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Customs Kustom survivor, 1950 Ford

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by manyolcars, Apr 8, 2016.

  1. manyolcars
    Joined: Mar 30, 2001
    Posts: 9,174

    manyolcars

    50wheels.jpg In 1967 I worked with a very beautiful older blonde. She was probably about 26 years old. :) Hey I was 17!
    One day her husband dropped her off at work, driving a gorgeous blue Kustomized 1950 Ford with Missouri license plates. My best friend Eddy and I talked about the car then went over and bought it. $57 and drove it home. Eddy had the $57 and I had grouchy parents so he got it.
    Later Eddy gave it to me. Time has not been kind to the beautiful blue paint or the bondo but now its home and I have been working on it. In the 50s and 60s custom work was often butcher work. Think: Hirohata frame. The bondo held moisture and the metal is badly rusted where the bondo was. On this one they laid new metal over the old. It held moisture and as you see it rotted out. The holes in the front pan are because a cop told Eddy he had to have bumpers.
     
  2. tfeverfred
    Joined: Nov 11, 2006
    Posts: 15,791

    tfeverfred
    Member Emeritus

    Whew. This thread started out like a letter to "Penthouse"!;)
     
    pecker head likes this.
  3. jcmarz
    Joined: Jan 10, 2010
    Posts: 4,631

    jcmarz
    Member
    from Chino, Ca

    I haven't read those "Penthouse Letters" in years. They were interesting.
     
  4. El Caballo
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 6,282

    El Caballo
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    LOL Fred, no wonder you have that avatar.
     

  5. bscc50
    Joined: Nov 17, 2013
    Posts: 100

    bscc50
    Member
    from n.e.

    any pictures of the car in its heyday?
     
  6. Buddy Palumbo
    Joined: Mar 30, 2008
    Posts: 3,871

    Buddy Palumbo
    Member

    It looks a bit haggard, but it'll be worth the effort after waiting all this time to get it. I can't wait to see her finished.
     
  7. So how much Latter did Eddy give it to you and where the heck did you leave that poor car sitting so that could happen to it?
    The Wizzard
     
  8. Kiwi 4d
    Joined: Sep 16, 2006
    Posts: 3,564

    Kiwi 4d
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I think I would find another 4dr and call this one the donor, yes it would be a clone but still have some original soul. Way ahead on the build though .
     
  9. Peanut 1959
    Joined: Oct 11, 2008
    Posts: 2,179

    Peanut 1959
    Member

    If you can save this body, it is that much more special...and it'd save another 4dr for another build. :)
     
  10. steinauge
    Joined: Feb 28, 2014
    Posts: 1,507

    steinauge
    Member
    from 1960

    I reckon you can fix anything if you want to do it badly enough. Is there an engine\trans in there? If so what?
     
  11. Moondog13
    Joined: Sep 7, 2006
    Posts: 768

    Moondog13
    Member

    We work on worse stuff down here, so get to it! :D
     
  12. Hot Rods Ta Hell
    Joined: Apr 20, 2008
    Posts: 4,670

    Hot Rods Ta Hell
    Member

    When Eddy got the car, did you go after the Blonde (to "show him") ?

    I think it's cool that you now have the car. I think it'll save.

    And FWIW, it's probably in better shape than the Blonde.
     
  13. Is the "Eddy" you speak of the "Eddy Haskell" from Leave It To Beaver" ? :D
     
  14. manyolcars
    Joined: Mar 30, 2001
    Posts: 9,174

    manyolcars

    50front.jpg This car has common mild custom features, frenched headlights, nosed and decked, dechromed, rounded hood corners, radiused wheel wells, and rolled pans but also shows butcher work that was common in the 50s and 60s. Look where the passenger turn signal would be. There are several places where sheet metal was welded on over existing metal. Moisture was trapped and the metal rotted away. They depended on bondo sculpturing to hide the ugly welding. Most of the bondo has flaked off, showing that moisture was trapped between the bondo and metal and caused rust.

    I have another fordor but I remember that in the 50s and 60s fordors were considered womens cars suitable for hauling groceries and kids. This car is special to me but I really dont want a fordor. I have several two door sedans that could be built.
     
    Ron Funkhouser likes this.
  15. Squablow
    Joined: Apr 26, 2005
    Posts: 17,388

    Squablow
    Member

    It's a neat car which could be salvaged if you wanted it bad enough, and it's got some personal history. Maybe the front clip sheetmetal and trunk lid/rear rolled pans could be transferred onto one of the two door sedans. Assuming the 2 door bodies are nicer, it'll be a lot less work to repair just those pieces than the entire car.

    In the end, it'd probably be easier just to build a new clone on clean sheetmetal, but then you lose the history entirely. If it were just an old custom you found somewhere, probably not worth the effort, maybe cut the front off to hang on the shop wall. But being one from your youth, you'll only get one chance to have that car again.
     
    Ron Funkhouser likes this.
  16. Jalopy Joker
    Joined: Sep 3, 2006
    Posts: 31,174

    Jalopy Joker
    Member

    a tribute that you can get on the road faster & cheaper would be a good way to go
     
  17. Do you have any pictures of it as it was back in the day? To me, just looking at the pictures, most of the areas that are bad should have readily available patch panels, with the exception of the turn signal area. I'm sure there's other areas that are much worse, but that's just what I'm seeing. As the owner of a (slightly less) customized four-door, I understand the tough decision as far as keeping it how it is vs. doing a two-door the same way, but my calculus on that issue may be different from yours (I have a wife and a son, so the four doors makes sense for me).

    Ultimately it's your car, and your memories. I'd just hate for you to cut this one up and finish a two-door done the same way, only to be disappointed with the results.
     
  18. manyolcars
    Joined: Mar 30, 2001
    Posts: 9,174

    manyolcars

    No pictures from 49 years ago.
    Most of the mild custom features on this car were common but I've never seen this tail light treatment anywhere else. The car had Missouri plates and may have been built there. 50tail.jpg
     
  19. Figured it was a long shot but thought I'd ask anyway, just for comparison. That is a rather unique taillight treatment, I'm guessing the three bars go in between the ribs on the stock taillight lens?
     
  20. Buddy Palumbo
    Joined: Mar 30, 2008
    Posts: 3,871

    Buddy Palumbo
    Member

    That's a pretty interesting tail light treatment. It's an old-school French (like mine) , only with a twist. Cool .
     
  21. Something from your youth like that deserves to be saved...at least in part.

    If it was mine, I'd repair and transfer everything unique/salvageable to a better two door donor
     
  22. manyolcars
    Joined: Mar 30, 2001
    Posts: 9,174

    manyolcars

    That appeals to me.
     
  23. manyolcars
    Joined: Mar 30, 2001
    Posts: 9,174

    manyolcars

    50doors.jpg One of the very best things about the HAMB is seeing high quality work. Cars werent always done as well as the cars we see being built on this website. The back doors on this car were reshaped to match the curve of the wheel radius. Thats clever but all the door handle holes were done like this then filled with up to 3/9" bondo which has fallen off. 50doorhandles.jpg
     
  24. Zoinks! That's worse than I thought.
     
  25. manyolcars
    Joined: Mar 30, 2001
    Posts: 9,174

    manyolcars

    The tail lights are more tunneled than frenched. I will have a better idea of what they did when I take this apart but I remember that the lense was held in place with a piece of string! Its long rotted away and the lense is fallen. Overall, another crappy job. 60taillights.jpg
     
  26. abone1930
    Joined: Jan 16, 2006
    Posts: 1,325

    abone1930
    Member

    Still a cool shoebox, if done right and the vehicle is garage kept, BONDO can last longer then you :) I have some bondo on a f100 we did, 20yrsw ago, still not cracked, but is garage kept :)
     
  27. 1934coupe
    Joined: Feb 22, 2007
    Posts: 5,051

    1934coupe
    Member

    I don't remember what year it is but this is the Wilko family fordor custom/racecar, it had a blown nailhead in it and later a 354 hemi. I would restore the original.

    Pat
     

    Attached Files:

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  28. Petejoe
    Joined: Nov 27, 2002
    Posts: 12,263

    Petejoe
    Member
    from Zoar, Ohio

    I too would work with that body. I bet that 75 yr old blonde looks worse than that ford today. Great project.
     
    Hdonlybob, Moondog13 and 1934coupe like this.
  29. Peanut 1959
    Joined: Oct 11, 2008
    Posts: 2,179

    Peanut 1959
    Member

    That racer definitely looks like the same car.

    If that's true, the mods since then include removal of the Merc taillights, radiusing of the rear wheelwells, shaving of the Buick trim, and a color change.

    Its racer heritage could also explain the less-than-show-quality bodywork...

    Still, I'd love to see it brought back to its former '60s appearance (or earlier, if photos can be found). Of course, with better bodywork, this time!
     
  30. 1934coupe
    Joined: Feb 22, 2007
    Posts: 5,051

    1934coupe
    Member

    It's not the same car. The race car was/is a friend of mine from Queens NY

    Pat
     

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