'57 Ford Custom 300 Tudor Sedan

[sduckworth13]

Nice work Vic on the seat! I'm always amazed at everything you know how to do and how well it looks when your done with it.

[swamp rat]

No doubt i'd be lost on that one! Nice seat frame work, are ya gonna split the upper and have some kind of divider section there as well? Maybe i missed it, pretty tired right now.

Another thing comes to mind, how lucky is it that you and Kathy can actually agree on colors and materials ect.. Anytime it comes to that kinda stuff or painting a house me and Meg just end up butting heads, i learned that if i'm gonna do something i just do it and don't ask LOL!

[Elliot949]

Well if your rear passengers did the "Getto Lean" it would probably be pretty comfortable... LOL

[Low Elco]

Workin'! Tick, tock, tick, tock....

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by sduckworth13

Nice work Vic on the seat! I'm always amazed at everything you know how to do and how well it looks when your done with it.

Thanks, Scott.

Originally Posted by swamp rat

No doubt i'd be lost on that one! Nice seat frame work, are ya gonna split the upper and have some kind of divider section there as well? Maybe i missed it, pretty tired right now.
Another thing comes to mind, how lucky is it that you and Kathy can actually agree on colors and materials ect.. Anytime it comes to that kinda stuff or painting a house me and Meg just end up butting heads, i learned that if i'm gonna do something i just do it and don't ask LOL!

I know what you're saying, Mike. When it comes to color, I defer to Kathy. The gals seem better able to distinguish subtle variations that I miss. No plans to split the back seat, just the bottom. May have to build a small rear console with some cupholders to fill the space above the tunnel. We'll see.

Originally Posted by Elliot949

Well if your rear passengers did the "Getto Lean" it would probably be pretty comfortable... LOL

Worked with a friend years ago who rode that way. Hilarious guy. You could barely see him when he cruised his Buick into the parking lot.

The rear seat is as done as it's going to get. The rest is up to the trim shop. If he says it needs anything else, I'll deal with it at that time. After all the slicing and dicing (fingers included) I decided to do something a bit easier. The custom dash bezels were just roughed in, so I test fit the components and laid down the carbon fiber pattern vinyl. Out at the edges of the dash where it curves around, I used a trick I learned from my sign painter buddy, Steve. To get a pattern off of an irregular surface, you build up multiple layers of masking tape then carefully transfer it to poster board. So you essentially transform a 3D surface to 2D. After trimming it, it can be used as a pattern for cutting the vinyl. In my case, I was also able to flip it over and use it for the driver side.

Now that I've rested up on an easy peasy task, it's on to more challenging stuff. I need to finish mounting the pop locks, measure for the a/c lines, measure and route the trans cooler lines, build the radio rear support bracket and a whole host of other things. Stay tuned.

[ratty 46]

Aside from the impressive progress ... thanks for the tech tip on the dash panel ... that'll come in handy in more than one area.

R46

[Vic1947]

Been working on several fronts the past few days. The upholstery guy said it would probably be the first of February before he'd have a spot for me. Scott got me lined up with a rollback for when I need transport, so I'm focused on getting as much done as I can while I wait.

After the dash inserts, I modified the stock heater control panel to accept the Vintage Air Streamline controls. The VA piece was just slightly too wide to drop in the available space, so I had to mill 1/4" off the back of the panel and make a new insert to fit. While I was at it, I also make some inserts for where the original backlit signage went. I'll have Steve make me custom lettering to go in those areas later. After milling the slot in the filler insert, I put a couple of bends in it to conform to the back surfaces of the potmetal panel. Then glued it in with 3M panel adhesive. After paint it should look pretty decent.

[Vic1947]

Finished product...

[Xeen]

Really great job on the heater control panel mod Vic, nice integration, slick.

[Elliot949]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Finished product...

WOW Vic... Your Talents never cease to totally amaze me...

[jlsanborn]

Awesome work Vic!

[Vic1947]

I've been deep in the middle of a brake line leak. I knew it was there when I plumbed the lines a few years ago. Rather than fix it, I removed the hard lines and line lock from the front and capped off the port coming out of the MC. Had great rear brakes, which was all I needed at the time. Fast forward to the present and I'm back on it again. Couldn't remember exactly where the leak was coming from, so I had to reassemble everything to find it. Plus, in an uncharacteristic fit of optimism, I thought I might be able to tighten the fittings a little more and fix it. Not! All the lines and fittings are stainless and the ends are 37 degree AN with tube nuts. Should be a bullet proof setup, but it appears the tee coming out of the line lock has a very slightly deformed end on it. I ordered a new one and remade the line that makes up to it just to be on the safe side. Still waiting on parts, but I should know tomorrow if it's fixed.

A curious thing happened while on the brake deal. The MC is a manual disc/disc unit like from a '70 Corvette to match the 4 wheel discs on the car. With the front port capped and the rear lines bled, I had a firm, high brake pedal. When I re-plumbed the front (and before bleeding the brakes) I expected to have a small amount of pedal left ...which is the whole idea behind a dual master cylinder. If you lose one circuit, the remaining one should get you stopped. This was definitely not the case. Not exactly sure why the total loss of brakes but "the Google" hasn't been very enlightening.

Meanwhile, I continued piddling with little stuff. The gap at the rear of the driver door wasn't going to fix itself, so I welded a piece of 3/32" ER70 to it and ground it down. It's now close enough to finish out with filler. I have a few places on the body that I need to revisit, so I'm saving the Bondo to do all at one time.

[sduckworth13]

Nice job on the door gap Vic. That looks great. I've heard about people using filler rod before, but I've never seen the process till now.

[Elliot949]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

I've been deep in the middle of a brake line leak. I knew it was there when I plumbed the lines a few years ago. Rather than fix it, I removed the hard lines and line lock from the front and capped off the port coming out of the MC. Had great rear brakes, which was all I needed at the time. Fast forward to the present and I'm back on it again. Couldn't remember exactly where the leak was coming from, so I had to reassemble everything to find it. Plus, in an uncharacteristic fit of optimism, I thought I might be able to tighten the fittings a little more and fix it. Not! All the lines and fittings are stainless and the ends are 37 degree AN with tube nuts. Should be a bullet proof setup, but it appears the tee coming out of the line lock has a very slightly deformed end on it. I ordered a new one and remade the line that makes up to it just to be on the safe side. Still waiting on parts, but I should know tomorrow if it's fixed.

A curious thing happened while on the brake deal. The MC is a manual disc/disc unit like from a '70 Corvette to match the 4 wheel discs on the car. With the front port capped and the rear lines bled, I had a firm, high brake pedal. When I re-plumbed the front (and before bleeding the brakes) I expected to have a small amount of pedal left ...which is the whole idea behind a dual master cylinder. If you lose one circuit, the remaining one should get you stopped. This was definitely not the case. Not exactly sure why the total loss of brakes but "the Google" hasn't been very enlightening.

Meanwhile, I continued piddling with little stuff. The gap at the rear of the driver door wasn't going to fix itself, so I welded a piece of 3/32" ER70 to it and ground it down. It's now close enough to finish out with filler. I have a few places on the body that I need to revisit, so I'm saving the Bondo to do all at one time.

SWEET Vic.... that looks Great!!!!

[texasld]

You da man, Vic!

[Russell Ashley]

When cars like this were new in the fifties that door gap was fine. Funny how they looked so perfect when they were new, back when matching numbers and inconsistent gaps didn't matter.
You are doing some great work on this car, and that a/c control is beautiful.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Russell Ashley

When cars like this were new in the fifties that door gap was fine. Funny how they looked so perfect when they were new, back when matching numbers and inconsistent gaps didn't matter.
You are doing some great work on this car, and that a/c control is beautiful.

Ain't that the truth. Somewhere along the line, keeping up with the Jones'es became a national pastime. The first bodywork I ever did was using aluminum screen wire and Bondo to fix rust holes. Thought it looked positively professional way back then. My how things have changed.

Too early for a punch list and rather than focus on a plan, I've been settling for getting small stuff done. I keep telling myself it all has to be done eventually, but I'm leaving a lot of half done tasks in my wake. I did manage to get the brake leak fixed and now have working four corner discs. Cut and fit the hoses and spark plug wires and mounted the coil on the engine.

The e-brake came in from Jegs and I decided how to install it. Because of the work I did to the firewall, I couldn't use it for the forward mount. Had to make an angled bracket to bolt to the side of the cowl. There are fifteen bolts that hold it together and due to the tight spaces, it goes together like a Rubik's cube. Each bolt has to be installed in a certain way and in the correct order. But at least it's going to work. I machined the mounting pads for the remote trans cooler today and marked the location for the holes, but will have to finish up tomorrow. Keep having to order parts I forgot, which contributes to the "half fast" pace.

Speaking of parts, the tube grille and the halo headlights came in at the end of last week. Both look great. The lights will require some mods to the buckets as the locators don't match up, but that's an easy fix. Also received the billet knobs for the wiper and headlight switches and re-drilled them for the correct shaft size. Like I said, lotsa little stuff but it all adds up. I have to take a day tomorrow and put brakes on the Ranger. It failed inspection and I choked on the quote to fix it. Bought more stuff than they were going to replace and still came in at 25% of the cost.

[Elliot949]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Ain't that the truth. Somewhere along the line, keeping up with the Jones'es became a national pastime. The first bodywork I ever did was using aluminum screen wire and Bondo to fix rust holes. Thought it looked positively professional way back then. My how things have changed.

Too early for a punch list and rather than focus on a plan, I've been settling for getting small stuff done. I keep telling myself it all has to be done eventually, but I'm leaving a lot of half done tasks in my wake. I did manage to get the brake leak fixed and now have working four corner discs. Cut and fit the hoses and spark plug wires and mounted the coil on the engine.

The e-brake came in from Jegs and I decided how to install it. Because of the work I did to the firewall, I couldn't use it for the forward mount. Had to make an angled bracket to bolt to the side of the cowl. There are fifteen bolts that hold it together and due to the tight spaces, it goes together like a Rubik's cube. Each bolt has to be installed in a certain way and in the correct order. But at least it's going to work. I machined the mounting pads for the remote trans cooler today and marked the location for the holes, but will have to finish up tomorrow. Keep having to order parts I forgot, which contributes to the "half fast" pace.

Speaking of parts, the tube grille and the halo headlights came in at the end of last week. Both look great. The lights will require some mods to the buckets as the locators don't match up, but that's an easy fix. Also received the billet knobs for the wiper and headlight switches and re-drilled them for the correct shaft size. Like I said, lotsa little stuff but it all adds up. I have to take a day tomorrow and put brakes on the Ranger. It failed inspection and I choked on the quote to fix it. Bought more stuff than they were going to replace and still came in at 25% of the cost.

Very nice install on the E-Brake... that is a clean application...

[texasld]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

I have to take a day tomorrow and put brakes on the Ranger. It failed inspection and I choked on the quote to fix it. Bought more stuff than they were going to replace and still came in at 25% of the cost.

I's outstanding what they will git you for. "You blinker fluid is empty, your muffler bearing is shot and worst of all, the air in your tires need to be changed from summer to winter air. Total will be $1,499.99 plus tax.

[Gus350]

Hey Vic the engine looks real good what type of distributor are you running, and is the coil mounted to the head. I'm trying to try and figure out how to best hide the coil on a 350.

Thanks Kevin

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Gus350

Hey Vic the engine looks real good what type of distributor are you running, and is the coil mounted to the head. I'm trying to try and figure out how to best hide the coil on a 350.

Thanks Kevin

Hey Kevin, distributor is a Mallory Unilite and yes, the coil is mounted to the head. MSD recommends mounting it vertically, but I didn't have room for that and I've seen a ton of them laying flat from the factory. I originally planned to run a MSD box with a RPM selectable rev limiter. Built a mounting plate for all of it and even ball end milled the bottom to act as a quasi heat sink. I've abandoned that for now in the interest of getting the car on the road. Maybe later.

[jlsanborn]

WOW! THAT is how you make a mounting plate friends. It's all looking superb Vic. Keep it coming!

[Elliot949]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Hey Kevin, distributor is a Mallory Unilite and yes, the coil is mounted to the head. MSD recommends mounting it vertically, but I didn't have room for that and I've seen a ton of them laying flat from the factory. I originally planned to run a MSD box with a RPM selectable rev limiter. Built a mounting plate for all of it and even ball end milled the bottom to act as a quasi heat sink. I've abandoned that for now in the interest of getting the car on the road. Maybe later.

As always Vic... Beautiful work... I wish I lived closer to you... I would love to be part of this build...

[texasld]

Are you going to install the keyless start from RCLS into the Ford? I'm really wanting to see someone do this install before I cough up the cash for the kit.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

WOW! THAT is how you make a mounting plate friends. It's all looking superb Vic. Keep it coming!

You can do that sort of thing when your build timeline is 25 years, John.

Originally Posted by Elliot949

As always Vic... Beautiful work... I wish I lived closer to you... I would love to be part of this build...

Me too, Dan. I very much appreciate the help I get from the local guys. Scott and Brian are always good to come over when I call. It's nice to be able to brainstorm ideas with other builders ...and pictures can only tell part of the story.

Originally Posted by texasld

Are you going to install the keyless start from RCLS into the Ford? I'm really wanting to see someone do this install before I cough up the cash for the kit.

Nope, no plans for that, Mike. The shaved door pop locks have their own box with key fobs to open the doors. Plus there really isn't a good place to mount the start button that comes with the kit. So it will have to wait till summer when I pick back up on the Crusty.