Projects New Owner of the 1954 Ford “Mint Julep”

FYI, backfiring through that Holley that's on there is said to blow the power valve out. I'm running dual Holleys on my flatmotor so it was something I was aware of doing research while doing the build. Never had it happen to me but it's a point of information for you. I like my Holleys. They perform well and the only "special" tools you need to work on them is a screwdriver and a Crescent wrench for the power valve. You're changing it out for the Rochester so that's not important but the timing issue must be addressed regardless to get rid of backfiring through the carby. Great looking car. Good luck with it.
Andy

 

More progress today. Finished installing the 3” blocks out back, finished the fuel pump hard line, raised the front end 1”, got the steering linkage fully greased and tightened up. Tomorrow we will do an alignment, tweak a few small things and take it for a spin to see how everything is before we park it back in the garage to dig into the motor work.

 

That sits perfect !

 

Looks good. Remember to lower the headlights before you drive at night.

 

Miam miam!!!!!!

 

Wrapped up everything outstanding today and took it down the highway. Steering is back to normal, shift linkage is dialed in, fuel gauge is good to go. Speedometer isn’t working. It makes awful noises when it’s connected so I unhooked it all. Have to figure that out at some point. Car is almost done. Ready or start on the motor next weekend. Recorded a video for instagram that I’ll share a link to which I just posted on YouTube.
https://youtube.com/shorts/oSMF931r0i0?feature=share

 

Looks like fun.

 

UPDATE: Knowledgeable poster below says use white lithium grease.
Disregard the rest of my post, please.

The speedo sounds like lubrication problem. Remove inner cable and use a cable lubricant. I think it is graphite based. Should quiet it down.

 

Do not use graphite, graphite is a speedometer repairman's best friend. It works its way into the speedometer and causes all kinds of havoc. It is fine for locks and such but not speedometer cables.
My dad always said " that sh*ts to sell not to use", pull the cable and use white lithium grease. If it still make noise and jumps the speedometer will have to come out and be repaired.

 

Have owed a couple of '54 Fords I have used Lithium grease for a dry speedometer cable when they are making noise, works great. HRP

 

Brought the car back home today from my uncles shop. All 4 of us were able to tackle a big list in a short amount of time. We installed the 57+ distributor into the car with a new set of plugs. The motor runs night and day better now. Didn’t have to mess with the carb at all. The car is nearly 100% ready to cruise now safely. Did an oil change today and was really glad I did. I was able to inspect the PCV / road draft tube / oil catch can situation. The PCV valve was good, the canister had no filter in it and someone hose clamped a plastic catch can to the bottom of the road draft tube. It was disgusting. Cracked and leaking. I put a filter in the canister, cleaned the entire system out and repainted a few things. Now that the car is home I can address a handful of small things. Gotta install a phone charger, fix the passenger door jam light switch, fix a few interior panels, and start detailing the crap out of the car. Eventually this year I’m going to repaint the motor and detail it up but for now I just wanna put some miles on it. Hopefully bring it to Jalopyrama on May 7th with the family.

 

[QUOTEand someone hose clamped a plastic catch can to the bottom of the road draft tube. It was disgusting. Cracked and leaking. I put a filter in the canister, cleaned the entire system out and repainted a few things. [/QUOTE]
Did you plug the draft tube?

 

The road draft tube is still open. I’m now realizing that by having an oil filler breather cap and an open road draft tube that one should be closed right? My current setup.

-Oil filler cap is a breather
-Carb baseplate has hose going down to the road draft canister filter with an inline PCV valve
-Road draft tube is still open

 

Sent a message from your inquiry.

 

Looking good @HelmuthBrothers...Really Really Good...

Mmmmmmm.Piecrusts...

 

......Looking forward to seeing it in person there......Don.

 

With the pc valve plug the road draft tube . You want the pcv pulling air through the engine. With out filter the pcv could pull air and dirt into the engine

 

In order for the PCV system to be effective, you need to close off the road draft tube.

 

I’ve been enjoying the 54 a lot lately. Hit up a few local cruise nights, took some long Sunday drives with it. It’s been running and driving great. Removed the pinstripes on the hood and the “low life” script from the trunk with some oven cleaner. Worked as advertised with no effect to the mint green paint. I dig some of the striping on the car, but I wanted to remove what I wouldn’t have added myself if I had the chance. You’ll see some photos with the script on the trunk and some without.

 

Looks great without the stripes and the name..the striped dash looks killer

 

Positively one of my favorite cars on here!

 

No major updates with the Vicky. Just driving it and enjoying it! Swapped out the Summit Racing gauges under the dash for SW. Num Nub made me a set of acrylic glow in the dark shift and blinker knobs. Glow in the dark photo posted down below haha. Hope to drive it out to Good Guys Columbus in early July if we get enough people to go. Lately I've been considering getting a set of 53 Caddy flying saucer caps to have an additional hub cap option. Love the sombreros and wouldn't sell them, but I think a set of 53 caps would still look good on the car. I looked up more info on getting the 53 caps to fit a 15" ford rim, but I'm trying to find better photos of the process. Does anyone have any posts or photos on modifying them? I'd like to see how they're changed up to fit a 15" Ford rim. Or does anyone have a set for sale?

 

Awesome car! Thanks for sharing the pictures.

 

How does the glow in the dark knob work? Small bulb inside? Uranium? Magic?

 

Apparently Num Nub had it blessed by a local wizard. Pretty nuts.

 

Glad to see this awesome car out and about. I saw some of the pics from the Asbury Circuit that Rob posted, love seeing cool customs out on the prowl. Hope to see it in person soon

 

MY OLD CAR !!!! It's lookin a lot better. That stance is back to the way I had it. Dang, I wish the previous guys didn't pinstripe all over it. Still, its a nice car ;-)

 

Thanks! I removed most of the striping that I wasn't a fan of. I think I'll eventually remove more but for now I'm cool with what it has. Didn't want to push my luck with that oven cleaner lol.

 

Your car is pure class. Congrats on having such a beauty.

 

Please, please, please, throw away that plastic fuel filter and replace it with a steel one. The gas available today is formulated with chemicals that make the plastic used in those filters to turn brittle and crack, great way to burn a car to the ground.