New Project

I had some downtime today so I figured I'd put up some pictures of the new project.

Its a 53 Ford Club Coupe with a 215 6 cylinder. It was legitimately stored in a barn for the last 30 years. I am planning on trying to have it on the road and to the rumblers Oct. 17 Coney Island show.

Here's some pics:









I got the car about a month ago and so far I've replaced all the brakes, lines, wheel cylinders, (soon to be replacing the master cylinder), etc. I bought new springs to drop the front along with new shocks. I've cleaned most of the front end (waiting til I can get to my dad's work to use their steam cleaner to get the rest of the engine bay/front suspension cleaned). I installed some temporary floors and started stripping the body.

My plans for the car (for both now and over the winter) are to get the engine bay cleaned, shaved and painted along with cleaning the motor and painting that up nice. I got the motor running nicely but it was leaking oil from the front seal so I pulled the motor and the head is at the engine shop getting freshened up and I will be regasketing the motor, installing a new oil and water pump and any other wear items. The trans is going to get some new seals and get cleaned up with a new clutch disc.

As far as the body, it's going to be shot in a primer for now until I get a chance to work on it this winter. I'm thinking of painting it a pearl powder blue with a bright blue metalflake top (possibly with some lace on the top). I am also planning on airbagging it but I don't know if I will have the funds to do all that work this winter. I'll try to keep this updated to show everyone how the progress is coming along.

 

Nice work, it pays to find one complete like that.

 

Don't let the pictures fool you. It needs quite a bit of metal work. It is a good starting point though, just about every part is there to finish it plus some.

 

Club coupes are really cool. The body looks in super shape.Very nice fine. Can't wait to see progress pics.........

 

Great car. I love that you are running the original six in it. Don't be afraid to keep it primered.

 

I am keeping the straight six for now. I love the Holley 1904 with the clear fuel bowl. The only problem I have with the straight six is that I won't be able to keep up on the highway. Seeing as I worked in an engine shop for years building race motors, I feel compelled to have powerful motors. I've been thinking about seeing what I can do with it to make it a little stronger for more rpms (rebuilt rods with ARP bolts, balancing the bottom end, custom JE pistons, etc) and sticking some forced induction on that sucker. That will be an over the winter project though if I decide to go ahead with that. The other option is a 312 that I'm going to look at this week or next. I do like the straight six but I might keep that to stick in an extra model a frame with a huge kickup that I have and run it as a modified.

As far as the primer....I am shooting to have this thing on the road in under a month so it will be in primer for now. My plans for this car are to make it a super clean kustom with perfect paint, interior, etc. I've got other cars that will still be in primer. To me, a kustom needs to be as darn close to a show car as a daily driven car can be. I also need to have at least one car that shows real well to attract some business.

I'll keep this updated to show the progress. I have been bugging my father on a daily basis to let me go to his work and use their giant, industrial steam cleaner this weekend so I can finish cleaning the engine bay and front end. We'll see if I actually get down there.