Time to Rebuild the 54 Ford

I have had this 54 Ford sitting in my driveway since May and have decided its time to get working on it. My plans are to replace the motor with a carb 302 and convert to 12v. I will prep and prime the car myself. My question is if I am going to replace the engine and wiring is it safe to go ahead and remove all the parts and wiring from the engine bay? This is my first project and do not want to start out in the wrong direction.

 

Before you start to tear out the old wiring; make labels.
(masking tape folded over with a felt marker works good)
And identify each and every one of the wires - what they are attached to; and where they go.

Make lots of notes and drawings in an old note book, where the wires are routed and how they were held in position.

Sounds "corny?" Well wait until six months have gone by; then tell me what each wire does!

 

Cool project - take lots of pics too, for your own reference and to share here. do a long search here for any threads on similar projects.

 

I would go a little different direction with this piece. I'd shop around for a wrecked, low-miles example of anything that had a 5.0/5-speed/8.8 differential in it (I'd want to start at maybe '89-'93 for the m*** air EFI) and use all the drivetrain out of it, along with all the wiring, computer, instruments, everything electrical and all brakes, pedals, steering and other mechanicals, as well as the complete exhaust system, modified to fit of course. I'd get the donor car home and begin dismantling it, selling off any good sheetmetal and gl*** to recoup costs. A 3.73 rear gear with 28" tires should put you in the mid-12's, expecially with some fat-reducing gl*** parts.

I love doing engine swaps, frame swaps and any other kind of swaps. It makes more sense to me than tryin' to modify the original stuff. You could end up with a real nice '54 that would idle like a stocker and blow the doors off most of the Ricky Racer Ricers. I'd leave some rust on the car, plumb it so that only one exhaust pipe (rusty tip) shows from the rear and mount a baby seat in the back that could be seen from the side. Drag radials mounted on painted steelies with dog dish caps would finish it off for me.