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Projects Crazy Legs My 54 Ford Build Thread - Old Custom

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Crazy Legs, Jun 21, 2012.

  1. Crazy Legs
    Joined: Sep 3, 2008
    Posts: 266

    Crazy Legs
    Member

    This is my 1st build thread on my locally found 54 Ford Victoria 2 dr hardtop. It approx 12" lengthened Lincoln quarters, w/ Lincoln taillights, continental kit, merc front & rear bumpers, 53 Ford dash, & it had a 341 Lincoln engine with it (not in it) The floors have some rust in them in the common places but it initially didn't look too bad, the fenders & rockers need help as well, but the trunk is good!

    I liked this car right off the bat cuz it was a complete car that I could start with, it had all the chrome trim in place & not just boxes of parts, as well as some odd factory options like power seats & windows along with factory air! As well as it was in my price range.

    Since this is my first custom I knew I was going to need help on making sure I keep it in the correct era & not dick it up with a bunch of stupid crap that doesn't belong on it since this car is 57 years older than I am now (aka Im 31 now), so with the help of my dad (No Plan = HAMB) & uncle I knew I was in good hands as they both are avid custom car lovers with owning tons of cool cars between them. So my initial goal is I knew I needed to have this car slammed to the ground, wide whites, & hubcaps to match, keeping it subtle but yet in the end I want people to get the "wow thats awesome" effect.

    Here are a few pics of me bringin it home on the trailer

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    I couldnt resist ripping the coils out ASAP to see what it would look like

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    I started by ripping the interior out to see how bad the rust in the floors was & no surprise it was WAY worse than originally estimated;.

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    So I started hackin till I found good metal, I got some 18ga sheet metal & used my uncles antique bead roller & here is the end product. (No its NOT galvanized metal, I used white spray paint to help create a line to cut on)

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    I stopped on the floors once the passenger side was done to work on the front suspension to see what it was going to take to get this thing to lay on the ground, after a trip to Salina Kansas for the KKOA show & after seeing some of the coolest rides in the country I was completely hooked on the lead sled idea. (Screenz = HAMB) 54 Ford was there & he helped steer me in the right direction, what an amazing car! So using a junk 205-70-15 I faked a Krylon white wall & used a cap from my dad & after much research, hacking & help from some friends ideas that are pro's in the mini-truck air bagging world, this is what I ended up with for the front end stance. With the help of the jack the picture shows the front wheel higher than the frame rail & converted it to disc brakes as well, now we're talkin!

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    My dad is a recently retired machinist & designer & I'm a drafter/designer we came up with this pocket idea for the massive 2600lb air bags to fit in using the stock 54 a-arms, he TIG'd it all for me. The 1st pic was the prototype, it was way too thin of material & the sq tube was to help keep the stock arm square while we welded on it.

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    Here is what I did for the top mount for the 2600lb bag; I basically put a plate on the bottom of the upper coil mount. Although I did match the angle of the lower A-arm when slammed so the bag matches the bottom mount when lay'd out. The air line goes straight up right out of the stock shock mounting hole.

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    I found a powered center steer rack/pinion that I believe is out of Sunbird/Corsica car that I'll be working on adapting to the Ford; this is an entire story in itself but so far seems to be working well with the oil pan. Biggest issue is routing the driver's side exhaust around the steering shaft even though we used 2 joints.

    After a short while I realized that I'll need to notch the frame so the tie rods will clear when the air is out of the bags

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    We were getting bored one night & we want to graph the continental kit into the trunk to be more subtle & match the rear window angle, not something that looks like it was stuck on the car so here we had arts & crafts night to get some more crazy ideas flowing..

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    Last edited: Jun 17, 2014
  2. Crazy Legs
    Joined: Sep 3, 2008
    Posts: 266

    Crazy Legs
    Member

    You FORD purists look away now. I'm big into the LS1/LSX Chevy world and I drag race a C5 Vette & I've done all the engine work myself so I know it well, I found a 6.0 LQ4 w/ 4L80E trans that I will be using for this build. The best part is the new GTOs use a front sump oil pan that will clear the factory cross member so no cutting it up needed to make it fit.

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    It would fit without all the hacking of the tunnel but I wanted the lowest part to be an inch above the bottom of the frame so when I lay it down it won't poke holes in parts that shouldn't have holes in it ;)

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    I quickly realized that I need to have more turning room with the inner wheel wells in front so here I'm making them from scratch. I wanted to make these removable still and man did this ever take a lot of time but I think they turned out ok, Only original 54 part I ended up using was the very top where it bolts to the fender, everything was all fab'd up by me & using the antique bead roller lol I counted these were done in 6 individual pieces, I wanted to just bend the metal on a brake but it was too hard to figure out where I needed to make the bends and make it right.

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    Once the front suspension & rust was mostly wrapped up we decided to move to the back. After a lot of measuring, reading, we decided to hack out the entire 54 cross members etc to make room for the new trans, exhaust & 2-link. We ended up using Johnnie Joints, 2x2 square tubing & 1-5/8 tubing for replacing the stock stuff.

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    This is where I'm currently at, we've got all this tacked in the car but we haven't made/cut the notch in the back. Main reason is I'm stopping on this for the summer so I can reside my house (Not fun)
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2014
  3. Crazy Legs
    Joined: Sep 3, 2008
    Posts: 266

    Crazy Legs
    Member

    Update- I sent my request into the Salinas KKOA 'Chop my top' by Bill Hines & Brad Masterson, I originally never considered chopping this car but I thought man wouldnt that be something to have them do it! Verdict is still out on if I'll be picked for this but I'm excited to hear the results what they decide to do for this year. My main concern is not screwing it all up by going to much or better yet I'm not sure how I'll ever get the windows & trim to work again & not look retarded, I guess we'll see what happens!!

    By the way if they did do it I'd love to see the top chopped like this car I found on here (HAMB) OMG I love this thing.

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    Anyway, I wanted to get my build thread started so I don't lose track of what all has happened so far...... I'll post new pics & posts as I get farther along. OH & MOST IMPORTANT, if any of you know my 54's history or anything about it, I'd love to hear all about it
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2014
  4. drflex
    Joined: Jan 31, 2007
    Posts: 280

    drflex
    Member


  5. No Plan
    Joined: Nov 2, 2008
    Posts: 254

    No Plan
    Member

    This car was reported to be in the Des Moines area about 15 years ago, driving. Can anyone tell him more about it or who owned it, anything? Rumored to be a custom out of Texas many years ago.
     
  6. motoandy
    Joined: Sep 19, 2007
    Posts: 3,334

    motoandy
    Member
    from MB, SC

    nice work and good luck
     
  7. straykatkustoms
    Joined: Oct 30, 2001
    Posts: 22,324

    straykatkustoms
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Welcome aboard and good luck with the project. You have a kool foundation
    and you will have something special when your finished. I'll be watching the
    progress... Happy Trails, Mick
     
  8. BLUMEANIE
    Joined: Apr 26, 2011
    Posts: 183

    BLUMEANIE
    Member
    from St. Louis

    Great work so far!
     
  9. Tin Can
    Joined: Nov 18, 2005
    Posts: 2,096

    Tin Can
    Member

    Lovin your project man!
     
  10. Jalopy Joker
    Joined: Sep 3, 2006
    Posts: 31,180

    Jalopy Joker
    Member

    wow, tons of work - overall it looks great. hope you make a traditional styled custom engine cover or leave hood shut except to check oil.
     
  11. bulletproof1
    Joined: Feb 23, 2004
    Posts: 2,079

    bulletproof1
    Member
    from tulsa okla

    nice work..i like the crossmember....have you checked to see if it will turn full lock? i had a small gm rack on my ford and lost alot of turning radious..
     
  12. 49Chevysled
    Joined: Apr 29, 2010
    Posts: 66

    49Chevysled
    Member

    Bad Azz Car! U got any picks of how u did that power steering set up?
     
  13. Reijer
    Joined: Oct 11, 2010
    Posts: 175

    Reijer
    Member

    What a cool project. Curious to see how the Continental kit turns out.

    Have you thought about using '56 headlight bezels? They fit really well with the forward slant of the C-pillar.

    Here's an original '56 Capri.
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    derthor likes this.
  14. No Plan
    Joined: Nov 2, 2008
    Posts: 254

    No Plan
    Member

    I talked to a friend at BTT50's yesterday that said he had seen the car on a Des Moines car lot (not running condition), more than 20 years ago; before Jay brought it. He said it was built in Texas when it was almost a new car, by a Ford dealer, hence all the different Ford, Lincoln, Merc parts. He got this info from the (then) owner at Hardees when it used to attend the Army Post Road Hardees night cruise in, in Des Moines back in the day. Anyone know anything more or corrections? Please help......
     
  15. Hey! I met you guys at the pile up, glad to see its all moving along!
     
  16. Crazy Legs
    Joined: Sep 3, 2008
    Posts: 266

    Crazy Legs
    Member

    No worries I plan on never opening the hood once it fires for the first time lol

    I'll get some pics of the steering once i remove the engine/trans again, you can't see anything with all that crap in place.

    Yeah we were aware of the turning radius issue with going with the rack, but I plan to drive this thing super low all the time anyway & I don't want rape the white walls on the fender lip so I won't be able be turning it sharp anyway, plus the dang this is 17'4" long the way it sits!

    Yep CC you're right! we met you guys there!
     
  17. ToddJ
    Joined: Jul 11, 2008
    Posts: 1,408

    ToddJ
    Member
    from Marion, IA

    I'll definitely be following along on this build. Sounds like you have a great plan going and the progress is looking great. See you in Salina!!!
     
  18. 40FordGuy
    Joined: Mar 24, 2008
    Posts: 2,907

    40FordGuy
    Member

    WAY COOL !!!!!!!!!!!! Keep us posted, please ....

    4TTRUK
     
  19. 40FordGuy
    Joined: Mar 24, 2008
    Posts: 2,907

    40FordGuy
    Member

    Are you going to keep the 52 / 53 dash in it ? I always thought the 54 dash was one of the best looking ones they made. No, I don't have one for sale,....:(

    4TTRUK
     
  20. Crazy Legs
    Joined: Sep 3, 2008
    Posts: 266

    Crazy Legs
    Member

    personally i hate the 53 dash & love the 54 as well...... only problem is it is the only thing I've got right now to work with

    Samething goes for the front end, I want to convert this back to an original 54 front end with a 54 Chevy grille w/ lots of teeth but those complete front clips aren't exactly laying around everywhere either lol. I did find a complete 54 front clip at a local swap meet last year but the fenders, lower pan, & bumper were rusted beyond repair.
     
  21. I'm always hunting parts for these cars, if I find a spare 54 dash, ill let you know?

    Also, amazing work. Everything is stunning craftsmanship
     
  22. Crazy Legs
    Joined: Sep 3, 2008
    Posts: 266

    Crazy Legs
    Member

    Yeah keep me in mind for a dash & most important front end parts to bring it back to the original 54 Ford
    It supposed to be +100 degrees here for the next couple of days, so i'm planning on working on it, i'll post pics of anything I get done or screw up lol
     
  23. Topless Ford
    Joined: Feb 10, 2007
    Posts: 560

    Topless Ford
    Member

    That is a pretty cool build!
     

  24. Can and will do, I'll keep an eye out!
     
  25. 1951Streamliner
    Joined: May 15, 2011
    Posts: 1,875

    1951Streamliner
    Member
    from Reno, NV

    Not a fan of laying frame, but I like the rear quarter treatment.


    I would leave the continental how it is, I personally think the car flows very well.

    My $0.02
     
  26. Lot's of skilled work going on there.

    It's good to see another 54 coming together.
     
  27. Crazy Legs
    Joined: Sep 3, 2008
    Posts: 266

    Crazy Legs
    Member

    Update 7-9-12
    I had some time during the July 4th week break so I decided to more the car around to make more room in my shop & get it on the ground for the first time to see what it looks like. While it was still up in the air I thought this view looked pretty funny so I snapped a few pics laying on the ground looking through the trunk through the front windshield.

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    Here it is for the 1st time laying down with no air in the front end laying on the front cross member but the back end is not notched yet, the frame is setting on the axle tubes but you still get the idea of what the end result should be. It looks like it'll go a couple inches lower in back yet. The rear tires that are on it are alot smaller than the fronts so it looks a lot lower than it really would be with the same size tires as the front. Either way when it's done it will be on the ground all the way around with a 28" tall tire.

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    I'll get a few pics of the back end now before the notch.
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2014
    Chris Pellerin likes this.
  28. ToddJ
    Joined: Jul 11, 2008
    Posts: 1,408

    ToddJ
    Member
    from Marion, IA

    Looking good layin' low like that!
     
  29. Caddy-O
    Joined: Aug 8, 2006
    Posts: 1,644

    Caddy-O
    Member

    Slick car....looks really good!!!
     
  30. FiddyFour
    Joined: Dec 31, 2004
    Posts: 9,024

    FiddyFour
    Member

    agreed, great work so far... not enough of em on the road :cool:
     

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