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Features Bought myself a '53 Ford

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Mikko_, Dec 7, 2020.

  1. Squablow
    Joined: Apr 26, 2005
    Posts: 17,388

    Squablow
    Member

    Good looking car. I hope your inspection goes well.
     
    Mikko_ likes this.
  2. Alice looks great with her new shoes!;) The exhaust smoke may clear itself after some new breaking in of the engine. As you said it sat for 30 years so things got used to being where they were. Piston rings, bearings, valve springs, Etc. will all need re-broken in to "forget" the last 30 years. Take it easy on Alice for a while and treat her as a beautiful woman.:D She is beautiful and you have work hard on her so time to enjoy and work out the bugs.:)
     
    Mikko_ likes this.
  3. Mikko_
    Joined: Aug 3, 2018
    Posts: 453

    Mikko_
    Member
    from Sweden

    Drove around the block today and it's like riding on a cloud, smooth and quiet.
    The rebuilt brakes are doing they're job very well and doesn't pull to the sides.

    On the negative side it seems like my thermostat housing are either cracked or warped because they are leaking badly.
    Going to try and flatten out the gasket surface with a sheet of sanding paper on a piece of flat glass and see if that cures the leaking.
     
  4. Mikko_
    Joined: Aug 3, 2018
    Posts: 453

    Mikko_
    Member
    from Sweden

    Looks like I got the thermostat housings to seal up which is great news.
    Another plus is that it seems like my charging system is working too, 7,1-7,2 volts at idle should be ok?
     
  5. Mikko_
    Joined: Aug 3, 2018
    Posts: 453

    Mikko_
    Member
    from Sweden

    Today was the day for inspection and I'm happy to say it went well, now I'll just have to wait for the title and plates to arrive by mail.

    The left brake light quit working during the inspection but they looked the other way and decided it was no big deal :rolleyes:

    Since the right brake light works, and both rear turn signals I'm thinking there is something wrong in the turn signal switch.
     
  6. sololobo
    Joined: Aug 23, 2006
    Posts: 8,378

    sololobo
    Member

    stunning og car. The coolest grille ever. Enjoy this sweet ride.
     
    Big mike 1968 and Mikko_ like this.
  7. And you would be right.... Probably a burned or dirty contact.
     
    Big mike 1968 likes this.
  8. Mikko_
    Joined: Aug 3, 2018
    Posts: 453

    Mikko_
    Member
    from Sweden

    The weather here in Sweden have been great these last days and it seems like it's going to be this way through the upcoming weekend too so I really hope my plates arrive on friday.

    Meanwhile I did the most simple upholstery job one can do: a blanket over the worn and dirty seat :rolleyes:

    thumbnail_IMG_0462.jpg
    thumbnail_IMG_0463.jpg

    Also covered the primer spots with some light blue spray paint.
    Once dry I will make the new paint look a bit older and then buff and wax the whole car.
    Won't be perfect but a closer match then red oxide primer.

    thumbnail_IMG_0464.jpg
    thumbnail_IMG_0465.jpg


    Plans for the summer other than driving and putting some miles on it is to install either 1 or 2 inch blocks in the rear to level it out and either put a glass pack muffler on it or loose the muffler and go with a straight pipe.
     
  9. Mikko_
    Joined: Aug 3, 2018
    Posts: 453

    Mikko_
    Member
    from Sweden

    Plates and title arrived today so just had to install the plates and go for a little drive.

    thumbnail_IMG_0468.jpg


    Beautiful weather this evening and around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, perfect for a pre-friday cruise.

    thumbnail_IMG_0467.jpg
     
    mcnally351, F-ONE, Squablow and 3 others like this.
  10. Love the KM stickers on the speedo; was that required by the inspector?.... LOL...
     
  11. Mikko_
    Joined: Aug 3, 2018
    Posts: 453

    Mikko_
    Member
    from Sweden

    Don't know if it really was required but I've been told some inspectors are grumpy about that so I put them on just to be safe.

    Will peel them off because I can't really stand looking at them.
     
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  12. Mikko_
    Joined: Aug 3, 2018
    Posts: 453

    Mikko_
    Member
    from Sweden

    Took a little longer drive this evening (about 20 miles) and Alice is running great, oil pressure is good and it's not overheating.

    Had her up to a blistering 65mph without issues.

    thumbnail_IMG_0476.jpg
    thumbnail_IMG_0477.jpg
    thumbnail_IMG_0478.jpg
     
    Chavezk21, charleyw, Ford52PU and 3 others like this.
  13. You got that car looking and apparently running good. It was alot of work but keep going. Straighten out the little things that will popup and keep moving forward. Good on you for getting it done in Sweden.
     
    Mikko_ likes this.
  14. Mikko_
    Joined: Aug 3, 2018
    Posts: 453

    Mikko_
    Member
    from Sweden

    The US car scene in Sweden is huge.
    We probably have more interest in US cars than in European.
     
  15. It still has to be difficult and expensive to get parts with shipping and import duties.
     
    Big mike 1968 likes this.
  16. Mikko_
    Joined: Aug 3, 2018
    Posts: 453

    Mikko_
    Member
    from Sweden

    Not really difficult but yes, more expensive than in the US.
     
    warhorseracing likes this.
  17. Mikko_
    Joined: Aug 3, 2018
    Posts: 453

    Mikko_
    Member
    from Sweden

    Well, sun is shining and car is running great.
    Then this happened.

    Don't no if I got a bad quality tube or if I messed up when installing it.
    The tires are for tubeless use but I decided to go with tubes since I don't really trust those rivets that holds the wheel together to be air tight but I might have to reconsider now.

    thumbnail_IMG_0484.jpg
     
  18. Mikko_
    Joined: Aug 3, 2018
    Posts: 453

    Mikko_
    Member
    from Sweden

    Good news is that my expensive Firestone tire survived and it seems to be holding air pressure without a tube.

    Now I just need to remove the tubes from the other 3 wheels.
     
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  19. Squablow
    Joined: Apr 26, 2005
    Posts: 17,388

    Squablow
    Member

    Did you find the failure point on the tube? Sometimes the tire likes to spin on the rim and it puts pressure on the valve stem, causing a crack or break in the stem.

    I've had good luck running tubeless tires on those type of wheels. For extra peace of mind, you can smear some bead sealer around the rivet holes to keep air from seeping through.
     
  20. Mikko_
    Joined: Aug 3, 2018
    Posts: 453

    Mikko_
    Member
    from Sweden

    Yes, I found a small tear in the tube.
    Not by the valve stem or the tube seam, maybe I managed to get some dirt in there while mounting them or maybe it got wrinkled somehow.

    I removed the tubes from the rest of the wheels today and they all seem to be holding air.
     
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  21. A good heavy coat of brush on primer like RustOleum or the likes will help prevent small air seepage. Do this before you remount the tires and you can add color like semi flat black but not really necessary. just an extra ounce of prevention and rust preventative.
     
  22. Mikko_
    Joined: Aug 3, 2018
    Posts: 453

    Mikko_
    Member
    from Sweden

    I decided to do nothing at the moment but they did get a few coats of paint when I refurbished them the first time a couple of months ago.
     
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  23. Mikko_
    Joined: Aug 3, 2018
    Posts: 453

    Mikko_
    Member
    from Sweden

    Tires still holding air so I went on with other things.

    As you can see the rear bumper shined up pretty good, I did the rest of the bumper after the picture was taken and the RH corner was sadly really bad as far as chrome goes. Guess that's why it was covered with some sort of silver paint.

    Also did a test spot on the paint, just gotta do the rest of the car now.

    thumbnail_IMG_0492.jpg
     
  24. Mikko_
    Joined: Aug 3, 2018
    Posts: 453

    Mikko_
    Member
    from Sweden

    And now the whole car has gotten a very quick buff and polish.
    Looks alot better IMO.

    Before and after pics.

    thumbnail_IMG_0481.jpg

    thumbnail_IMG_0504.jpg
     
  25. tubman
    Joined: May 16, 2007
    Posts: 6,913

    tubman
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    That cleaned up nice. Now all you have to do is find the missing trim piece, which shouldn't be too hard.
     
  26. Mikko_
    Joined: Aug 3, 2018
    Posts: 453

    Mikko_
    Member
    from Sweden

    Yes, I am on the hunt for the missing piece of trim.
     
  27. Mikko_
    Joined: Aug 3, 2018
    Posts: 453

    Mikko_
    Member
    from Sweden

    First test drive without tubes went great.
    For some reason I think it rides nicer without tubes.

    And a couple of pictures of the lightly buffed paint in natural lighting.
    Looks a lot less neglected now, can't wait 'til I get some lowering blocks for the rear to level it out a bit.

    thumbnail_IMG_0507.jpg
    thumbnail_IMG_0508.jpg
     
    Stogy, Ford52PU, guthriesmith and 2 others like this.
  28. @Mikko_ the car is looking great and those bumpers and grille. Man they really cleaned up good as compared to what they were. A lot of work but it is rewarding.
     
  29. Squablow
    Joined: Apr 26, 2005
    Posts: 17,388

    Squablow
    Member

    Looks like it's cleaning up nice! Have you tried anything on the surface rust on the front fenders and hood? I'd bet a good going-over with a very wet steel wool soap pad would take a lot of that off, then you could re-buff/wax it and I'd bet it would match better. Your touched-up paint spot isn't as noticeable now that it's buffed, too.
     
    warhorseracing likes this.

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