1958 Country Sedan project

Jairus, I hope all is well, I haven't checked your thread in a while.

Good luck on your heater. Mine has the deluxe heater already. I have fought with that stupid heater core/control valve set up for almost as long as I have had the car. It is basically a cable controlled vacuum operated valve regulating vacuum pressure that regulates flow through the heater core.

After going through 2 water control valves, I found a "dummy" valve that is marketed for a 58-60 Thunderbird. 58-60 Thunderbird use the same heater core as 57/58 full size Fords. It is basically a tube with a whole in it roughly the same shape as the original valve. Flow is then regulated by a cable operated valve.

http://www.macsautoparts.com/ford_t...ater-hot-water-control-valve-kit-1958-60.html

This worked great for me for about a year, until my remanufactured heater core started leaking.

 

Well, this doesn't sound promising at all. Nearly all the bits you mention are NOS for Surf Rat including the heater core so I figure I have at least a few years of use before it starts going wonky.
That is if I finally get up the guts to make the switch.
The standard heater works and has worked flawlessly since I had the core re-cored 5 years ago. Biggest problem is it's not a fresh air system, just recirculating. That means moisture ends up on the windows and there is no possibility of shutting off the fan to allow the forward motion of the car to blow air through the system.
It's either ON or OFF with the two speed motor providing nothing but hot and hotter.
Plus the core hangs down into the passenger foot well so.... guess I am still trying to convince myself to make the change.

I will look into that water valve kit as I think that might be a solid alternative for the future should the original (which I paid dearly for) stop working.
Thanks for the link.

 

Jairus, you are almost there and no sense turning back at this point. Just be aware that the system will leak eventually. It works really well when it is working, I have just been plagued with random heater core/system leaks.

Do you have the ductwork for the defrost vents? If not, you would be better off to make them than find them. The originals are made from cardboard and are 58 only.

 

57 defrost ductwork is similar, but for 57 the wiper motor was on the opposite side of the firewall. In 58 they moved to the wiper motor inside, which interfered with the defrost ductwork, so they simply eliminated the middle one or two defrost vents in 58. Macs has the rectangle tubing to go from the lower air box to the defrost ductwork, but they have it listed for 57 only. It fit close enough on my car.

http://www.macsautoparts.com/ford_m...amber-to-defroster-nozzle-connector-ford.html

 

Yes, dealt with that a long time ago and if you dig into my thread you'll see that I took a '57 sheet metal defrost duct and split it to make room for the wiper motor.




Shortly after that pic in 2012 I had the wiper motor rebuilt. Now it's a daily driver all year long.

 

Update for November 22, 2016.
Have owned the car and driven her daily for the last 6 years.
Been chasing down water leaks for most of that time and now that winter is upon us the rain is daily here and so far only the drivers side forward carpet is damp. Rest of the wagon seems dry for the first time! Whoohoo!!!!

But, the water pump started leaking requiring a new pump last weekend.



New pump in and burping the system. No leaks so far.....


Now, time to put her in the garage and tackle the dogleg seals.



Drivers side was complete, but that's the side of the wet carpet.


Passengers side.


Finished drivers side features a new seal from Dennis Carpenter glued in with new plastic vapor barrier to keep the door panel dry. I also added a new layer of seam sealer to the drip rail on the drivers side and cleaned out the drip rail drains. Once the glue dries, I'll park Surf Rat in the rain and see if that helps.
Because that is the ONLY test.




Guess that is all.
Car is driven every day and performs very well.
Still have not changed out the standard heater for the new (and now complete) deluxe heater system, but maybe later this winter.

Respectfully submitted,
Jairus

 

Jairus , its great to see Surf Rat still going strong from Downunder

 

Well, over a year ago I acquired a very nice heater core for a dollar. That was the start of a search for all the bits to complete a deluxe heat system for the Surf Rat.

Basic recirculating system worked fine for 6.5 years, but I wanted something to upgrade. A while back I showed some of the parts and over the winter I cleaned, painted and acquired all the gaskets. But the weather here in Oregon is pretty darned cold or wet or both and working in the garage is not fun.
Sssooooo... I waited.


Until yesterday.



Old system: removed in 1 hour 28 minutes.


New system: Installed in .... well, the rest of the day. (Total time for the swap was about 8.5 hours)


More pics.




Finished install with everything working.... except the control valve.
Didn't figure that out till later, but the dollar core and vacuum control valve was used and doesn't really shut off the flow.
I can get another and swap it out later. (Yes TKEBH964, you told me so..... ) It came with the core and was the only thing not purchased new or refurbished.
Still works very nicely and is way quieter than the old system. Plus, no leaks!

And keeps my Chuck Taylor's very warm even on low.





Surf Rat is still rolling!

Respectfully submitted.

 

Looks nice. It can be hard tracking down 60 year old parts these days. What does the new system do that the old system did not do?

 

It can be hard Kevin. eBay has helped a lot of course. Swap meets help a lot and we have one of the biggest each year in Portland. Found lots of parts there.

But the benefits are, quieter fan, more efficient, more passenger foot room,
variable temp control, fresh air intake, lighted control panel... fits the dash.
I mean, it's what should have been in the car when they first built it!

 

When they first built that wagon people weren't so picky.
No one cared about quiet fans.
People didn't have fat feet.
All they cared about was enough heat to clean the windshield and warm their fingers.

Nice work.

 

Quick little update. Had to drive my son-in-law to the auto repair where he needed to pick up their Nissan Exterra because the Alternator had caught fire. $675 later, he is back rolling and asking me "you think I should trade this for something else"?

One thing I learned about my new heater is... I no longer need the fan running to stay warm. Just the forward motion of the car keeps the interior very comfortable due to the fresh air intake. And that can be shut off so this "upgrade" to Surf Rat was LONG OVERDUE.
Total I spent was around $300 over 6 months of parts collection paint and installation.

 

Love your work Jairus , Surf Rat just needs a little lovin keep up the good work . from Downunder

 

Well, this month marks my 6th year of ownership of "SurfRat".
I'd post pics but Fotki is not allowing me to add new pics. Maybe later.

Changed the oil and filter in the wagon this afternoon for the 12th time. Drive her nearly every day and no problems... other than some excessive tire wear on the the inside tread of the front. Probably because they lowered it so damn much in the front. So, going to rotate the tires front to rear soon as I can and see if I can get the front end re-aligned.

Weather is changing and cannot wait to use the new heater.
Get thumbs up from so many people each day it's starting to get embarrasing. But I love my car!!!!

 

Fotki is back up!
Here is the wagon yesterday just before I changed the oil.




As an aside.... it was one week ago that Salem Oregon experienced the total lunar eclipse of the sun! We were in the path of totality so I got my camera and sat on the deck taking pictures. No good pics of the eclipse unfortunately. Still too bright for the little Cannon SX150, but I did see some cool effects in the shadows.