1958 Country Sedan project

Sounds good! Can we see pics of the radio? Glad you're getting the vacuum motor rebuilt, would be cool to see a video of it running.

 

I just spent the time to go through this thread in its entirety.
What a great story so far!

This is a great car, Jairus.

I see that you've had problems finding some of the parts you need (like the heater & defroster duct). If you have never bought anything from Dennis Carpenter, you might consider his company for some of your parts requirements. http://www.dennis-carpenter.com/

He's a good guy and he has developed a HUGE catalog of classic Ford stuff.

Love what you're doing with this car....keep it up!

 

Pictures I can do but videos I've never done before.

Thank you sir, but Dennis Carpenter was the first place I purchased from. But sadly, they had no defroster duct for a '58 that I could find. Not much call for it as most cars come with them already.
The problem with the '58's is they moved the wiper motor from the firewall in '57 to under the dash where it stayed through '64. (Didn't do research higher than 1964.)
That means a '57 duct won't fit as the wiper motor is in the way of the two center vents.
My original ducts were formed cardboard. (true) Since the windshield seal dried out it allowed water to pour in above the dash and soak the duct system till it was sagging. Came out in bits and pieces, only saved a portion of one side.

The thing that galls me is that the 1957 sedan and t-bird ducts were formed sheet metal. The '58 Thunderbird (completely different animal) was also formed sheet metal. Why the '58 Sedans got paper is a mystery unless they knew that the '59's were slightly different and didn't want to re-tool for one year only.
And.... no, I never found any info or ducts from a '59 for comparison.

Sorry for the long winded explanation. But that is how it is.

Now... the duct currently making it's way to me is from a '57. That means I have to remove the center two vents, of which there are six total, and put a "V" cut into the center to make room for the wiper motor. It appears that I can still retain the 4 stock dash attachment holes.
Whether I solder or pop rivet new sheet metal patches inside the cut out "V" doesn't matter much to me as long as it is sealed up allowing the air pressure to remain inside is the key.
So... that's the plan. Course I'll take pics and post progress during the next couple weeks.

 

did you check www.macsautoparts.com ?

 

Yeah, did you before you suggested it?
I mean, with much trepidation I went ahead and punched in the necessary parameters and came up with ...... bupkiss (nothing).

I have searched ebay, the internet and many other sites looking for parts to my unloved and bastard stepchild of FoMoCo to no avail.

It seems that only the '57 is the favorite for some reason....

 

The mailman finally delivered it! Here it is in all it's sheet metal goodness.

What you are looking at is a fresh out of the box 1957 Ford defroster duct. The little light tan colored piece above is all that is left of the original "molded in cardboard" '58 duct system. (The rest was like wet tissue paper and I tossed it.)
It has 6 outlets that feed the trim rail dispersing warmed air evenly all over the window glass from edge to edge.
The problem is that in '58 some bright engineer decided to move the wiper motor away from the firewall to under the dash where it stayed till...... '69 I guess.
What that meant to me and my car was that the center two ducts would be in the way of the wiper motor. ('58 only had 4 ducts holes)

A little quick measuring and 30 minutes with the pneumatic nibbler....

Problem was... it was too quick. Turns out that I didn't leave enough room for the wiper motor by 2 inches. Only solution was to cut the duct into three parts and seal them up into Left, Right and a "Y" section in the middle with rubber hoses connecting.
For instance, here is the drivers side.


All installed in the car with the "Y" piece in the middle. Not happy with the little pucker in the rubber. Try as I could I can't get that out and it does restrict the airflow somewhat to the passenger side. But then, I don't sit over there so... hell with it, I'm tired and my fingers are bleeding.


While I had the tools out, decided to put the NOS glove box in. (Yup, the old one rotted away just like the defroster ducts.) Nice to have a place for a couple old tapes finally.

Now, where did I set that beer can down at?

 

Nicely done, Jairus!
I bet that little wrinkle will get smoothed out eventually...something tells me you won't let it live under there like that.

Good work!

 

Well, I spent the afternoon painting some of the trim. The color is suppose to be Bali Bronze. While I purchase a Ditzler color sheet off eBay, seems that color formula no longer exists. So the attendant called his supervisor, who called the factory to see if there was a formula for a close option.
It's really not even close.
But, it's pretty and eventually I plan to repaint all the interior bits anyway.... so close is as close does.



The package of coiled rubber is the dash to deflector seal that runs from "A" pillar to "A" pillar making sure the warmed air hits the windshield.
Incidentally, even tho there was snow on the ground, blue sky and warm sunshine remained above, so I ran a bunch of errands with Queen's "Night at the Opera" in the 8-track player. Another good day!



(Really need to paint that dash board.... but ooowwweee the masking and problems that entails.)

 

No...I didnt

I aint that good.....i was just suggesting

and heres another....try actual duct hose instead of the rubber...it might...i say might....work better

www.oldairproducts.com ....and i know they have it

 

I looked and found it Rev! Wire duct will indeed work more logically.
Lots of other great bits there I think will help as well including a hot water shut off for the summer. Thank you!

 

Thanks for the update Jairus! Good luck sealing everything up and getting heat where you want it, I know you'll report back. Love the .

 

I had a loooonnnggg day yesterday. Spent over 6 hours helping two other people with their projects and when I finally got a few minutes to myself it was after 3pm.
First off, before I was through with my second cup of coffee, Mark Adams and I moved his new wagon into storage for drying out.
This is a 1964 fully loaded Impala wagon.

327 V8,Factory air, 3rd row rear seat, power steering and brakes, deluxe red interior on white exterior. It was pretty nice when new. Now... not so much.

But, the body work is fairly straight and little rust that needs fixed. This wagon will be come Rat Hole #3 in the business and we have been trying to figure how to keep the patina.

But... the pass rear pillar needs a patch and the front fender... and then pull out a couple dents... and next thing you know we are painting it. But first, we need to gut the rotting seats, carpet and door panels. If the floor seems solid we proceed. If rusted out, (and seems solid) we can always part it out and make back our small investment.



Anyway, back to my project.... Rat Hole #2.

The mail man brought the newly rebuilt wiper motor and it was BEAUTIFUL!
Freaking beautiful to be exact! After three I cracked a beer and started wrenching on the wagon.

Motor was rebuilt by the WiperMan.COM and I recommend their work. They provide a 3 year warrenty and even on a dry windshield the arms have two distinct and very powerful speeds. Plus the system parks perfectly when switched off. No vacuum leaks appear to be present and no need for a vacuum tank or booster installed. A huge win!!!

Also got the windshield trim re-installed. Feels good to have that back finally.

The trim to dash seal is quite difficult to install if you are wondering. Might be easier in the warm sun but the weather here was mid 40's yesterday sooo....

Anyway, next step is to find a 6 X 9" speaker and re-install the AM radio. Should be ready for the show next weekend.

 

Wash yer mouth out with soap Jairus!:banghead3:
we can always part it out and make back our small investment
That's a decent looking station wagon.

Never did like those vacuum motors. They suck!

The hula girl in my wagon has a white skirt but I'm gonna have to toss her. The skirt is shedding. I'm afraid I'm gonna end up with a neekid girl on the dash!

 

Whoa! You have some NICE Rat Hole cars! Love your wagon and love that Chevy!

 

Did you see what he wrote silverfox? We need to talk to that boy!

we can always part it out and make back our small investment