Couple of 54 ford questions.

I picked up a stock 54 ford customline 4-door, 239 V8 manual trans, and have a couple questions.

1. Is the battery suppose to be positive ground? They have it wired negative ground and it seems to be working OK.

2.There is an overdrive lever under the dash. Do I pull it out when I want to use OD? I read somewhere about it working automatically? I am confused.

3.Has anyone put dual exhaust on one of these? What manifolds did you use? Looks like theres not much room on the driver side.

Thanks for your help.
Jason

 

All 6 volt Fords were positive ground. Has it been changed over to 12 volt? Ford changed to negative ground in '56 when they went to 12 volt electrical systems. The overdrive control should be pushed in to allow the car to go into overdrive automatically. Pulling the control out prevents it from shifting into overdrive. Here are the overdrive instructions from a '55 Ford owners manual ('54 would be same):

"Lock in" the optional Overdrive, at any speed, by pushing in the OVERDRIVE control handle. At speeds above 27 MPH, the Overdrive automatically shifts into fourth gear when you momentarily let up the accelerator pedal. When the car speed drops below 21 MPH, the Overdrive automatically disengages and goes into third gear. For climbing hills or passing cars when driving in Overdrive, push the accelerator pedal down quickly all the way, and the transmission wil shift, or "kick down" to third gear.
To use the full braking effect of the engine, the Overdrive must be "locked out." When the car is moving, "kick down" to third gear, pull the overdrive control handle out, then let up the accelerator pedal. When the car is stopped, pull the handle out all the way.
To park the car in gear with the Overdrive "locked in," move the gear shift lever to the reverse position.
Dual exhausts shouldn't be an insurmountable problem. All '55 and '56 Fairlane models with V8 engine had dual exhausts from the factory. A left side manifold from a '55 or '56 with factory duals should get you started on your way to dual exhaust since the '54 chassis is basically the same as '55-'56.

 

It is still 6 volt. They have the positive going to the solenoid and the negative to the block. Should I change it?

 

Is it broke ? If not then don't fix it. Post some pics. Get someone to look at it that knows old fords. Drive the hell out of it.If it's wrong, eventually the battery will die.

 

You can use the existing '54 exhaust manifolds for duals. Make and install a block off for the front of the pass. side. Then, run the driver's side pipe from the front of that manifold. Not the greatest looking deal, but it works. Also, exhaust manifolds from a '55 or' 56 Ford or Merc with factory duals, or any manifolds from a '57-'62 Y-block powered Ford or Merc should work.

 

It seems to be working the way it is. I cant take it out until I rebuild the brakes. If I pull the cable off the battery while its running it keeps running, so I assume its still charging. Here is a picture.

 

That is a good looking car.

 

When I bought my '50 a few years back, the battery was connected NEG ground. What tipped me off was the ammeter was working in reverse. I switched the battery leads to be POS ground as the shop manual said and everything worked fine. I have since converted to 12V with NEG ground. Starts way better and I can use any 12V acessories etc. BTW real nice looking car.

 

I put duels on my 53 vicky got a set of headers from speedway with smitthy mufflers you talk about a sweet sound .....good luck

 

PM me if you need help with the overdrive. My 53 is a y-block overdrive car and I have done all the things you have mentioned. You can use your stock left exhaust manifold, but the exhaust shop will have to do some creative bending on the pipe. A stock dual exhaust manifold will have a rear dump that will more than likely interfere with your shift linkage.