1942 Ford deluxe coupe project

[SoCalCoupe]

Originally Posted by sugarmaker

Folks,
The 42 gets a new trunk handle, Vintage plates and is ready for the road! Nice work John!

Originally Posted by sugarmaker

A dreaded leak in one of the line joints. ...

In this case John removed the line to the wheel cylinder. We got a magnified light and looked at the inside of the flare. Took a small tapered stone in a drill and smoothed and tapered the inside to smooth it. He then took the new brass tee out of the car to view it on the bench too. It also did not look great. So he cleaned up the 80 year old original brass "Tee" , installed it under the car and plugged in the lines. NO leaks!


We proceeded to bleed the brakes with no issues. We win!

Ya gotta have the vintage plates!

Love that brake line fix. It's that kind of attention to detail and repair, not in any book, that make the hobby so satisfying. Probably took a few hours but now it's RIGHT. Good luck finding a shop that would do that at any price.

[sugarmaker]

So Cal, Folks
Brief update on Johns 42.
And Yes it would cost a lot to have a shop do this work on things like brake lines and details on a 80 year old car. Just not many of those places if any left. So we try to do our best and John is real good at getting the results that he is happy with. Remember at this time this 42 is becoming a good safe driver. A lot of us begin with this desire. John is making it work and going a few steps beyond to maybe someday be ready for a full restoration on his nice 42 Ford.
He is thinking about the glass replacement for the car. Which he has all the items for that project too. Here are some shots as he completes the wood covers for the tool tray in the trunk. A neat idea that Ford did not keep long in their cars.


These 1/4 inch thick covers were completed with several coats of the ebony stain:




I think John will be the first to tell you that this trunk area of the car was not in good shape at all! He has made continious improvements to get it back to functional and presentable:


The finished look, As we say here "we prototype it" That way if we need to do it again at some point we dont feel that bad. We prototype a LOT!

Regards,
Chris

[sugarmaker]

Folks,
A couple pictures to update John's progress on his 42 Ford Deluxe.
The trunk improvements continue:


A new trunk floor mat installed after much cleaning and coatings. This car has really good floors with only minor areas that needed attention:




Regards,
Chris

[sugarmaker]

Folks,
John has been working up to his next winter projects. The package tray, Refurb of clutch and brake pedal pivots, and glass. He has the material for the seats on order too. He decided to get some miles on the engine yesterday. He said it ran good. Maybe as good or better than his 48!






Wonder how many of these are on the road again!
The dual old car/truck projects give us some things to do in the shop when the weather is not great.

Regards,
Chris

[Ol' Ron]

My eyesight isn't very good s I opted for a text to speech reader. I just followed your post from beginning to end. A fantastic project my friend, and yes Charly NY is a treasure for us guys. I wanted to make suggestions along the way, but there was always another barner there to help. One thing you might be interested i is the 59 series engines were not available till late 45, but who cares. Thanks for posting, great adventure.
Gramps

[1942deluxe]

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OL' Ron, thanks, coming from you that means a lot. Yes, I knew the 59 engines were postwar, but I found it 2 miles from home. It had adjustable lifters and was absolutely crack free. Friend of mine had it who has been a hot rodder since the 1950's. I met him for the first time in 1974 when I was 15. For some reason he has always tried to help me with my old Fords. I was gone 42 years and moved back here about a year and a half ago. I went out to visit Ronnie with my 48 business coupe and told him he was slipping. 40 years ago an old Ford couldn't slip into town without him knowing it! Running into Chris (Sugarmaker) has been a blessing too. Wouldn't have gotten half of what I have done without him. There's a neat story there too I'll save for another day. In the end the cars are really neat but the frienships made are even more valuable.

[Ol' Ron]

Very true, one thing for sure, your 42 Ford will have a long and happy life for another 50years or so. Take care/
Gramps

[sugarmaker]

Folks,
John removing his horn assembly from the 42 Ford. From what he tells me this was the last year for this style horn. Rams horn style followed these in later years.


As he cleans these up and freshens them with a coat of black. We will try to solder new wires on to the terminals today.


Back in the day John and I both had the hots for 55 Fords! And our paths crossed a long time ago, when we were a lot younger!

Regards,
Chris

[1942deluxe]

Actually, they used this style of horns thru 1947. 1948 went to the sea shell style of horns. My guess is cheaper to manufacture. Could still read the Sparton horn identification on them. Got a NOS horn relay and wiring from Third Gen to install.

[corvette8n]

John my horns on my ‘41 look like yours and they are loud, I also installed a model A
Ahooga horn above the original horn just like my Uncle had on every car he owned, you always knew when he was coming.

[Graeme / New Zealand]

Originally Posted by 1942deluxe

Actually, they used this style of horns thru 1947. 1948 went to the sea shell style of horns. My guess is cheaper to manufacture. Could still read the Sparton horn identification on them. Got a NOS horn relay and wiring from Third Gen to install.

Correct. When I got my 48 which was in parts it came with a set of both styles of horn. I installed the earlier trumpet type as I like them better.

GB

[1942deluxe]

After Chris was kind enough to solder the new horn wires the horns have been reinstalled along with the NOS horn relay. Earlier I had installed a NOS horn button assembly and wire that I had stashed away 20 years ago. I might be wrong, but I think the trumpet horns have a different sound than the seashell type. That was probably the last wiring puzzle so a good day!

[sugarmaker]

Folks,
Some shots of the rare 42 Deluxe:








Regards,
Chris

[Mart]

Nice lines on that 42. A friend had one that had had a bed inserted in the back. He managed to source a trunk lid and convert it back.

[sugarmaker]

Ford Folks,
John worked on his clutch refurbishment yesterday:


What he found was a badly worn split clam shell pivot joint. He replaced with the new ball portion and new nylon shell.




Components were cleaned, inspected, rea assembled and the clutch travel was adjusted:


John felt that the feel of the clutch through the travel was much improved:




Next the clutch pedal will be removed and evaluated for wear. New bushings are ready to go in that area to reduce side movement of the pedal. Then final adjustments and the floor board can go back in the 42.

Regards,
Chris

[SoCalCoupe]

There's a lot of things I like about this project but one of the best is that it's a rolling restoration. Instead of blowing the whole thing apart and having it sit around the shop in plastic bags and cardboard boxes, it's one logical step at a time while you enjoy driving it.

[1942deluxe]

SoCalCoupe, that was my thought process all along. My goal was to have it drivable by the end of the year. Years ago, I worked in a body shop. My boss stated that he'd had many chances to buy antique cars that were totally disassembled and passed every time. I don't have the space, finances and probably skills to do a ground up right now. I'm fortunate that I can look at my 48 business coupe and our 46 Fordor if I forget how something goes together. My brother is doing a ground up on a 1957 Chevrolet Nomad that has been apart for at least 5 years. It will be fantastic when he's done but he spends hours locating parts and we've had to take things apart multiple times because it's been too long since he pulled it apart. I'm convinced the 42 will never win a Dearborn award but I've given it a chance to be more than a parts car and I've learned a bunch....

[sugarmaker]

Folks,
John working on his clutch upgrades:


Cutting the old bushings for removal:




Rolling Restorations! I like that! It fits!
Regards,
Chris

[sugarmaker]

Folks,
John is begining to work on items in the doors and on the glass and trim. Many moves to make to repair, clean and replace items to improve the 42.





John let me take the 42 Deluxe for a ride last night! Engine seemed strong, responsive and smooth. Improvements to driveability with work on pedal pivot, clutch adjustments, and shift collar all helped to bring those areas back to near new. Was a flash back to be shifting the three on the tree. Probably been 40+ years since I drove a column shift! The car handles good and is going to be a good driver!

Regards,
Chris

[1942deluxe]

Window, regulator, and weatherstrip removal went well. One problem when removing the division bar from the old glass the small pot metal piece broke. Checked the passenger side and it was missing on that side. It's the same as a 1941 Ford I believe. Anybody have a couple of intact division bars in their stash of parts?