.
I like the 49-50 dash just cus itz simple.
Do you know if it will bolt rite in?

 

The 51 dash is taller than 49-50. It will bolt to the windshield lip but the 2 lower corner mounts need to be moved. Also your 51 E-Brake handle wont bolt as is and the steering column will need to be adjusted up. None of the heater controls interchange. All 51 switches are different than 49-50.
The Wizzard