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Next time it comes out too nice, give me a call I'll come over and scratch it up for you so you can enjoy it! I won't charge you much and when you compare it to happiness, I'm PRICELESS (a little more on the less). LOL!!Quote:
Originally Posted by v8nutz
JMHO, I would do what makes you happy (emphasis on you).
JMHO.. Just shoot it in single stage, do an easy cut and buff (up to 1500) it'll have plenty of shine and it can be relatively easy to fix. It was good enough for your uncle I bet.
I'm guilty on changing my mind on the gauges.. I ended up eating the price of the ones I removed.
And remember, there is nothing on paint that can't be fixed with a little paint, sand paper and a buffer
my point exactly.Quote:
Originally Posted by 36 sedan
I shot Rita with just a single stage, I was in the same boat as you, didn't want it to be a trailer queen, but I still wanted it to look good. My paint job is definitely not as deep in luxurious as some of the car shows, but I don't worry about a few chips either.
The more I think about it the more I agree, just go shiny and be done with it. I'm going to have my friend with the mopar collection price me some paint and see what he can do. Since the glass will be out and it is already prepped, might as well make it shiny.
There are a couple other things I've wanted to do to it too and maybe I'll give them a shot too. A flush mounted 3rd brake light is high on the list. One flush with the paint/clear. I don't know if I'll go that route or not but I have always dug them.
Tonight I dug out my speedo and tach. I am going to make a bezel/gauge holder to put my 5" gauges on my dash. I talked myself right out of those high dollar gauges. I just don't like the Dakota digital ones like I thought I did. The Classic Instruments are nice but part of them look cheap at the same time. I'll just use what I have and I want to incorporate the Fitech controller in either the console or behind the speaker grill.
I'm working on dodges thinking about what all I need to get for the 40 and what all needs done still. I'm also thinking about putting autoloc bear claw latches on the doors. More than once I had the passenger door pop open and I don't want that to happen anymore.
Putting this for reference later in case I lose it again.
https://www.mcmillanrodandcustom.com/nerfchinbars.html
That’s cheating.... lol ... joeQuote:
Originally Posted by 40FordDeluxe
Shiny. Don't do a show job, just do a job that you would expect on a stock car. Rock chips are a sign of honor. Kid bumps are a sign of fun with the family. And use pickup bed texture paint on the running boards, great for knocking the mud of your boots before entering the car.
Secure door latches are a MUST HAVE! Even more so than the 3rd brake light imo.
Check out The Coating Store. Jim Robinson recommended them, and he's been shooting paint for nearly 60 years!!Quote:
Originally Posted by 40FordDeluxe
https://www.thecoatingstore.com/
For sure. I can't tell you how many times some one pulled the door handle back all the way when getting out and that is how you lock the door. Kind of annoying when both sides are shut and the keys are in it. Just another aggravation of the stock latch and operator. This is the kit i'm looking at. They offer large ones and the small ones. I'm leaning towards the small ones.Quote:
Originally Posted by 34_40
https://www.autoloc.com/catalog/Bear...w--Install-Kit
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Thanks Roger! I think I may give them a shot! If it is good enough for Jim, it is definitely good enough for me. :LOL: I'm going to talk to Steve today about when he can put it in the booth so I have a time frame to get it ready. This is the color I'm looking at from the coating store.Quote:
Originally Posted by rspears
https://shop.thecoatingstore.com/Bla...254-BCCKIT.htm
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I'm late to this discussion, but agree with the simple, but shiny comments. FWIW - on my Healey project, I'm looking to do just that. A simple straight color, no tri-coats or even metallics. I want something that looks good, but not so good that I don't want to drive it. I also want something that is easy to repair and blend.
I have seen some of the modern tri-coats that look beautiful (especially in the sun), but my paint guy says they can be a bear to match and blend. These paints almost look as good as some of the House of Color paints, but apparently are as difficult to repair.
I will most likely just primer my car when it is done and put the shiny stuff on a little later after I have made sure the mechanicals are sorted. Of course, my car's body is much simpler to strip for painting than a 40 Ford.
As to the gauges, I'm using Speed Hut gauges in the Healey. They are custom stepper motor drive parts. All their gauges are custom made to your order and are as modern as you can get in an analog gauge. They look traditional and are available in many different sizes and face layouts. Their backlighting is very modern looking with the numbers appearing to float on the background. They are also available with programable warning lights and shift lights on the tachs. You can even supply your own art work to be added to your gauges. I haven't actually fired them up yet, but 53Chevy used them in his truck. Maybe he will comment on how well they work.
Another option - https://www.rockyhinge.com/bear-claw...on-kits-1.htmlQuote:
Originally Posted by 40FordDeluxe
Family business, Dad started making hinges and then expanded to other products when the son finished engineering school, as I recall. I used their suicide door safety latches, trunk support and front drive system on the '33.
That's a great color choice, too! I used Midnight Blue Pearl.
You make a lot of good points. I wasn't going to go metallic but I decided I might as well since it is going to be shiny. I could still change my mind on that. I looked at the speed hut gauges and I do like them and the ability to have them customized. I'm just going to make mine work and use that money to buy other things the car needs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hotrod46
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Thanks again Roger. I called and spoke with them. They recommend the slim line version for the 40. I will be going this route now.Quote:
Originally Posted by rspears
https://www.rockyhinge.com/slim-line...w-latches.html
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From my dealing with them they're good folks with top quality products. Brad helped me through several questions during the installation of my front drive stuff. I think you'll be happy with their stuff.Quote:
Originally Posted by 40FordDeluxe
Here are my gauges I have to use. They are brand new, never been opened until yesterday. I've had them for probably 10 years setting in dry storage. I have 6 2 5/8" smaller gauges for the other vitals as well. This is half of the reason I decided not to buy new gauges. I seriously have to keep my mind on the right track to get this car actually done. I'm trying hard to buy what it needs and not what I want. :LOL: If I keep going by what I want, the thing will continue to set while I save the money to get these things. If I just get it together with a good base and get the chassis/body done, then I can always add better/want/need stuff later on.
They actually don't set to bad in the gauge panel opening. I'm going to make an adapter/bezel out of mild steel to adapt them in place. I will not weld this to the dash so the dash will still be stock in case I change my mind later and want a stock size cluster.
The last pic is of my signs I finally got around to putting up. I have a bunch of tractor ones but I might donate those to the boys' new bed room. But we'll see about that. :LOL:
Love the signs! The gauges are NOT terrible, I was expecting a whole lot worse LOL..
Great choice on the latches. Nothing would be worse to hear than a family member fell out the door, even at a low speed.
You'd never forgive yourself.
Re the third brake light...Bob Drake had the trunk trim for the '46-'48 Ford sedan with led lights in the letters F O R D that you could set up as brake lights.
I looked on his site but couldn't find them.
I know he did have them at one stage, as we've got them on the back of our bus as our high brake lights which are mandatory in NZ.
Edit: I found it. I knew it had to be there somewhere.
https://www.bobdrake.com/FordItem.as...d-60105c2da03a
Metallics look COOL! But, be sure to sand to 800 grit before you spray them, metallics like to settle in scratches and show lines.
JB, that is pretty cool! I have been re thinking the 3rd brake light. I remember a lot of the hot rods in the late 80s through mid 90s having them on top of the package tray pointing out of the back window. I don't think they would be very visible through my tinted back windows.Quote:
Originally Posted by johnboy
I do have LED rear tail lights which are much brighter than the originals. I just have some concerns now and that is why I want a 3rd brake light. First is too many distracted drivers and I know a couple of people that have been rear ended in old cars. The fault was not deemed by the person doing the rear ending due to a technicality of the old cars lighting not meeting modern appearances. I swear lawyers find every angle they can these days.
That brings me to another thing. Bumpers. Originally I was going to shave the bumpers from this car. They're really not going to protect anything being so low except from me bumping something like a curb. The more I thought about it, the more I decided I should probably put something in place there. That's when I decided to go with the nerf type bars. Will they protect everything, no, but at least there is some thing there. Either way, If the car is ever hit, it won't be good. Luckily the only thing I've hit have been deer in the last 20 plus years or so, so hopefully that streak continues. :LOL:
Back to the 3rd brake light. I had a plan to french the license plate into the tail pan. I'm up in the air about that now. Originally I wanted the deck lid smooth and naked. Now I am re thinking that. I can't remember where the license plate was originally when Uncle Jerry owned it. I strongly remember it on the RH fender below the tail light. I don't ever remember it being on the deck lid so I may go back to that. I doubt I put it on the fender but in the tail pan would be nice. I'm hoping an old friend of Uncle Jerry's can dig up some pics of them from way back when.
If I move the license plate, I can put a light in place of the original license plate light and have it be the 3rd brake light. I have not came up with a good option for that yet. I did see a cool vintage light on an early 40s Dodge pick up at cruise to the woods this past fall. It was a round light that was red and had stop illuminated when it lit up. If I could find something like that it might be neat.
Another option is a license plate frame with a 3rd brake light. But if I relocate the plate in the tail pan, the extra light will still be low.
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I don't believe I will spray this one. My friend Steve said he would paint it no problem. So now I just have to get the work done. Time is running out. HahaQuote:
Originally Posted by 36 sedan
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[QUOTE=
I do have LED rear tail lights which are much brighter than the originals. I just have some concerns now and that is why I want a 3rd brake light. First is too many distracted drivers and I know a couple of people that have been rear ended in old cars. The fault was not deemed by the person doing the rear ending due to a technicality of the old cars lighting not meeting modern appearances. I swear lawyers find every angle they can these days.)
I have the 40 housings where the LED lights are pointing back rather than at the sky like the stock housings. They work excellent. Yet more than one rodder has told me than when they get close they can not see the lights and no clue if I am turning or most of all stopping. I would like a high center light also but have not found anything super yet. Like you I don't thing the lights in the rear windows work all that well. I will be watching to see what you come up with. If I was ready to do another paint job, I think I would flush mount a light under the window. Good luck searching.
I had the cheap LED drop in LED replacements in this car before and I had the same experiences as you. Friends would say they couldn't see my taillights especially in a truck. I found out the STOP lamp I saw were actually on Model A's. They make all kinds of them now and I found ones that are made for motorcycles and are smaller. My thoughts are if I remove the license plate, french it in the tail pan, I will remove the original license pate light. Make a bracket and mount this stop lamp on top of the trunk handle housing. I'm not sold on this yet though. I really think a flush mount one under the back windows is the way to go and will look awesome. You won't even know it's there until it's actuated.Quote:
Originally Posted by Scooting
I'm currently researching who makes ones that will last. It would be a bad deal to have the light drop led's in the light after the car is painted. The coolest ones I've seen are the ones you sand the lens to be flush with the body and then you clear right over them. I'm not sure I'll go that route but we shall see.
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I can't comment on 40 taillights, but I can tell you that I used Rodworx LED lenses in my 46. They are the brightest LED conversions that I have found. I even had a fellow that was helping me back into a tight space at night say that they were so bright, that they were hard for him to look at. He wanted to put some in his car.
I don't particularly care for LED's in older cars, but I had another rodder that was following me on a cruise say that he could hardly see my old incandescent bulbs. If it hadn't been for a very small 3rd brake light in my rear window, he said he would have rearended me. I decided that in this case, safety trumped aesthetics and started looking for some replacements. Now, my regular taillights are brighter than the 3rd brake light!
Rodworx has a big booth at Cruizin the Coast and I was able to see their lights first hand. They have internal conversions and bulbs, but I went with their replacement lenses that have the LED's built in.
I have a tutorial on how to make your own LED tail lights, these are super bright and visible from all angles. Cost of the D.I.Y. LED tail lights is usually less than $10.00 each (parts link included).
The project is a little complicated/tedious and takes a while to put it all together, I've made it so it plugs into your existing light frame socket and it uses your lens keeping the original looks. However, even with the bright LED taillights I use and recommend a third brake light, as noted by others, SAFETY always comes first.
I built these LED taillights for my car and wrote a detailed tutorial to help others do the same, unfortunately the file size is to large to post on the site. If you're interested PM your email to me and I'll be glad to share the file with you.
I haven't had a lot of time to mess with the 40 lately but I think about it a lot. I'm now thinking about doing fake patina on this when I paint it and I am even thinking about changing wheels to what it had before. I have reached out to some people trying to get pics of this car from the 80s and early 90s. I just want to replicate it how it flashes in my head every now and then. :LOL:
With that being said, I'm rethinking some choices. The hood scoop may wait. I'm trying to prioritize my time and that means I need to pick wisely which things I choose to spend time on. I know my time will be limited so if I want to actually drive this thing this summer I need to stay on track.
Most likely I won't go to a V butt windshield for now. My glass is good so leave it alone.
Gauges. My water temp gauge is mechanical and broken. Now I'm second guessing what I want to do there. Bite the bullet and reinstall the cluster it had before. Probably the smart thing to do. Especially since Uncle Jerry won those gauges years ago and hoarded them for the car. Unfortunately he never got to use them. The Fitech has a controller to monitor things so I really don't need to go all out on gauges I guess.
There's still much more I'm trying to decide on but with everything going on I'm trying to keep it simple so I can actually achieve a goal. We'll see how it goes....
Just like me, I had to decide on some things that I wanted but didn't have the time to get it done. Some I changed later and some remains the same. It's okay, I can drive it and not worry about most of the scratches.
Being able to drive it is a big motivator, and I just have to cope with the I can add and change it later. I've always wanted this to be done when it rolls out of the shop but driving out trumps rolling out. :LOL:Quote:
Originally Posted by 34_40
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I was suddenly working to a deadline as the state changed the rules so I had to "finish it" in 11 months. :mad: And that meant paint, interior included. They wouldn't even look at a car if it was in primer. :eek: The payoff was I don't have to meet all the "new" regulations. So it was worth it to me.Quote:
Originally Posted by 40FordDeluxe
Yep. I'm feeling the same way about the Healey project. I've been fooling with that thing for 6 years!!! Some of the delays were unavoidable, but much of it was my own fault. Changes to the game plan mid stream that took me backwards in progress. Enough is enough. Time to be on the road enjoying it while I can. I'm not getting any younger for sure!!!!:LOL::CRY:Quote:
Originally Posted by 40FordDeluxe
Another thing pushing me is the guy that painted this thing in 99 or so, is putting together a thing for the Goodguys Gazette. He works for Goodguys and the story he is writing up is about how their are still good people in the world and most of them drive street rods. He is writing the story based on the Firebird we restored last year and when him and a bunch of guys did the 40. He said there is a huge possibility the 40 would be needed to be on display at Goodguys Des Moines this year. He asked if it was together enough to resemble a 40 Ford. I laughed and told him yes but we'd have to tow it. :LOL: So if that actually happens it would be cool to drive it at the show. This is another reason I'm trying to make it look like it did 30 years ago.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hotrod46
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Man, the guy that owns this car needs to get off his butt! No updates for 1.5yrs? What a slacker..................................
I have gotten a fair amount of work done on it but not as much as Mike aka Hotrod46 did on his awesome Healey build. I will work on getting my updates put on here soon. I hope you all have a great weekend.
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It sure has been a while. Last time this was in the garage I packed it up and put it in storage to get work done on the wife's truck. It got put in storage this late spring. My wife was pretty addiment I wasn't to work on any non customer projects until her truck was done. Well, we ran out of finding to keep restoring her rig so I was just working on customer stuff squirreling parts away.
I was at a friend's shop one day this spring helping him move some cars and Uncle Jerry's friend Gene happened to stop by to see Steve. He was having Steve paint some stuff for him. When he was done with Steve he turned and asked how Jerry's car was coming. I told him it wasn't and it was in storage. Gene then told me his health was declining and he sure would like to see the car again before he left this world. :confused::eek::CRY: I asked how long he had and he shrugged his shoulders and said we never know.
At this point I didn't really know what to think. Gene is a nice guy and I already missed every dead line I set out for with this car. My Great Aunt wanted a ride in it too before she left but I couldn't make it happen. I got busy with other things going on and one day it just hit me. I told my wife what Gene had said and she told me to just bring the car home and start working on it. So once again I played musical cars and got it back home.
My sons and I ripped the body off the frame. I finish welded the stuff I couldn't get to with the body on. I was going to remove all of the original under coating but decided if it had been stuck on there this long, why bother it? Plus I still had cutting and welding to do to the floor. The boys put some rust bullet down after I wire wheeled the frame and we set the body back on the chassis. I had to fix a couple of body mount spots due to some newly found rust but they are taken care of now. Sadly my old phone got damaged and I can't get those pics off of there.
Next order of business was to get the trunk floor fixed since I had to cut out the original area above the rear end to allow the suspension to come up enough to allow the suspension all to settle. I originally set the floor up angled forward to allow my vintage cooler to set on the RH side. This was going to house my battery but once I thought about it, I wouldn't have any room to put a couple of chairs in the trunk. When I bought this car it had a group 31 battery in the trunk. I was going to use one again. I had a new one and I knew it would last a long time. I decided to ditch that idea and I did some measuring. I found that a group 78 battery would fit in between the tail pan and the kick up for the fuel tank. My plan is to put a door above this compartment and put my air compressors on the other side. Luckily I boxed the rear portion of the frame and added gussets for added strength. I did think about a what if it ever gets rear ended. Unfortunately as low as it sets most hits will be above the bumper/battery area.
After the trunk floor was all done and painted top and bottom, I decided to mount my air tank below the package tray. There really isn't any other good place for it and I am trying to keep as much trunk space as I can.
Next I moved to getting the seats set in place again. I decided to change the mounts I made before and made some brackets and welded them to the X member so they are tied to the frame as well. I will have to make some covers to hide the bases later. I also got back to installing the master cylinder. I had big hopes of putting a hydro boost on it but there just isn't room. I got a big bore MC I will try first. It had an OEM MC with a kinked line operating all the brakes before so it has to be better than what it had before. I also made an access panel to service the master cylinder.
Another big item that had to be done was the transmission. This one was a burnt up core and the OD housing was empty. I farmed the rebuild out to my Dad. I already had most of the parts and a new torque converter. Just lacked the time. He got it done for me and now it is ready to go. Now that the trans had an out put shaft, I could actually put a yoke on the trans and measure for a drive shaft. I found a shaft in my stash and took it down and had it shortened. I had them put Spicer life u joints in it and balance it. Man, it's been a long time since it had a drive shaft in it!
Last pic I was putting fenders back on to prep for paint. I never cut the fuel fill hole so I test fit the fuel tank and marked my fuel fill then cut the hole. I then cut the holes to mount the tail lights and made some brackets to hold the tail light housings against the fenders.
Great progress pictures! Anxious to see more!!
Back in June I was working on getting the body ready for paint. Well, the more I worked on it, the more I ended up repairing. Both doors had cracks under the wing window. Both doors had a pucker ahead of the wing window. There was one under the back of the window on the RH door. I also ended up cutting and tweaking the LH door to get the door to fit better.
Here are pics of sanding around the flames. I still haven't painted the front clip. I'm contemplating my options on the flames. I wanted to keep the old flames but now I'm leaning to having some new ones put on.
Clint was assisting with sanding duties. Him and Colt also got to do some painting underneath, maybe a couple of times. :LOL: They may have had some on them for a while too since it was Rust Bullet. :p
More body work progress and rear fender prep.