1952-59 Ford What have you done lately?

Most of us probably work on our projects on weekends or evenings,p*** along how you are coming on your build.

 

Since I am retired and Phoenix is HOT this time of the year I try to work on the '54 between 6-10AM before it gets really hot outside,much later and you don't want to touch anything metal! I have most of the mechanical finished and have rewired the car from scratch since most of the rewire kits are GM friendly and don't include all the dash wiring which was totally shot,all you had to do was touch the cloth insulation and it fell apart.I also added in several relays as I have an electric fan,fuel pump and added accessories and with the 302/AOD combo it is also now 12 volts.I just replaced the vent windows and drivers side gl*** and all the window channels and "fuzzies".Now I am starting on interior and body work just made the new door panels so making progress as budget allows.

 

More panel sanding and epoxy priming. Last front end panel[driver side fender],interior gl*** and door trims.

Took the dash /speedometer unit apart for clening and a light sanding .The dash and door trims are factory white as are the steering column and wheel. They may end up a different color when I decide what color the car wil be

It was originally white with a coral roof with the same interior colors.I kinda like this combo.

My son and I will be checking out an old time yard this Sat. May find a grill and some side mouldings .

Hope I'm not too long winded,,,Ernie

 

not doing much on mine as it was a driver when I got it, has the old Six and 3 on the tree, but I think the tappits need adjusting. and maybe the timing set. I have a new 302 motor with a T5 ****** but I like the six....going to run the six for a while. would like to find a stock grill for it. the last owner simi kustomed the grill surround....But I want to try to get the stock grill to work with it.

 

Got outside early today and did some sanding and filling before it got too hot.My neighbor loaned me His air board sander and I got to try out the new filler I bought,Sherwin-Williams had the Evercoat Z-Grip on a special for $23 a gallon and that is some great stuff(2 thumbs up!) spreads smooth,and non-clogging and zero pinholes as advertised so you get a lot of mileage out of the sandpaper.I'll never waste money on Bondo brand again that's for sure! Now if I could get some local HAMBer to help with my roof dents(hint,hint) Also got a smokin' deal on ebay, got a windshield visor for $79 including shipping!

 

i spent so many years getting mine on the road now i just seem to drive the **** out of it...but i have a long list of stuff to do..........john

 

Hey guys.Got the surface rust off the rest of the body and a coat of primer/sealer laid on.My cheapo HVLP gun works pretty good.

Think I may work on re-finishing the steering wheel,dash and interior trim bits.

Lots of fun. Ernie

 

I got brave and decided to tackle the roof dents,since these Fords have a fairly thick roof I took a huge rubber mallet and took aim at them about 2-3" inward of the creases and worked my way around the roof,then I used a shrinking hammer and dolly on the creases.After running the DA over the areas to highlight the hi and low spots it is looking pretty good,a little more hammer and dolly work and it looks like very little filler will be needed

 

I am currently doing a COMPLETE restoration of my 53. The frame is completely torn down, and getting painted this week. Here is a picture from the day I pulled the body off.

 

Went after some creases and dents,I decided to remove the Customline script and stainless from the quarter panels got one side done today,will do other side tomorrow,looks a lot cleaner!

 

on my 56 customline I have a new 347 engine to install, a tko 5 speed, 95% done with my rebel wire kit, have the dash completely out to be painted then reinstall.

I also bought some new autometer antique gauges for the 5 gauge pod of the 56. Well, of course the holes in the dash are not the right size, so a friend of mine made me a nice stainless piece that fits over the 5 gauge cluster with perfectly CNC'd holes to fit the new gauges. I will get some pics of it I just got it today, man its going to be sweet. Now I just have to decide if I want to paint the stainless to match the dash (leaning this way) or try my hand at engine turning it.

 

Got up early before the AZ heat could cook me and welded up the trim holes in the trunk lid ground them down and took the shrinking hammer to some highs and lows put down a few dabs of Evercoat,sanded a little put down a skim coat and sanded some more then layed down some scratch filler and called it "Miller Time" will wet sand and prime tomorrow AM.

 

I spent the weekend putting air conditioning in mine. Here in central Texas its already over 100 and humid and will probably be that way till October. So I spent Saturday at the junkyard ripping the A/C out of a Geo Metro and Sunday machining an adapter to add another crank pulley. Got a bracket made to mount the compressor and tension the belt. Now I need to mount the underdash unit and run the hoses. Hopefully the flatty won't overheat. I've got it running about 195 now and going to add a pusher fan and an oil cooler. Anybody running A/C in theirs? Any advice?

 

I am waiting for an early mustang oil pan in order to proceed with my engine/frame modifications, so I decided to see what I could do with the interior of the wagon. I stripped all the old lino and replaced it with some commercial grade flooring with a wood grain. The manufacturer claims it is good for 15 years in a commercial setting so i will ***ume that it will work in the wagon. The trim cleaned up nicely and I only had to replace the rear most section of the floor which was rotten.
unfortunately, the more I root around in the car, the more rust i find. Still trying to find a source for the floor board braces. Rust repair is the next phase.

greg

 

HI,guys.Not a lot done on the 54 'cause it has rained most days for a feww weeks and I am doing the car outside.
But I did get all the interior trim,steeringwheel ,and dash painted and back to-gether. Very happy with the results.

Took the top down to bare metal to-day,hope to prime and paint roof(cameo coral) to-morrow.....Ernie

 

Just picked up my 55 last weekend so parts are starting to come in. I will be rebuilding the suspension next week. The wiring is hacked so that will need to be done as well soon. Might be keeping the 272 and rebuilding it but need to find out if an AOD ****** will bolt up to it first.

 

There are a couple of companys that have adapter kits from Y-block to AOD but the cost of the kits are pricey,you cold probably get a 302 and good AOD for what the kit costs.www.transmissioncenter.net has a good pic of the kit on their site under AOD.

 

The only work I did on mine lately was to drive it 230 miles one way for a cruise... Had a blast! Ate some great food, laughed, took a nap, ate again, came home and parked it and put it to bed. The best kind of work you can do to a car!

 

well several months back i bought some new 59 caddi taillight from the local parts shop and they were going to go on my 59 ranch wgn.
I had allways wanted those on my 52 or my personal fav olds taillights.So i start on the the jurney of ripping out the stock ones, now the outer housing is welded to the body and i trimed up the inner housing so they could fit from the inside.How am i going to put
these 59 caddi light in the stock housing???.
well i had some center caps from some astro supremes lying around
and thought i use them to place 59 caddi taillight in.
Trim up the stock ford backing plate with tin snips until the center cap sits flush and weld her in.Bingo did one side one weekend and left the othe side stock for awhile..I'am allways only doing the one sided thing??.Then got to the other side and just finished doing the wiring on the tail lght and the the key to acc and the indicator goe's
haywire,F@%##^K i just fried the taillight/indicator wiring .
What was the lesson here kids???
1: Let a profesional do the wiring???
2:I'am a tight**** wog that tries to save money....
I'll go with no1 net time......

 

Well the other day a pulled an overdrive trans out of '50 and got it cleaned up. Now I just need to get up the motivation to swap it out with the 3 speed in my '53.

 

Worked on my father inlaw 55 today. Its a nice car with little issues but I'm almost done. I spent alot of time getting the 302 to run right and it drove me nuts. When we first picked it up it would shake and blow black smoke. New carb, intake and and major tune up and all is good. Then can the oil leak every time we took it for a ride oil would cover the motor. Well today I got the fixed. Seems he stuck a plug in the breather elbow in the valve cover. It was making so much pressure the dip stick would get pushed up and oil would come out. Then it hit the fan and shot it all over the place. I took out the plug cleaned the motor up and went for a ride. I stopped every couple of mile to check it out then I hit the highway. Cruised it at about 75 for awhile pulled over and checked no oil leak. I did a couple dead stop pulls with it and all is good. I have to fix the Speedo, it needs shocks and the gas gauge doesn't work. There is also a odd vibration I need to figure out.

 

I've spent the last three weekends on our '53 Crestline. New brakes, shocks, packing the bearings, new door locks/ignition switch. Plan on putting in the new tie-rod ends and steering link this weekend. Still need to get the new U-joints in teh driveshaft and get the yoke seal replaced in the rear diff. Never done that before, so that should be an experience I'm sure...It's still sooo much fun to see things coming together.

 

Well, I been pretty slow about getting to work on the 54. What I have been doing recently is working on installing the new radiator. The old one was damged and leaking. I bought an aluminum one that's a couple inches bigger and so I am working on getting it installed. Never did this before so I am learning as I go.

Previous jobs were - my son installed a 302 dated around 1968 and a 5 speed. I repaired some of the broken windows, and converted to 12 volt.

After the radiator I think I'll have to make some sort of custom mounting for the alternator as the mount I bought from a catalog doesn't fit. Not sure what's up with that.

Then it looks like an exhaust will have to be worked up.

 

I found some motivation and spent all last weekend tearing the '53 down and getting it in primer. I think they used more fasteners to hold the trim on back in the 50's than they do an entire car today!

 

Well right now we are finally getting the summer heat up here and will be in the 90's with the 3 HHH ! I am going to Alabama next week to see my daughter & son-in-law so won't be working on my 55 Fairlane fordor . I am rebuilding a 302 right now and have to clean the block but the crank will need to be turned . Had 2 bad rod bearings . The guy that had the engine didn't change the oil much ! What a mess . I will be putting in a Comp cam 280 grind with a .512 lift on both sides . I have a real nice set of 289 heads that were redone . Has 1.6 Crane roller rockers , exhaust seats , triple angle valve job with 1.90 intakes & 1.60 exhaust valves with screw in studs and guide plates . Got on Craigs List for $450 !!! I will be backing it up with a T-5 and 4:10 rear . Dual Smithys out the back with flame throwers ! Gotta have some fun too !
I will need some help on the clutch conversion set up . I want to use a cable clutch set up . Anyone tackle this job yet ? I can't find a kit for my car yet . I have the swing peddles to be installed . I need the cable set up from there to the clutch fork .

 

Yesterday and today I spent fabricating and fitting the hydraulic clutch system to my '52 Vicky. It's part of the overall installation of a Corvette small block / Muncie 4-speed setup. That was the fun part. I also got to clean the engine. That was the not-so-fun part.






It's coming along slowly but well. Note my high-tech shop and state of the art air conditioning...



All in all, a pretty neat day. Should get the motor and trans trial-fitted in the car tomorrow...with any luck!

 

Good to see you are making progress. Looks like you had a way nicer day than we did up here! Good luck with your work.

 

I spent most of Saturday just sorting stuff out, in the garage. I'm not a mechanic so my car is at a shop that's more than mine could ever be. The parts car is here but parts are ****tered between both places & was tough trying to find stuff. I've got a year or so to retirement so time is limited on the car but try & find time for it when other stuff doesn't get in the way. Weather here in Michigan is already getting cool (low 50s this a.m.) so not too much nice weather left to get outside things done before it's too cold.

 

Can't argue with the performance of a SBC in one of these cars. Heck, even my 292 with a fordomatic can move okay. Its surprising how light these cars are!

My car is getting its grill shell moulded, and the headlights finished up, as well as script and badge holes getting welded up.

 

looks good missydad1. is that a stock crossmember?