49' Ford Custom. QUESTIONS & IDEAS

I've recently picked up a 49' 4door Hardtop.

All the wiring is as old as the car minus the aftermarket blinker and fuel pump.

ALL the Instrument Gauges are working. OIL,HEAT,FUEL,VOLT

The 3 that are not working ... Speedo,Left/Right Blinker indicator lights in cluster and hazards in aftermarket blinker switch ***embly.
---------------------------------------------- With that said.

Yesterday, I installed a new speedometer cable. While changing the cable i checked the gear that is inserted into the transmission and it was perfect in condition. I hooked everything up and still i am not getting a reading on my gauge.

- how difficult is it to rebuild the speedo myself.
- is it very expensive fix?

Second,

With what looks like an aftermarket the hazards do not work and i can replace the entire switch relatively cheap.

BUT I am unsure why there is an aftermarket switch when there are Left/Right indicator lights on the original cluster...

IM A NOOB BUT ALL THE HELP I CAN GET MIGHT FIX THIS <----

Thanks,
J-

 

Can't really help with the speedo problem without seeing it, but you can check to see if the ****** gear and the cable are working by unhooking the cable from the back of the speedo, jacking up the rear, putting the car in gear with the motor running and seeing if the cable end that goes into the back of the speedo is turning.

As for the turn signal the cars did come with a column mounted turn signal set up that looked to be aftermarket and did have the indicator lights on models in 51 and either that is the same for 49 or someone added them and the indicator lights at some time. Before you tear it all apart follow the wires to the round, 3 pronged flasher/hazard set up try replacing it. They do go bad.

Four door hardtop???????????

 

49' four door hard top?

 

Post pics,so we can see what it looks like.I've never seen a 49' 4d hardtop..

 

I'm sure he means four door sedan. The tops are "hard' on them. He needs to find a friend to help him, pretty hard to diagnose and repair here.

 

Yeah,thats a 4 door sedan,not a hard top..

 

Does the speedometer needle and odometer not work, or does the odometer work and the speedometer not? You should be able to flip the end of the cable counter clockwise after you disconnect it from the trans to see if the needle moves, if it does everything from there on up is ok and your problem may be the speedometer drive or driven gear in the transmission, if it does not move then you may have a broken speedcup in the speedometer. Then you would have to have the speedometer head repaired. Hope this helps you some.

 

Thank you. I will have to re disconnect the speedo cable and see what i get.

 

Any idea on the cost for a cluster rebuild?

 

Yes, about $800.00 and up depending on how much needs done. Maybe some marvel mystery oil will help unfreeze things.

 

I've had speedo work done before and you should be able to have yours fixed for a LOT less than the above estimate. Call Chris at Shoebox Central here in Oklahoma City - he is the guru and helps me with our 49. Check his website or call 405-259-9222.

And nice car by the way....
Keep us posted....

 

OKAY. AWESOME.

I'm gonna shoot him a call. I hope a Lot Less.... is a LOT less.

Thanks.

 

I bet you can find a good used one from a rust bucket cheaper than having it rebuilt. I'm a tight wad!!