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Projects 1947 Ford Sedan work in progress

Discussion in 'Traditional Hot Rods' started by redzula, Oct 21, 2015.

  1. redzula
    Joined: Jul 6, 2011
    Posts: 1,225

    redzula
    Member

    Just bought this '47 super deluxe and roadtrip'd to Long Island, NY from Des Moines, IA and back over a 4 day weekend.

    We're back home now and getting started sorting things out.

    The car looks to be an older restoration with spray bombed body and bumpers to make it look better in flea Bay pictures. Still I think I got a fair deal on it and plan to just correct and work out some issues and drive it as much as possible.

    Couple issues I could use some insight on since this is my first flathead, first solid axle and wishbones car, first closed driveline car.

    My wife's phone has the scenic pictures from the drive if anyone is interested in those I can post them up, for now it's the for sale pics and loaded on the trailer headed home.

    1445447447812.jpg
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    1445447530243.jpg
     
  2. Jalopy Joker
    Joined: Sep 3, 2006
    Posts: 31,156

    Jalopy Joker
    Member

  3. Wow! It DO look good in the pics! Is it as solid as it appears? Congrats for sure.. and some road pics would be cool!

    Dave
     
  4. hotrodharry2
    Joined: Nov 19, 2008
    Posts: 793

    hotrodharry2
    Member
    from Michigan

    What a great start!
     

  5. Sharp Sedan - dropped as well so your off to a good start! Is the motor hopped up at all ?
     
  6. 50flathead
    Joined: Mar 8, 2005
    Posts: 1,167

    50flathead
    Member
    from Iowa, USA

    Indeed you have a great piece of Ford culture. Keep it in a good home.
     
  7. Don's Hot Rods
    Joined: Oct 7, 2005
    Posts: 8,319

    Don's Hot Rods
    Member
    from florida

    I saw that one close on Ebay and yes, you did real good ! :) You have a great start there. Wish my 46 was that nice.

    Don
     
    Outback likes this.
  8. redzula
    Joined: Jul 6, 2011
    Posts: 1,225

    redzula
    Member

    Motor is basically stock I believe. Guy took off the mechanical fan for an electric which I'm not a big fan of might try and go back but we'll see.

    Basic plans are to fix the driveability issues like the noisy trans and clunk in the suspension and probably fix the paint eventually. And drive it.

    Going to try and figure out the suspension noise first. I think the pivot ball is what is making the noise. Is that common problem?

    A couple pics from the trip and unloading
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    George Washington Bridge (expensive toll with a trailer we learned)
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    Throgs Neck Bridge
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    View from TNB on the way there Manhattan at sunset
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    Bridge in Toledo Ohio where we stayed with friends on the way out and the way back
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    Early start leaving Toledo in the last stretch
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    Home
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    My Kids Approve
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    Wife might need a few days after putting her through that 4 days of driving

    2405 miles and almost 39 hours driving.
    1445493720898.jpg
    1445493755372.jpg
     
    quickrack-alan likes this.
  9. redzula
    Joined: Jul 6, 2011
    Posts: 1,225

    redzula
    Member

    Few days after we got the car back to des moines. I went down to get it registered. In New York apparently they didn't have titles pre 1972 you transfered ownership of a vehicle via a vehicle registration marked "transferable". Ones marked Non transferable meant that someone had gone through the process to get an actual title for the car.

    My car has a transferable registration. Though that makes things confusing titling a car in Iowa is still usually pretty simple. This time however I was told I needed to get the VIN verified before an Iowa title would be issued. I had my appointment with the Dot investigator guy last Thursday. The guy was super cool and you could tell he does this all the time. However we weren't able to find a number anywhere. There are supposed to be stampings along the left side frame rail and another on the bellhousing of the trans, but it's too close to the tunnel to read anything on it.

    Has anyone ever delta with this? Anyone with a 46-48 able to take a pic of the vin on their frame rail to pinpoint where it's actually supposed to be. I need to keep digging and hopefully I'll find it and get registered
     
  10. redzula
    Joined: Jul 6, 2011
    Posts: 1,225

    redzula
    Member

    Also I was under the car tonight trying to locate my suspension noise.... think I found it, as the spindles are loose at the kingpin bushings. Looks like a common issue, and since I wanted to drop my axle anyway I'll probably just see about adding a kingpin kit, bushings and maybe spindles if needed. Anybody used Nostalgia Sid's before, or have other recommendations that you've used.
     
    Atwater Mike likes this.
  11. redzula
    Joined: Jul 6, 2011
    Posts: 1,225

    redzula
    Member

    Bump for tonight's crowd.
     
  12. lorodz
    Joined: Jul 26, 2009
    Posts: 3,727

    lorodz
    Member

    Nice ride from my state long island
     
    redzula likes this.
  13. Very cool car. Looks great. I'm hoping to get something like that soon
     
  14. alchemy
    Joined: Sep 27, 2002
    Posts: 20,380

    alchemy
    Member

    Shouldn't need to replace the spindles when you do the kingpin kit. Just make sure your machine shop hones both bushings together, not one at a time.

    The VIN should be on the upper left frame rail. Probably right near the steering box mount. Maybe all the way up to the front crossmember. If you need to see the one on the trans you could remove the front floorboard to see it. But be aware the transmission could have been changed over the years and your number might not match any more. It's best to find the stamping on the frame.
     
    48fordnut and Joe Mammana like this.
  15. Good looking car,congratulations. HRP
     
  16. Yep ^^^^^^

    The inspector should be able to find any numbers that are in a tight spot with a mirror.

    You could pull the inspection plate and check the numbers yourself if they match you are golden and if not just put it back and look for numbers on the frame.

    Nice looking car. :cool:
     
  17. redzula
    Joined: Jul 6, 2011
    Posts: 1,225

    redzula
    Member

    Thanks guys. That's is around where we were looking and didn't see anything. I'll have to keep digging. That's a good point about the trans number possibly being different.

    Thanks for the reminder about honing the front bushings together I'd hate to get it all don't just to have it still be screwy
     
  18. redzula
    Joined: Jul 6, 2011
    Posts: 1,225

    redzula
    Member

    Gahhh!!!! So I mentioned I had a problem finding the vin the other day with the inspector. While talking to him we both came to the conclusion that most likely the vin wouldn't match my document and therefore I'd have to get a bonded title for the car. Meaning waiting 3 years while someone could claim the car as there's and cause a legal headache. Obviously I want to avoid that if possible but my vin would have to match the registration I have with the vin on it.

    Well tonight I went out to the shop and got to work removing the inner fender so I could better access the frame rail to clean it up and find the vin.
    1446709279675.jpg
    I FOUND IT!!!!!! I can get the VIN inspected and get it registered.
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    Not only that the VIN matches the registration so no bonded title. And I don't have to worry. Sorry to get so excited about something so small but I was starting to worry it would all turn into a big mess.

    You can't really see it all in the pics which is probably a good thing actually. But you can read it all in person and that's all I need.

    Alright time to calm down and go to bed. I still have to work tomorrow. Night everybody.
     
  19. 56premiere
    Joined: Mar 8, 2011
    Posts: 1,445

    56premiere
    Member
    from oregon

    Looks like you got a nice car , glad you found the # and it matches.
     
  20. Tim
    Joined: Mar 2, 2001
    Posts: 17,040

    Tim
    Member
    from KCMO

    I'll have to catch up on this thread later but congrats on finding the number! I know looking for it can put a real lump in your throat
     
  21. Jake Sippl
    Joined: Nov 11, 2015
    Posts: 276

    Jake Sippl
    Member
    from Detroit MI

    that's awesome! I did the same thing a little while ago. My Dad and I took a trip from Detroit to Springfield Missouri to pick up our 1930 coupe. got it done in 2 days! 14 hours each way
     
  22. redzula
    Joined: Jul 6, 2011
    Posts: 1,225

    redzula
    Member

    Haha we lucked out with having friends right around the halfwaypoint. Plus with my record of hitting deer driving at night my wife doesn't really like us to drive after dark. Makes the trip a little longer but it also means more time to spend hanging out with friends instead of driving all night.

    As for the title. The state of iowa wouldn't accept the Transferable registration as enough to issue a title straight away so I had to go the bonded title route anyway. It's currently at the Dot getting a bonded certificate. Which I then take to my insurance and get the bond money secured. Then back to the Dot for the actual title. What a hassle. But it's winter now and we've already had snow and as northerners know the salty brine solution they spray down that speeds up any and all rusting out of a car. So it's down for the winter and hopefully by springtime I'll have the registration all sorted and ready to drive it all over.
     
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2015
  23. Steves46
    Joined: Sep 23, 2008
    Posts: 533

    Steves46
    Member
    from Florida

    That's a great looking Tudor! It seems the DMV finds ways to inflict pain on the reasonably simple common sense things.
     
    lothiandon1940 likes this.
  24. Very nice looking car, I'm glad you found the numbers, they can be a pain. It took me a while to get through the DMV too.
     
  25. Great looking car ya found....enjoy all the room
     
  26. RainierHooker
    Joined: Dec 20, 2011
    Posts: 2,031

    RainierHooker
    Member
    from Tacoma, WA

    Nice looking Tudor. They make great cars and can be good fun without a whole lot of work. I've been having a blast with my '39 Tudor with a Hopped-Up Flathead a slight drop and nothing else.

    Looking forward to progress...
     
  27. redzula
    Joined: Jul 6, 2011
    Posts: 1,225

    redzula
    Member

    So I've had the car in our family toybox for a while haven't been working on it much with all the stuff going on around the holidays. But I was out the other day doing some odds and ends stuff and started putting the inner fender back together after finding the vin I taped over it and spray bombed the frame rail just to cover the shiny metal I uncovered trying to find the number. Then I cleared over the vin to make it easier to find and read in the future. We'll see how well it holds up.

    As for the title I got my stuff from the insurance company about the title bond. And wrongly assumed that they had sent the necessary stuff to the Dot and it was being taken care of. I thought I could just take my paperwork downtown to register it. Wrong. I was turned away and giving a phone # to call and check the status.

    I called and they said they had received my stuff 12/20 fully 3 weeks before I tried getting it registered. They also told me I should be waiting for a call when it was done, another thing I was never told about didn't know they would call me when it was ready. So that was a wasted day and wasted few hours off work.

    Another 2 weeks and I don't hear anything, I'm apparently really patient haha. So yesterday I called and checked on it again and this time the lady and the DOT told me they had been waiting for me to send them the bond info from my insurance company, the stuff I had assumed my insurance company had sent on. So I have all the time stuff in my possession to send in EXCEPT since I waited so long it was now past 30 days and the bond paperwork would need a rider to update the date on the paperwork. What a mess. And even more annoying is its all my fault for assuming. Anyway insurance is sending in the rider and as soon as I get that I now know what to do with it. Haha. Like before at least it's winter and I wouldn't be driving the car anyway. One last step and it should be all set and ready to register. After I get the call from the Dot and actually go register it that is. Lol

    In the meantime. I'm not sure if I mentioned it or not but there was a bad clunk in the front suspension. So I ordered a wishbone pivot bushing since they're cheap and started there. When got the car in the air though I realized there is a lot of play in the kingpin bushings. They're toast. While looking around I find replacements through Speedway original style, or an upgrade to needle bearings with a special kingpin and all the parts needed to install. It's more expensive but seems like a good serviceable alternative to the stock style bushings. And since the fenders will cover everything I'm not too worried about it looking weird.

    http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Deluxe-1942-48-Ford-King-Pin-Set,9651.html

    Has anyone had experience with this kit? How did you like it after installing?

    I usually don't like to just go by the description because companies seems to be able to spin the words so everything looks like the best availiable. It does have good reviews though.
     
  28. Tim
    Joined: Mar 2, 2001
    Posts: 17,040

    Tim
    Member
    from KCMO

    my brains not working well enough for a good reply but I do think @Malcolm put the needle bearing conversion on this roadster so he my have some insight that's more than speculation.
     
    redzula likes this.
  29. Malcolm
    Joined: Feb 9, 2006
    Posts: 8,030

    Malcolm
    Member
    from Nebraska

    I did use that 'deluxe' kingpin set on my roadster. It went together fairly easy and has worked out well. When using that kit, you no longer have to worry about having new bushings reamed. In the long run, I have no idea which set would actually last longer or if the 'deluxe' set is really worth the extra coin.
     
  30. When you said you did a road trip- I took that to mean you drove the Sedan- I bought the Coupe and drove it home against the advice of the seller- no problem- never have trailered any thing I've ever bought- find out what needs fixing right away-
     

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