Projects 54 Ford Customline daily driver

Well the dennis carpenter engine mounts i got set the motor about 3/8" forward of the old ones so ill have to pull them and well out the mount holes in the stock crossmember plates. Carpenters stuff is high priced, usually good quality though. Me and my dad have had issues with some of his stuff lately, not sure whats going on there

Also, i had the old '50 ford horn ring button laying around and decided to see what it would look like as an emblem in the sombreros. Cole foster used them on the 36 ford he built and i liked the look



I put a gold '49 horn button in the '50 horn ring in using. Im thinking i may use the gold horn buttons as center caps

 

Greenie, you have an eye for detail. ...and a creative mind. So many details here, thanks for all the pics and intricate sights 'inside and behind'!
Nice work on the column, I used to install the '56 passenger steering box with its short column...put the '56 wheel right in the right place! Looked so 'modern'...

My '54 is more 'stockish', as I just LOVE a nice, sedate looking Ford with wheels and tires a little more 'husky'...a "Sleeper"...
Wheels are stock Ford centers, with Lincoln outer rims reversed and welded...I'll use '60 Ford center caps (Starliner type, 'black ring') and black tires, (oversize rear, 8.20 X 15...fronts 6.70 X 15) Sits a little 'taller' than stock, (Station wagon springs front, newly built spring packs and hidden ladders in rear...) ("Sleeper")
Car painted Wimbledon white, all the stock 'badging'. Front fenders will have the gold 406 Thunderbird wings where the 'Y' sign was...
I have a heavy duty toploader 3 speed, close ratio box. It's converted to a real floor shift, (Jeep tower and stick) but I kind of want to hook it up as a column shift. (car was a 3 speed stick model, so I have everything to do it)
Just want some unsuspecting fellow to get in, then I take off slowly in low gear...shift to second, kick that big 406 loose and watch his face. LOL... As stated: a "Sleeper"!

 

Few things, this car has been quite the challenge in unexpected areas. I dont show brand favoritism at all, ive owned many cars of many brands. This car has been one of the biggest pain in the rears of any ive ever built. Parts arent that plentiful, there not cheap and some of the designs on this car leave my head scratching. Its fighting me wayyy more than any other ive had.

Back to the parts. Ive ordered alot of my parts from dennis carpenter. Usually ive had great luck in previous experiences but lately im having nothing but issues. Nothing quite fits. I have to modify or tweak things to make everything work. The parts arent cheap and to have to do the amount of tweaking and modifying ive had to do on stock replacement parts is rather annoying. My dad has sent 3 parts for his 66 f100 back recently as well due to horrendous chrome quality, like the parts werent even fully plated. Not sure whats going on with carpenter........

After modifying the engine mount plates on the crossmember i finally got the engine sitting right and the trans mount all in as well. Took a few hours of tweaking to get it right. Also put my heater shroud and blower motor shroud on with new tubing on both ends. The round tube didnt really fit well and i had to modify some rivets and cut off the clamping bracket on one end to make it work finally after over an hour

 

Well, yet another bad dennis carpenter product. New cowl to hood seal, the tac nails that came with the new rubber were about 2 sizes too small and my old ones were trashed so used some small screws to hold it in for now



Some pics of the block sanded and primed column drop that i molded to the column and the upper cup where the 3 speed tube was shaved





Also bent a radius into the top of my shifter to give it a nice swan style. The stick came out of an old 2 ton or so 55-7 chevy truck. It has a cool taper to it. I bent up a small piece of roundstock as a template, taped it to the stick and bent that to match




I also have a cool knob coming soon, ill post pics of that when it shows up

 

i had a 53 crestline in highschool it was all original except made it into 12v to start easier in the winter. had to rebuild the motor when i first got it. it was a 215 straight six and the guy i bought it from tried to glue the bearing so they would rotate on the outside of the bearing. a crankshaft from a 67 mustang turned down worked wonders. dad drove it from kennewick washington to seattle in under 4 hrs he said it just flew up the hills. but no speedometer. sure wish i still had that car dad sold it to the neighbors it ran down the road in the winter just beautiful. i learned to drive stick on that car,through down town spokane traffic during rush hour. dad said if i made he would let me borrow it and buy dinner,boy that was fun with three on the tree and no instuctions.

 

Updates. I used a model a shifter boot as sort of an inner dust shield thatll be inside the shift boot i end up making later on. I ended up just epoxying it to my removable trans cover



Heres a pic of the pedestals im using to mount the sombreros. All credit on this idea goes to voodoo kustoms. I liked how he utilized one simple bolt and a few washers. Simple and it works...



Posies leaf springs painted....



Sombreros mocked up. I had a 50 ford horn button laying around and mocked that up as a center cap. Cole foster ran 50 ford horn button center caps on his 36 he built. I always liked the look. I decided to order 49 horn buttons though to match the rest of the gold accents on the car





Swapped pinion seals



Got the springs blocks and everything bolted back up



Andthe rearend is now back in the car with new shackles and bushings in everything. I also ordered some classic instruments temp, oil and volts gauges. My stock ones in the dash dont work and parts dont seem to easy to find so im building an aluminum panel to hold the 3 gauges, and theyll match my classic instruments tach i installed in the dash previously

Made a cardboard template



Cut from some 6061 aluminum i had from a previous gauge panel i made on my 59 GMC



Drilled




Forgot to snap a pic but heres one off my instagram after i welded on the upper bracket piece. First time tig welding aluminum. Welds are on the backside of the bracket



Heres the panel i made for my 59 GMC. Im planning on engine turning the 3 gauge panel just like this

 

Nice to see you are going to turn the 3 gauge panel. I always liked the stock turned panels in my first two cars [both '54's]. Made 'em real "racy cars" in my younger eyes!

Ed

 

How did you attach the horn buttons to the sombreros?

 

High quality build. Love the horn buttons.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Need some fuel pump help. Are 239's different fuel pumps than the bigger y's? You can see the difference in angle on the pump arm between the old and new one



Also the huge canister wont work with my power steering bracket so i need to find another pump



Got the radiator and bracket thing painted as well

 

Guess this would be what you need: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mechanical-...ash=item464f2db9a9:g:orcAAOSwjDZYmCzm&vxp=mtr

 

the pump jeff posted is NOT what you need it does not have the bowl on bottom. ebay is not the best for listing proper parts.there are several listed on the bay right now if you look close you will see the one you need.make sure it is for v8 NOT 6 cylinder.if listed as rebuilt ask if it uses new parts with todays fuel old diaphrams and such will fail.there are places that sell modern kits.daytona carbs I believe is one I am sure there are more.the proper pump with the bowl also has a filter under bowl glass.this feature is handy for catching debris from tank and old lines.try search for then and now automotive in your neck of woods also.to clarify what I meant by wrong is that pump does not have the bowl.also the line fittings may not be in right place this can be a pain to correct

 

Lookin really good. I'm glad the sombrero mounting worked for you. Looking forward to seeing this car all back together.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Thanks voodoo

Ok so next question about the fuel pump. The original one i took off with the glass bowl, in the right of the pic, was mounted so the bowl was on top of the pump but all the pics i see have the glass bowl on the bottom. Any thoughts ?


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

All I can say is that the fuel pump Jeff linked to on eBay is the same as the one on my 239!

 

The glass bowl may be more "traditional" period correct but having owned two 239 Fords "back in the day" both developed leaks and they would vibrate loose,crank 'em down too tight and they can crack,not a good idea.

 

I love your '53, but that '59 Ranch is also very cool. Who would ever know just how popular these workhorses became.

 

Well, tonight you should have ribeyes and grilled veggies after that remark. LOL

 

the bowl was moved to the top in 55 also if you check the bolt holes for mounting.in 54 239 they used a 5/16 bolt then 55 up they used a 3/8 bolt.the 3/8 will bolt up but will never be right.some time in past someone probably used 55 up pump as 54 was one year only.

 

New fuel pumps on the way as well as fuel and brake line. Waiting for the interior to show up so i can start painting the dash etc.....

I got the car rolled outside for the first time this weekend. Im in love with the stance

 

Nice. Digging the stance.

 

x2

 

Car looks great! I really like it in that color.

 

I'm ready to see a full side shot with the sombreros on.

 

Forgot to post pics but i engine turned the gauge panel last week. Layed out a grid to stay in line...



1/2 cratex stick to turn it



Im actually going to re do it due to some imperfections but it came out good for first attempt. Also did my plaque that i ran on my 62 belair




Ive been trying to think of a shift knob that would be cool and also match my interior. I stumbled across a guy on instagram making cool knobs out of various metals. His company is wc lathewerks. I dont have a lathe yet so i went ahead and ordered a knob from him. Super nice guy and the knob turned out great. Solid brass with a cool groove pattern, nice weight to it and should match the gold interior accents well......



The shifter rod is a neat item as well. 55-9 chevy truck stick out of a big 2 ton or so truck. Has a really cool taper to it. My dad found it in a junkyard probably 15 yrs ago. Bent it up in a swan neck style that fits well. Here it is in neutral



2nd



1st



Close up of the knob

 

Looks like the Deathstar, nice!


Sent from my Borg implant using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Couple interior pics of the EZboy stuff i got. Brown pleats, white outers with gold piping



Covers sitting in the car to give an idea of whats to come. Got stuff dor the door panels as well and package tray. Carpets coming as well

 

Looking good!

 

The interior is going to look great!