Projects Couldn't say no... 1948 Ford Deluxe Sedan stored in a garage since '69

I must say that those plastic pieces on the dash look great. Many times they are all warped. And you really lucke dout with the heating pipes! LOL

 

Kool! I like that it's a 4dr, you don't see many of that body style any more which is a shame because I think they look bad ass when lowered.

 

Believe me--I never thought I'd own a fordor like this--but it's got a great practical appeal, and I assume it's mass and size will make it fun to drive on long trips. Besides, the girlfriend got excited about it. ( I think it's cuz the interior looks like a small interior space in a home and she has a knack for interior design..) I think everyone needs a friend that gives them a car!! I have a good feeling I should be able to massage most of the dents out with out too much trouble without ruining the surface paint..(I hope)

My thoughts were the same when I first opened the door.. I was also happy to open the door and NOT smell any mildew or mouse shit inside the car..

I remember when I was younger my dad did a '46 Tudor--and it was painted in a "hotrod 90's" paint scheme.. But, the car had a great "attitude" when settled downward a little.. I don't think this one will squat too much. Dependent on whether whitewalls or black walls end up on this car will determine it's overall appearance. I think a couple inches front and rear with tall tires will be just the ticket.. BUT--Getting the flathead running will be the priority when it makes it back home with me.

 

..while fumbling through a box of tail lights and lenses today at Jefferson--I found a perfect old glass lens for the passenger tail light.. Score.. Just need to find a block-off plate or a '48 Radio to fill the void.. Keeping it on the 'cheap'...

 

Hemifalcon:
Make a 'bumper' out of a good hickory base ball bat. Cut off about 10" of the big end, drill a hole thru its cross section, and fit it with a nice hammer handle. Work the dent from the outsides, gently bumping with the wood 'mallot'...

I scored 2 different radio delete plates on Ebay's 'Vintage Car Parts' pages...One for my '54 Ford Coupe and the other for my '48 F-1....both were around $12 each...

This is a very complete car you found. Glad your wife likes it, my wife likes my '47 better than my '27 T Tub!

Happy wives, happy lives.

 

You will want to find or create a gravel guard for the back between the trunk and the bumper .That model just doesn't look right with out it. You can get the rear fender stone shields made from stainless steel The interior shot of the back = looks like a cathedral in side.

 

http://www.dickspadaro.com/images/pdf/efr_catalog_flyer.pdf

 

Mike-I'll definitely make one of those "bumpers" as you call them.. Thanks for the tip.. And--I have a line on a radio delete and a possible '48 Radio core that may get ripped up for modern internals.. Again--doing this on the cheep..
And--she's not a "wife" as of yet.. Just a very understanding and incredible girlfriend.. (got lucky finding her too..)

I thought there was something that should serve as a "filler" between the bumper and body.. I'll need to look for some pictures of those as I assume they were stock pieces??
I know those fender guards are available-I won't be putting any that are too fancy on it when that time comes..
and "cathedral" is just about right..

 

"Just need to find a block-off plate or a '48 Radio "
Good luck on that. I have searched for the year I've owned my 47. I can find them for trucks, almost any other dash style, but not for the car.
Made one out of .025 aluminum. Looks OK, but still not right.
Inspect the wiring very carefully. The wiring is all cloth covered, and at 65 years old is getting brittle. I had to re-wire mine.
You're gonna fall in love with this car....

 

nice find, great looking car not many 4 doors around. looks like it stayed nice and dry. i got a 48 2 dr that had sat in a barn since 61 and it was in alot worse condition than that. mine had been full of mice, the wiring had rotted and it had some leaks above it. but trying to do it cheap and the time of finding good used parts i'm slowly getting it back together.
again, nice car. good luck

 

Very cool car! Auto Color Library will have the 1948 colors. Heres the link:
http://www.tcpglobal.com/aclchip.aspx?image=1948-ford-pg01.jpg

 

Well--I hope I don't make you upset saying I found a couple radios correct for my car AND a block off plate...

Thank you--and I'm excited although the car will remain with the OG owners for a couple more months...

 

That's a much better image of the paint chips--thank you!

 

You dog! I ended up making a face plate for an 80's AM/FM I had, so it's all good.
Only thing is, after I had my exhaust redone I don't care if I have a radio or not...

 

Congrats! Looks like a great find.

 

Alright guys.. It's all mine.. This afternoon I made the last trip up to Milwaukee to pick up the car.. I borrowed some of the roller jacks and they were life savers in getting the car out of the garage--and off of the rollback as a couple of the drums were seized..
Here are some of the pictures...Mind you--today was the first day that I got to see the passenger side of the car. I had not been able to see the dents in the roof previously--but it looks like someone was standing/crawling on the passenger side of the roof at one time--oh well.





First thing will be getting some 15" rollers mounted with some lovin' given to the brakes. After those are working-I'll test out the electronics to ensure all the lights and accessories are working. Then--it'll be onto the engine..
I AM pleased that the passenger side was as solid as the driver's side--the worst thing this car seems to have going for it is all the dents.. Oh well--happy to have it mine..

Oh--and the whole escapade caused one accident in front of the garage as we were prepping to remove it.. Some dumbasses slammed into another car as they were gaping into the garage... No one got hurt...



Here you can see how close to the wall the car was hugging the cinder blocks.



There's a good dent in the r/r fender..no biggie





Missing the filler panels (gravel guards???) between the body and bumper on the front and rear... gotta replace those--looks silly without them..



Someone sealed up the cowl vent with some silicone or similar gunk...I'm definitely gonna want it to work..



Car is still wearing it's old bias-plys..



SO--what do I replace these old worn out shoes with?? (Whitewalls are likely a given...)


Interior is pretty fair for being a temporary home for some rodents.. But it doesn't smell like they used their home as a urinal.. thankfully... The rear package tray is perfect..







Here's the album with pics..

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/album.php?albumid=41062

 

Neat old car. I saw (in one of your original posts) the pic of the engine compartment. It appears that someone may have replaced the fuel line that runs up the firewall. You have a potential fire hazard here....the steel line is supposed to end on the firewall, with a fitting on the end. Then Ford put a short (10" or so) flexible fuel line from that fitting over to the fuel pump. The current arrangement could experience metal fatigue and crack from vibration, resulting in a dramatic end to your car....or you guys. Consider fixing that before putting the engine in driving condition.

 

You may have some success massaging those dents out of the roof with the heel of your open hand. A gentle bump in the center of the dent will sometimes pop it back up.
If you suspect the rodents have used your new joy for a hotel, look for nests in the headliner made from the cotton and burlap out of the seats. That's where I found mine.
And again, inspect the wiring very closely. They love to chew on things to keep their teeth sharp.
Thought I'd send you an image to give you an idea of how 15's look with radials.
Have fun! These are easy cars to work on.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

Oh, BTW, the vent was probably glued shut to keep it from leaking. Mine was.
A little love in the gasket channel, and a new gasket made it all good. Also, make sure you feel good pressure on the vent handle as you pull it over center to close the vent.
It needs to be tight to compress the gasket.

 

Just a really nice old car-I'd rather fix dents than rust any day.
These old 4 doors look good with a nice low stance all around.
Congrats and good luck with your project.

 

What a great find! I have a few spares that came with my 46. Inform me of your needs.

 

Yeah... The photo doesn't allow you to see all that was going on as the engine compartment is quite a mess.. I didn't pay much attention to that but yesterday noticed there is a rubber extension between the fuel lines that is missing. I'm still unsure of the original issue for why the car was put up and not messed with for so long. So far I've found a single head gasket, a full set of brake shoes, a water pump, old shocks, some spark plugs and breathers inside the trunk.. Believe me--when the time comes I will be very careful especially with the fuel system.. This car will not be a barn-fire vehicle..

Those tires/wheels look good. I will be sticking with the original rims but would like a slightly larger whitewall. I will put the original style hubcaps and possibly trim rings on as well. So far--it doesn't appear that the rodents had made their way into the headliner--there are no stains indicating such. I'll figure out more when it comes time to cleanse this beast..

Mike--this is exactly what I was suspecting.

Thanks--and I agree.. I will probably lower the car a tad but other than that--I'll clean it hard and get the black paint off the front that was hastily sprayed on---and polish it out.. I think the roof dents will stay as I don't intend to remove the headliner..

Dakotajayne-thanks.. Right now I'll first be looking at re-doing the brake system and then working north from there.. Unless you have the gravel guards for between the bumpers--I can't think of any extras I am in need of right now..

 

Don't laugh...but I watched my dad, the consummate body man, take some dents out of a roof back in the 50's with a toilet plunger. He wet the lip so it would create suction, and started pulling. Very gently, and pop! Up came the dents. You have nothing to loose.

 

Mike,

I've used small plungers to pull out dents. Just get a good seal, constant pull, and tap the ridge that's holding it.
If you have a friend in the residential/commercial glass business, see if you can use their suction cup clamps, the ones for installing large pieces of glass.

 

HEY! Stop stealing our good WI iron! It's almost impossible to find anything around here that isn't rusted out up to the door handles.

 

Thats cool as all get out. Congrats.

 

Mike--I will no doubt give that a try.. As you say--I have nothing to loose other than some of the reverse lumps in the roof..

Hey--don't complain.. It sat on craigslist for quite sometime with other "potential buyers" only pissing off the now previous owner with crappy offers and bad attitudes..
I'll take good care of it--and if it matters--it's "in" Wisconsin right now where it'll stay until I can move it to my place for more frequent attention..

Thanks.. Working on making it cool..

Today I got the three wheels/brakes loose which were locked up.. I was able to crank the cam bolts loose and tightened up a few times in hopes the shoes were just too tight or stuck.. But--no matter what-they wouldn't break free of the inside of the drum.. I ended up getting the front drums off after some heavy and constant hammer blows.. I then just pulled the brake shoes off.. Lo-and-behold--the brake shoes were all new--no brake dust collected on them at all. The drums were in good shape too. I'll have to get a puller for the rear drums, but those are both free now..

Also--I found that there are a total of 4 different rims on the car--and only 1 original style rim.. Math equals 3 x 15" rims and 1 x 16" rim.. I am pretty certain that I want to use the original style hubcaps--so are there other options wheel-wise in a 15" range that will allow use of the original caps? I don't have any interest in using aftermarket rim manufacturers parts..
Any input on locating 3 more of these *if* they are the correct ones..
Thank you

 

Yes....Mercurys of that same era used 15" wheels and will accept the Ford hubcap. Personally, I'd use the 15" wheels and full wheel hubcaps like the 55-56 Ford cap. Simple but elegant.

 

Sweet project! I love the story on how it was found, shoved into a corner and forgotten. Be sure to keep us updated on everything that you do and please post pics. Everyone loves to see progress!