Projects Couldn't say no... 1948 Ford Deluxe Sedan stored in a garage since '69

I'll be searching for the late 40's Mercury wheels in this case.. I really like the 40's Ford center caps and rings appearance--the '55 caps you refer to are "clean"--just not for this car I don't think..

No kidding--that's always the incredible thing finding these cars like this.. And then reading other peoples stories about the "find".. It's intriguing.. I'm glad to have found one as well.. May not be a super-rare vehicle--but still "rare" in a different sense..

 

nice find ! I scored this gem from a guy in south philly been sitting since 1983

 

That car would be a good canidate for the CLR cleaning.

 

They're still out there! Really nice score and good luck with everything. Sounds like its in capable hands and will be back on the streets in no time!

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Well--yours is certain better looking than mine.. Nice car!!

I don't know if CLR will be the way to go with this one as I think a good scrubbing will take care of most of it--and maybe a little oven cleaner up front to get the black off.. I put some tiny 15" tires on it today so that it can be rolled around--and they look ridiculous.. I discovered that one of the 15" wheels is a 5" wide Mercury or Truck wheel that I'm looking for--so now I only need 3-4 of them.. But-cleaning will happen in a couple weeks..
Gonna get my VW back together this week then yank the engine out of my '61 Biscayne so that I can drive it again!

Yes they are.. Just gotta keep your eye open!

 

Those steel factory wheels also came on Ford pickups, (some F-1s had 15", most were 16")

F100s ('53-'60) also had that 15" or 16" option, look for the 15" with 5-on-5.5" pattern, and the internal hub cap nubs. Lots of them around.

 

Mike,
This is the same information that I've recently heard.. I'm still waiting to find some.. There's a swap meet this weekend--hopefully I can get lucky and score a set of matching wheels..

 

Well..
I've collected 3 of the 15" Mercury wheels.. Still waiting on two other ones that I scored the others from.. She supposedly has some trim rings and the correct year caps too.

I picked up a full set of 8.20-15.00 US Royal 2-1/4 whitewall tires for $100.. They only have about 100 miles on them--really like "balloon" tires.. Guy had them mounted on an all-original '56 Lincoln Premier..

 

Yo dude im really diggin the adjustable alstate voltage regulator.

 

Yeah... I'm hoping that old gadget works still!!!

 

Awesome find, more doors more pleasure. Congrats bro. ~sololobo~

 

One thing to think about if you can afford it, so with sway bars front and rear. You will ike the ride so much better. i had a '47 tudor sedan years ago with a sbc. It was a lot of fun.
r

 

NICE! I have 6.20s on mine -gonna run 8.20s on the rear with chrome reverse wheels

 

ahem.. "pleasure"... SO--the girlfriend was the first to comment about the rear seat--I am not sure if that's what you were referring to though..

I'm wondering--were the sway bars something that were sourced from an OEM manufacturer?? This car will not be going around turns too fast so I'm looking forward to the nice ride..

Yeah--the 8.20's look like they'll be a little tight.. But--I want the wheel wells filled up..

 

So.. Here we are today.. I started checking some things out and figured that since the hood hinge support springs were so weak and unable to support the hood--I pulled it off. I then proceeded to pull the spark plugs in preparation to try and rotate the engine.
I put the 1-1/8" socket with breaker bar on the crank start bolt--and it wouldn't budge.. I then placed the old Ford in gear and pushed and pushed and pushed--and it still wouldn't break loose.
After removal of the spark plugs--I was somewhat happy as the chambers all looked comparably clean--as did the old Atlas-brand spark plugs. So--I dumped some oil into the cylinders and I'll let it sit for a while and see if it's just the piston rings that are stuck to the cylinder walls.. But--I'm getting concerned.
But--I'll be patient..
I went ahead and pulled the radiator and check some of the junk in the upper radiator hoses--awesome huh??
Yes... the pictures came out like crap on my phone..

 

Ya might try some marvel mystery oil in the cylinders. Just keep peckin at it. you'll be rideing before long. Nice score by the way.

 

Great find! Have fun and best to you and yours!

 

...engine still hasn't loosened up yet.. So--today I dumped in some Marvel Mystery Oil to let it sit a little longer..
I also decided to remove the top of the oil filter canister--and guess what?? No filter element.. Plenty of goo sitting in the bottom though... I wonder how telling this goo is going to be with regard to the remainder of the engine internals..

 

True story....(how many times have you heard that?...) I worked in a machine shop just before I got drafted in 69.
We had a small block come in one day for a rebuild. One of my jobs was teardown. I rolled the motor over and took the pan off, and in the bottom of the pan was this black solid stuff. Looked like tar. About 3" deep in the sump. It was all around the pickup, you could stick a screwdriver in it and it would stand up on it's own. Kent took one look at it and said "bet the guy never changed the filter". He said it was all the crap in the oil, solidified. Then he said "Bet $100 he used Amalie".
I ended up scraping that s%^t out with a gasket scraper.

 

Nice find, thanks for all the photos!

 

Cool, great find! Post a video of it when you get it running...

 

...tried to rock the car to break the engine loose again.. Also stuck the breaker bar on the crank bolt again-----no luck still.. Next step will be to remove the heads and then yank the engine/trans.. Just the way things go sometime...

I then took to cleaning up the body a little bit today-and knocked the majority of black paint off of the driver's front fender--makes a huge difference in my eyes.. Plan will be to get all the black paint off and polish the body as is... If I can get a rattle can of paint matched to the original color--I may spot repair the front fender tops--but not likely..
Just getting the rattle-can black off of the fender took about two hours of hard scrubbing with green Scotch-Brite pads.. Anyway-here are some pictures..







Not sure--but with the front fender cleaned up I may be thinking of keeping the nice Royal Whitewalls turned inward... Any thoughts??? Unless there's a photoshop master here that can show what that my look like.. Hell-I'm still looking for two more rims to get the tires mounted anyway..
The engine being stuck and all--once I pull off the heads--and then the oil pan--a determination will be made to fix this engine or drop in a 283??

 

Blackwalls sound good. 283 & an adapter sounds pretty good too,if the flatty doesn't free up.

 

Bob--
Can you point me in the right direction (for planning sake) of where I can locate the correct adapter and mounts for a swap??

 

Transdapt/Offenhauser. Honest Charlies in Chattanoga,Tn. Rocco & Cheaters in Birmingham,Al. Mooneyes Santafe Springs,Ca. Joe Smiths Early V8 Atlanta,Ga.
Am I missing anyone ya'll? Someone in this bunch should be able to help. All new parts, but most are from original molds/castings. May not be cheap.

 

..yeah.. I figure that.. I'll take a look at all those companies--I haven't used any of them in the past as this is my first "OLD" Ford project.. VW's typically required very different vendors.. Thanks for the list--finding original equipment would likely be pricey-but are they always??
thanks for the list Bob..

 

If I think of anyone else, I'll post or pm. Got alot of research material in my office. That's a clean, solid ol Ford you got there. All we got around here's a bunch of termites holding hands.

 

You have termites--typically we have all the guys named "Rusty" holding hands in the shape of old cars.. bastards..
I've picked up two reproduction Ford books giving me the lowdown on the assembly and goin's-on about these old Fords--and that's a good start..

 

Our termites and Rusty may be cousins. Just keep sniffin around the web, you'll run up on the parts/info you need. I was able to find the new parts for the manual trans swap for a nailhead before I found the used stuff I got off the $$$bay.

 

You DID snag that bike hanging on the wall and that skinny fenton rim that was in front of the car.....right?