I got a 500 last year that had similar surface rust to yours. I used, of all things, a wire wheel in my drill. Knocked the rust right off and really got into the pitted spots. Then I used some old German metal polish I found in a box and it buffed out pretty nice. Maybe not the best method, but good enough for a crusty old wheel.
Soak the chrome part of the wheel in molasses and water. Then use a good chrome polish. Works great. Takes a week or so.
I rebuilt the steering box. I think it's from a late 1950's f100 ? He had to grind Some of the box so it would clear the exhaust , hope this will not get too hot?
If you do blinkers you could hide them up under the fenders in a way that they illuminate the wheel well when they blink only. No running light on them this way outward appearance looks vintage Sent from my SM-J7008 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I have used this on old chrome. Just find a container you can pour into and let it soak. Just phosphoric acid .Have used it on several chrome parts. Better than rubbing with abrasives and scratching .About $15.00 a gallon
Dana aren't these staggered peddles cool. I have not seen one like this since I was a very very young man.
Porknbeaner ,,,I would guess,a few did it for foot room,were others may of just not set them up even. I knew more then one rod with the need for extra brake pedal travel>do to wrong size brake piston match up as well,,didn't stop many from driving hell out of them !! Def. cool too ! Still looks a little better when the ped's are even.
The ONLY thing to save old chrome is QUICK GLO!!!!!!!!!!! that wheel will look like new. Such a cool car.
Ford's first generation hydraulic brakes were Lockheed. Not self energising like the newer Bendix style rears you have. First gen Lincoln brakes were self energising Bendix style.
The brake peddle push rod did not line up good to the master cylinder. There were a few holes in the peddle so i welded them and drilled a new one so in works better now. The bracket was torched off another car. They cleaned up well.
I stripped and primed the fenders with epoxy primer. I put the body back on just to check how everything is fitting. The rear seems to high so i removed the stock rear spring and installed a reverse eye spring that brought the body in the rear down. Now i now why they z the frame in the back.
I installed some parts to check for fit . Found out the new carburetor scoop will not fit , the two rods that hold the radiator are in the way. F I made a bracket from a steel plate and welded it together to spread the rods out a little bit.
The fire wall has the 1/4" steel plate with a thin aluminum sheet on top. The aluminum was in bad shape and had some holes in it. I removed it and used that as a templet to cut a new piece . I used my band saw to cut the sheet metal.
The slant Windsheild was hitting the cowl . The header was dry rotted and the rails were split . So i installed new wood.
My project got much bigger. I was planing on just painting the fenders and clean up the paint on the body. After i painted the fenders the paint on the body started looking like crap. So now i decided to paint the whole car. I guess that is how it goes.
That does indeed look like a Ford f100 steering box but it is not from the 50's. The recirculating ball type box was introduced in 62 for the early 63 models. Prior to that they had two gears working against each other, I think they called it worm and sector. That box you have may not like the John Deere grease but I don't know what that is because I have never used it. Most recirculating ball steering boxes I am familiar with use 90-140w gear oil. That box is far smoother than the older style and easier to steer, much less friction.
The color is 1956 Lincoln Shenandoah Green. This is the color Frank picked. It's a blue metallic with a hint of green. The green shows up in the sun light .