1958 Country Sedan project

Too cold to take the doors apart today. Even after the sun came out it never got above 42 degrees.
But there were a few things that needed to be done like new plugs and plug wires! Two of the wires came apart at the distributor cap so I suspected the idling problem might be bad spark.
Smooth running now and all plugs are firing. All the old plugs were clean and tan when removed so car is burning evenly. Probably the best running car I have ever owned. Even my Toyota Corolla had problems with the rear most cylinder.

The other thing I did was bolt on a couple grill bullets.
The rings are '57 Buick and the center bullet is Cal Custom aftermarket.
What do you think?
Going to live with them for a while and decide.


Respectfully submitted,

 

Wow, tough crowd. Guess I'll remove them then....

 

Well Mr Watson, I wasn't going to say anything but.....................seems I remember these cars having a horizontal bar going across the grille area where you have these bullets? And there was a vertical bar in the middle with a medallion at the intersection of the 2 bars? Personally I think that would look better? Found a picture:



Here's a closeup of the "medallion".............

 

I kind of like the grille bullets. Very T-Bird esque.
Glad to hear the trans is working out. I always love to see old cars used as the good Lord intended, as daily transportation. Even as it sits it is a beautiful car, imperfections and all, and I am glad to see you enjoying it.
Thanks for the update.

PS I saw STAR WARS this weekend as well. As a STAR WARS nerd, I appreciated all of the little nods to the original trilogy. I won't spoil it for anyone, but I enjoyed it.

 

Mike, I know full well what the stock '58 looks like in the grill area. I even purchased a center post with intact medallion.
But thus far the grill bars remain unobtainable.

To me the face of the '58 with the bar in place reminds me of a very pretty girl smiling.... with braces!
And everyone knows that the smile improves exponentially once the braces are REMOVED. Same goes for the '58 in my artistic opinion.

The bullets have not grown on me yet, but I wanted something different and for now I'll stay the course.
Would really like to find a center bar with grill teeth like a '57 Corvette to try out.
Or... a Plymouth floating center bar.
Or a couple of '58 T-bird bumperettes?

Weather has been hovering around freezing so not ready to tear the doors apart and replace the dog-leg seals.
Thursday looks like sun and 45 degrees so maybe then.

 

I like the bullets, but I think it would look even better if they were a little smaller.
Like 53 Chev park lamp housings, maybe...

 

Haha, I like the smiling girl with braces analogy! The shark teeth look sounds interesting. Your wagon grill is a good canvas to try stuff on.

 

Last weekend I and Mark drove our t-shirts down to Albany again for the Winter Rod and Speed show. We set up as usual with the show opening at six and closing at 10 on Friday and all day Saturday.
I left the show tired and happy with a nice Doobie brothers 8-track on the player and warm air blowing on the Chuck Taylors.

Well... about half way between Albany and Salem the fan belt BROKE.
Crap!

My guardian angel must have been watching over me because the belt broke and roped under the floor pan just 1/4 mile before the Dever/Connor I5 exit while the wagon was traveling at 65 mph. (Yes, the speedo finally works!)
I popped the newly rebuilt trans into neutral and switched off all power devices besides the headlights... coasted to the exit.
I say "guardian angel" because my daughter and son-in-law and two granddaughters just happen to live on Dever/Connor Rd.
No kidding!
If this had happened only a mile or two further on the car would have sat along the side of the road for at least a day and I would have missed most of Saturday finding and repairing it, provided it wasn't vandalized or stolen.

So, I managed to make it to the safety of their driveway and park the car before it over-heated.
Jeremy gave me a ride home while the car sat in front of the farm for a couple days till the show ended and I could hit the auto parts store on Sunday for an over priced fan belt. Also sourced a a ride back to Jefferson Oregon to rescue my car. Only took 3 minutes to install!
Was nice visiting with my grand daughter tho... and she sure hugs good! Love you Dakota!

Respectfully submitted,

Jairus

P.S. Love that '58 too!

 

Jairus I love following along with your beat up old Ford and your always interesting stories. Sorry I was accidentally off internet for quit awhile. Then since there were little or no updates on this thread, I mssed what you did post.
Happy the tranny is rebuilt, the speedo is accurate, and life is good on your coast.
As for driving without a fan belt, I was surprised when I drove my '55 Chevy wagon many miles to an auto parts store...in day light. As long as there is a mechanical fan it does rotate the water pump and helps cool while moving. You could have used your panty hose in an emergency!

You asked, my useless answer about the '57 Buick trim rings and the center bullet from Cal Custom, keep it like that. Your wagon is a custom and a pretty girl with braces is not custom. Either way, original, or Corvette grille teeth to replace the Ford braces is also Kool.
Why spend more money when you already have Kool?

 

Poor little "Surf Rat".
She sits outside 99.9 % of the time in the wind and rain.
After two months of continuous rain here in Oregon I finally found a good sunny day to air her out and spread some new seam sealer in the drip rail.
Doors and windows seals are good but the carpets were still getting wet so only thing left was the drip rail.
Bought new dog leg seals... but the front doors show no leakage in that location despite the cracked and hardened 58 year old rubber currently residing the space.
So it had to be drip rail and resulting water dripping/weeping down through the steel posts and pillars.
Rain is expected again on Sunday so... that will be the test.
In the mean time the carpets are nearly dry with the beautiful day we had.
Can't wait for summer.....

 

We had rain showers two days ago and T-storms today. I was complaining about that!

 

Rain started first week of Feb. This week marks two days (Thurs. and Friday.) with no rain predicted. Rain starts again Saturday night. Of course it's not constant.... but it is sporadic and daily with wind storms too.

But, that's the Pacific NorthWest and why we have so many evergreen trees, ferns and marijuana.
Best wine in the world too!

 

Depending of course on which side of the Mountains you live on.

 

Well, it's early May and the wagon is still on the road.
Drive it 5 out of 7 days of the week and Sunday after church took a long drive just so I could listen to the 8-track and cruise in the 80 degree weather.

Friday afternoon I received an email that my brake lights were no longer lighting up in traffic.
Bad switch as it turns out.
Fixed that and re-set the timing while I was at it.
Oil and brake fluid level good and points remain clean.

Then, a friend handed me a deluxe heater core the other day.
I've been living with the standard heater system for 5 years but.... the idea of setting the temp instead of constantly having to turn the system on and off before my Chuck Taylors melted seemed like a good idea so I looked into it.

Total cost for the heater control head, water valve, vacuum control.... wow!
Just to use the $5.00 nearly new core?

Still... it would be nice to move the environmental controls in the Surf Rat into the 20th century.... and for me that is Priceless!

Updates as they happen.

 

Right on. Sounds like you are enjoying the surf rat.
You may have to expand on how you received an email telling you your brake lights weren't working.