Haven't officially taken ownership yet.....in fact will be a few weeks. But another member offered me a rough and stripped but solid 54 210 for a good price. More me and him talk back and forth the more resolved I am to build it. Not only is he willing to help fill in some of the gaps I actually have a lot of spare parts from my 53. Like I have nearly everything to put the dash together. So here's a rundown on my plans Nosed, decked, all side trim shaved but beltline trim, shaved door handles and trunk lock, plain 150 windshield gasket(no stainless), dropped with lakes pipes (switching to 2" blocks on my 53 so I'll use the 3" blocks on the 54 and drop front to match), white rim three spoke steering wheel, ripple caps,y cliche finned aluminum valve covers, caddy air filter.....will run full pcv on this one, sbc hooked to a manual transmission, heavy metallic blue (similar to pictured blue only heavier metallic) roof and dash over a heavy metallic pearl white, white shag rear package tray, Impala or t bird buckets..... whichever I can get my hands on, 55 style headlights, unsure on grill, same lee tail light lenses as my 53. That's as far as I've planned aside from white interior with blue inserts. Hope to thoroughly check out the car this weekend Oh and I do plan on bias ply whitewalls on this one.....at least when not on the interstate lol
But your avatar did make me think of another modification I've always wanted to do to to one of these cars....58 Impala style rear roof vent. May actually do it on this one
I like everything execpt the heavier (flake) on the roof, that looks way more lowrider than custom to me. I'm in an area with a lot of serious lowriders that follow that theme. I grew up riding in my grandparents 54 210 2 door post and those have always had a special place in my heart.
I just want it to almost glow in low light lol. Plus my logic is if people looking at it are a bit dazzled by the sparkle they may not notice small flaws lol
While the looks aren't what I'd like I'm thinking on running this gps speedometer. As the plan gets more serious and and planned out I've been thinking on the smaller details. Manual transmission I'm planning on running has a vss instead of a speedo cable drive. And with the power this will make along with the overdrive the car will be able to easily go fast enough to get into trouble (as in tickets lol). Never liked the idea of the converters as I know they have a finite lifespan....plus the extra under car wiring. And a couple of the Peterbilts at work are running cheap gps speedometers with good results (though those speedometers are even uglier lol). And again thanks to the overdrive this car will see a lot of interstate driving. It'll be what I run to the junkyard in KC in till it gets too nice to carry grimy parts in lol. Even after that it'll cart me and the wife for weekends in the city.
So here's why I was so anxious to do a 54 using a heavy metallic blue. This is the dash in a buddy's 54 handyman. Pic does not do it justice. Dash blue nearly glows in the sun and sets off the chrome. Aside from a radio delete plate this is similar to how I plan mine to look. May even do white tuck and roll like his. Leaning towards white with blue inserts though
And found the primary white I plan to use. It's a Ford polar white with pearl and extra metallic added. Metallic doesn't show up well in pic but is noticeable in person. This is just a test spray I did on a junk afco radiator lol
So went and looked at it in person tonight. While it'll be a couple weeks till I buy it(have some stuff coming up taking my funds.....this car is cheap enough it's embarrassing I don't have the cash on hand lol) it's definitely a done deal. While it looks like it's missing a lot I'm actually getting most of the car in the deal. And I asked if he cared if I posted pics of it first lol. Only major body repair I saw it needs is I may replace the rear section of the driver quarter panel. Definitely something I can work with and aside from the damaged quarter it's actually in overall better shape than my 53 was when I got it
Not as good at drawing as I used to especially from memory as I don't do it often plus carpal tunnel but you get the idea lol basic scallop design I'm thinking.... though I may simplify them a bit.....like eliminate the middle leg on door and fender. Not sure if all scallops will be silver or if I do white scallops on the blue roof and blue scallops on the white body.....I'm kinda digging alternating colors
And the first actual purchase for this car. Had originally thought to use this hood on my 53 but I get a kick out of the fact that the hood has never been off that car lol. Honestly will fit the look of the 54 more after I do some bodywork to it
It's the one on my avatar. There are a few photos on my profile page. The 54 in my albums is the one your buying.
Yeah I actually used my boss seeing the hood this afternoon to ask about storing the 54 next to the shop so I can reach it with the welder and air. He's die hard Ford but likes any old car plus after how surgical I was when I used the shop to install the engine and transmission in my 53 he's actually anxious to help with my hot rod stuff lol
Trying to put off buying much till I get the car in my possession but this was cheap and actually in stock at O'Reilly.....and it'd be my luck I waited and they stop carrying it lol
Looks like I'll be actually starting this one sooner than expected. Got home to an advance loan offer from a local company that I verified as legit that just so happens to be how much this car is lol. Money is saved for it will just go towards towing it to the shop and starting on the build. Pushes up the schedule enough I haven't made hauling arrangements yet lol
Eh....I'm not a big fan of skirts ......at least not on my cars....unless you mean on my leggy wife posing on my cars lol. I actually have the original skirts to my 53 to a buddy of mine two years ago. Def gonna make the roof sparkle. Def going to get functional single exit lakes pipes. As for visors my 53 will get the first one I find. If I find a second one the 54 will get one too lol. Especially with my light sensitivity......in my case a visor will also be functional and needed and not just for looks lol
I've actually already found both blue and white metal flake vinyl that I'll be using to do the interior.
Well now that I'll be buying it tomorrow I've been thinking about a repair/modification I've been back and forth on. When the body was damaged one of the spots that took a good hit was the driver drip rail. I've been thinking about shaving them altogether and rounding the door top corners. I've shaved driprails on other vehicles so I know what I'm doing. And I'm doing away with all the stainless above the windows. May just try to fix the drip rail damage and see how it comes out. I do like the look of these cars without especially in a paint scheme similar to what I'm doing. Haven't found many pics of these cars with them shaved on a stock height roof....and the one car I did find had a vinyl top covering everything but the a and b pillars lol
Not sure if this is what you need, but looks to be in good shape. Not sure of what they are going for either. But it isn't too far away. https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...wse_serp:07284e0f-43f8-4c22-a2ed-b2e7cfc2ecf7
Oddly enough I'll probably start by painting the steering column and interior garnish mouldings. It didn't come with the interior garnish mouldings but I actually already had a full set lol. Then I'll move on to shaving everything on the doors besides beltline trim and door handles and fixing the fenders and Frenching the antenna. Wasn't able to haul the body and frame yet so that's why small projects first lol. I got the money for the car several weeks before I expected to so I hadn't planned that far ahead yet roflmao.
The Jalopy Journal
