1952-59 Ford Don't be Shy! tell us about the your Ford

OK,lets open up some discussions about why and how you picked your build and some of the mods you have done and what you have planned down the road.

 

I always liked the body style on these Ford cars. The car I own now was owned by a friend of mine, and I purchased it from him. The owner before him put new floors in, but not much else. When I got th car, it still had the original six banger in it with a Fordomatic transmission. The motor was so worn out, it literally could not get out of its own way. I yanked the drivetrain, except for the rear, and replaced it with a (ok, don't beat me, it was a good deal) 350/350 sbc combo. The car ran great, until the **** in the tank started blocking up the filter. So now I have the tank out of the car, it is cleaned up, and I'll be putting it back together this weekend with all new fuel lines. Next up is the brake system, then final paint in the same shade of blue you see in the pictures I posted.

Anyone know what the factory gear ratios where for the stock rearends on these cars? With the V8 and 350 trans, the car runs fantastic on the highway.

 

The stock automatic cars had 3:31 gear in them.

 

Well wher can i start ,Summer,91,92 had my self my first American
iron 1955 super 2dr htop.19years old and enjoying life and then
it happened,Came home froma party with the whole family and the warehouse behind my parents shop was torched.
Lost a **** load of stuff ....I got my money from the insurance co
and went out searching for the next 50's ride and found a 1952
ford customline 4door sedan.
Not sure if anyone could help here the body tag starts with 53.
the entry locks were on the p***enger side (usa drivers side)
and the interior light on that b pillar.The other thing that it's got 1 piece bumpers us aussie only had three piece bumpers..
Drove the ole girl for a couple of years then got a good friend
to bring back a hacked up 54 merc 2door and used it for the 2door
conversion.runnig a stock flattie ,4 speed toploader and not sure what diff, might be early f1oo.....
Latest modes is putting 59 kad lights in....
hope you enjoy my story..... keepn old fords alive...

 

Hey guys!
I'll share a bit about my 53.... I got it from Texas from a guy that had a stocker rebuilt for a club member that was loosing his eye site. The club members got their money together and pulled the flathead out and installed a chevy 350 with a 350 turbo and 8 inch rearend. Got this thing to a hot rod for the member and then he drove it for about a month before completely loosing his site. The club then sold the car to recover their investment, that's where I came in. I received the car and it needed a lot of work. I decided to repaint the interior and do the door, kick, rear quarter panels, change all the suspension front and rear, disc brake the front, and customize the dash. More to come! I want this car to be able to travel the street rod tour back east without any problems. I think I'm almost there. These are great drivers if set up right and the suspension is finally set up perfect thanks to Jamco Suspensions. I'll share anything with anyone on what I have done so far.

 

My name is Ray and I have 1953 Ford Customline.
My two boy's and I went to a little Mom and Pop Drag strip tucked away in the hills of Tennessee one night and as we drove in I saw this Cherry red 53 ford on a flatbed trailer parked in the pit area. I told my boy's "My Father had one like that when I was a Kid back in Texas but he sold it when I was a Teen" so we went over to look at it just to bring back memories since my Father had just p***ed away about a year earlier. The car was for sale so we talked to the guy who owned it and told him how my Father had one just like it only his was green. I told him I didn't have the money to buy it and wished him luck in selling it. As I went to shake his hand he asked me my name, I told him and he got the strangest look on his face, then said "You gotta see this" and went to the car and got two receipts from the glove box and handed them to me. The receipts were for a 6V battery; it wouldn't hold a charge and was returned for another. The receipts were signed by my Father, Raymond Sr. After 20 years, the car found me... Needless to say, I got the Money, did a little trading and got the car back. I'm doing all the thing with my boy's that My Father and I did with this car in my childhood. Talk about full circle.

 

That's Great! It's found home again,hope your boys will respect "family tradition" and keep it in the family always.

 

I bought my 54 seven years ago without even looking it over just had to have it. I drove the car original for a while then took it to the drag races and it broke down after the tow home i decided it was time for a complete makeover i started with the body first since this is my line of work after 2 days of stripping i found more rust and h/a body work then i ever expected this really took the wind out of my sails i proceeded on doing metal work and finished about 1/2 of it when i could not handle looking at the car anymore i sprayed a coat of primer over it and put it in my driveway covered the city got on me so my buddy let me put it in his backyard skip foward 5 1/2 years and my friend is moving what to do with this pile of metal. sell it for near nothing or get back at it well i choose to build it and sell it low buck ratrod. then the ocd kicked in i shaved everything and painted it flatblack (this car is straight enough to gloss black) then i looked at the chrome and decided i wanted to do a car with no chrome anywhere so everything that would be chrome went gloss black. then came the interior metal i wanted something that would scream out from the flat black so i painted it hok limetime pearl with gold microflake and 5 coats of lime green kandy. so to tie in the interior with exterior we mixed up some limegreen and lite gray pinstripe and gave it a bit of flavor. now came the drivetrain i was going to just make it a decent driver but again ocd kicked in so i ripped everything out and went to town rhinolined complete inner and outer floor pans. all new gl*** and rubber all regulator rebuilt disk brakes front rebuilt rear all the suspension has been rebuilt and painted or powdercoated the rearend was completely gone threw everything rebuilt. then came the motor and ****** i found a good running 84 t-bird and pulled it guts hoping to just do a quick swap and get this thing on the road. then ocd again so i tore the motor down and did a complete rebuild. I also ran all new brake lines and aluminum fuel lines with all new pumps and filters i am down to the driveline and some minor wiring ( i did a full painless harness) seats are done i will wait on the rest of the interior i am in desperate need to drive this car. Over a thousand hours and a pissed off wife. Hope to go cruise with Jeff b here soon may need to look at a a/c summer is way to hot in az. thanks for listening

 

i was 7 years old in 1976 .my dad took me to a salvage and we picked up the 53 2 dr sedan.from the moment we pulled it home ,he told me it was going to be mine.it still had the flathead and with alittle work he got it running.he or my mom both drove the car daily.we took it on camping trips and its all over our photo albums. soon after it was running dad broke the crank in the flattie.so he put in a 302/3speed, 8'' rearend out of a mustang.he parked the car in my grandmas back yard in late 1980 .i would always go look it over and pretend to drive it ....when i turned 15 i started gathering parts to get it back on the road.one of the smartest things my dad ever did was to buy me a 73 camaro.he thought it would be a much better first car than a 50s car.he was right .i tore the hell out of that car,(still have it)..when i started messing with the car a few years ago,the motor wasnt locked up so i got it running."set 25 yrs and still ran" the first thing i did was put disc brakes in the front.and rewired the whole car.i primed it and drove it like that for awhile.i painted the top silver and the bottom blitz black.the motor gave up last year so i dropped in a new 302 and c6.did a power rack converstion also. now im building a 9'' with disc for the rear.also got american salt wheels. 15x8s .255-60-15on the back..15x6 215-75-15 on front.

 

I am in the market for the right '55 or 56' in a trade if anyone is interested.

 

I have a 55 sunliner (convertible) that my dad bought new,stuck in a 351-W and C-4 and a maverick rear end plus disc brakes up front. Spent about 7 years welding on the body as the rust did not stop when it was put into storage back in late 67 or early 68?,still have to do a complete paint and redo the interior but I have to finish my shop truck before I get back into it as its driveable now and having too much fun to tear it back apart. Decided to go back to a Y block so I am looking for a 292 and I need the 351 for my 65 custom 500.

 

I have a 1953/54 ford that i bought as i project car in early 2008. it was just a body and ch***is. been working on it as time allows.

 

My dad had a 55 Vicky when I was younger and I fell in love with the car but I was never really in to rebuilding it as a lot of stuff that needed to be done was over my head. Well time goes on and the car got sold. I hit my driving years and it started. I went through several phases of building cars (mini trucks, imports, full size, lowriders) but nothing replaced the desire for a hot rod. July 3, 2009 we brought another 55 Vicky home and we are in the process of rebuilding her.

 

found my car in a towing yard when i was 18, but it when i was 20. first ford ive ever owned. love the body style, love the size, love the car. never worked on a y-block before. still getting used to it. bumper sets seem to be like hens teeth for these cars or atleast for me.

 

Like I mentioned before, our '53 Crestline Hardtop has been in the family since it was new. It spent the majority of its life in South Dakota, out at grandma and granpa's farm, in a shed, but is now here in Minnesota where my dad and I are working on getting it back to being road worthy. I've been sitting in that car since as far back as I can remember (I'm still only 35 years old now), pretending to drive it, and cleaning the dust from the interior with a rag and spray bottle...only to find upon our next visit the my grandparent's house that the same amount of dust had returned to the dashboard and interior...but I didn't mind at that age. Its only got 70,110 miles on it so it's not far from being back on the road the way it sits, but it hasn't been driven since 1986 and a bunch of things need to be freshened up. We have a guy that used to race the flatheads back in the '50's, and has been building them ever since, doing the 239 flathead motor and Fordomatic ******, and I'm doing all the rest...brakes, lines, shoes, wheel cylinders, drums, fuel tank, front suspension, repack the bearings, shocks...you get the idea. We also plan on converting it to twelve volts (but I need to read up on that some more for our particular car before I dive into that). It'll still look pretty much stock (for now), that's how dad and mom want it, but at least dad's having this guy build a nice "street" motor out of the flathead and a buddy of mine is gong to weld up equal length headers and the rest of the dual exhaust system. Other than that, it's still in REALLY nice shape...Can't wait get behind the wheel and drive it without somebody having to push her...lol. My avatar is a dusty pic of her.

 

Ozelle the '55 Ford was purchased new by my parents at Drake Motor Co., Ford dealership here in Rockmart GA. I was 3 years old at the time, and one of my earliest childhood memories is riding out of the dealer's showroom in that car.

 

Well,Im a recent conversion to the 52-56 fords,although my 2nd car ever was a 55 Mainline 2 door..I found a 55 4 door for my girlfriend a few months ago in a barn..Put a couple of gallons of gas in it and drove it home for $700..She hasnt stopped driving it since! As for myself,I bought a 53 coupe 2 weeks ago,been scrounging up parts for it,hoping to drop in a 302/auto and be driving it by spring..

 

Ive been looking to get a 54 Ford for wat it seemed like forever! I love the style of it (especially those rear fenders) And the fact that i hardly saw them at any car shows... All you see at car shows are mosty 49-51 Ford and 54 chevys. I wanted to stand out and have a car that not many people had.
My Plan is to make it a mild custom. Something that looks sinister.
Going to have a 302 w/ 5spd. Black and blue gloss paint.

This is a car i plan on keeping 4ever (knock on wood, lol.)

 

My first post, and introduction too I guess. I was actually looking for a 53-54 chev 2 door for about six months. Had no interest in Fords to be honest, I wasn't even looking at em. So when I opened one for sale post here on the HAMB, and I fell in love with a 55 Ford Customline I was surprised. I had a trip planned to San Diego and with only a couple messages and some pics I re-arranged my return flight to hit San Fran, and drive a 54 year old car I had never seen 1700 miles back to Canada. It is pretty much complete but I plan to work on it this winter and get some mild changes and mods done.




I also am trying to find door trim, if anyone has a lead on please lmk .

Looks like a great place, cheers

Kris

 

KC: That's a very nice car! There is a build thread on it somewhere here on the HAMB. Lots of very good quality bodywork was done as well as the paint prep and paint. It turned out great! I saw it for sale in the cl***ifieds; glad it found a good home.

PS: Hope you'll do a HAMB introduction if you haven't already. It's considered a "must-do" here, just so we know a little bit about who we're talking to. Welcome!

Eric / missysdad1

 

Yep, there was a build thread on here- I was addicted to it. NitroFlattie did a lot of repair work for sure and it looks like it turned out killer! Nice ride.

 

Will do the intro for sure. I am love with the car, no doubt. Excited to finally have what I consider a cool car...

NitroFlattie was a helluva guy to deal with too.. straight up and killer nice!

Thanks, glad to be here!

 

You scored a real beauty! Hope you have a nice warm place for it during those Canadian winters! Brrrrr!!

 

Oh yeah, heated home for her for sure. Can't imagine what it would be like to have a single vehicle to drive all year. Stoopid snow.

Thanks for the welcome guys! And killer cars in this section and great stories in this thread. Sorry to hijack it!

 

My big brother had a '56 Fairlane in '61 till he traded it on a new '63 Galaxy. I liked the '56 better than his new one and hoped someday to have my own. In '68 I found one and as the saying goes, she'd been rode hard and put away wet. But for a 17 year old kid in a small town with little income I couldn't afford much. It cost me $75 and I drove her as-was thru much of high school. Joined the Air Force in '71 and Vicky sat behind the barn at the folks' home till about 2 years ago when my son and I pulled it out of its thirty-something years resting spot. Here's the 'baby book' of her resurrection:

07-08: http://s465.photobucket.com/albums/rr20/raceron1120/56%20Ford%2007%20and%2008%20project%20pics/

09, up to last week: http://photobucket.com/Rons56FordProject

Living in Michigan, I probably won't have much time to drive it this year but it's well on the way to completion and should be ready for next summer.

 

Lookin' goooood! The build itself is cool, but the fact that you have that history with the car is awesome. Keep us posted on the build. Nice do***entation- nobody can ever accuse you of not not taking enough pictures.

 

So cool man,way cool project and great history.

 

KC-Depending on whether or not you are looking to keep it original, Yogi's has trim kits. There's a pretty cool how-to in the new Street Rodder.

 

Yogi's? Just googled em.. cool... I will pick up that Street Rodder for sure skoh! Thanks man!

Kris