Projects Im getting Married! Project 46 ford begins!

Yep pics of its brother leaving Chattanooga before heading over the pond to the UK! It misses the weather!

 

went hunting around for all ford stuff with my friend Bill yesterday morning and score a few correct grill bar trim pieces with the right groove in them for 46, a great drivers side rear quarter trim, and a whole slew of other hard to find sorta knick knack-y parts that you never notice you dont have and they dont re pop them until things are going back together and your glove box doesnt latch because its missing a tiny piece. haha

while rooting around in the old ford stuff we managed to come across a couple of the rear window mech panels that we have been talking about and seeing them lose of the car helped tons! can't wait for when we tear into that section.

anyone have any advice or recommendations for buffing that old stainless to a like new luster?

 

Ok a quick question for you 46-8 gurus out there.

Is the clip that screws to the glove box lid that the latch catches when you close it different on the same year mercurys than the ford clip?

I grabbed one this weekend off what I was told is a merc dash, I screw it on and it doesn't catch!

Maybe the holes are ins different spot on the glove box but the slots to adjust it out enough to catch the latch need to be almost twice as long?

It lines right up left to right and even vertically. But with the door closed and my hand under the dash I can feel that it just needs to come out further then it does.

Am I missing something or are the clips different?


Posted using My **** Tracy watch and the full custom HAMB app

 

Another good day finding parts with bill

He gave me a parking light bezel to replace one of mine that is torn and after a trip to dons speed shop a lock cylinder with keys was procured!

Kinda neat how the cylinder stays in the deck lid handle with little pop out pegs I wouldn't have ever thought of that one!

*i took some super secret spy photos of the blacktop 42 but when I walked out of the garage they were mysteriously wiped from my device! A stealthy one that Bill


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Nothing to exciting going in just getting ready for the cold now and making room to work with the garage closed up.



Gotta plug up the gaps I don't want snow drifts in the garage!


On a random update note I notice that in the last 2 or so years that the rear springs settled over an inch and possibly up to 3 over time but the front spring that was supposed to be way low and settle over the first thousand miles hasn't settled more then whatever it did the first month of having weight on it.

Rides great just expected to be closer to earth with the posies spring .

What are all you guys up to ?


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

finally got my MO registration in the mail! it took quite a bit of leg work and sending things back and forth in the mail but the 46' is finally registered in MO using an original 1946 MO tag

I've always thought running a YOM was pretty cool and after going threw every box of old plates we have come across in the last three years we found a good one at greaserama. I didn't even know what they looked like so when I found out that they were black with white letters I was stoked on them matching the car.

not much of an update but eh' its whats happening

 

Sigh.

Pulled a wheel to get a hammer/ dolly behind the fender and was greeted with gear oil running down the backing plate. Looks like I'm in need of a new seal. This one wasn't in there but two years at most.

Any ideas why it could have failed so quickly? Probably only 5000 miles on it?


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

My guess would be a bad axle bearing.

 

All of it is brand new. Even the pins that hold the brake components to the backing plates are brand new.

:/

Guess we'll find out in the spring when I tear further into it. It's not moving until then so I'll worry about it after the car is ready for paint.




Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Quick update, other then a dent in the drivers rear fender, deck lid and a little bit on each cowl side the car is straight enough for filler

I've spent the day sanding down all the rough spots in the paint , mostly the roof and hood were it saw the most sun.

Looks like it's the original coat of Henry black which I'm sure will upset some rusteration people but patina is for rat rods and soccer mom furniture .

There's still some welding and tweaking to be done but I'm making progress


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

"patina is for rat rods and soccer mom furniture ".

I am so proud of you........

 

If I was pro patina my
Wife would make fun of me until I painted the car. Truth. Haha


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

If you are using that simple block to sand the whole car... my hat is off to you! Think about how crisp the factory body lines will be ..... compared to a sandblasted body. Just my opinion. Take your time, you will know every inch of the body and what needs to be done on the car that way. It's a lost art. You are off to a perfect start on the bodywork. Hard work pays off

 

OK, ******** is over now..you have to move to the Omaha area so we can hang together. Yeah, you can bring Sarah too.
I didn't read all through the thread, Tim...what color are you planning to paint the ol girl? The ford, not Sarah. I vote for original Black.

 

To be fair I'll probably buy some longer blocks to work some of the larger areas once it gets to a higher grit, but yeah no sand blasting.

And Rocky I'll be threw around Christmas... Well probably on Christmas if your around. And the car isn't changing color just improving quality.


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Really nice,keep going!enjoying your build.
My def of PATINA=it's a four letter Franch word with added bull ****=I hate it=needs fixing ASP.

 

Thanks it's my first go at any of this bodywork stuff and will be my first spray with an actual paint gun. Thankfully I've a few very helpful friends to show me things along the way, got the hang of this hammer/dolly stuff I think


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

is the axle new too? I have seen seals groove the axle and cause a leak.

 

The axels are not new, good call.

I've talked to a few people about inspecting the axle when it's out and how to repair any imperfections in the seating/ wear/ seal area/face.

However I haven't thought of the seal doing the damage to the axle. When it gets torn apart I'll be giving it a thorough look for sure


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

you may see if you can get a redisleeve to fit the axle. it will just press over the existing surface and give a new smooth surface for the seal to ride on.

 

^^^^We used to sell maybe 1-2 of these a week!
You would be surprised how badly the seal can erode a ring around the axle. Then nothing short of a sleeve or new axle will stop the flood.

 

It hasn't been in to long so hopefully no big damage has been done but I'll lee that in mind.

I hung out a few hours yesterday with the friend I put the rear together with and he mentioned that we had a hard time getting the seal on that side in so we ***ume it was damaged in instillation and just took a while to start leaking.


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

I'm jumping in late, So.... Congrats on your "Finds" the Girl AND the Car, best wishes for a happy life, WAY easier if your wife "Gets It". Much less h***le and cheaper to change cars, than wife's. Car is looking good. John

 

Thanks man

Making progress

Also "progress" is a good way to find out your seat foam is VERY flammable.

Anyone got a lead on something that doesn't burn like gasoline? lol

Happy new year


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Alright. So I was trying to wait until I had a m***ive update with everything finished so I could wow you all but things are taking longer and I feel like I could use the good vibes that come with an update.

That is if you guys can even find this in 7.0 haha. It took me 5 minutes to find this post myself and I even used the app! Hah.

Anyhow I guess I'll just post photos and captions and a quick summary at the end?

Here goes!




Winter setting in I set to teaching myself how to hammer something straight. Or at least straighter hah. My friend Pat aka sloppy eggs -who doesn't update his thread nearly enough- was nice enough to help me get my feet wet with the hammers and Dolly's.


I had
Picked up the extra front clip incase I'd need it and to be honest 46 stuff is hard to come by so I figured undertaker have it and not need it than the other was around.

Primer spots are were I had sanded down fix it spots or just high lighting what needed fixed



This dent in the deck lid was at this point about the third of the size it started. I came into the house an awful lot of times over the winter wondering if I was the only one that didn't notice how beat this thing was



I also spooked myself thinking this was rust before I realized it was red primer haha


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Had to fix a bullet hole in the deck lid and what I figure was an antenna hole in the roof. I hole sawed the section out..



Used the same hole saw to make a patch from the smashed rear gravel pan



Pretty good fit!



And pat zapped it in. I ground it down and we re did it a few times. It's finicky for people that don't know what were doing haha



About this time I decided to straighten the front drivers fender the best I could by using a ratchet strap and a board nailed to the wall. It's not perfect but it brought it forward and more online by over an inch. That fenders pushed around a lot but it's much better than it was.




Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

New front pan mocked up..



And the rear torn off. It was so best that I had to cut parts off just to cut the bolt head off to remove it. That roll pan was really smushed around as well.

The front bumper mounts came off easy enough, but the rears took months of on and off heat hammers and cutting to remove it all



Getting straighter! The brunt of the damage was under the trim line and thus didn't really show up in a lot of the before photos but trust me they looked like a crumpled up paper sack.



And this deck has been my fight the whole time



Took some breaks to "straighten" the cowl stainless and started to buff it





Getting closer



My "new" rear pan. It's off a merc and beat to **** but my good buddy blacktop buddha found it for me so I'll make it work





About 11 or so hours of hammering it was much better and as good as it was gonna get. They don't repop these any more and I could have made one faster but eh, hitting stuff with hammers is fun




Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Closer?





About this time my boss was exposed as a *** criminal and all 30+ of his employes quit. So I was in the garage trying to figure **** out quite a bit that week.

Ugh. Right?



Mock ups



Skipped the photo but I ended up t******* the roll pan to 47/48 height and hammering it straighter. I used a hole saw to make "corners" and a cut off wheel to cut up to them and across to the opposite one guided by some tape



These showed up about the time my new to me bumper brackets got painted-after last summers vinegar soak- musts been aliens





Looks like a dusty barn find at this point haha



Used porkand******'s slide hammer and on the creased cowl also used a short length of PVC pipe and dead blow hammer to hit them from the inside and get them pretty dang close.

I used hammers, slide hammer and a lot if heat shrinking before I would suc***b to filler. I used some and probably should have used more filler but I didn't any to.







Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Painted my plate



Ruined my plate lol. Gonna take a few more try's



Yikes! Good thing it missed the tube!


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

I had decided to paint it myself because I'm broke. I can mess it up a lot of times before it's what it'd cost to have someone else do it.

Anyhow it was an hour drive to the booth and my battery was dead! ...or so I thought. Figured after sitting 7 months it was drained but after stealing the nissian's battery for a couple days it turns out I just didn't have the terminals tight enough





Here we go!



Out side of losing my license plate, the zip tye broke, I put the plate on my seat and was then swiftly pulled over my a state trooper for no plate, the trip went fine



Before shots and all



Drove threw two rooms like this

To a room like this





5 hours of tapping later...



First coat of epoxy primer



I am the danger! Haha


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!