'57 Ford Custom 300 Tudor Sedan

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by ratty 46

Clean ... right down to the dzus panel for the battery(?)

Yes, I relocated the battery to the rear for better weight distribution. I may need the space it occupied up front for the A/C dryer or some other components. Not sure just yet.

From mid 2006 to early 2007 I intermittently did bodywork. The body shell was back on the rotisserie for the last time as I did extensive repairs to the roof, quarter panels and etc. Filled all the seams and applied Zolatone to the trunk, firewall and underside. It's a spatter paint that is relatively tough. The inside of the tubs got undercoated as well.

[jlsanborn]

Fantastic! Only eight years to go

[Low Elco]

HOw did I miss this? I've seen this car in person, and it looks bad azz just sitting there. Can't wait to see it going forward! Yee-haw!

[Elliot949]

Hey Vic... Are you making any headway????

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Elliot949

Hey Vic... Are you making any headway????

Oh, yeah! I've got a lot to post once I get caught up to the present, Dan. But it wouldn't make much sense to leave any more gaps in this build than occurred naturally.

[jlsanborn]

I'm liking this! Your ability to share the build matches your ability to build. Keepem coming Vic!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

I'm liking this! Your ability to share the build matches your ability to build. Keepem coming Vic!

Thanks, John. My main limitation is pictures ...didn't take as many as I should have. At least I finally scanned them in and put them in order - thinking maybe I'd do a website one day. Little did I know that forums would develop the way they have. Makes it a lot easier on us old timers.

Originally Posted by Elliot949

Got ya... I love looking at the history... I was excited to see how far along you have gotten... T-Minus 5 months... lol

[Groan] I'm all about the time crunch now. Lately, I've been going back down to the shop after supper for a couple of hours in addition to my daily routine. Only do the forum during breaks or early / late. However, I'm very nearly caught up.

By mid 2007 we'd acquired a fifth wheel RV and for the next three years very little got done on the Ford. I inventoried all my stainless trim and hand delivered a single piece to two different restorers as a test. The one shop did an excellent job and was very prompt. The other guy took 6 months for one piece of trim and then shipped it via UPS in a FedEx box. It was delivered folded in half. To add insult to injury, the dipsh!t didn't insure it for enough to cover a new one. So I located another restorable piece in Oregon and shipped it and the rest of the stainless to Vintage Vehicles in WI. They did a fabulous job and just to be safe, we drove to WI to pick it up.

I also discussed a custom front end design with my buddy Steve. He and his cousin Charles Smith whipped out an old school approach and sent me a sketch. Later on, Charlie updated it in PhotoShop and sent me several rendering with different headlight suggestions. I began the search for the parts I needed and was able to acquire all of them over the next few years.

[Elliot949]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Thanks, John. My main limitation is pictures ...didn't take as many as I should have. At least I finally scanned them in and put them in order - thinking maybe I'd do a website one day. Little did I know that forums would develop the way they have. Makes it a lot easier on us old timers.


[Groan] I'm all about the time crunch now. Lately, I've been going back down to the shop after supper for a couple of hours in addition to my daily routine. Only do the forum during breaks or early / late. However, I'm very nearly caught up.

By mid 2007 we'd acquired a fifth wheel RV and for the next three years very little got done on the Ford. I inventoried all my stainless trim and hand delivered a single piece to two different restorers as a test. The one shop did an excellent job and was very prompt. The other guy took 6 months for one piece of trim and then shipped it via UPS in a FedEx box. It was delivered folded in half. To add insult to injury, the dipsh!t didn't insure it for enough to cover a new one. So I located another restorable piece in Oregon and shipped it and the rest of the stainless to Vintage Vehicles in WI. They did a fabulous job and just to be safe, we drove to WI to pick it up.

I also discussed a custom front end design with my buddy Steve. He and his cousin Charles Smith whipped out an old school approach and sent me a sketch. Later on, Charlie updated it in PhotoShop and sent me several rendering with different headlight suggestions. I began the search for the parts I needed and was able to acquire all of them over the next few years.

Dude.. I love that old school custom look of the front...

I am looking to do the 63-67 Corvette touch to the front of "Class Act"

[Elliot949]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Oh, yeah! I've got a lot to post once I get caught up to the present, Dan. But it wouldn't make much sense to leave any more gaps in this build than occurred naturally.

Got ya... I love looking at the history... I was excited to see how far along you have gotten... T-Minus 5 months... lol

[69sinker]

I was looking forward to seeing the 67 on the power tour, but I can tell this 57 is going to be awesome. Love looking through your builds, your attention to detail is something else. Hopefully see you in June somewhere along the Tour. Dave

[Russell Ashley]

Looks like artwork. You got some real skills.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by 69sinker

I was looking forward to seeing the 67 on the power tour, but I can tell this 57 is going to be awesome. Love looking through your builds, your attention to detail is something else. Hopefully see you in June somewhere along the Tour. Dave

You bet, Dave. It may not be 100% but we're going anyway.

Originally Posted by Russell Ashley

Looks like artwork. You got some real skills.

Thanks, Russell.

[hopped up]

I love 57 fords! This one is looking real smooth just like you want. I'm in for this

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by hopped up

I love 57 fords! This one is looking real smooth just like you want. I'm in for this

Thanks, good to have you along!

After finishing up the headers, I tinkered around with the interior and the doors. When I bought the car it came with two instrument clusters. I gutted one and with some help from my machinist mentor, Bruce Wilson, I modified the housing and built an insert to hold a complement of VDO gauges. Like a lot of my parts, it sat in a box for years. Finally though, I settled on the look I wanted and covered it with a carbon fiber print vinyl I found online. Made inserts for the dash to hold the radio and a/c vents but they still need some more engineering. I also started the process of laying down the sound deadener.

Fitted the doors with power windows and shaved the door handles and lock assemblies. Still need to finish installing the pop locks. Revised the floor shifter and steering column, finalized the fuel system and modified the core support for the larger aluminum radiator. Lots of other things have happened as well ...converting the wipers to electric, throttle linkage to cable style and relocating the battery to the trunk.

In May of 2011, I purchased the 68 Stepside. By July, I couldn't hold off any longer and began a year and half frame off build. Needless to say, the Ford project was once again shelved. After finishing the silver truck, I assembled the front clip for the Ford and set it in place for the first time in over twenty years. Then along came CRLS and once again the Ford took a back seat.

Fast forward to Jan 1, 2015 and welcome to the final push. We need to be rolling in five months, so hang on.

[Elliot949]

Vic.. I really like the Gauge setup... the gap issue on the "B" pillar could be a bit of a issue... LOL Man I can't wait to see this thing running...

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Elliot949

Vic.. I really like the Gauge setup... the gap issue on the "B" pillar could be a bit of a issue... LOL Man I can't wait to see this thing running...

Hey, Dan, the door gap looks worse in the photo than it does in person, but it will require a little finesse for sure. The gaps on the other three sides look good, so all the work will be on the back edge.

If you can't wait to see it running, imagine me. 25 years, 5 different homes, 4 times off and on the chassis, 3 sets of tires, 3 engine rebuilds, 2 sets of headers ....and it has never once fired up or turned a tire under its own power. I'm past ready for it to come to life.

[Elliot949]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Hey, Dan, the door gap looks worse in the photo than it does in person, but it will require a little finesse for sure. The gaps on the other three sides look good, so all the work will be on the back edge.

If you can't wait to see it running, imagine me. 25 years, 5 different homes, 4 times off and on the chassis, 3 sets of tires, 3 engine rebuilds, 2 sets of headers ....and it has never once fired up or turned a tire under its own power. I'm past ready for it to come to life.

I can only imagine... I am going crazy after almost 4 years on "Class Act" and I am at least 1 more year and probably 2...

[Vic1947]

On New Years Day, Scott came over and helped us move CRLS to the upstairs garage and then roll the '57 into the workshop. The immediate goal was to get the front clip mods done so I could remove the parts and get them to George at Eagle Stripping. Schedule is to have the car at Precision Collision no later than the first of March. So the final bodywork and fitment has to happen quickly.

First on the list was frenching in the headlights. No matter what I end up with for a bumper, the bug eyes had to go. AutoLoc makes a headlight frenching kit that has the buckets and the rings, but I already had '56 Ford truck headlight rings. Their kit costs around $350 which made me gulp a little bit. In the end I reasoned I could make my own buckets for just a few bucks if I carefully cut out the stock mounting surface and moved it back the amount needed. So I measured the diameter, made a template and transferred it to the mounting pad on the fender. Used an air saw with a thin kerf, fine tooth blade to cut it out. I estimated that a 2" recess would be about right, so I took some 2" wide sheet metal strips and formed them around one of my welding cylinders and spot welded them into a ring.

[Vic1947]

Tacked the mounting plate I'd removed and cleaned up to the back of the ring I made and test fit it into the hole. Turned out that a 2" recess wasn't quite enough. The headlight protruded thru the ring a bit too much, plus the back of the ring was almost touching the adjustment screws. If I left it as it was, the trim ring could interfere with the hardware. So I decided to add a 3/8" strip to the ring which made it fit just right.

[Low Elco]

Gorgeous, as always. Eagerly await the next installment. As always, if you need anything, call.

[Elliot949]

Niice Vic... Love the frenched look .. back in the day this is how they did it so buying a 350.00 kit would really have been unnecessary considering your talents...

[jlsanborn]

All amazing work, clean or detailed just don't describe it. Love the 2 minute blueprint build and the headers are freakin' awesome!!
So here we are, up to date and maaaaaan you got some work ahead Vic. We're all rootin for you!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Elliot949

Niice Vic... Love the frenched look .. back in the day this is how they did it so buying a 350.00 kit would really have been unnecessary considering your talents...

The older I get, the more inclined I am to shell out a few bucks for parts where someone else has already done the heavy lifting. As long as they're well designed, fill a need, move the project forward and are reasonably priced. But in this case, homemade was the best choice.

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

All amazing work, clean or detailed just don't describe it. Love the 2 minute blueprint build and the headers are freakin' awesome!!
So here we are, up to date and maaaaaan you got some work ahead Vic. We're all rootin for you!

Thanks, John!

Before welding out the headlight buckets, I needed to figure out a way to attach the trim rings. Tried an angle tab with a drilled hole for a sheetmetal screw but ran out of threads before it tightened up. Switched to a J-nut but couldn't get the placement where I wanted. Ended up welding a nut on the angle tab and using a stainless oval head machine screw. Spot welded the tabs to the rings and then welded the buckets into the fenders. Then it was on to the bumpers.

[Elliot949]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

The older I get, the more inclined I am to shell out a few bucks for parts where someone else has already done the heavy lifting. As long as they're well designed, fill a need, move the project forward and are reasonably priced. But in this case, homemade was the best choice.


Thanks, John!

Before welding out the headlight buckets, I needed to figure out a way to attach the trim rings. Tried an angle tab with a drilled hole for a sheetmetal screw but ran out of threads before it tightened up. Switched to a J-nut but couldn't get the placement where I wanted. Ended up welding a nut on the angle tab and using a stainless oval head machine screw. Spot welded the tabs to the rings and then welded the buckets into the fenders. Then it was on to the bumpers.

Man do I understand that getting older stuff

[Vic1947]

The moment of truth was upon me and the bumpers weren't going to jump on the car by themselves. So, as usual, I started with the easy one. Supported the '57 DeSoto bumper on stands to get an idea of how it was going to fit. Years ago, I had the bumpers straightened and de-chromed. I could see from old photos in books that my bumper was pinched together slightly in the middle. Since it was apparent that the DeSoto unit was too wide and I'd have to section it, I corrected the gap at the same time. Measurements indicated I needed to remove 1-1/4" from the middle to get the fit I wanted. Marked my lines and cut with a cutoff wheel, then tacked the two halves together.

Positioned the revised bumper in place and it was beginning to look like it would actually work. Reality has a way of smacking you upside the head, though. I trial assembled the '55 Pontiac bumpers and filler panel and set them roughly where they needed to be. I could tell immediately the amount of work to get them to fit would be outside the scope of my time budget. The angles were not correct, the lengths would have to be altered, the filler panel would need extensive pie cutting and re-contouring. In short, it looked like a huge amount of work. So, I'm going with Plan B.

I'd seen some custom tube grilles made by Jerry Wesseling of Glory Grills. I rung him up and ordered one and it should be here in a couple of weeks. The design that Charlie did for me will have to wait for another time. Stuff that looks great in PhotoShop can be a rough trip from the small screen to the real world.