I'm not new to the world of hot rods, but I've never built a nice sleek custom. I've had a 68 chevy shortbed, 74 Dart, 33 Dodge, 74 Vw Thing, and now a 50 2dr. I have a car on it's way... will be at my door next week. Creating a build thread now since I have some pictures from the sale. Initial plans are 12v conversion, new radiator, clean up the motor a bit, then slap a vintageair kit on this bad boy. Gotta have AC in Phoenix, Az... can't live without it if you want to actually drive your toys. Any other Phoenix members feel free to hit me up... let's meet up sometime!
Looks like a GREAT start on a custom ! I wish my Shoebox was that far along when I started . I'll be watching to see where you take this build . (link to my build below in my sig)
The stickers were one of my first questions lol... he promised they're just vinyl I am absolutely terrible at waiting, knowing it's going to be on a truck slowly making it's way south will be painful... worse than Xmas eve as a kid! I'm hoping that the steering wheel wrap isn't hiding cracks or issues, replacing the wheel was not part of my plans... I'll tackle that when it arrives home... After cruising the neighborhood and making the neighbors jealous of course!
If the wheel has some cracks, Eastwood sells a steering wheel restoration kit, you just need to repaint it, then you can custom the steering wheel. I have done a couple with the kit and if you can play with play-dough, your set. Good luck and keep us posted on the progress. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I will look into the eastwood kit!! Looks like I'll be needing it lol Finally delivered yesterday. The shipper needed to move it in the truck so he reconnected the battery... and left it plugged in... so we had to push it off the truck. Couldn't hear it fire up last night. I did put the battery on my charger, will try firing it this am. I got a bit nervous as there was not even a click from the starter button or flicker from the lights on the battery. I hope he didn't jump the car incorrectly or do anything to damage it during his attempts to move the car. I'll start troubleshooting in a bit. First, some pics!! There's some cancer in the rockers, lower fenders... same as everyone else. The chrome has seen better days, I'll probly just replace the bumpers. I did notice that the tail of the tranny looks like it has leaked a bit and the engine has a slow drip (just what my garage needed, another leaky drain plug).
One recommendation. Http://Shoebox-Central.com The best service, advice and support available for your car. Others sell parts, only Chris lives, eats and breathes 49-51 Ford. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
You got a nice car there, and some great help too. Remember if a flathead is not leaking it is out of oil - LOL. Have fun.
Thanks everyone... and I know all about shoebox-central. I made sure I had a resource for parts before I looked for a car to buy! I had a 68 shortbed before there were aftermarket body panels, huuuuuge headaches finding pieces. I already filled my dream shopping cart of all the replacement pieces... not too shabby at a bit over 3k lol not including the 12v conversion or ac. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Well, once the battery spent some time on the charger I slit it into the battery tray then took my place behind the wheel. Key on, choke out, clutch in, small prayer, starter button... rumble and a smooth idle. Sounds great, nice and quiet to keep the Mrs. happy while warming up in the driveway. I don't have the tags for it yet (Az will want to do an inspection on the out of state title) so I couldn't go very far, sounds great in 2nd going up and down the block. There's the flathead sound I wanted so badly!! The neighbors are going to get tired of seeing me turn around in the cul-de-sac until I can get plates on it this week!! Gave it a good bath, got some of the grit off. I'll try the clay bar next week, need some wenol for the chrome. See what pieces I can bring back... I have a 3 car garage, but it's split... I have a standard 2 car then perpendicular to it is the 3rd car bay. I used to keep my VW in there and never had an issue backing into the driveway, whipping it around in a 3 pt turn, then pulling into that bay nose in. I totally underestimated the weight of this bad beast. I either need power steering, a new house with a standard 3car, or a necker knob at minimum. Geez, time to investigate that Volvo conversion I've read about. I'm just going to enjoy it for a few days before diving into any projects. First one I can see on the list is fuel sending unit. I'm half tempted to just have it blasted and primered so that I can do some patch panels. Having decent enough paint on there is just going to encourage me to not patch the rust!
Looks pretty solid, nice car. Your bumpers look to be in good shape other than the chrome, check with Chris about trading them in as cores. I just had a quote on rechroming mine and the quote came in at over $1500. If you do buy new bumpers, your smooth '50 bumpers are desirable to guys like me with '51s, and '49 and '50 bumpers are getting hard to find so don't just scrap them.
Parts ordered, 4core radiator w/ desert core, 160 thermostats, and a few replacements for damaged interior (knobs, window handles) from Chris @ shoebox-central. Also have parts coming for a 12v conversion... 100 amp alternator, bracket, bulbs, pertronix, headlight/horn relay, gauge voltage reducer. Add another $1400 to the car lol
Cool car, the rust lurgy looks to have got the sills . Eaten from the inside out. A bit of a task as it generally means outer and inner sills too which attach to the chassis outriggers and floor . If it's a driver just have fun and make plans for where you want to be with it.
^^ Totally agree! While tracking down a pretty bad parasitic battery drain, I fired it up for a minute and took a quick clip. It puffs just a bit of black, didn't give it time to warm up and see if it went away. Any suggestions on the drain? I disconnected the aftermarket stereo they had wired in with one of these converters, still drains. I will start pulling fuses to see if I can ID the source, or at least which circuit. Here's a clip w/ sound... just wanted to document it in case I change mufflers, etc.
If you haven't found it yet, this is required reading for shoebox owners... Johnny 1290's Shoebox Builder's Guide: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=296506 and these threads should keep you busy for awhile... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/post-shoebox-build-threads-here.908390/ Get yourself a green bible (shop manual) if you haven't already.
I pulled all of the fuses and still observed the battery being drained, so moved into the engine compartment. I started with the starter solenoid since it's right there by the battery. Before even getting to the point of removing any wires to check for drain, I noticed that there is a fuse that has been spliced in-line from the battery-in post into the wiring harness via the red wire. I believe I have the right bundle coming through the firewall when I trace it to the lower left fuse on the fuseblock. Although, I can't say for sure since I didn't get it to tone out using the multimeter (using clips on both leads since my actual probe leads aren't long enough. This tells me the issue probably isn't in the circuits inside the car, but the spliced in fuse is pulling power (the spark that jumped when I removed the fuse says so too)... which would explain the heat being produced, right?? OK, shoebox wiring gurus... it's pop quiz time. I have been looking at the wiring diagram in the bible and cannot figure out why the line would run from the left post of the solenoid into the fuseblock. Is this the main 6v in for the car or do I have that wire wrong altogether?? Yes, I am being a bit lazy hoping someone remembers where that goes, but I'm trying to solve it at the same time lol I'm half tempted to buy a repro dash harness just to hit the reset button on several prev owner's wiring.
I don't have my green bible in front of me right now , so I can't help ya out with the wiring . Looks like you're working right through it though ... The car sounds great , BTW . Color me jealous - yours is a flattie !
Thanks! Hopefully I'll have it worked out shortly but I'd settle for knowing if anyone else has that same fuse... at least I'd know if I'm troubleshooting stock or previous owner lol Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
My neighbor just bought a '50 that looks almost exactly like that! Same color and everything. His doesn't have the fake bullet hole stickers, but I wouldn't be surprised if he puts a couple onto his car. Hard to go wrong starting out with a complete, solid, nice-looking car like that. Good luck, and enjoy! About the steering: I bet if you do a good job greasing all of the pivot points you'll be shocked how much easier it steers! There are a lot of them under there, and a lot of people ignore them for years at a time. Much cheaper and easier than changing out the steering box.
SCORE!! I opened the trunk and found a satchel with service and parts paperwork related to the car (back to original purchase papers in Sept. 1950) and the restoration in 1994. It was ordered as a bimini blue deluxe tudor sedan w/ optional 6 tube radio. Also found two spare glass bowled fuel pumps, fuel filter, replacement tail lenses/bezels. Having the original bill of sale and build sheet are pretty cool. I think I know what color it's going back to... They took it to a shop in Chico, Ca that rewired nose to tail with no mention of what harness was used... so the chances of me figuring out their wiring based on the stock diagram is hit or miss. Some of it is similar by necessity, there's only one way to do most of it. There is one hand drawn diagram showing two relays feeding into a third relay, but I don't see the third relay under the dash... probably removed at some point in the last 20 years. Time to just go forward with the 12V conversion and use a generic harness unless someone has a good idea why that fuse was put there!
Does the car have wiring problems? You don't need to change any of the wiring to convert to 12 volt, except to add voltage reducers for gauges and such. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Yes, it does... it will drain a fresh charge in 3 hours. I've been tracing their work down, it's just a kludge under the dash. I've done the trick of putting my multi meter in between the cable and battery, pulls a full 6v. I don't want to remove the fuse that they put on the solenoid, but pulling it and killing that circuit is the only way to stop the drain. I know I don't need to change the wires to convert, but I'd rather have a clean slate... nothing left of the previous owners to have to tshoot! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I haven't wired mine yet, but I have a Rebel wire harness that I will be using. Supposed to be idiot-proof and well made. I bought mine from a HAMBer (alliance vendor, I think), they advertise in the classifieds. http://rebelwire.com/
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