1952-59 Ford 1952 Victoria Build-Up Part 1

Global warming my ****! ...and I can't imagine any situation where I would need Al Gore...

 

Wait! I have to ammend my previous post- he'd make a pretty good crash test dummy- he he

 

I waited all week to unveil the Vicky and restart this build-up thread, but wouldn't you know it, it's been raining since Friday night. Oh well...

The Roundup is over for this year, my annual event of note, and I got my '55 Buick, "Nuthin' Special", somewhat sorted out so I was able to attend as a participant this year rather than a spectator. This was my goal and I managed somehow to achieve it without going broke or crazy.



Now it's time to get down to business on the '52 Victoria, "Always Something!", which we last saw under a couple of car covers and a foot or so of snow.



It's still raining lightly so I guess my plans to finish the trunk release will get set aside for the day. Too bad, I really need to get that part done to move on to the rest. Maybe the rain'll stop and I'll be able to get it done this afternoon.

I've decided to put a manual pull in for the time being. Since the car has no wiring or power, an electric pull doesn't make much sense at this point. I'll change it over to electric at the same time I do the doors.

The latch modifications, which I've covered earlier, are the same for both electric or manual. The temporary bailing wire pull cable on my car tells me that only a very light pull is required and that the latch has a very short activation "stroke". This is necessary for an electric solenoid pull and works out well for a manual cable as well.

I found a 12' long pull cable at O'Reilly's under the HELP brand that will work nicely. I also found some small cable adjusting clamps at the same place. The stainless cable holders to attach the cable to the deck lid braces came from Speedway Motors.



(...to be continued, game rained out!)

Though I've not actually worked on the car in a month or two, I've made progress. I have found a great muffler shop to build the exhaust system and a well-recommended sand blaster to clean all the inner panels and parts of the engine compartment. This may not seem like much, but these two services are critical to the success of any build-up.

The next major step will be pulling the engine/transmission. I will then ***emble the clutch ***embly, etc. which is only mocked up at the moment, and smooth the firewall before setting the engine/transmission back into place for good. Well, not for good-good. It'll have to come back out when it's time for paint, but that's a long way down the road. (I might cheat this part and paint the firewall before putting the motor back in...I don't know. We'll see what happens...)

My plan is for the car to be completed and had some miles put on it in primer before it gets torn down again for paint and upholstery. This is the old school way of doing things. It's not the best way, probably, because it requires doing everything twice. But it's the way I understand.

And, this way I can re-do any mechanical screwups and not have to worry about damaging the paint in the process. I do not have any grand expectations that this car will be perfect the first time around. Mine never are. They always seem to need tweaks here and there - sometimes big tweaks - before they meet my standards.

I will be doing all of my own paint and bodywork, so I can either paint or not paint as I go along. My paint booth is the great outdoors, which works just fine with non-metallic, single-stage paints like I have planned to use. Bugs, dirt, leaves and small animal tracks can be sanded out during the color-sanding phase with no problem.

Besides, I'm just not **** about paint. It's gonna get beat up and dirty as soon as the car hits the road, so it just doesn't have to be perfect. Yes, the bodywork and paint prep are critical, but a few flaws in the final finish just don't matter to me. I'm a road rash kinda guy.

More later...

 

as always... Clean as a whistle!

 

Okay... I finally got some good weather on a day I could take off and work on the Vicky. I decided to finish up the remote deck lid latch setup that I'd started some weeks ago.

You will remember that I had modified the stock deck lid latch mechanism by removing the key-actuated release lever and drilling the shorter lever to receive the pull cable of either an electric solenoid or a manual cable release.



As I mentioned a couple posts ago, I've decided to go manual for the time being and had rounded up the parts I needed to get the job done.

The rear seat riser behind the driver is where I located the pull cable for easy access. It's right next to the rear door panel armrest (removed in these photos) to minimize the chances of it being stepped on accidentally.



I snaked the 12' pull cable inside the armrest, inside the trunk, onto the deck lid and then inside the inner panel where the latch is located. I attached it to something solid every foot or so using Speedway Motors stainless steel brake line clamps, modified slightly to increase their clamping force to keep the cable from moving.









The cable was then cut to length and a sharp 90 degree bend put into the end. This was run through the hole I drilled in the short lever and secured with a cable stop. The extra loop you see in the photo is the end of a throttle return spring I used to add extra pull to return the lever to the latched position. The stock spring wasn't quite strong enough due to extra resistence in the long length of the cable.





That's it. Once again, it's not rocket science but I think it turned out very well. Should I ever decide to go electric, changing it over to solenoid operation will be very easy.

 

Very Nice!!
Like everything else on your car - well thought out and well executed.

Thanks for posting

 

You make everything look so easy Eric! Now, I'm just trying to figure out the best place to route it in a 4dr . Nice work as always.

 

Dig your car, you take excellent informative pictures, I am missing the bumpers on my car, I have a lead on a cheap parts car, are all 52-54 bumpers the same? Is Carpenter making the rear window rubber for the 52 three piece rear gl***? Is a neww front windshield available ?

 

52-53 Front bumpers are the same,52,53,54 rear bumpers interchange.Obsolete Ford has your 3 piece rear window rubber part# P42-54085-185 Phone them at 1-800-654-3247 There is a used windshield in HAMB cl***ifieds,there is a vendor Cl***ic Auto Gl*** that has new windshields listed on ebay.

 

I spent Sunday pulling the engine/transmission from the Vicky and doing various small stuff like replacing the rear seal in the Muncie, removing a couple of broken studs in the transmission case, etc., etc.

Today I decided to smooth off the firewall and do a couple of firewall repairs at the same time. There are lots of holes I won't be needing and I like the look of a neat firewall, free of clutter, wires and unused holes. There were some stress cracks on the p***enger side body mount and the right side had pulled all the spot welds loose, so I decided to repair them at the same time.

Once again, not rocket science, just a lot of welding and grinding, but I feel like the day was well spent. A dab of MarGl*** in the places where the large holes were patched and it'll be good to go.

By the way, our Fords have places in the kick panels on both sides to p*** wires from the dash area into the engine compartment in a nearly invisible way. No need to have anything p***ing through the firewall except the throttle linkage.

Here's some pictures of the process...



Lots of holes I really don't need.



This is the tube in which the throttle pivots. I've blended it into the firewall. Will be smoothed with body filler later on.


Stress crack in the p***enger body mount just below the heater core. Not a good thing.


I cut the cracks open to align the two sides and to increase weld penetration.


Welded up and smoothed. Good as new.


The spot welds on the driver's side had pulled loose. I drilled through the outer layer, clamped the inner and outer layers together and rosette welded them. Twice as many welds now as before.


All better.


To fill the large holes I rough-cut patches, held them behind the firewall and tacked them into place. This is a little crude, but there's no way to hammer and dolly a flush patch in this area so this method will have to do.


The patches are then slowly and carefully solid welded around the edges, taking great care not to heat up the panel. The welds are then ground smooth and flush with the surrounding metal. The low spot will be filled with a dab of MarGl*** filler. This method is simple, strong and easy for a beginner to master. Hammer welding flush patches is a job for an expert metal fabricator.


The firewall already looks much, much better. I'm not going for a show finish on it so I'm not attempting to remove all the factory ripples and die draw distortions, just fill the holes and make it neat. I'll put the MarGl*** in the low spots tomorrow. I'll also clean and MarGl*** the backsides of all the welds to be certain no moisture gets in from the rear. After that it's on to body filler, primer and paint.


Just in case I ever want to put the factory heater back in, I made a removable heater core block-off plate from an old Chevelle hood. It uses the factory screw holes in the firewall so no changes were necessary to install it.



That's it! Smooooooooth as a baby's ****! Ready for primer and paint. The lower areas will be cleaned and re-undercoated before the motor/transmission are put back in. Same for the exposed areas of the frame.

 

The pics aren't showing up for me Eric. Did you forget to attach them?

 

eric - you could sell this book -seriously....great information - you got mad skillz

 

did you think about running a UniLite dist.? I had a 69 camero in high school that was OG 6cyl. When they put the V8 in it was mounted to far back and every time I would get on it the cap would blow up. I put a MSD Unilight in and never had a problem. They are kinda step on the price, but for me it was well worth not being stuck on the side of the road.

 

Today 03:04 AM
63unibrow
did you think about running a UniLite dist.?

Yes. Geno suggested it. A very good idea, but t******* the cap solved the clearance problem at zero co$t.

Also, I'm going for a fairly plain, late '50s vintage look under the hood and the billet body and red cap would be out of place.

In its finished incarnation, the engine will have the old-style finned cast aluminum Corvette-script valve covers, three Rochester 2-bbls with "acorn" air cleaners, cast iron exhaust manifolds, point-style distributor, black OEM coil and black OEM-style plug wires. Pretty much what it would have had in '59 - '60.

My only concession to modernity will be an alternator...painted black.

I've ranted about consistency of "era" before, and am a true believer in that concept. But I think I'm a dying breed. Technology is wonderful...in its place.

Thanks for the input! It is greatly appreciated.

 

I like the old style look too. When I used one I was a dumb kid(ha ha) but it did work for me, at the time. I have been looking-dreaming about running a three 2-bbl set up for the 428 that I have. As it turns out, they are expensive. I kinda want to make it an old g***er type of ride. I have an old straight axel in the back of the house that has beening beggin me to do somthing with it.

 

okay. so WOW there's a lot of information here and i'm just going to have to print it all and take it home as my weeks reading!!! i did find your front suspension portion, i will be studying that while i'm at it!
you said you were going to have to lower your seat.. that's funny. i have to raise mine.. i look through the steering wheel and feel like a total munchkin! but at 5'4" i guess that's to be expected!!! let me know how you lowered yours (i'm sure you've done it by now) so i know what to expect in raising mine. i've had my seat out, but that was before i knew i should do a modification on it! oh well!!!!

really, thanks for sharing the whole build. i should be doing this with mine too. so i can go back and reference!
xoxo denise

 

When I re-install the engine and transmission, I will pull the transmission crossmember so that the whole ***embly, including the Hurst linkage...less handle...can be pre-***embled and still fit easily into the engine compartment.

With that in mind, I decided to take an hour or two today to whip the old Hurst Compe***ion Plus shifter into shape, install it on the Muncie 4-speed and adjust it.

This is the same shifter I got with the engine/transmission when I purchased it, installed in a totalled '65 Chevelle El Camino. It had been used some, but showed no wear at all, just a little bit of surface rust from sitting in the wrecked El Camino for God knows how many years.

I had already removed two broken studs from the transmission case, two of the four that hold the shifter mounting bracket in place, and cleaned out the tapped holes, so I was ready to put the shifter back on.



It's a simple process, really. I first photographed the ***embly and rods so I'd remember which parts went where. Then I hot tanked and bead blasted the shifter body and all the linkage parts and repainted them with Krylon Satin Black.



The first trick to getting the Hurst Compe***ion Plus adjusted is to put a snug-fitting drill bit or bolt through the shifter body and all three shifter arms as shown in the photo above. This aligns the shifter arms in the "neutral" position and holds them in place during the adjustment phase.



I had purchased a Hurst Pit Pack of nylon bushings and spring clips to renew and replace any lost or damaged parts. These are available at Summit Racing, Speedway Motors and some O'Reilly stores a**** other places.



The transmission shafts are also put in the neutral position and the arms and rods adjusted so that they ***emble precisely with both ***emblies in neutral.



The second trick to long transmission life with the Compe***ion Plus shifter is to adjust the lever stops. These stops prevent "over-shifting" the transmission, putting un-necessary pressure on the internal parts during hard shifts. Adjusting them is not rocket science, just don't forget to do it. (The ones on my shifter had never been adjusted. I guess the previous owner didn't know what those bolts were for.)

I used Lubriplate, a white moly lube, to lubricate the internal parts of the shifter before putting the stainless steel lower plate back on. Lubriplate is a long-lasting grease that is water proof and stays in place. Perfect for this application.



That's about all there is to it. One less thing to think about.

 

Eric,
This is a REALLY good thread. Worthwhile/tasty project, uncompromising workmanship, excellent photos and text. I haven't read it from cover to cover, but I thought it deserved an enthusiastic review!

 

any more to this build? this has been a great read, especially the part of the rear sway bar. actually, lots of good info. great talent you have, thanks for sharing.

 

Thanks, dwayne. The Vicky project has been put on temporary "hold" during the hot months here in Texas. My shop is full so I have no work area other than outside on a cement pad and, while I do have some shade trees, 100+ degrees is just more than this old man can stand.

I finally got my dearched rear springs from Jamco so I'm set to tackle the rear suspension next. Thanks for your continued interest.

 

out of my own curiosity, sice you have gutted the firewall anyway. and having clearance problems with the dist. why not raise the firewall an inch or so . seems like with your ability would not be hard . or would it get in the way for the wiper motor?

 

old lady's mad: T******* the two rearmost distributor cap posts eliminated the problem.

 

i read that , and i guess your ok with it , will the cap come off and out ok? but i myself would not be . seems like a bandaid . if it were me i would make a cure if i were at this stage in the build . but as the old saying gose its yours build t like you want it .

 

i cant wait to see this car when its done

 

We're baaaaaack!

After a long summer, I've finally got the Buick where I want it and am ready to resume work on the Vicky. My older son Chris came to visit and today we cleaned out the shop and moved the Vicky from outside to inside.



It rolls well so I can move it in and out easily, and have enough room to work on it inside if the weather is bad. This is a first. I've done all the previous work outside.

So... Here we go again!

 

Great work Eric, it's been a while since I've fiew your build thread..... boy, I wish I live closer to you, I'd be a pest on the weekends! Keep the pics coming!

 

Hey Eric , Glad to see you are getting back to your build .

Jim

 

It's been almost a year since the Vicky project has made much progress, but during the last couple of days I've pulled it out of the shop and just looked at it, trying to fine-tune my image of the finished car.

And I think I've made a decision to go a bit further with it than I originally intended, but I'm not sure in exactly what direction.

The photoshopped version has become a little too mild as the build progressed, and now that I have some dependable "wheels" for shows - the Buick - I'll have time to make more mods on the Vicky.

I'm toying with the idea of adding '55 Pontiac side trim and doing a two-tone scheme with the roof, the deck and the area above the side trim done in the Ivory roof color, with the hood, front fenders and lower sides done in the original blue.

Full skirts and lower...a lot lower. Kind of like the Merc below, but with ivory above the Pontiac trim. And no hideous "kickstand" pipes. Ugh!

​

I'm still thinking and scheming. We'll see what happens.

 

Slam it! You may even re-consider skirts when you get it in the dirt.

The pontiac side trim looks good, but I think the stock '54 ford trim, '54 merc trim, or '55 customeline spears look good aswell. It makes the car look longer, and the placement of it before the body starts to really "roll" makes it look skinnier. I dunno, just some ideas!

 

I have really been missing progress on the Vicky- I can't wait to see what you do with it! If you want any photoshop help give me a holler and I'd be happy to help you out.