Hot Rods Finally Found Myself A Shoebox Ford

Cool car, great story. I'd be bug bombn' it after sighting brown recluse spiders in the garage.

 

Thanks for sharing....felt like I was there pulling it from the barn with you. Congrats!!!

 

it does look like a great start, good find

 

like that body style nice find

 

Insanely nice.

 

Although I wrote, "By the time the door was fully opened, I was engulfed in swirling dust, but the sight I beheld would have rendered me immune to the bites of a dozen brown recluse spiders at that moment," I actually saw no spiders, despite raking up so many cobwebs and spiderwebs with that bed slat that it looked like a grossly oversized serving of cotton candy.

I know a guy who lost a leg to the bite of a brown recluse, and I wouldn't risk contact with one even to look at an old car. I was trying to accentuate the degree of my excitement, implying that I was so adrenalized by the sight of the Ford coupe that a spider bite would have had no effect on me.

I'm still quite amped.

I put a hot battery in the car, and both B-pillar interior courtesy lights came on when I opened the door. In this case, that mundane occurrence had a different aspect, seemingly an invitation into an old, comfortable place too long ignored and unused. I sat first in the backseat and contemplated the intimacy of these old cars, given the expansive sail panels and small back windows, then moved to the driver seat to check equipment functions.

The odometer shows slightly more than 98K miles. Headlights, dash lights, and horns work fine, and one parking light and one tail light each illuminate, although on diagonally opposite corners of the car.

The column shifter would only engage first gear until I introduced the shifter arms to PB Blaster. Now it shifts with ease into all positions.

The heater blower isn't responding to the switch, and I won't bother checking the turn signals before I replace the missing ignition switch.

I can't fully check out the trunk until the locksmith finishes making a key, but I have peered inside through the fragmented package tray fiberboard and observed two tires, mounted on wheels, and other as yet unidentifiable items.

The first time I saw the '51, I noted the paint appears to be Waterfall Blue, a factory color for '54-'55. I have since verified the original color to be Alpine Blue, a darker grayish-blue than Waterfall Blue.

The paint code for the car is "D", denoting Alpine Blue on a '51-'53 car and Waterfall Blue on a '54-'55. It now is my supposition that someone got on the wrong page in the paint chip catalog when ordering supplies for the repaint. Given the runaway time and expense that seem to come with every non-owner-applied paint job, I have no interest in correcting the mismatch.

In the initial, dusty pictures, a black smudge appears low on the right quarter panel a short distance behind the door; although it might be mistaken for rust, it was tar, left there when I had to pull the car up and over a roll of roofing tarpaper stuck to the floor underneath the car. My wife applied some of her specialized cleaning elixirs and was able to remove the tar without damaging the paint underneath.

Tomorrow, I move on to the brake system. The brake pedal is flat on the floor, so who knows what I'll find.....

BTW, thank y'all for the kind comments about the car and my predilection for storytelling.

 

lucky.

thats a nice car to start with.

 

i really enjoyed reading this,,,do you write for a car magazine?..if not,,,you should.

 

thats way to cool, congratz on the find

 

Things are looking better...the flathead is now turning freely.

I put 12 shots of Marvel Mystery Oil down each cylinder and, some time later, crawled under the car with a socket and breaker bar to rotate the crank.

I turned the crank forwards until it stopped, marked the pulley, then turned it backwards until it stopped. It was making 1 1/2 revolutions.

I then began bumping the crank, alternating occasionally between the clockwise and counter-clockwise limits of rotation. After 20 minutes, I had gained more than a quarter-turn and decided to see if the starter would complete the job.

The engine spun right on through without hesitation.

I'm reasonably certain this engine has low time on an overhaul. It's clean, no caked-on grease...the intake manifold has been painted, all its bolts are new, and the intake gasket looks new...the spark plugs appear new...and the carburetor is as clean, outside and inside, as if it had been kitted and installed yesterday.

I also found good news about replacement water pumps. The aftermarket suppliers want $80-$100 each, but Auto Zone offers them, by special order, for $36 each.

Weatherstripping is looming as a considerable expense, about $500 for doors and windows. The windshield and rear window gaskets don't require replacement.

It'll be worth it...

 

clean

 

Very nice find. Looks like a very solid and complete car. Congrats

 

Bill dont forget to put a safety on the hood latch.they were known to POP open. nice ride Paul B

 

nice find it looks very clean! good luck getting that ol flathead firing up nothing looks or sounds better then a flathead. awesome car

 

Whoa! I can't believe it's the same car after a wash! Nice find and yes keep the flatty in it! A Ford in a Ford is something rare these days!

 

Amen!

 

Keep the flathead? No way!

It needs an SBC. And flat black paint. And red wheels with whitewalls... and the flathead can live at my house.

Just kidding - great score!

~Jason

 

as a recent shoebox ford hot rodder i share your enjoyment of your new ride.

 

Wow!! What a great find! Great car, keep us updated with more pics!!

Ax

 

Verr nce find
Good Luck on that Baby
Brother Dave

 

Why couldnt I have found that when I was LIVING in Lubbock KILLER SCORE MAN!!!!!!

 

Just a small update....

The brake pedal pushrod was missing, so I stole one off a rusty '64 Ford Econoline van in my stash. The '49-'51 shoebox Fords and '61-'66 Econolines use the same master cylinder; my old '64 Econoline pickup has functioning brakes, so I'm now thinking of stealing that master cylinder instead of trying to kit the original on the '51.

There was no fire in the ignition system, despite new distributor cap, rotor, points and condensor, but two strokes of a points file eliminated that problem.

However, I ultimately met with disappointment. My battery would make lights shine and points spark, but could barely make the engine turn. I pulled the starter and had it checked...it's fine...then had the battery checked...it's about $8 in salvage.

I'll get a battery later this morning, reinstall the starter and cross my fingers in hope of hearing the old flathead mill hit on all eight.

 

Bill check out www.classicautoparts.com and get a catalog I got all my weatherstripping and fuzzies from them,might save Ya' some $$$

 

FWIW I did a tech with some basic shoebox info, there's lots more I need to put on there but there might be something that's new to ya

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=296506&highlight=tech+shoebox