Projects 54 Ford Customline daily driver

I actually found out some good info on the ezboy covers. When you go on there site and center 1954 ford and go to select your model car it comes up mainline, crestline, customline etc etc. but when you select customline it was only showing a 4 door option. I noticed above the mainline, crestline etc listings it had numbers like 70B, 72B, etc. The other night i was looking through my dennis carpenter catalog and noticed a 2 door customline sedan had a code 70B next to it for parts. So i called ezboy, checked on the 1954 ford, model option 70B and those are the patterns for a 2 door sedan customline. So thats sorted out which is awesome

 

Gecko, thats part of the reason i went with springs, i wanted as good a ride as possible plus i wanted to avoid srubline issues. I do plan on doing some tunnel modifications and possible shock brace notch in the rear. Plans are for the aerostar coils up front, and a 1 1/2" drop spindle with disc conversion. Im ordering the front end parts this coming week. Out back i picked up a set of 3" posies drop springs and im gonna make either a 2" or 3" block

I have never carried a spare on my vehicles. I just keep a tire plug kit and some basic tools. AAA towing is a must haha

And thanks for the link for the t-5. Much appreciated man

 

So i tore out the headliner. It smelled terrible and apparently there was a critter livin in it at some point. Nice little nest fell down on the steering wheel. Got it all stripped out and vaccumed out. Also hit the carpet with some de oderizer. Heres a few pics of the mess coming out

 

Hope you tagged the headliner bows so you keep them in order for the new one.

 

Yea i got em all tagged, i hear it can be a bear to try and figure out what goes where if they werent labeled. Im gonna put some insulation i got from ezcool (lobucrod here on the hamb) on the roof. I have a bunch left. Its good stuff. I hear you have to pull the rear glass to do the headliner so ill just wait till i do the rubber whenever that comes around

 

Up Front It Has The Jamco Tubular Control Arms/Ball Joint Conversion Kit With Front Disc Brake Conversion And Upgraded Front Sway Bar. Rear Is Jamco Leaf Springs With 3" Blocks. Wheels Are 15X7 Cragar Smoothies With BFG Silvertown 205/75R15 Tires

I Can Sell You The Car If You're Interested

 

Thanks pumpkinhead ! Whats the amount of drop on the front end ? The rear jamco springs are 3" right ? Car looks bitchin man, any other pictures ? Any floor/tunnel mods?

 

Hey guys, question about the starter. When i fire the car theres a strange noise in the starter. It seems to be when the gear engages. I wouldnt call it a grind but its just a strange noise, its not really pleasing to the ear haha. The car did this when i had it year back too. It has no issue starting. The fe's and y blocks have the centrifugal or inertia style starter with the long shaft in the bell right ? Do they make noise more than a new style one ? I found an upgraded one on robbmcperformance. Just curious on opinions

 

Anybody experience the same starter noise ?

 

Got in carpet samples. Im thinking about the top right. Its a deeper gold color. Looks Darker in person than the picture

 

You might check the engagement depth on your starter... I had to add a shim on my starter to make sure it was engaging the center of the flywheel ring gear.

 

Wow, it looked good with the Cragars, but I like this even more! Very cool!

 

Will do, i can paint the starter gear and check the contact area right ? Is that the easiest way to check it?


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Heres a shot of the carpet and vinyl samples that i oike most. Ive always loved the look of gold and white tuck n roll

 

Those interior colors look good to me.

 

Jeff, What did you do about the ugly stud hanging 2 1/2 inches down below the car on the KYB shocks?

 

Awesome...saw a new Ford Escape today was a lighter shade of gold and thought about how good your roof would look in that color

 

I just realized i never posted a pic of the springs. Posies 3" drop springs



Also got 1.5" drop spindles and the front disc brake kit with a new master cylinder and prop. valve coming from dropnstop em. Gonna hit the local steel supplier for some 2x3 tubing outta there scrap bin to make drop blocks and then order up some parts from dennis carpenter before wheels/tires and interior

Itll be another couple weeks before i really tear into it. I go on vacation soon, and ill still be stacking parts up untill i get everything ready. Im also finishing work on my buddys c10 (excuse the wheels, i know there not necessarily traditional but there steelies) . I have a couple hundred hrs of fab work in the c10. 4 link rear, bagged all around, power rack n pinion up front. Tons of custom work. still rockin the 230 i6 and 3 on the tree. This is currently hogging my shop space so hopefully soon ill have room to work on the 54

 

So when i had the car 6 or 7 years ago i had planned on running a 54 chevy grill but also keeping the stock ford turn signals. I really like the look alot. I had a nice grill and 11 teeth back then, good lord have prices gone up since then haha. Heres a few cars with the look im shooting for. I personally prefer the look with 11 teeth

 

Some were color-coded at the factory with dots of paint towards the outer ends. Lots of luck seeing that on a 60+ year old car!

 

I have the Fat Mat on my ceiling, seems to keep some heat out. The guy who came to my house to do the windshield also mentioned taking the back window out to tuck the headliner in right. So Mine can wait.

 

Another grille idea instead of the common '54 Chevy. Goes with your gold theme.

 

I like the stock ford grill, i just dont wanna drop an arm and a nut on getting it rechromed after i weld it up. My bumpers and turn signals, and signal wrap arounds need to be rechromed too or i need to find spares. I guess by the time i could find a new set of bumpers, a chevy grill and the signal housings etc it may be the same cost. Ill have to get prices for chroming


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I found a front end rebuild kit for $206. New ball joints, all control arm bushings, sway bar end links and bushings. Seems like a good kit. Im gonna replace the #1 crossmember while im doing the front end, its got some pretty good rust and was repaired pretty poorly. Does anyone have a template on how to build one? I contacted chalupa55 on here, i saw he builds them and sells them. Im hoping to get some info from him, if anyone has some info too id appreciate it. From what i understand it can be done with the engine in the car? Any other tips while doing this ?


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I just found the goodell crossmembers on ebay. There $299. Thats not a bad deal and would save me fab time. Any experience with fitment on these. Ive read nothing but good things online


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Read this: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...ew-goodell-cross-member-in-a-56-ford.1009019/

 

Pm me an email. I have blueprints from chalupa on my PC for that crossmember, but the Godell piece is great quality. When you put the new crossmember get some 3M cavity wax plus and spray the shit out of the inside once installed so it will not rest from the inside out. Saw this today on the frame rack and thought it would match your brown nice for the roof....very nice shade of gold...had a nice amount of metallic in it

 

My Dad bought on new in 1954 and I always loved that car. When I was about 13 he gave it to my older brother. DAMN!

 

Thanks for the email of the blueprints tiki. I think im just gonna go with a goodell tho. Any of you guys have pice of a crossmember install ?

Also for all you t-5 guys, is the rear shifter location good for our cars or do you have to relocate it forward to clear the bench?


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What are options for newer style radios ? I found one that looks completely original, but modern components and has a left, right, and sub output. But its $549. Thats wayyy steep. I found a usa-630 radio that says its for 53-54 fords original location but doesnt specify car or truck. And it also has seperate outputs but this has a digital display and its $240. The usa 630 doesnt have original looking knobs but im sure i could retrofit. Anyone got experience with a new style radio that looks good ? I need modern quality tunes in this ride haha