Finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel & hoping it's not a train. So, instead of posting rude comments & unwanted opinions, I thought I might start a build thread of my latest project, so you can post rude comments & unwanted opinions! The start: 63wagon1 by 1pickup posted Jun 21, 2016 at 10:16 PM Pretty nice for WI, probably junk for the west coast & southern guys. Was a V8 w/ glide. Engine missing & trans (no converter) in the cargo area. Interesting story (to me, anyway) behind this car. Belonged to a friend of mine. He wanted a reasonable price, I wanted to pay an unreasonable price. We never made a deal on it. He suddenly passed away very young. Sometime later, his father (an even closer friend), talked to me about it. He remembered that I was interested. A few days later, it arrives at my shop on a trailer. He wanted me to have it. It sat patiently in my pole shed until the time seemed right
^^WOW! that was quick!^^ There are several of these on here, & through '64 is allowed. What is "atraditional?" Anyway. First order of business: remove front clip, clean & paint. 63wagon3 by 1pickup posted Jun 21, 2016 at 10:26 PM Add air springs & new brakes. Check out Ryno's '64 wagon build for the how to on correctly doing that. 63wagon5 by 1pickup posted Jun 21, 2016 at 10:31 PM 63wagon4 by 1pickup posted Jun 21, 2016 at 10:29 PM
I went with the stock brakes (more traditional?). And '63 pickup front shocks. Got an older but never installed AirLift system & bought BC fab brackets. The only thing I did differently, was to use a fox body Mustang rear axle snubber instead of just a bolt to hold the rear brackets on. I didn't want the axle to hit the frame when lowered. It gave me more room to run the airlines. 63wagon6 by 1pickup posted Jun 21, 2016 at 10:35 PM
It could be a cool push car for a traditional drag car. Or it could be the beginnings of a cool custom. Or...(guess we'll just have to see what happens).
He was jerking your chain. So my rude comment, "Uh Oh better get Maaco." Sounds like you got a deal on it I'll try and keep up with it. Also I am sorry that your friend checked out. I started burying them when I was in my 20s and it never gets any easier.
LOL Friends don't let friends drive Fords. I personally have always liked longroofs, I have owned them fast and others just grocery getters. but they are nice old heaps to own and drive. I actually owned a mid '50s ford wagon until about 3 days before my first date with my wife.it had to go because my bills were all over due. When I showed up on my old Norton my future father in law said, "Well at least you aren't in that damned old wagon."
Nothing wrong with the wagon,with the exception of the dark photo,I pirated this one from your album. HRP
To me it don't matter what brand they are. I like pretty much everything with two to four wheels. My favorite car is still a Model A coupe. Haven't been on here in awhile. Screwed up and got old. Leaving all my car parts and one car behind. Tomorrow we head back to midwest for ever..............
Yeah, the dark photo was the only one I had before I tore into it. Not too much light in my pole shed. That's where I had to take the drums off to get it to roll enough to get into my shop. I have been offered some good $$ to buy this thing while it sat waiting, but selling it just didn't seem right to me. I should be working on my Merc, or '40 DeLuxe, or chopped '37 truck, but figured this would be a quick build. Of course, not a quick as I had hoped. But, should be driving soon. This isn't posted in real time, as my life isn't a reality show.
Porknbeaner, I took my oldsmobile station wagon in to town to do food shopping to day and going in to town I see this truck come flying up on me. Its a 4 lane in to town so I pulled over in the slow lane and he still pulled right up on my butt. At the stop light he pulled along side of me and said I just wanted to see your station wagon and what kind it was and to read your Regan and Bush for Prez.Sticker you had on the rear window. LOL. Bruce.
I think I'd better post a *disclaimer* - I am not a professional car builder, welder, fabricator, body man, painter, upholsterer, or mechanic. So, please don't use anything I post as a "how to." It's more of a "how one dumbass made something work." Now, back to our regularly scheduled program: Driver's side floor needed one small patch by the dimmer switch 63wagon7 by 1pickup posted Jun 24, 2016 at 8:57 AM Passenger floor needed replacing. I stupidly assumed it was from the A/C unit leaking. 63wagon8 by 1pickup posted Jun 24, 2016 at 9:04 AM Rear cargo area floor was toast. 63wagon9 by 1pickup posted Jun 24, 2016 at 9:06 AM Couldn't find a replacement for a wagon, so one for a sedan will have to work. Notice the "slight" difference in size. 63wagon10 by 1pickup posted Jun 24, 2016 at 9:07 AM I placed the new panel in there & drew a line to get the correct cut line. Then, start hacking away. Most of the rest of the floor looked good. So, I just wirebrushed the surface rust & coated w/ POR15 the areas that needed it.
Hmmm... suddenly... I don't feel so gifted or unique... anymore... Looking forward to more photos of your '63. Gonna keep it white? Gotta56forme/Scott
It was originally a kind of goldish/greenish color. If you look at the pic with the front clip off, you can see it on the cowl. Looks to have been repainted (maybe in the 70's?) to the off white it is now. Probably was the cheapest color Earl Scheib (sp? I'm not quite that old) had. My first thought was black w/ metalflake gold roof & scallops, but it may just stay the way it is. To make that floor section work, I had to cut it in half. Width is right, length not so much (that's what she said!). Bent up some panels out of heavier stock so I didn't have to bead roll it. Had to make 2, because the longer metal brake I had access to wouldn't bend it. My old smaller one is a beast (seen in the pics) 63wagon11 by 1pickup posted Jun 24, 2016 at 11:48 AM Get the idea? 63wagon12 by 1pickup posted Jun 24, 2016 at 11:51 AM 63wagon13 by 1pickup posted Jun 24, 2016 at 11:52 AM Finished panel. Install as per usual metthods. A little help holding up would be nice though... 63wagon14 by 1pickup posted Jun 24, 2016 at 11:53 AM
Took the gas tank out to clean & paint. It rattled & I found these inside. Look to be made of lead. Yeah, I know, they wanted to add lead to the gas. Any idea what they are? Has an "M" stamped on the domed side.
Well, let's start the bidding, then. Tank ready to reinstall. 63wagon15 by 1pickup posted Jun 26, 2016 at 8:27 PM
Here's the dash. Thought long & hard before cutting it, but that's what we do, isn't it? Before: 63wagon16 by 1pickup posted Jun 26, 2016 at 8:30 PM During, with radio removed & suspension controls taking their place: 63wagon17 by 1pickup posted Jun 26, 2016 at 8:31 PM And, painted: 63wagon18 by 1pickup posted Jun 26, 2016 at 8:33 PM
Installed a new glove box liner, but I cut a hole in the side & put a small cooling fan on it (no pics). Thought was to cool the radio hidden in there. See the "cool little hidden radio" thread, for the specifics. I bought one of those & added the antenna plug as described. Not great sound quality, but good enough for this build. I also added a USB port on the dash, so I wouldn't need to keep the glovebox door open when using the Ipod. You can find them on eBay, apparently made for boats. I also am too cheap to buy an expensive dual speaker to put in the stock location, so I bent up a simple bracket to hold two 3 1/2" Pyle speakers & tacked it to the original speaker bracket. Simple, & it works. 63wagon20 by 1pickup posted Jun 28, 2016 at 3:30 PM I did the "JB Weld trick" to the cracked steering wheel, 'cause once again I'm too cheap to spring for a new metalflake gold 3 spoke. Then, I had my son paint it. His first attempt at any kind of automotive paint. It's not perfect, so it fits with the rest of this build. Bolted the Sears underdash A/C unit back in, & the dash looks pretty much finished to me. Even better, after my wife cleaned the overspray off the inside of the windshield. 63wagon19 by 1pickup posted Jun 28, 2016 at 3:28 PM
Thanks, loveoftiki. Let's move to under the hood. I have a 350/350 combo. That didn't feel right for this build. So, off to Craigslist & I scored a 230 with powerglide from a '69 truck. Supposedly has 52K, so I'll just go with that. He said it smoked at start up, so new valve seals were installed. A couple gaskets & some paint. And, "it's in the hole!" 63wagon21 by 1pickup posted Jul 2, 2016 at 6:51 PM
I think there is a thread on here somewhere devoted to dressed up sixes if you can find it. Keep up the good work, I will be lookin forward to seein it.
Not gonna dress it up too much. I'm really leaning toward keeping it clean looking under the hood, having a completed interior, & just leaving the old faded exterior paint alone. I bought a (still in the plastic bag) 2 carb intake on eBay. I also bought a split exhaust manifold & it turned out to be a P.O.S. I should have just used the stock single, or tried to modify it myself. I priced new headers & didn't want to spend the money. But, I did want duals, so I just used it. It appears that the second outlet was added at the rear, as I think it should be. Then, they must have welded the dividing plate on the wrong side. So, it had 2 outlets on the rear, & none on the front. Then, they added another outlet to the front, & the rear one got capped off. Not ideal, but I'm trying to not break the bank on this build so I put it on. At least I tried. Both added outlets hit the block, so it wouldn't bolt up tight. I had to pie cut both of them & weld it up to make it work. Now, with the front outlet, snaking some pipe around the motor mount would be tricky. 63wagon22 by 1pickup posted Jul 2, 2016 at 6:53 PM
The stock (truck) throttle assembly (bellcrank?) wasn't gonna bolt up to the 2 carb manifold, so after some head scratching, I came up with a way to make it work. Remember earlier, I said don't use anything I do as a "how to." First, I needed a place to bolt on a bracket that I needed to fabricate. There are 2 ports at the rear of the intake, so here's what I did: 63wagon23 by 1pickup posted Jul 2, 2016 at 6:54 PM Yes, that's a pipe plug that I drilled & tapped. Then, I made this from an old piece of square tubing: 63wagon24 by 1pickup posted Jul 2, 2016 at 6:55 PM Added an adjustable pivot on top of that: 63wagon25 by 1pickup posted Jul 2, 2016 at 6:56 PM And, the finished product. Don't laugh, it works: 63wagon26 by 1pickup posted Jul 2, 2016 at 6:57 PM
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