'57 Ford Custom 300 Tudor Sedan

[hopped up]

Looks soo good! That taping sure is tricky , came out great

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by hopped up

Looks soo good! That taping sure is tricky , came out great

Thanks!

I realized the photo I showed of John's engraving didn't display very well. Here's a better shot...

[jlsanborn]

Those do look sharp on there Vic and you're very welcome! I'm glad I could return a favor

[Xeen]

Nice touch with the c10 brake switch, that actually made me laugh out loud, I love it!

[sduckworth13]

Looking good Vic. Those knobs give it a nice look.

[Average Joe]

Wow! You are building one heckuva ride. Beautiful car, cant wait to see the finished product.

[jlsanborn]

Wiring all done? When do we fire that bad motor?!!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Wiring all done? When do we fire that bad motor?!!

Nope, still hacking away at it, John. I'm gonna have to start working longer hours. I pushed the upholstery shop out to next Monday and I'm not sure I can make that.

Thanks to everyone that's taken the time to look at where we're headed with this. I appreciate it very much.

Most of the decisions have been made about the routing for the wires. I've bundled them with Techflex, sealed with shrink wrap at both ends. I still have some terminals to install which goes slow when you tin the wire ends, crimp the connector (after having removed the plastic insulator), solder the bare crimped connector to the tinned wire, then finish it off with heat shrink tubing. Using Weather Pack or similar connectors isn't much faster as each style requires its own special procedure. Then there's all the revisions when you discover part way thru that you overlooked a wire you'll need. I've been taping the front to back wire runs down to keep them flat and make sure they don't get pulled out of place when the carpet goes down. I'm fairly close to putting the dash back in. Just need to mock up the a/c lines while everything is out in the open.

Spent part of today under the car doing fuel pump, fuel tank and battery wiring. Years ago, when B-I-L Rick had a salvage yard, I scrounged a fuel shut off switch out of a wrecked Ford. It trips in the event of a crash and shuts off the fuel pump. Sounded like a good idea so it's now officially part of the build.

[Vic1947]

Took a little time away from the wiring and put the trim on the quarters. Laid out some 4" wide application tape so I could line up and adjust all the trim clips in the moldings without marking up the fresh paint. Applied the carbon fiber tape to the area that previously had a gold anodized filler panel and then tightened down all the clips. Makes a big difference.

Also installed the tail lights. The two tone lines are much less obvious now with the hardware in place.

[Xeen]

WOW it looks phenomenal Vic.
Lets just hope you don't get sued for giving people neck injuries from whipping their heads around on a swivel to look at your car as you go by haha!

[Elliot949]

Vic... I admire your Eye for Detail... I only wish I lived 200 miles closer to you... That way when I start going together with "Raymond" I could drag you kicking and screaming to help wire it and install the Vintage air, and, and, and, and... LOL... Looks great Vic...

[texasld]

Holy Snikes! That looks awesome!!!!

[sduckworth13]

Looks awesome Vic! Super clean and tidy work. Let me know when I can assist with the dash.

[knomadd]

WOW, she's looking really good!

[flashed]

I cant wait to see the rest of this beauty ,you are doing it better than old Henry ever did .

[jlsanborn]

WOW! I knew you'd been killing it Vic. Great detail on the wiring - well done! The trim and all those fixin's sure bring it together.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Xeen

WOW it looks phenomenal Vic.
Lets just hope you don't get sued for giving people neck injuries from whipping their heads around on a swivel to look at your car as you go by haha!

Originally Posted by Elliot949

Vic... I admire your Eye for Detail... I only wish I lived 200 miles closer to you... That way when I start going together with "Raymond" I could drag you kicking and screaming to help wire it and install the Vintage air, and, and, and, and... LOL... Looks great Vic...

Originally Posted by texasld

Holy Snikes! That looks awesome!!!!

Originally Posted by sduckworth13

Looks awesome Vic! Super clean and tidy work. Let me know when I can assist with the dash.

Originally Posted by knomadd

WOW, she's looking really good!

Originally Posted by flashed

I cant wait to see the rest of this beauty ,you are doing it better than old Henry ever did .

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

WOW! I knew you'd been killing it Vic. Great detail on the wiring - well done! The trim and all those fixin's sure bring it together.

Thanks, guys! It's looking more like an actual car... slowly but surely. I dropped by Precision today and picked up the bumpers. I don't really need them for the upholstery shop, but I'll probably hang the rear one just to keep my head in the game. All the decisions for drilling holes and routing wires can lead to vapor lock. I need an occasional break to install trim or other parts. I took some time yesterday and today to plumb a/c and heater hoses and route the pigtails for the Vintage Air evaporator. I had to order several o-ring beadlock fittings because the kit I bought didn't contain all that I needed. I may still need more when I mount the condenser and drier up front. I keep adding to the time estimate for wiring as I uncover stuff like the trinary switch that ties into the electric fan. All the front end wiring will have to wait until it comes back from upholstery. I have GOT to get it there by the first of next week.

[Elliot949]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Thanks, guys! It's looking more like an actual car... slowly but surely. I dropped by Precision today and picked up the bumpers. I don't really need them for the upholstery shop, but I'll probably hang the rear one just to keep my head in the game. All the decisions for drilling holes and routing wires can lead to vapor lock. I need an occasional break to install trim or other parts. I took some time yesterday and today to plumb a/c and heater hoses and route the pigtails for the Vintage Air evaporator. I had to order several o-ring beadlock fittings because the kit I bought didn't contain all that I needed. I may still need more when I mount the condenser and drier up front. I keep adding to the time estimate for wiring as I uncover stuff like the trinary switch that ties into the electric fan. All the front end wiring will have to wait until it comes back from upholstery. I have GOT to get it there by the first of next week.

Wow... That Carbon Fiber insert is AWESOME!!!!

[jlsanborn]

I spy a Christmas tree and hot water tank... Running out of room?

The inserts and moldings look awesome Vic. Great choice in colors! Can't wait to see it all together.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Elliot949

Wow... That Carbon Fiber insert is AWESOME!!!!

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

I spy a Christmas tree and hot water tank... Running out of room?

The inserts and moldings look awesome Vic. Great choice in colors! Can't wait to see it all together.

Thanks, guys! I looked for a long time to find a carbon fiber material that actually looks like real carbon fiber. After ordering a number of sample pieces, this was the closest I found. It's a foil backed material, so it doesn't like to stretch very much. You have to be very careful laying it down to avoid bubbles. If you do get a bubble, you can pierce it with a needle or sharp Xacto then work the air out. Typically, bubbles under vinyl tape will disappear after a few days in warm weather, but this foil backed material is a little sturdier. I had a couple of spots on the dash that gave me fits.

Sort of appropriate to store parts under the Christmas tree. Every time UPS or FedEx shows up, it's like Christmas all over. Kathy is going to be sooo happy when I get all the parts on the car. I used to store parts in the breakfast nook at one of our houses. When I finally got that car together, she went out and bought a table and chairs to put in there before I could start filling it up again. Just give her a half second and she'll reclaim her space.

[knomadd]

That carbon fiber looks fantastic!!

[texasld]

Originally Posted by knomadd

that carbon fiber looks fantastic!!

x2

[texasld]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Thanks, guys! I looked for a long time to find a carbon fiber material that actually looks like real carbon fiber. After ordering a number of sample pieces, this was the closest I found. It's a foil backed material, so it doesn't like to stretch very much. You have to be very careful laying it down to avoid bubbles. If you do get a bubble, you can pierce it with a needle or sharp Xacto then work the air out. Typically, bubbles under vinyl tape will disappear after a few days in warm weather, but this foil backed material is a little sturdier. I had a couple of spots on the dash that gave me fits.

Sort of appropriate to store parts under the Christmas tree. Every time UPS or FedEx shows up, it's like Christmas all over. Kathy is going to be sooo happy when I get all the parts on the car. I used to store parts in the breakfast nook at one of our houses. When I finally got that car together, she went out and bought a table and chairs to put in there before I could start filling it up again. Just give her a half second and she'll reclaim her space.

Haha, you should see my guest room! I run out of space in my garage...

[Vic1947]

So it's been wiring and more wiring and I've still got 4-5 days of it left if you count the front clip harness, senders, electric fans, a/c and etc. All that will have to wait until it comes back from upholstery. I had hoped to make it by Tuesday and that may still happen, but it's looking more like Wednesday. Believe it or not, I burned the better part of a day on the rear bumper. When I removed the bumper for paint, I left the tabs on the frame thinking it would be a 15-20 minute job to reinstall it. For the life of me, I could not figure out how I removed it and there were some serious interference issues with the brackets. Thanks to the lathe and the mill, I was able to fix everything but when I stood back to view the result it looked terrible. The paint gave it a completely different look. I will need to modify the brackets to raise the bumper an inch and forward about 3/8". I took it off and set it in the other room and will have to address it later.

Meanwhile, up front, I got the evaporator plumbed in. Sent Kathy to Inland Truck with the mocked up hose and she returned shortly with the ends nicely crimped. And the best part was... it was free! Ivan and his crew are great guys. After the hoses were installed and the wiring to the point I could install the dash, I called up Scott and he came by after work to help me. After a false start, the dash went in, but with all the ductwork, the radio and the a/c hoses it was an extremely tight fit. The main problem was the defroster manifold. After tossing and turning half the night, I decided to remove the dash one more time, remove the manifold and use the universal defroster ducts that came with the Vintage Air kit. Much much better. Also, when I removed the dash I found one wire that I must have snipped with the air ratchet and two bulbs pulled out of the instrument pod. With everything fixed, Kathy and I set it back in place and the difference was remarkable. I did have one hiccup, though. While checking the a/c wire harness, I plugged the heat control pot in and forgot to disconnect it while trying to snap the hoses over the defroster ports. Put too much pressure on it and snapped the little printed circuit board coming out of the pot. So it's ruined beyond repair. Summit sells a replacement, but it won't be here in time for me to install it before it goes to the trim shop. Yet one more thing for the punch list.

[Vic1947]

The passenger door is on and the glass, power window lift and door solenoid installed. The stainless trim was way off, so I had to loosen it and reposition it for a better match. Little things like that can really eat up the time, though. Tomorrow I'll get the other door hung and maybe even have time left over to start testing the wiring. Need to make sure the doors function before the trim panels go on.