1955 Ranch Wagon Cruiser

Thanks for the good advice Pops and Old Iron. You are correct, I need a new windshield.

As I'm getting towards the end, the budget has been totally blown and there is very little choice about the things that are left. A friend calls this the DARPA stage - there is no budget, you have to spend as much as it takes.

On another note: I needed to remove the glass from one of the vent windows to get the latch post installed, but I wanted to leave the other intact for the glass guy. Took me 2 hours to get the glass out. Couldn't find a solvent that would dissolve the setting tape. I ended up making a tool to scrape it out and alternated scraping with solvent. The one that stays intact has the glass nearly falling out. No surprise there.

Sounds like the story of my life. I don't have the money but I'm gonna do it anyway.

Hang tuff, you're closing in on it.

It's only money, you can make more of it!

I have found that if I don't save up for the big ticket stuff and then go ahead and get it when I have the money, I will continuously be putting it off. I buy the little stuff along as I come upon it at a good price while sticking back for the bigger stuff. Trying to save up now for AC, power steering, new glass and paint for mine. At my current rate, it's gonna be a while....

Bamamav said:

It's only money, you can make more of it!

I have found that if I don't save up for the big ticket stuff and then go ahead and get it when I have the money, I will continuously be putting it off. I buy the little stuff along as I come upon it at a good price while sticking back for the bigger stuff. Trying to save up now for AC, power steering, new glass and paint for mine. At my current rate, it's gonna be a while....

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The "make more money part" is what I'm worried about - I'd hate to have to get serious about working that hard.

I had the big stuff nailed pretty well, except I didn't include things like weather strip and glass, in the big stuff. I don't really have an answer for the rest of the chrome, either. Grille, tail lights, door handles, mirrors are all little stuff until they get grouped together. I was thinking about doing all the bright work satin black, but I can see that being a whole lot of trouble and possibly a maintenance nightmare.

Ya might have the bright parts powder/ceramic coated ??
They have some, remarkably close to, chrome now available.
If the body was a satin then satin black would be fine.

I was seriously thinking about doing the bright trim in black ceramic powdercoat, but there is just too much of it. So.....

I ordered a windshield; then had to decide on the gasket - does it get the bright windshield trim - or not? After looking at a lot of photos, the trim is in.

The trim needs to go on the gasket before the windshield goes in so I have been polishing stainless. After a lot of experimenting I decided I didn't want to spend 100's of hours sanding out all the scratches. I think I have a little under 200 feet of stainless trim.

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I moved the buffer outside and anchored it to a platen. I'm using a spiral sewn wheel with emory and a loose wheel with the green stainless compound. The green compound really brightens it up and removes all but the deepest scratches.

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I also got the vent window/glass run frames assembled. I'm waiting for the vent glass.

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Moving on to the trim that goes just below the windows - it has to go in before the weatherstrip goes on. I could not find any female threaded clips like the original. I got some of the male clips, but there is no room for the nut. So a T-nut and a modified washer look like it will solve the problem.

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Here's the door with the trim screwed temporally in place. The weatherstrip goes over the screw.

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The screws are just at the ends - the rest of the holes are push-ins. Those holes measured .280. The smallest push-in clips fit 5/16 - actually .340 works better. A reamer seemed safer than a drill. Tape is supposed to protect the paint - maybe it did. Brushed some paint around the bare metal in the holes. Oh yeah, did I mention that I "finished" buffing?

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Lookin' good DJ, so glad you decided to polish the trim...
just me but I think you will be much happier with the end
result......and the buff job looks great..............

It just keeps getting better and better. That's a boat load of trim but it's going look great when you get it all on there. Good choice on the buffing.
Hang in there and keep trudging.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the outside, completed pics. It's gonna be Killer!!!

I'm with the crew on the buffing!!!!!!!!
The paint is great

Looking outstanding! I envy the drive it takes to finish such a large project...[P

Thanks for the support. The polished original stainless is a good look and unique to most people under 40.

Polishing stainless has another plus, as well. It slows down time. That's right, it makes 10 minutes seem like an hour. It is superseded by sanding the stainless which makes one small scratch seem like days.

I was distraught when I realized I would need to remove the doors to make the hole for the wire loom (power windows ). Then I figured out that I need the doors off to install the weather strip. So at least now I have 2 reasons to remove the doors. I should do that before putting in the glass - don't need the additional weight.

Weather stripping

The door weather strips are complex pieces made specifically for 1955 Fords. However the doors don't get close to closing. This seems to be a re-occurring problem on my projects, but this is by far the worst. This is as far as it will go.

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After this pic. I cut the paper into 1 1/2" strips. Where it's really tight the paper will tear before it pulls loose.

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I figured since the WS is a type of foam, I might be able to use the upholsterer's method of shaping it by using a course grit. The 2" disc isn't able to get into the tight spaces very well. I later found a 1" disc and arbor that worked great.

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I also used a hard block to smooth it and tried a hot Xacto knife which worked on the scrap piece I had, but not on the car.

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Eventually I got it where it touches pretty much evenly all around the door, but it still does not close without a hard push. Not sure where to go from here, any ideas?

Trim

Some of the stainless trim is bowed away from the door like someone just pulled on it to release the panel clips. I noticed it was wider where it bowed out. This is an unbowed section
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Bowed section.

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Wider means the profile is also flattened. So, the bead roller with a urethane bottom wheel was used to put the profile back where it was needed. Worrying it through in the correct location several times resulted in a nearly straight piece.

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I`ve had that problem with the trunk seal on my cuda. I adjusted the lock so it would grab and pushed it further in a bit every week. Took about 1.5 months to get it to line up perfectly. I guess winter doesnt help either...

dutch said:

I`ve had that problem with the trunk seal on my cuda. I adjusted the lock so it would grab and pushed it further in a bit every week. Took about 1.5 months to get it to line up perfectly. I guess winter doesnt help either...

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It's good to know that it improved. I haven't tried to put the latches on yet. I'm hoping I'll be able to get them to latch.

I'm sure you posted the answer to my question but, who did you get the seals from?

I'm fighting the door seal problem myself and have yet to find something that works and suits me and my ARD. I've tried 3 different seals and currently I'm back to nothing.

After my trip to Albuquerque yesterday I need to get back to this problem.

Also the rubber seal for the crank out windshield is just a little better than nothing. I got the rubber from Steele and they claim it's the same profile as
the original. My question is did the original leak this bad? I'm almost to the point of doing away with the swing out windshield. But I like it in the spring and summer.

I'm done whining now.

Good luck with your seals.

Your weather stripping should compress from being used. Never put new ones on a car that weren't tight to begin with. Adjustment to the latch will help with this but it doesn't make the gaps that you have spent so much time on look that great to begin with.
And yes POPS. Your swing out windshield most likely started to leak soon after it was built. Same with cowl vents. Why to you think that many of these old cars and trucks have rusted out toe boards and cowl areas.
Nice job on the stainless trim.
Torchie

I got the seals from Mac's. They have to best supply of 1955 Ford parts that I have found. Steele and Dennis Carpenter also have the seals. They might work better than the ones I got, but for as much as I paid (Steele's are more expensive) I'm going to stick with what I have.

Pops, I have the same problem with my 3100. The doors will close, but it takes a lot of effort. Research on the web says that while the profile may be the same, the material is not. Most of the old seals were hollow, the new ones are foam rubber. At any rate, I think I'll keep massaging them with the grinder until the doors will latch.

My other irritation with weather stripping is the adhesive (I used 3M). It is terribly un-user friendly. It's as stringy as Mozzarella cheese on a hot pizza. The instructions say to apply to both surfaces and assemble when it gets tacky. Even doing 12" at a time it dries before you can get it together. I use an acid brush to spread it and get about 3 feet before the brush sets up. Some of the strip needs to slide into a channel - it's contact adhesive, it doesn't slide.

Anyhow it did go together, it all seems stuck, and the excess glue is pretty easy to remove with acetone.