1952-59 Ford 1952 Victoria Build-Up Part 1

Hey Eric, I figured i would just do a quick (really quick) photoshop job to let you see what your light job might look like when it's finished. Not an entirely unselfish effort on my behalf- I really wanted to see what it would look like. I like it even more than I did before.

 

Thanks, Scott. That looks great!

The swap I had seen before in an old "little book", but in that one the shop did a "quick and dirty" lens install, and then went on to create an eyebrow of round rod and sheet metal - a little too radical for my taste.

I've also seen '55 Olds 88 lenses just screwed onto the Ford bucket - a 10 minute modification done already by everybody and his brother. Simple to do, but overdone and not in keeping with the more subtle nature of my car's overall styling.

I really wanted something different and more tasteful. I toyed with the idea of simply screwing the lenses onto the Ford buckets, but this wouldn't work due to the angled attachment screws used on the '54 Olds Super 88 lenses. I'd have had to modify the buckets to be removed from the rear no matter what.

This would also position the lens too far in or too far out - depending upon whether I used the '52 buckets or not, and whether they were used in the stock position or flipped over. This also positions the bulb too far inside the rim to illuminate the lens on the sides - an important safety consideration in an age when people tend to pay more attention to texting than to driving!

And, finally, screwing the lenses directly to the buckets just seemed too "rig-a-ma-jig" to me - poor workmanship for the sake of getting it done quickly and cheaply. (Interestingly, this is the way it was done most of the time back in the day. Barris was one of the worst offenders. I was the technical consultant on a movie once and worked in Barris' shop for a couple of months building the vehicles. You wouldn't believe the ****py quality of the work coming out of his shop at that time! But, that's a story for another time...)

I figured I could do better...so I did.

Thanks again for the photoshop, and for the kind words.

 

Well, I took some time today to finish my tail light project.

The biggest problem I ran into was the leaded seams. Getting the lead out wasn't a big deal - you can't weld to lead - but the leaded seams had been filed a lot and the metal was paper thin in some spots.

Thin metal and having the wrong size wire in my MIG dictated that I gas weld the rings into place. I ended up chasing holes for what seemed like forever, but I finally got it done.

I use DuraGl*** on pretty much everything where seams are involved. It's waterproof so moisture can't creep in from the back side and cause problems.

The first quick coat is to seal the seams and fill the big low spots. This coat gets long boarded to locate any high spots that might come back to haunt me later. Any high spots get tapped down and a second coat of DuraGl*** is applied to rough in the desired contours.



A propane torch and a wire brush gets the lead out.



The rings were gas welded to the fenders - the old fashioned way.



DuraGl*** is used to seal the seams and fill any big low spots.



The first coat is long boarded off to locate any high spots.



The second coat roughs in the desired contours.

This process leaves the tail lights pretty much finished for now. I'll fine-tune them when the overall bodywork is done on the car prior to paint. But that's a way down the road...

 

i really like the photoshopped version of your car,the lights are looking cool to.

 

Very cool- thanks for taking the time to take pix while you were in the middle of your work! I'm a visual learner, so your stuff has really helped me out. I can't wait to see your car finished- sounds like its gonna be great!

 

Merry Christmas to me...!

I took advantage of the slow week to go to the DMV today. I needed to re-up the El Camino before the first of the year, but I decided to take a swing at getting the Vicky registered as well.

As you'll remember, I found a set of year-of-manufacture plates at the Goodguy's show swap meet this year and wasn't exactly clear as to whether or not I could use them on the Victoria.

Well... I did a quick search on the HAMB main board and came up with a Texas hit almost immediately which told just what you need to get the job done.

I decided to go "antique" on this car, since it's still non-operational, just to get it into the system. Once in, I can change the status to "cl***ic" later on, which allows more flexibility as to how the car can be used.



I needed the following: a pair of matching Texas automobile plates of the same vintage as my car, a valid ***le in my name, proof of insurance and a DMV counterperson who knew what she was doing. Fortunately, I had 'em all.

A special thanks to Linda at the Texas Dept. of Transportation in Ft. Worth. They don't come any more knowledgeable and helpful than she when it comes to getting old cars through the system. She's been my "go-to" gal for many years. She's the best!

Took all of five minutes. Easy as pie! Cost me about fifty bucks including all the silly taxes and ad-on fees. Not bad for a 3-year registration.

I'm a happy guy!

 

No way! I had no idea that vintage plates could be used legitimately today. That is soooooo cool. I scored a pretty nice '53 WI plate last year just 4 kicks (and car shows) for $10. Sounds like you got a one in a trillion experience at the DMV- I think I just saw a pig fly by the window!

Good story!

 

I picked up a mint '56 Michigan plate for my Fairlane, last spring at a swapmeet. I haven't registered the car yet but it sounds like about the same routine as with yours in Texas, Eric. But methinks considerably more $$$ in MI than TX. I think registration and insurance rates are based on how it's registered - historic or driven infrequently.

BTW, I'm not much into the custom stuff but I like how you're doing the taillights. I'm not completely converted yet but perhaps someday I'll see the 'light'.

Ron

 

If you are interested, Scott, do a search on the HAMB main board. Try something like "vintage plates Wisconsin" or "year of manufacture plates Wisconsin" and see what pops up. Keep looking and eventually you'll find someone with info on if and how it's done in your state. Not all states allow the year of manufacture plate option, but many do. And yes, I think it's pretty cool, too.

Good luck!

 

I'll keep working on you, Ron.

Actually, I like mild, mild customs...those with minor modifications that improve the car's overall appearance, not just change for change's sake. Sometimes all it takes is shaving the emblems and a lowering job.



One of the best examples of a mild custom I've seen lately is SlmLrd's burgundy '52. It has very few changes and yet looks so clean and sleek! It's very easy to go too far, and he has shown great restraint and stopped just in time. A very nice car!

 

Thanks Eric, I'll look into it!

 

re: the burgundy '52? Custom work on the body I like. Low ride stance - I'm not a fan of it and probably never will be. Personal preference, and I'm not knockin' the lowriders. I just like a slight rake to the front, with a higher, but not too much hike in the back; for some reason that "prowler" look has always seemed more appealing to me than drag (low back end) or overall lowrider. I got a set of Gabriel air shocks on the '56, partly because it'll allow to raise the back up a bit. But I'm also thinking of getting a same-period canned hamb to pull behind the car - someday. Maybe.

 

Short day in the shop today. Too cold to work other than in the middle of the day, but I did get a little bit done on the Vicky, mainly preparation.

My plan is to "french" the headlights to match the tail lights. I got all the front end sheet metal with the car, but all in pieces, so the first task was to see if I had all the parts to the headlights. Turns out that between several buckets there were enough parts to make two, with rings and inner trim rings. The only thing missing was two of the attachment springs and one stainless headlight bulb retaining ring. (Anybody got any?)

After scratching my head for a while I figured out that I can do the head lights in exactly the same way as I did the tail lights.

I can mount the buckets from the back side and weld the rings to the fenders...but I still haven't worked out the adjustment procedure. Mainly, I haven't figured out how to attach the inner trim rings so that they can be removed easily to access the adjusters.

The only alternative seems to be to remove the buckets from the backside to adjust the headlights. This can be done, but I'd rather be able to do it from the front.

Maybe if I plan on taking the buckets out to release the rings, then reinstall the buckets, adjust the lights and then snap the inner rings back into place when I'm done? Might work.



Today I got a couple of minutes to do a little of the work on the headlights. First step was to remove the clips and the lip so that the bucket would fit tightly against the fender from the backside. The buckets can be installed from the back without t******* the lip off, but there would be an unsightly gap between the trim ring and the headlight when it's put back togther. I'd like to avoid that, and t******* the lip will position the bucket only about 1/4" further to the rear than stock. No gap.



Then I trial-fitted the bucket and bolted it in just to see if it would fit correctly and that the outer ring would fit as it should. Nut clearance is a little tight on the back side, but slotting the bolt holes about 1/8" outward provides the needed socket room. If you don't slot the holes before the bolts are tack welded into place, getting the nuts off would be nearly impossible.




I also checked to see if the inner trim rings can be taken on and off after the outer rim has been welded on. They can...but not easily because the retaining clips are quite stiff. I'll reshape the retainer clips a bit tomorrow to try to make getting them off easier. Not much room for fingers...

 

It was a really nice day in Texas today. Warm for the season, dry and sunny. I had every expectation of finishing the headlights on the Vicky, but decided to crawl under the car and measure for the driveshaft first.

I hoped that I could get a driveshaft made while the engine is out of the car for a week or two while I make the clutch and transmission operational. I hope to get the car running fairly soon. After all, entries just opened for the 2010 Lonestar Roundup and I really want to take the Vicky this year.

If you'll remember, the car has a Muncie 4-speed transmission and a '71 Maverick 8-inch rear end. So I crawled under the car with a tape measure and measured from the rear seal on the ****** to the center of the yoke on the rear end. I figured I'd take this measurement and see if I had a Chevy driveshaft in my outdoor "parts department" that I could have cut down and changed to a Ford-style rear driveshaft yoke at the same time.

My first candidate was the driveshaft from a rusty '64 El Camino with a 6-cylinder stick that I had dragged home years ago as a source of parts for my daily-driver '64 Elky. A quick measure-up told me that it was pretty darn close to what I'd need.

Then I took one of the cups off the rear universal joint to see what size the Maverick rear end would require. Wouldn't it be funny, I thought to myself, if the El Camino and the Maverick took the same rear universal joint. No chance...

But a quick check said different. The rear universals were the same! So, with a pounding heart I dragged the complete El Camino driveshaft under the Vicky and slipped it into place! It bolted up almost perfectly! I couldn't believe my luck!

It was about an inch shorter than ideal, but it would work just fine. But being a bit of a mechanical perfectionist, I tried to figure a way I could make up the missing inch. Speedway Motors sells different length front yokes, I remembered, and they had one that would do the job just fine.

But, I'm also known for being...well...frugal, so the $60 some-odd bucks the Speedway yoke would cost was more than I really wanted to pay. Perhaps, I thought, one of the several GM driveshafts in the "parts department" would have the longer yoke I needed...a long shot, I know, but you can never tell.

I didn't have to look far. Seems that one of the Chevy driveshafts out in back not only had a 1" longer yoke, but also had nearly-new replacement universal joints - the ones in the old El Camino driveshaft were shot.




Sometimes ya' just get lucky!

I'd have had the whole works together if I hadn't killed my outdoor vise changing out the universals. One of the originals in the El Camino driveshaft had been there for almost 45 years and didn't want to budge...of course using a vise made in India didn't help matters either. A quick trip to Northern Tool netted a new, bigger vise but not before the sun sank slowly in the West.

So, tomorrow I'll put the long yoke and good universals in the El Camino driveshaft and bolt it up under the Vicky for a final test-fit. It'll be perfect, I have every confidence.

Then I'll get after the headlights...

 

Excellent news! Man, I hope that I attain a fraction of your automotive knowledge, craftiness, and frugality (I think i already have the frugailty- no choice). Great work, and thanks for the pix and updates.

 

Well, today little miss "Always Something", as I affectionately (sometimes) call my Victoria, lived up to her name.

As soon as it got warm enough - late morning - I started ***embling the driveshaft for the final trial fit. It had all looked really good yesterday, so I had figured an hour at the outside to get this chore done, and then on to the headlights.

The first surprise came when I noticed a little roughness in the front universal joint, a used one that I thought was in great shape. So I took it off, opened it up and found the needle bearing race was history. So, off to the parts store for a nice new one - American made, of course.

With the new one installed, I checked the used rear one and it was in great shape, so I installed it again and crawled under the car to put the driveshaft in place.

I know this has happened to you: the rear universal joint which fit the Maverick rear yoke perfectly yesterday, didn't today. It was sloppy...about a sixteenth of an inch sloppy...and I knew right away what I'd done.

I had trial fitted the rear universal without thoroughly cleaning the inside of the yoke, causing the undersize (1 1/16 inch diameter cups) Chevelle universal joint to fit snugly. Today I cleaned the crud off the Maverick yoke and, sure enough, the Chevelle universal was too small. I needed a Ford-style universal, which is larger by a sixteenth of an inch (1 1/8 inch diameter cups) to fit the Maverick rear end properly.

So, it's back to the parts store for an "adapter" universal joint which has two cups 1 1/16" diameter to fit the Chevelle drive shaft and two cups 1 1/8" diameter to fit the Maverick rear yoke. In this case a Precision #430 did the job just fine.




By the time I got back, installed the adapter universal and bolted the driveshaft into place - it fit perfectly, by the way - it was cold enough for me to start picking up my tools and begin looking for a warmer place.

So, the driveshaft project is done, but once again no progress on the headlights. Maybe tomorrow...maybe not. The weatherman is talking about some cold weather blowing in tonight which may change my plans.

We'll see...

 

Okay...back to the headlights while it's still warm! We don't get many nice warm days like today during January...even in Texas!



Here's where I'll trim the fender to get enough finger room to unfasten and get the trim ring retainer springs out.



Here's what it looks like after removing a small slice of fender.



Stock spring left, modified on right...less tension, easier to remove.



Tack weld the bolts to the fender, just like on the rear.



Hold rim in position with tape, tack weld into place. The screw hole will be filled, but the small drain hole next to it will be left open.



Spring which holds trim ring in place can be seen here. The added finger room allows them to be removed easily once the bucket has been dropped out.



Notice that the gap between the trim ring and the headlight bulb is minimal, just like original. This is why the effort to trim the lip off the bucket is worthwhile. It's a small detail, but an important one in my humble opinion.



I used my wire welder with .023" wire to weld the rims solid. The rims are very thin steel, thinner than the fenders, so I had to go very slowly to avoid heat build up and warpage. I don't have a photo of it, but I welded up the screw hole in the bottom of the rim, but left the original drain hole alone. The rim has to be able to drain or it'll rust out.

'52 Ford headlight rims have a slight peak which matches the peak on the fenders. Mercury rims, on the other hand, have no peak and are perfectly round. I plan to emphasize the peak when I do the finish bodywork on the car so as to disguise the slightly bugeyed look these cars have when the rims are smoothed off. Again a small detail, but important in my opinion.

Other than a bit of filler, which I'll try to do tomorrow, they're done! The stainless steel trim ring is now removable so headlights can be adjusted from the front. Once the headlights are aligned properly, the bucket is dropped out the back, the trim ring snapped into place and the bucket reinstalled. Simple.

Here's some more photos I took today...



View of the backside of the weld viewed from the front.



Viewed from the rear. Pretty good penetration.



DuraGl*** being applied to the weld bead, fills low spots and seals any pinholes.



I use DuraGl*** on all bodywork which involves welded seams or filled holes - any place where pinholes might allow moisture from the backside to invade the bodywork on the outside. It's more work and more expensive, but it's cheap insurance.

Later...

 

We had a couple of really nice, warm days here in Texas following the deep-freeze, so I used them wisely and finished up the head lights and tail lights while I could.

Pretty basic stuff for the most part - blocksanding, detailing the buckets and mechanisms, calking the interior seams, painting the backsides and priming. Nothing glamourous, but for the time being at least, they are done.

The bodywork around the lights, along with the rest of the car, will get more attention when it's time for paint. There's no point in perfecting these areas at this point. The front fenders will change shape when they are put onto the car and will certainly be affected by the installation of the '54 Chevy grille. And, I found a lot of leaded places in the tail light area which will need to be reworked. These old cans aren't anywhere near as straight as you'd think! There are lumps and waves everywhere, factory flaws for the most part, that will need loving care as time goes on.

Here's the photos...



Calking all the internal seams is important if your car is to be driven in all kinds of weather. Keeps splash and rainwater from seeping between the parts and causing rust.



That's it for now. Not bad, even if I do say so myself.



Calk is also used on the tail lights. Notice the small drain.



The rear tail light ***emblies were detailed, will get gaskets on final ***embly.



I painted the area inside the rims black to create a shadow box effect.



That's it! I'm really proud of these!

My next mini-project, since I'm still stuck waiting for suspension parts, will probably be the electrification of the trunk lid. It should be a quickie and will beat holding it closed with a bungie cord. I've already removed the lock and emblem, so rigging the latch to work electrically is the next indicated step. Stay tuned!

 

Wow the headlights and taillights turned out really great.

 

Well Eric, I certainly like what you're doing to the lights. Stuff like this will get my son's interest too.

He picked up a '47 Fordor a year or so ago, an untouched straight stock car in pretty good shape. He discussed doing some mild custom. We hope to start tear-down when the weather warms up. This type of head/tail light treatment on that fatfender might be just what he's looking for in order to keep it looking stock, but not.

Since the '41-'48s had flush headlights perhaps using something like the '52-'54 trim & buckets etc. to french them into the fenders might work?

Great how-to stuff for sure.
Ron

 

Awesome job Eric! Gives me yet more ideas for mine. All I need to do next winter is find a heated place to store my ride where I can work on it for months.

Keep it up, and thanks again for your do***entation!

 

looks too damn good

 

Another fine, warm January day in Texas, so I made an executive decision to push ahead with the Victoria instead of going to work. There will be plenty of yucky days to stay inside and work. There are advantages to being self-employed.

As I mentioned earlier, I'm still hung up waiting for suspension parts so I've decided to do some of the smaller tasks while waiting. One of these is getting the rear deck lid adjusted and operational using an electric deck latch release.

I don't know why the deck lid on this car didn't fit well, but it didn't. Judging by the undisturbed paint on the bolts, the deck lid has never been removed, nor have the adjustment bolts been messed with. It's as it was originally made...and it didn't fit worth a flip.

Though time-consuming, the adjusting was pretty much routine. A change in one place causes two changes in other places, so it turns into an excercise in tail-chasing.

One interesting detail is one we've discussed here before: the hinge adjustments are inadequate in some cases. In my case, the p***enger side slots were not long enough to allow enough adjustment to get the lid down far enough or far enough forward.

A large round file worked great to lengthen the slots, but it was necessary to remove the spring from the hinge to get access. Getting it off wasn't a big deal, but getting it back on was! I ended up using a long tire iron and a variety of colorful words to get the job done, but get it done I did.

Once I got the lid squared up in the hole I found that the shapes of the body panels were not exactly compatible. I will need to do further bodywork to get all the transitions smooth. But I finally got the gaps consistent, the surfaces lined up and the latch mechanism to line up properly so as not to push the lid to one side or the other as it closes.

With the lid fitting properly I turned my attention to getting the latch mechanism working properly and modified to work without the stock key release. There were several options, but I selected the simplest one...at least the one which seemed simplest to me.

The Speedway Motors electric release kit features a solenoid which has about a half-inch of "pull" when activated. This is not very much, so using the original release arm was not an option as it required more movement than this.

The long arm on the original latch is a leverage multiplier so that the turning of the key provides enough leverage to release the latch. Fortunately the original latch design also includes a second, shorter arm which requires much less movement to do the same job. This is the arm we will employ with our electric latch setup.

I cut the rivit and removed the longer latch arm, and then drilled a new hole in the short arm through which the solenoid cable will eventually go. The short arm is of a hardened steel and will require a carbide drill to make the new hole, but other than that it's a simple task.

Because the Vicky isn't wired yet, I decided to make the latch release manual initially. This has a second benefit in my particular case as well. It will allow me to adjust the deck lid tension on the latch to a level that I can be sure will not over-tax the solenoid. (If your deck lid latch operates smoothly with only the pressure of turning the key, you can skip this step.) It took quite a bit of adjustment of the lower pin to get my latch to latch reliably and yet release with a minimum pull on the short arm.

As the photos show, I used a length of bailing wire to activate the modified latch. All it takes is a light tug on the wire and the latch releases with a faint "click". The compressed rubber weather stripping pushes the lid open far enough to get my fingers between the deck lid and the jamb to pull the lid open.

The aligned and modified latch works just as smoothly and reliably as I'd hoped. Next will be to change it from manual operation to electric. Shouldn't be a big deal.

Here are the photos...



The Speedway electric deck kit is very complete, only $15 too!



Turning the key activates the long arm with the slot in it, releasing the latch. This required too much movement to be used with the Speedway electric solenoid which only has about a half inch of pull.



So, I removed that long arm in favor of the shorter arm, which got drilled for the pull cable. Shorter arm requires more effort, so careful adjustment of the latch is critical so as not to over-load the solenoid.



I rigged up a manual pull cable using bailing wire so I could adjust my deck and latch before switching to electric operation. If your key latch works smoothly already, you can skip this step.



The bailing wire exits the deck lid inner structure in the same hole the electric solenoid cable will use later on. This hole is drilled on a straight line from the hole in the short latch arm to give a straight pull.



With the deck lid aligned, the latch adjusted and the temporary manual latch pull installed, the rear of the car is starting to look pretty good. I'll install the electric solenoid as soon as time allows.

Stay tuned...

 

Great job! That last picture shows how much progress you've made- awesome!

 

funny! I was just getting ready to work on my trunk latch. this is great!

 

funny! I was just getting ready to work on my trunk latch. this is great!

 

Those speedway kits for deck lids work really well. The one on my brother's mercury does anyway. I'm using an acctuator that sticks when its cold.

IMHO, I'll never use speedway for door solenoids again though.

The car is looking mighty fine, if I may say!

 

Custom Crestline: IMHO, I'll never use speedway for door solenoids again though.

Did you have a bad experience with the Speedway solenoid door kit? If so, please tell the details. I'd like to avoid any problems ahead of time if I can.

As I did with the deck lid, I plan to perfect the fit of the doors and the operation of the original door latches before I fit the electric latch kit. This will take the strain and friction off the latches and allow the relatively low powered Speedway solenoids to do the job.

One of the jobs of the striker is to lift the door into proper alignment so that the push****on latches will remain manageable. If worn strikers and/or latch mechanisms allow even a small misalignment of the door in the closed position, extra effort is required to push the ****on and release the latch.

Our Fords, especially hardtops and convertibles, have very heavy doors which tend to sag, especially when the hinges become worn with age and neglect. The strikers on mine show only minimal wear, but the doors still lift themselves a tiny bit just before the latch closes. This is a dead giveaway that my doors have sagged a mite and need to be properly aligned before the strikers are ruined...and certainly before the electric latch releases are installed.

I plan to leave the manual door handles in place on the inside, with electric switches used on the outside only. The inside release rods are slotted so as not to add any extra load when the latch is actuated from the outside, but I'll be sure to check these for excess friction as well.

There are high powered solenoids, 45 lbs. I think, available in the aftermarket. These are intended for early cars with crude latches which depend upon high leverage in the handle ***embly to be manageable. If I can't get the door latch friction level low enough by careful alignment of all the door components, I'll switch to a higher powered solenoid.

One step at a time...

 

Thanks for posting all of this info in such great detail. The pics are also very helpful. I've got the headlights and taillights done and will be working on my door and trunk solenoids today. So, needless to say, I have been watching this thread very closely.
I try to keep pics of my progress on the main board and in my profile albums. I haven't figured out how to post pics here yet.

 

Man, am I getting cabin fever... First day of Spring yesterday, snow today. Where's Al Gore when you need him?