Crab's '63 bagged and ragged Ranch Wagon

Discussion in 'Station Wagon Projects' started by CrabSpirits, May 10, 2018.

  1. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    That could be an Australian Holden, which used a lot of GM engineering. Very clean underhood.
     
  2. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    And I see what you mean about the 90* orienting of the master cylinder and booster.
     
  3. Poison_Ivy

    Poison_Ivy Dogzilla Fan

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    Feeding effigy ice cream to Dogzilla
    I've just noticed the Delco vacuum wiper booster mounted under the fuel pump :bowdown:
     
  4. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    Really? I hadn't noticed....:bananaman:
     
  5. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    Nope, the wipers are electric. What you see is the really old-style rebuildable fuel pump.
     
  6. Poison_Ivy

    Poison_Ivy Dogzilla Fan

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    Okay, this is what I thought I was seeing. I was thinking that the vehicle was updated to having electric-powered wipers and the owner just left the original fuel pump there

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  7. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    Yeah, I haven't seen one of those in a looooong time.
     
  8. CrabSpirits

    CrabSpirits Active Member

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    These things...I just can't work with them. Not when fabulously luxurious seating for $30 is just a trip to the junkyard away.
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    Ever since seeing that Town Car, I've been kicking around the idea of getting those seats. Then I saw the updated 2003-11 ones, and now I'm sold. They not only omitted the Lincoln logos (unless I get the Cartier!) which was a sticking point for me, but the center bench console is pretty nice with it's trick lid and cupholders. It'll also add rear airflow to the 2nd row. Turns out seating is at the highest Delta of cheap/awesome of anything you can buy at a junkyard. Pristine condition, 32way power adjustable, leather, heated, cooled, side airbag... doesn't matter, you pay $30. And that's a hard thing for a scavenger like myself to resist, even with moderate scuzz. But the question remained, what to do with the 2nd row? Fortunately, Ford kept things pretty streamlined with it's interior fashions, and "Medium Parchment" is a prevalent color across many cars and trucks. So here is a 2001 non-Eddie Bauer Expedition 3rd row that looks super close.
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    Boy, WHAT FUN it was to dismantle this Holiday of Muridae, stripping the 63 seat down to it's basic chassis. I broke down the new seat to it's modded foam and cover and here we have this mashup.
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    So now I'm just waiting for a 2003 to 2011 Town car Ultimate or Signature to get flushed down the pipe in SH interior trim code. Then I can start building the floor to match everything.
     
  9. CrabSpirits

    CrabSpirits Active Member

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    I set upon my quarry like a thief in the night. In a matter of posts, we've gone from junkyard ambients of 24°F to 124°Feels like. Nearby, an "Urban Jawa" loses his damn mind, swears, hammers, and says something along the lines of "It too damn hottatatata", then segues into what sounds like Kool And The Gang while lightly sobbing.
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    Then I cleaned them of scuzz. Disabled the air bags, and installed seatbelts as well as chrome power seat switch (Town Car has it on the door) of vintage LTD spec.
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    What's that? "But Crab, that's not the same color as the 2nd row you just got."
    Well...yeah. Apparently the Medium Parchment interior color on the later TC's was limited just to the dash and not seating, so my previous assumption was wrong. Anyway, these "Light Parchment" aka "Camel?" chairs are the premium "Nudo Leather", which is noticeably softer than most anything. They also are a close match to the Benz cushions I stuck in the 3rd row. SEM makes a spray that I used in a similar color. It came out a little lighter than I hoped, but it's alright.
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    Got four tunes from Lance at DFW on a Moates F3V2 chip. Now it should be able to run with PATS and all emisions disabled. Adjusted the shift points for the smaller rubber and 3.73 as well.
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    Metal work in the rear is progressing.
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    Repurposed spring pickup is for the sway bar.
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    Torque boxes rebuilt from heavier gauge steel going in.
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    Rebuilt the tailgate window stuff and weatherstripping. Got the wipes for the rear window, but they lied and are totally wrong. Need an assist on finding those.
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    New tunnel about to go in, but needed to take care of the slight water leak from the cowl that wiped out the floor. Some Flexseal sprayed up in the joint passed the bucket test. Also had to mount LTD wiper motor inside the car due to clearance with the engine. This was actually more complex than I thought, and took many test runs to figure out.
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    Found some rare "cruiser skirts" for a '58 Mercury. This checks the boxes of X Expensive and X Needing To Be Irreversibly And Extensively Modified that increases my blood pressure. Should really tie together the hovercraft look I'm going for though. Would like some ideas on how to tackle the missing, unobtainable trim situation, which is how I got a deal on them. Worst case, I'll just fill those areas in.
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    Looks really swell from this angle.
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    Front doesn't exactly match and will need some metal work however.
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  10. OrthmannJ

    OrthmannJ Always looking for old ford crew cabs

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    Wow. You have certainly made some progress! looks like those fender skirts are almost a perfect fit! Very impressive. I'm looking forward to seeing more updates on this project.
     
  11. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    Will the skirts be made part of the quarter panel, or will they be removable? Changing rear flats was tough enough, but if those skirts are made permanent, you may have problems.
     
  12. CrabSpirits

    CrabSpirits Active Member

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    Yeah I'll probably put some studs in them so I can thru-bolt them through the body panels since they're riddled with rust already anyways.
     
  13. CrabSpirits

    CrabSpirits Active Member

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    Still chipping away on this thing all the time, though it doesn't really look like all that much has progressed.
    Finally got the drivetrain mounted in position. Near zero clearance to most everything around it. I also swapped over to the earlier style intake manifold so my hood can shut without a hood scoop ruining these rugged good looks.
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    Getting pretty excited now that it has a floor, although I'll miss all that access!
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    All the panelling in this thing was shot, but fortunately easy to fab using a sheet of ABS plastic.
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    Then I had my co-worker's wife re-up the door panels. I felt like I was out of my element doing them myself. No regrets.
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    I found these forged Rohanna 19's in a junkyard for $75. I planned on flipping them, but they fit the wagon perfectly, and pull off a nice restomod look. I still prefer the wires, but I think I'll hang on to them for when I get bored for a month.
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    Then I found a guy on Facebook that was parting out a '64. Sent him money for a bumper, and he just plain ripped me off along with a bunch of other Fairlaners. Well...I guess "plain" is the wrong word, as this individual was just the most bizarre car person I've ever had to deal with (and I've dealt with Geo Metro Convertable owners). Anger issues, split personality disorder, delusions of grandeur, possible drug addict, possible domestic terrorist, and a pathalogical liar in the most extreme sense. He's still contacting ME about getting me the bumper, while I've given up months ago. Learned some lessons, and even more about psycology.
     
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  14. OrthmannJ

    OrthmannJ Always looking for old ford crew cabs

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    Man, you are making some serious headway. Looks awesome. Sorry to hear about the issue with the guy parting out the 64. Live and learn right?
     
  15. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    Sounds to me like his coffin will eventually be one of those Metro drop-tops, when he crosses one of them. I was wondering about whether you were going to ever post again, the rear frame rebuild and new floor look good. I certainly could use some new floor patches on Babe.
     

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