New member - Victoria Project

[hdc]

Hello,

I just came across Ford Barn last week so I'm a new user, and would like to share one of my current projects with you, I will surely need the help along the way.

The Story:

When my parents got married in 1964, my father owned a 1956 Victoria, which he kept for -oh, another 5 years or so (replaced by a brand new Ford Falcon in 1969). I was born a while later, and one of my earliest memories was of the Victoria being towed away to fix a blown engine.

Anyway, my father who is not quite a car nut, but who has always liked and taken good care of his cars, always spoke fondly of the Victoria, and for a few years now he has told me of his "dream" to find an old Victoria and restore it to the way his car was. I should say that my father is 72 and has never restored a car in his life (besides he doesn't have the patience).

My father didn't buy the Victoria new, and when he got it the original color scheme had been changed to look like the pictures below.

Fairlane Victoria 1956 3.jpg
Fairlane Victoria 1956 4.jpg

As you can see, the lower body and roof were a maroon color.

The Idea:

A couple of months back a friend of mine whom I had told about the conversations with my father on this topic, sent me a link to a one owner 1956 Victoria at a decent price and I bought the car over the phone (which as we all know is a bad idea......).

The goal is to restore it to the way my partent's car looked back in 1964 and give it to them as their 50th wedding anniversary present next year, complete with the "Just Married" livery in red lipstick

The Project:

The car had been sitting in a garage for the last 15 years when the original owner died and the widow had decided it was time to let go. The positives are that the car is very complete, and virtually rust free, brakes, gearbox and electrics all work well. The negatives are that the engine needs to be rebuilt (it started without much trouble but smokes terribly and has NO power whatsoever) and that it needs a color change.

This last item is easier said than done since I believe this car was coral with black so everything that in a white / XX car came in white, this car has in Coral (engine compartment, firewall, trunk, etc).

DSC01918 1.jpg
DSC01920 1.jpg
DSC01958 1.jpg

So far we have started removing the front clip to access the engine and front suspension easier and work on the engine should start later this week. While the engine is out, the body man will prepare and paint the firewall and the engine compartment, and we will work to repair and paint the front end.

Once that is done and the car is in running condition (sans fenders, grill, etc) it will be sent to the body shop to tackle the few rust issues and prepare and paint the body. I have decided not to remove the body form the chassis if we can avoid it, but will do a windows out work so that the car will look really good.

One of the many things that remain un-resolved is what to do with the interiors. I have no idea what color my father's car was originally, but one of the photos above seems to show a black steering wheel and dash, which might indicate the car was white / black originally, so I might go with a black dash and steering wheel with white upholstery with original type black inserts and a black carpet.

As I said your help along the way will be greatly appreciated and I will post regular progress reports.

Thanks for listening

Henry

[darrell]

good luck with your project.one thing you will learn is you could have bought the car you wanted a lot cheaper than you can build it yourself but we all have to go down that road.im on my third trip now.

[hdc]

Originally Posted by darrell

good luck with your project.one thing you will learn is you could have bought the car you wanted a lot cheaper than you can build it yourself but we all have to go down that road.im on my third trip now.

Probably true, but there's little fun in that. I´ve done enough cars by now to completely understand what you are saying

[zoegrant]

Henry...what state are you in....John

[hdc]

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