1954 Ford Customline build thread

Many beads to roll on my cheap HF bead roller and couldn't have done it without my assistant (and wife of 34 years). This ain't her first rodeo either! She's helped me pull many a motor and trans over the years!





All buttoned up.....



On to the pass side.
This side was more extensive so I decided to pull the door for easier access. Built a door dolly out of 2x4s and some cheap casters I had laying around. Made it real easy to pull the door myself (didn't even need the wife to help) and it's mobile so very easy to roll around.



Cut out the offending cancer.....



Same issues with the right side body brace and inner rocker.....





Done....





Right side toeboard....



Had to replace the right rear floorpan also.......



Had to make the small 'under the seat' section outta 5-6 pieces because of the elevations....



I think it all came out pretty good considering it was done on the cheap!







While I was at it I noticed rust starting to come through the previous owners bodywork on the pass side rocker panel. I ground the old bondo out and found this mess....







Cleaned, derusted, POR15'd and welded in a new panel. A fresh coat of mud should get it looking just fine.



Next up is lay down some seam sealer and primer then I'll probably jump on the front suspension. More to come!

Got a couple more things done. Prepped and primed the floorpan and layed down some seam sealer.



Didn't want to pay $30 a tube for the high end automotive stuff so I picked this up at Home Depot for $7 a tube. I used a case of this when I painted my house last year and it's quality sealer. Good enough for my house, good enough for the car!



Done with the floors!



Moved onto the next task, pulling the front suspension which will be rebuilt.



With no front end I needed a way to roll it out of the garage when I pull it out for sandblasting so I built a car dolly using 1" square tubing and some casters I had. Rolls quite nicely!

I've been working on installing electric power steering and power brakes for a few weeks now. Finally got it all mounted up but no performance review 'cause the car is far from roadworthy, sorry. I don't see where there would be any issues, but ya never know!

First order of business was to pull and dismantle the '54s steering box.



After cleaning and inspection all needle and roller bearings looked to be in great shape! Only thing I replaced was the oil seal. For teardown and inspection I followed this article...
'54 Ford Club of America - Forum • View topic - Steering Box Rebuild

With the box remounted I made a run to Pick-N-Pull to find the proper EPAS unit. This 2005 Saturn Vue gave up it's EPAS. $66 out the door!



It's surprised me how simple it was to remove the unit. A couple of mounting bolts, disconnect a U-joint and a few wires and you're done. Took me 1/2 hour at the yard. Oh yeah....bring metric tools!



Get the steering wheel (I'll explain later) and make sure to get the 6ga power wire with the fuse and it's neat little fuse holder too.



There's lots of lists on the internet as to which units will work. I think with the Saturn units you need the ones with the metal ECU cover. Here it is for reference.....



Now it's time to dismantle it to the bare unit. Remove the steering wheel (save it)! Also remove the ECU. It'll need to be remounted and the wires lengthened. It's connected to the torque sensor by 4 short 22ga wires. Cut all 4 right in the middle and then solder on some lengths of 18ga to all 8 cut ends. Soldering is necessary 'cause butt connectors won't crimp to the 22ga very well. I added quick disconnects to the other ends.





There are many ways to mount these things. This way worked for me. I highly recommend dashboard removal! These units aren't light (25 lbs) and trying to manhandle it under the dash while designing brackets and such is best left to the young studs!

I'm also adapting power brakes during the build so I killed two birds with one stone here. I decided to mount the EPAS off the brake pedal mount so I removed it and made some mods. I extended the mounting flange and opened up the center hole to accommodate my new 8" dual diaphragm brake booster. Also, made a bracket for a generic brake light switch.



In addition, I reinforced the front section as the column will be supported by a U-bolt that threads up into the dash.



Welded a plate to the firewall for added reinforcement.



Mounted the booster and master. Here's what I used.....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dual-Diaphr...72.m2749.l2649




OK....enough of that. Back to the EPAS!

The Saturn column cover was 2" wide and if I wanted to use the '54 column it would have been a whole lotta work so I decided to just cover the Saturn column with a length of 2-1/4" exhaust tubing. I welded some ears onto the bottom so it bolts right on top of the Saturn piece.



You'll also notice I adapted the '54 turn signal housing to the pipe. Just cut it off from the old column, fabbed some brackets and welded it on.



I came up with a main EPAS mounting bracket of 1/4" plate that mounts to the motor itself at a 32* angle (same as the stock '54 column). Not pretty but it works!







You can see where the U-bolt comes into play. It's simply a 2-1/4" muffler clamp.



Now to connect the lower part of the unit, I had to cut the '54 column down to 13". Depending on your mounting procedure that number may vary.



The main piece for this conversion is the 16.5mm x 3/4" smooth U-joint. Took me forever to find one 'cause most of them are listed as 17mm but they're actually 17.5mm (too big). Digging deeper I found the proper one. Woodward Steering in Wyoming carries it. Part # 114/100. #114 is the 16.5mm 36 spline and #100 is the 3/4" smooth end. $70.

http://www.woodwardsteering.com/PDF/...d%20Shafts.pdf

The 3/4" smooth end is to be welded onto the '54 shaft. The other end slides onto the Saturn splined shaft. The U-joint has 2 small setscrews to lock it in.

I also made a lower column cover from the '54 column. Cut it to length, split it in half and welded some ears on that connect to the floor plate.

Here you can see the remounted ECU. That little black box up top is the 'Bruno' controller. The 'Bruno' controller is necessary because the steering ECU isn't receiving any input from Saturn sensors. The 'Bruno' controller sends the proper signals. $59 shipped from Portugal. Takes a few weeks to get here!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Saturn-Vue-...QAAOSwr7tZfvQP



The other end of the controller is an adjustable pot that varies the amount of power steering assistance. It came with a generic knob and I didn't want that. So I welded a bracket to the backside of my dash and adapted the factory choke knob to it. Works great!





Tidying things up I needed to cover that muffler clamp on the column. I chopped up the old column cover and made it fit.





Almost done! Wait.....what about a steering wheel? I had always planned for an old Cal Custom 3-spoke metalflake wheel. I plan to eventually paint the car two tone. Calypso green with a white top. No swap meets due to the corona virus shelter-in-place so I had to buy a new one. SoCal Speed had what I needed.



Come to find out that absolutely no one makes an adapter to adapt an aftermarket wheel to a Saturn! Remember at the beginning of this post I said 'save the Saturn steering wheel, I'll explain later'?
It's later.

Made my own adapter from the old Saturn wheel. The center of the wheel is aluminum with a splined steel insert that matches the Saturn EPAS splines. Cut out the center of the wheel with a Sawzall then trimmed it to fit on my bandsaw.







I wanted to retain the self cancelling feature for my original '54 turn signals so I removed the turn signal cam from the old wheel and welded it to the steel insert. The Saturn insert is a smaller diameter so I had to build up the edges with a weld bead to trigger the cancelling mechanism.



Drilled and tapped three 1/4" x 28 holes in the adapter to mount the wheel.



I used an adapter cover that came in a Grant wheel adapter kit I had laying around. Fit perfectly! Grant #4510.



I simply need to hook up the power wire and I should be good. The steering wheel sits just right. It's about 5" from the top of the speedo. I was even able to utilize the original turn signal wiring cover at the bottom of the column. Total cost was under $200. Now I have unobtrusive power steering that should work well. I think it came out pretty good!

I'm trying to keep a record of everything I do but I forgot to put this in. While the dash was out, I threw in a Newport 12v electric wiper motor and new bushings. Got it cheap from a guy who bought it years ago but sold his project before he ever installed it. Always looking for a deal!



Also blasted and painted the front suspension pieces. Got the bushings installed and picked up some Aerostar coils too. I bought an entire front end rebuild kit from these guys.....
http://stores.a-resto-parts.com/prod...-tie-rods.html

Today was a dirty day! Started out by removing all the factory seam sealer that Ford installed in the rear trunk area behind the bumper. It trapped a ton of moisture and the panels just rotted through. The PO decided to just bondo over the rust! Out of sight, out of mind!









After I was saddened by that, I turned my attention to scrapping out the seam sealer in my drip rails.





This just keeps getting better!

Also, stripped off the door weatherstripping. Looks like the metal work isn't going to end anytime soon!





Finally finished off the day with a bit of satisfaction. Was able to clean up the nasty factory gas/temp gauge cluster. Came out pretty good.

Little update.
Pushed the car out into the street for sandblasting the undercarriage. Put up a blast barrier and proceeded to blast the whole underside of the car.





That was fun!



Back into the shop. Primed the firewall, painted the framerails and undercoated everything underneath then reinstalled the rebuilt front suspension with Aerostar coils.



Brakewise, I went with '68 Mustang drums, shoes and wheel studs.



The Raybestos 1634R drums ($30 from RockAuto) fit like a glove and the wheelstuds from NAPA were a bit longer, as were the shoulders but didn't cause any fitment problems at all.



Next, I decided to tackle the rear pan/valance issue. It's basically two panels sandwiched together. The trunk extension and the outer body panels. I cut the outer body panels out to access the truck extensions. It was this bad on both sides.



Repaired both trunk extensions. I'll attack the outer panels later.





Next up, rear suspension removal. I took it out as a unit.





After blasting underneath, I found this. Trapped dirt and moisture allowed it to eat through the quarter from the inside out.





Now's the time to address it. With the rearend out I've got all the room in the world to work! First, I cut out the inner panel.



Next, I coated the inside of the quarter with POR-15 then formed and welded in the corner piece.



Finally, formed and welded in the longer piece. I just overlapped the metal instead of butt welding 'cause nobody is gonna see that. Once I seam seal and undercoat the repair it'll be basically invisible.



Turned my attention to the lower section of the quarter. Cut it out, formed a patch and welded it in. A skim coat of filler should finish that up.





In the morning I'll order all my rearend rebuild parts from Dennis Carpenter so I can get into rebuilding the rear.

Rear suspension finished! Blew it all apart and sandblasted everything...



Bolted a couple of lengths of 1" square tubing to the 3rd member and that made it easy to carry around. Set it on a 15 gallon barrel for cleaning.....



Replaced the axle bearings and seals, all new bushings, anti-squeak pads, spring clamps, etc.
Here's all the small hardware painted and ready to go back on...



I'm far too old to lay on my back and wrestle a 3rd member into place. I ratchet strapped it to the floor jack and it was amazingly easy to slide into place!



All new brakes and replaced all the brake lines and rubber hoses too. All back together and looking good!



Scored a brand new fuel tank from a member on another board who bought it for his '56 years ago but sold the car before he could install it. Got it for a great price too! Holds a full 22 gallons!



The '55-'56 tanks are a little different than the '54's but it fit perfectly! The only mod necessary was to lengthen the mounting straps a couple of inches. I utilized the tank straps that came with it then cut the rear sections off my old '54 straps and welded them to the new straps.



I'll be running the factory Mustang fuel injection so I ordered the in-tank fuel pump cradle from Backorder Bob Drake. Well, the fuel lines stick up an inch above the trunk floor. What to do? I removed the access door for the sending unit from the trunk floor then opened it up to the front of the fuel tank.



Built the sides then designed a box to cover the obtrusion.





I welded the back portion to the sending unit access door 'cause it's got a neat little flap that slides under the trunk floor and secures it in the rear and 2 screws hold down the front. I like it!



Next up is a full rewire!

A little more progress. Pulled the original wiring harness....what a mess! The cloth insulation was basically gone with lots of bare wire exposed.



Luckily, I found this at a garage sale awhile back for $25. The guy obviously didn't know what he had. The box was a little beat up but everything inside was there, complete and still sealed in their cellophane bags!





Mounted the fusebox high on the kickpanel and tucked up and behind the dash.



I separated all the wiring and ran it to it's respective areas. It's coiled up and marked and ready for connection.





Moving on to the next task, I pulled the windshield and back glass. The gaskets were toast and I needed to do a bunch of metalwork on the roof so out they came. Surprising how easy they were to remove! The windshield gasket was brittle so I just popped the inside lip off in chunks with a screwdriver.



I left the stainless mouldings on because they're integral to the gasket. I gently pushed on the top part of the glass while my wife held the bottom so it wouldn't pop out and hit the floor. Came right out!





The back gasket wasn't as brittle so I had to slice all around the inside lip with a razor knife. Did the same procedure. Pushed on the top portion of the glass while my wife held the bottom. Again, came right out!



Built a little stand using scrap lumber, electrical conduit and some pipe insulation. Now they're stored out of the way so they won't get damaged.



Next up is more metalwork. The drip rail and sections of the roof were rotted through. This was the worst spot. Cut out the drip rail and roof section. No turning back now!



It's packed with that factory sealer garbage that loves to retain moisture. Had to scrape that all out.



Did the front section first then moved onto the side section.



Welded on a 1/2" strip for the valley of the drip rail.



Next I built the face of the drip rail. Cut a 1/2" strip of 18ga and gave it a little tweak in the middle on my HF brake. That helped it match the contour of the original. Welded it on. I could barely get the tip of my MIG down in the hole!



Moved onto the side section and did the same procedure. Made relief cuts every inch or so I could make the curve.



Semi-finished product. Might not win the Ridler award but it'll do!



Had to do the whole front section too.

Had to backtrack a little today. When I mounted the '55 fuel tank I thought all was good and then I noticed the fuel door would close all the way except when the gas cap was on! So, today I pulled the tank and shortened the filler tube a little over an inch.





Fits like a glove now and the door closes with the cap on!



That's all for today. I hope I'm not overwhelming you guys with tons of pics! I just like to document and explain everything I do in the hopes it'll help someone else during their build. I've got a little more metal work to do and then I'll start pulling the drivetrain outta the Mustang.

Well the entire month of November was a wash! On election day myself and my whole family contracted Covid-19. Just in the last week I'm starting to get out and work on the '54 a little. Before I went down I got a few things done so here's an update.
I was able to blast and prime all the inner fenders, core support, etc.



I noticed the cardboard diffuser in the heater box was shabby. When I grabbed it, it crumbled in my hand! Welded up a new one out of 18ga sheetmetal. Yeah, I know it's upside down!



Moving on....prepped the donor Mustang for drivetrain removal and out it came.





Pulled the ECU and control harness also. They'll be integrated into the '54.



Separated the tranny and put the 5.0 on the stand. Now I was able to test my homemade engine rotator and it worked like a charm! The write-up on that is in the 'Tool Talk' forum.







Before I went down I was able to make it to Pick-N-Pull and grabbed a driveshaft from an '85 LTD which had the perfect length and correct yoke for the AOD. I wonder if I picked up Covid there?





Slid the motor/trans into place. This is for mock-up only. I need to decide where all the peripherals will be placed and determine what mods are necessary.





The Hedman 88400's fit as snug as a bug in a rug!



The donor Mustang's radiator was a new replacement so I decided to use that. It's a crossflow, thin and the factory transmission lines along with radiator hoses bolt right up! No brainer!

Another update. There's a million tasks that need to be completed. Just trying to methodically do them one at a time. More metal work. I had already replaced the trunk extensions but I still had to replace the rear valance panels that I cut out to get to the trunk extensions! Formed up a length of 18ga....



Welded it in.....



Ground down the welds......



Did the same to the other side....



Done.



Next up, the heater blower motor was right on top of the mass airflow pieces. Had to make more room....



Took 1-1/2" out of the lower mount....





Plenty of room now......



Next up is fuel lines. Trying to utilize everything I can from the donor Mustang so I pulled the hardlines from the tank to the fuel rail. I also used the factory Mustang fuel filter bracket. Cut, rewelded and flipped it upside down....



Turns out, I had to cut 5' out of the center section to make the lines work....



I was only able to use the front and rear sections....





I joined the two together with some NAPA fuel line. I know how some feel about unions in fuel lines but, I have a couple on the roadster and have never had a leak.



The nice thing about the Mustang hardlines is you can utilize the factory soft lines also and they hook right up to fuel rail with the spring connectors...



The engine control wiring was daunting. Not too hard, just time consuming....



Had to clean, organize and ohm out each wire then decide which circuits could be eliminated and which ones needed to stay. Had to shorten (and sometimes lengthen) a few wires but I think I've got it pretty much squared away now. I would have been lost without this.......



Got the ECU and power relay mounted and most all the wires run....

Mustangs had the data link connectors just flopping around under the hood. I wanted something a little neater so I moved them to the interior and built a box that tucks up under the dash with a removeable cover so the connector just drops down below the dash where you can plug in your code reader...







Keeping with the theme of using donor parts, I adapted the stock Mustang AOD shifter to the '54. Not sure what I'm gonna do about a console or interior just yet, but I'll get around to it. In the meantime, now I can shift the transmission....





Moving up front. I wanted to use the stock Mustang radiator but it was just a little to tight for the SPAL 16" electric fan I intend to run. Some surgery was required.



Removed the core support plus a couple of inches on each side....



I moved the radiator forward about 2-1/2", welded some lower mounts to the top of the crossmember and made the upper mount out of 1" flatbar which also ties both sides of the car together. Rock solid!...



The front pan required some notching....



Even made a couple of sheetmetal covers to cover the tanks...



Got my MAF and cold air intake fabbed up and mounted today. Used a 3-1/2" 90* to tie into the MAF and make the transition through the inner fender panel...



Then I attached my K&N cone filter and even made up a debris guard for it.



Also, for anyone that plans to run a serpentine belt and after much research, I found a way around the $300 March pulley setup. I'm using the stock '93 Mustang crank pulley, a Ford Racing short water pump (best price I found)
https://thmotorsports.com/42780-ford-racing-m-8501-g351-water-pumps-mechanical

and this AutoSpecialties water pump pulley
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/asp-820021

Lines up perfectly! I still need to fab an alternator bracket.



Decided to get a better perspective so I threw on some sheetmetal and dropped it to the ground. Next month will be one year since I started the build. I think I've got quite a bit accomplished in that time. I'm pretty happy today!

Well, it's been awhile. I'm still alive. Progress has slowed a bit but I thought I'd update the few things I've done over the last 6 months. Prepare to be underwhelmed!
I found the correct water pump serp pulley but I had to fab the 3G alternator bracket. For the upper mount 1/4" flat plate and thick walled steel tube did the job. The lower mount is more 1/4" plate. It's also tied into the block at 90* for support.





I relocated the battery to the trunk. I just used the stock '54 battery tray but I'll probably get a vented box later.



Can't say enough about these guys.......www.batterycablesusa.com
They have everything you'll need. It's all quality stuff, their prices are great and as an added bonus, their shipping charges are ridiculously cheap!

For the positive lead I ran 1/0 copper welding cable from the right side of the trunk to the left side of the firewall and attached it to a power post.



I strung the cable under the decklid, over the rear wheelhouse and through the rocker panel.



For cable retainers, I cut some lengths of 7/8" tube, sliced them in half and welded them to the decklid bumper supports.





The negative cable runs through the floorpan and connects to a stud welded onto the framerail.



Got lucky and snagged a recently replated grille assembly for $400! It's in excellent condition. My local plater wants $1k to replate my crappy original. No brainer!



Last month I decided to tuck my rear bumper. There was a 1-1/2" gap between the top of the bumper and trunk extensions.



A couple of 2x6's secured together and placed on a floor jack makes installation and removal truly a one man operation.



Just slotted the bumper bracket holes and it tucked in nice and tight.



My bench seat caught on fire at one point in it's life and is beyond toast. I wanted buckets anyhow. Found these sitting out on the sidewalk 2 blocks away. The price was right, couldn't pass 'em up! I think they're out of a Prius.



Fabbed up some mounting brackets.............done.





I'm in the middle of bodywork and prep now. I decided to attack the roof first. In it's prior life someone decided to dance the Macarena in the middle of it. After popping it back out and doing a little metal shrinking, I took it down to bare metal with 80g. It took 3 layers of Rage body filler to get it back into shape.





Next, I layed on a couple of coats of epoxy primer and followed that with 2 medium coats of Slicksand (sprayable bondo). Blocked that all down with 180g followed by 240g then, just today, I finished up with 3 coats of 2K urethane primer.



Remember the roof sections and drip rail that I had to replace? I'm pretty happy with the outcome!



All that's left is seam sealer in the gutters and a final scuff before paint. I'm gonna move on to the rest of the bodywork tomorrow.

UPDATE:
The last 2 months have been focused solely on bodywork and paint prep but I can now confidently proclaim 'she's ready or final paint'!
I thought I was done with metalwork..........not! It seems the OP had a penchant for slapping mud over rusty/rotted metal and calling it good. I ground out the bondo and cut out the rotted piece on the left rocker and replaced it..........







Then I moved on to the deck lid which looked OK but upon closer inspection.........it wasn't. Ground out the bondo and cut out the rotted metal........







Patched that.........





Behind the right rear wheel the OP had performed his magic. Noticed a small bubble in the primer, ground it out and sure enough........patched with bondo! I cut out the metal and the void behind it was packed with dirt and rust.....





Repaired properly......



At some point in the cars life the pass door had been replaced with a different model door, I guess. The body shop had bondo'd up the trim holes and they were popping out after 50 years. I welded 'em up....



Then I started the filler work. No action pics of that but you'all know the drill. Fill, sand, fill, sand, fill, sand. I was actually able to flatten each section with no more than 3 layers. I'm getting kinda good at this! But yeah..........sanding sucks, especially at my age! In my 20's I was headed toward a career in bodywork/painting. I'm sooo glad I bailed on that endeavor!

I stripped every inch of paint off the car. I can't say enough about BlackHawk strip discs
Chuck one in a 4" angle grinder and you'll be amazed! It took me 4 hours to strip the entire car to bare metal and I only used 3 discs!









Layed down 2 coats of DTM epoxy primer and followed that with 3 coats of SlickSand. Several days of block sanding got me body panels that are as flat as glass. My body aches!



Here's my arsenal of sanding blocks. The 24" long DuraBlock is an awesome weapon as is the pool noodle (picked up at the dollar store). With all the compound curves our '50s cars have, it was invaluable!



Once blocked, I layed on 3 coats of 2K urethane primer and called it a day.

Hit my max pic count so here's one more pic.
Ready for paint!
I'm gonna take a little break. The wife and I are gonna take a trip to the deep south (never been) next week. When I get back, I think I'll start tearing into the 5.0! That's all for now.