'57 Ford Custom 300 Tudor Sedan

[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...

[Low Elco]

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

[Xeen]

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

[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.

[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!!!!

[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.

[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.

[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.

[Low Elco]

Lookin great as always! Good to talk to you the other night.

[Vic1947]

It's too soon to be running out of steam, but all these hours can take a toll. So Kathy and I went to Sedalia on Wednesday to visit Dad and hang with Steve for a while. Gave my fingers and aching back a chance to heal up a little bit. Steve enlarged the drawing we used to laser cut the stainless trim pieces for the valve covers and drew it out on the plotter. Laid it out on the door panels to get an idea of how the charcoal insert will look. My upholstery guy is finishing up a Mustang in his shop and will hopefully be ready for me to haul the car to him next week. I made a quick trip to Eagle Stripping and picked up the front clip and bumper pieces. They were supposed to primer the parts, but apparently had a mixup in communication, so I dropped them off at Precision for a coat of self etching primer and a couple of coats of 2K. Should be ready for mud by Monday.

Meanwhile, I've been trying to get a few things finished up. The e-brake is finally done and functional. I was having fits getting the Lokar cable routed with the exhaust in the way. I finally decided to come in from the side and build a pulley to turn the cable 90 degrees. It fits in the original location where the stock lever mounted. Had to triangulate it with a brace to keep it from bending but it's good and solid.

[Vic1947]

The guide rods for the e-brake cable disappeared somewhere along the line, so I needed to make some new ones. Kathy made a quick trip to Metal by the Foot this morning and picked up some 3/16" rod. Setup some pins (couple of punches work great) to make the tight radius bends. The plastic eyelets fit in the hook and smooth out the action.

I also mounted the arm rests and mounting plates for the rear speakers so I'm good for whenever the upholstery shop calls. I need to start slinging mud.

[sduckworth13]

Looks nice and clean Vic, nice work.

[jlsanborn]

Nice looking work Vic. I've been eyballin my park brake cables and this is inspiring.

[Vic1947]

The shop is looking a little bare this evening. Scott's buddy Russ showed up this morning early with his rollback and loaded up the '57 for the trip to the upholstery shop. Snow was in the forecast and we had a very small window to get it there, but we made it in good shape. Russ gave me the buddy deal on the tow, which I greatly appreciated. As soon as we unloaded, Jeff (the upholsterer) and I went over the details and sketched out the design for the side panels. One of his guys said it looked like the "leanback" for the backseat needed more clearance between it and the bottom cushions. We decided to remove the bottom rail which would give them another 1.25" for the foam. Took it out and back home with me for the modification. By lunch it was snowing heavily, so I threw the completed part into the Ranger and returned it to them. Nearly didn't make it home the roads were so slick. People stuck going up the hills which creates an interesting obstacle course. Twenty minutes later and I'd have had to wait for the snowplows. Couple of buckets of sand would have helped a lot.

Anyway, the good news is that Jeff plans to get the side panels cut out and the foam on the seats and then he says I can pick up the car while he covers it all. That should speed up things greatly. I got the front clip back from John and Mike at Precision, sealed and with a couple of coats of 2K primer on them. While the car is at the trim shop, I'll mud everything up and when it returns, I should be ready for final assembly before going to paint. Lots to do.

[Elliot949]

Nice stuff Vic... You are rolling right along...

[Xeen]

Looking good Vic.
Let the dust fly!

[jlsanborn]

Plenty to keep you busy while the car is away. I spy a Speed Glas helmet. I remember yours went bonkers a while back but don't remember you getting a new one. Rolled through the '67 thread looking and got lost in the candy-land photos. Speaking of... What's up with them stainless exhaust clamps (sorry, CRLS)? Do they make them to go over a slip joint so you could actually get it back apart one day?

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Plenty to keep you busy while the car is away. I spy a Speed Glas helmet. I remember yours went bonkers a while back but don't remember you getting a new one. Rolled through the '67 thread looking and got lost in the candy-land photos. Speaking of... What's up with them stainless exhaust clamps (sorry, CRLS)? Do they make them to go over a slip joint so you could actually get it back apart one day?

Yep I still have the Speedglas, John, which now has two functional lenses. Thought the original had failed, so I found a new one on eBay that was reasonably priced and bought it.
Swapped them out and then discovered the problem with the original was a defective battery holder which you can buy for about $4.
I now have a pricey paperweight on my desk. May come in handy one of these days, though, you never know.

The band clamps come straight or stepped for joining two same size tubes or a slip joint. Walker makes some nice aluminized versions that are little less expensive than the stainless ones.

[Vic1947]

Jeff at the trim shop called a couple of times today with a few questions. Late this afternoon he called for my cell number so he could text some pictures. I was forced to admit I only have a prepaid cell and I never have it on me unless I'm on the road. Plus it has a screen about the size of a postage stamp, so pictures are impossible to view. Gave him my email address, but I guess he's not setup for that on his end. So... no new interior pics, but I do have a few front clip shots.

The bumpers are done and the header panel is ready for final sanding so the last big mod I needed to make was to the inner fender panel on the passenger side. It had a lot of rot where the battery sat and about 10 or 15 years ago, I scabbed some fiberglass over the area. Times have changed and that doesn't work anymore, so I ground out the last of the fiberglass and made a pattern for a metal filler piece. I removed the recess where the battery sat and now it looks like the driver side. Or it will when I get it welded out.