|
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
08-15-2020, 09:06 PM | #1 |
Member
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Heart of Dixie ( Alabama)
Posts: 63
|
Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
Hello,
My name is Travis and I'm glad to be here. I look forward to learning some things and sharing what little I can help with. Below is my new '51 Blue Coupe. I had a 1950 Custom Business Coupe 25 years ago and it sure feels good to have another Coupe. It's almost like coming home. DSCN0237 by Travis Brown, on Flickr It's a 1951 Custom Deluxe Club Coupe. It has had one respray that's a close match to the original Alpine Blue. Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr by Travis Brown, on Flickr It has the most original interior I have ever seen. by Travis Brown, on Flickr I'm going to get some gray wool to match the seat sides to cover the seat bottom. I'm going to run the original seat back as long as I can. If and when it wears through, I'll simply cover over it with gray wool as well. The dots on the upholstery are little stars and they match the door panels. Apparently that stuff is not reproduced. Once it's gone, it's gone. I'm going to preserve it as long as possible. by Travis Brown, on Flickr It's been an adventure so far. I'm pleased with it. There has been some challenges with it correcting some shoddy work. All in all I'm very happy with it. |
08-15-2020, 09:22 PM | #2 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Minnesota, Florida Keys
Posts: 10,312
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
Congratulations on your new car; it looks great! As the owner of a '51 club coupe myself, I can really appreciate your car.
I had the same problem with my door panels as you do. The folks I have talked to say the damage behind the interior door handles is caused by the rings people wear on their fingers. My drivers door was almost as bad as yours, while the passenger side, while having some damage, was a lot better. I fixed mine by replacing the upper part with some matching wool fabric from a fabric store. You can easily remove the narrow chrome trim piece, cut a replacement, glue it on the panel, and replace the chrome trim. My biggest problem was matching in the texture and color of the original fabric. My car was originally "Seafoam Green" and the interior fabric had a green tinge that was quite hard to match. Your car, being "Alpine Blue", should be a bit easier. Like yours, the rest of my door panels were in quite good shape and I am quite satisfied with the resulting repairs. I can post some pictures tomorrow if you're interested. I was extremely lucky that my seats had no holes in them. I left the back seat as is (nobody sits back there), but installed cheap seat cover on the front to protect the upholstery. It looks kinda funky, but it is easy to remove for car shows, etc. |
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) |
|
08-15-2020, 09:29 PM | #3 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: sydney australia
Posts: 1,033
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
welcome on board looks cool just some minor cosmetics to look after and enjoy
|
08-15-2020, 10:42 PM | #4 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Coral Springs FL
Posts: 10,936
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
SUPER DUPER nice car. Enjoy it to the max.
|
08-16-2020, 12:30 PM | #5 |
Member
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Los Angeles/Santa Barbara
Posts: 57
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
Great car! My 51 fordor also still has original interior. Trying to get mine roadworthy after sitting for ahout ten years. Covid shutdowns have prevented me from getting much done this summer, but I can try and post some interior pics soon
|
08-16-2020, 03:57 PM | #6 |
Member Emeritus
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Wichita KS
Posts: 16,132
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
|
08-16-2020, 05:24 PM | #7 | |
Member
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Heart of Dixie ( Alabama)
Posts: 63
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
Quote:
|
|
08-16-2020, 05:36 PM | #8 | ||
Member
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Heart of Dixie ( Alabama)
Posts: 63
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
Quote:
Thanks I have already had a great time with it. Quote:
I'm correcting all that stuff. Thank you so much I have already learned some stuff going through old posts. Thank you all. I'm going to add to this thread to show what I've done so far. Thank you all again. |
||
08-16-2020, 07:28 PM | #9 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Lyman,ME.
Posts: 2,627
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
Nice car! I’m working on a ‘51 Tudor and drive a ‘50 Fordor. They’re great cars! Do you plan on keeping all the oil change stickers on the door jam?........that’s cool......Mark
__________________
I'm thinkin' about crankin' My ragged ol' truck up and haulin' myself into town. Billy Joe Shaver |
08-16-2020, 07:40 PM | #10 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 611
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
I also think that's a really nice car.
|
08-16-2020, 07:49 PM | #11 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Newnan Georgia
Posts: 206
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
You can't beat a shoebox! Nice car!
__________________
Greg |
08-16-2020, 09:22 PM | #12 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2,484
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
Yeh;!! My sister's boy-friends drove those coupes, drove me nuts, I was ten yrs old wanting one myself. Sure you didn't date her?? She married a Smuck, a Dentist- not the rodders, darn. Lots of '49 up fellows sometime post on the next forum - late V8 Fords, always good to check both sites. Newc
|
08-17-2020, 12:53 PM | #13 | |
Member
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Heart of Dixie ( Alabama)
Posts: 63
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
Quote:
They are hard to read. Most of them just note the month and not the year. I believe one says '62. One of the last ones, possibly '81. |
|
08-17-2020, 01:11 PM | #14 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Minnesota, Florida Keys
Posts: 10,312
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
Your car seems to have quite a few of the official factory accessories. You might be surprised at all the stuff Ford offered back then. Take a gander at this booklet I found under the back seat of my car : https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=270067.
|
08-17-2020, 01:24 PM | #15 | |
Member
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Heart of Dixie ( Alabama)
Posts: 63
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
Quote:
A big surprise to me was realizing just how advanced the '51 is. I've had a '49 and a '50. The 1951 has to be the best of the series. It's surprising how advanced they really were over the '50. I think the '51 gets overlooked a little because it does not have that big center grille bullet that's so iconic on the '49s and '50s. Car wise though, the '51 is just a better car in my opinion. |
|
08-17-2020, 01:30 PM | #16 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Minnesota, Florida Keys
Posts: 10,312
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
The '49's in particular had a lot of problems; Ford themselves even advertised "The new Fifty Ford, Better in Fifty Ways!"
Last edited by tubman; 08-17-2020 at 01:40 PM. |
08-17-2020, 02:12 PM | #17 |
Member
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Heart of Dixie ( Alabama)
Posts: 63
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
The 49's had a lot of things that just did not work out. The pull door handles, the twist down trunk bullet handle. Some of this was neat but, not really practical.
With that said, the '49 saved the company. This may be urban legend or in other words BS, but I have heard that the Mercury design team was ahead of the Ford team. The new Mercury was going to be smaller and sporty with a revolutionary body design. The Ford was going to be a bigger car, more conservative in styling. The tale goes, That FoMoCo chose the Mercury design to be the Ford, thus the Ford design became the Mercury. |
08-17-2020, 07:21 PM | #18 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Minnesota, Florida Keys
Posts: 10,312
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
Her are a couple of pictures of the low-buck repair I did to my car. One more thing. After I got the old torn fabric off, I lightly sanded the disturbed part of the cardboard backing and leveled the whole thing off with some body filler. It didn't take much, just a skim coat. The way these things are made lends itself to a cheap and easy repair.
As I said, the hardest part is matching the texture and color. |
08-17-2020, 07:55 PM | #19 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Lyman,ME.
Posts: 2,627
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
Quote:
I’ve wanted a ‘49 Coupe so I could have one from each year and one from three of the body styles but I’ve read a lot about the ‘49’s rush to production issues.I’m looking forward to reading more of your posts and seeing you enjoying your car!.....Mark
__________________
I'm thinkin' about crankin' My ragged ol' truck up and haulin' myself into town. Billy Joe Shaver |
|
08-18-2020, 06:41 AM | #20 |
Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Christiansburg, VA
Posts: 70
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
Nice shoebox! I always liked the 51 over the 49's and 50's. I liked the "wish they were dagmars" grill and the mesh across the dash.
|
08-18-2020, 03:23 PM | #21 | |
Member
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Heart of Dixie ( Alabama)
Posts: 63
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
Quote:
Mr. Layfields cars were black and brush scratched. All three had hot 3x2 V8s under the hood, overdrive with Victoria (automatic) rear ends. My daddy said that when they were right, In second overdrive they'd go past 90, in high they'd pass a mile post every 66 seconds. My grandfather had a mechanic shop and those were hard times. Mr. Layfield always paid in cash and my Grandfather kept his mouth shut. All three were tankers or "Blockcaders". My brother and I wore out a VHS tape. We slowed it down, he does complete the "bootlegger roll". This is Lucas Doolin's (Robert Mitchum) 1951 Sedan with a '49 hood and '50 Grille. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJbGUL-UfzA |
|
08-18-2020, 04:08 PM | #22 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Minnesota, Florida Keys
Posts: 10,312
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
"in high they'd pass a mile post every 66 seconds". Are you sure that's what you meant to say? That's less than 60 mph (unless you have very long miles where you live).
|
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) |
|
08-18-2020, 05:07 PM | #23 |
Member
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Heart of Dixie ( Alabama)
Posts: 63
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
|
08-19-2020, 08:28 AM | #24 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: 36 miles north of Albany NY
Posts: 2,949
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
Welcome, nice car, my first car was a 1950 sedan, I miss that old shoebox.
|
08-19-2020, 09:03 AM | #25 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Columbus, IN
Posts: 1,406
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
Welcome aboard. I just noticed the oil change stickers clear up the top of the door opening. That shows the whole chronology of service events, which is real cool.
When I worked at a gas station, I would pull off the old sticker and put the new one in the same place. Little did I know then. |
08-19-2020, 02:29 PM | #26 |
Member
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Heart of Dixie ( Alabama)
Posts: 63
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
The car would barely run. Maybe this had something to do with it? Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr Carburetor was filthy so I rebuilt the 94 from my '50. Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr The linkage was funky and there was a difference in the carburetors. The '50 carburetor used a throttle ball whereas the carburetor on the car used clips. Look at this junk, a screen door spring and bailing wire wrapped clamed down by the generator bolt. Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr I had to make new linkage out of a F-1 Throttle rod I had laying around. I had to cut it thread it in a die and bend it. Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr The car would barely crank and refused to crank hot. I was anticipating rebuilding the starter but the only thing wrong was corrosion on the primary leads. Instead of slow cranking I get that familiar 6V Ford starter note. With a fresh 94 on it and a good cap and new points, it ran worse. I misread the manual and set the points to 6cyl specs, Ooops. I corrected that. I could not find the mark to set the timing so I used a gauge and set it by ear. The car still had a miss or skip. There was no oil filter so I decide to take the one off the '50 flathead and put it on this one. To do this I thought it may be best to remove the crossover and install headers. I had these from my '50. Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr This is where things got really dicey. They used the wrong sized bolts in the front exhausts. They used 3/8 whereas it requires 7/16. They used studs and glued them in with sealer. It was touch and go but I was able to chase the threads and clean them up. Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr I can't express how meticulous that job was. All of it was done by hand and with utmost care. I knew if I cross threaded the tap it would be all over. I had to use the small file and countersink to get the damaged hole to accept the chase bolt. I was very fortunate that I was able to repair the threads. This is another access point to get to exhaust. Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr I got the block threads repaired. The headers on and the oil filter installed.... more to come |
08-19-2020, 02:51 PM | #27 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Minnesota, Florida Keys
Posts: 10,312
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
Just curious; have you done a compression test yet?
|
08-19-2020, 05:04 PM | #28 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Holmen,Wisconsin
Posts: 787
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
Like others have said, very nice looking car. I still want a coupe myself.
__________________
I went, I saw, I bought the T shirt 51 Ford Deluxe Tudor 32 Ford roadster 39 Mercury Towncar |
08-19-2020, 05:46 PM | #29 |
Member
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Heart of Dixie ( Alabama)
Posts: 63
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
No tubman not yet.
The vacuum gauge reads 20 inches at idle. I did set the timing with a light, it was way too advanced. Now it runs smooth as silk. |
08-19-2020, 05:52 PM | #30 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Coral Springs FL
Posts: 10,936
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
Be sure to put ANTI SEIZE on those header bolts.
|
08-19-2020, 06:31 PM | #31 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Saratoga Springs, NY
Posts: 1,110
|
Re: Introduction, Hello my '51 Club Coupe
Welcome and the best of luck with your new ride.
|
|
|
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) |
|