• NAXJA is having its 18th annual March Membership Drive!!!
    Everyone who joins or renews during March will be entered into a drawing!
    More Information - Join/Renew
  • Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

Resurrecting a barn relic..... '48 Ford Special Deluxe Tudor

YELLAHEEP

NAXJA Forum User
Went to buy this cool '67 Squareback custom "truck" since I would be out in Nebraska near it for Thanksgiving. My cousin's boss built it 3 years earlier and sold it. $1500 engine, tons of new parts. Current owner fried the ignition a year ago, it sat for a year and wants it gone. Long story short...... it was a rusty bondo bucket with rotten tires. Pass.

00H0H_bPk3gF8ipXC_600x450_zpsjtwtse0i.jpg


Well, I didn't wanna go home with an empty trailer! So......

Saw this pic in a Nebraska craigs ad....... '48 Ford Tudor Super Deluxe 8 cyl. In a barn since '72, runner driver when parked, $1995 asking.

00Q0Q_PstLOsNnwR_600x450_zpsuwpsgjuq.jpg


Ventured out in 20 degree temps and freezing rain to go look at it. Rougher than expected but VERY complete, with title but no keys. It's got 2" of ice all over it but what was visible just screamed rat rod. Guy says no reason the engine shouldn't turn.

No keys, can't get into the trunk. No biggie, probably full of mouse carcasses anyway. Hood release cable (yeah, that's correct) is seized, no getting under the hood, ice was probably gonna make that impossible anyway. I'm sure it'll turn, after all, it's been in a barn for 40 + years right?

Doors open fine but lower door sills are rusty and floors aren't great.......but ok we'll just put down sheet metal road signs for floors anyway right?

What the hell, the guy is willing to take less than half his asking price, had to grab it right?

Now, the ground is covered in ice, trailer deck is a sheet of ice, the front wheels don't rotate as the drums are seized. I'm sure some plywood on the ladder style trailer ramps and this beast should slide right up onto the trailer with moderate effort from the frozen winch and battery.....right?

OK and the yard is angled down hill and to the left....... Yeah, perfect conditions all around.

Well the beast slides left off the ramps, left front tire busts the trailer tail light. Awesome.

Have the guy use his truck as a pivot with straps going from each axle on the passenger side to his receiver hitch as I winch. It wasn't pretty but was successful. 1 1/2 hrs later I'm on the road headed home.

No photos of all that hilarity, too cold and in a hurry to get going.

Stop for lunch a couple hours later, much of the ice has melted from the top surfaces..... Damn. It's RUSTY. 40 years of barn dirt layered on it have decayed the hood and pass fender surfaces badly, flaking rust. Put my knuckle through the worst spot. And then I look at the roof, it's solid..... but has a massive dent. Dammit.

IMG_20151128_132939193_HDR_zpsfflsgxki.jpg


Probably gonna find the engine seized at this rate.......IF I can get the hood open.

Might be best to just cut it up into car-art.

Damn my impulsive vehicular A.D.D. :banghead: :laugh:
 
Last edited:
Re: The Colorado BS thread

For that much trouble you could have had this cream puff!

004-4.jpg


It was parked alongside a garage, across the road from Sand Creek. The plates expired in 1984.

You could not call it a "Rat Rod." The local wildlife added it's own touches to customizing the interior, making it a "Raccoon Rod." Never mind the trees, flat tires, or the fact it has sunk to the floor pans. You would need a Haz-Mat suit to clean out the interior. Not that there is anything wrong with shredded upholstery, Raccoon scat, and a clean(ed) skull about the size of a small dog, or a big Raccoon...
 
Re: The Colorado BS thread

Hey, I can say no...... I left the VW behind...... I'm ok right?

Right?

:dunce:
 
Re: The Colorado BS thread

Acknowledging a problem is the first step on the road to recovery.
 
Re: The Colorado BS thread

I recovered a '48 Ford...... used a winch and everything!

:D
 
Re: The Colorado BS thread

Wow....... my '48 has a doppelganger! I wouldn't do the bright red treatment, but this is pretty much what I figure someone could do with it......

IMG_20151128_133014348_HDR_zpsbezpxq19.jpg

1947_ford_hot_rod_sedan_1_lgw_zpsxefqprt8.jpg

IMG_20151128_133002087_HDR_zpsockn0wo0.jpg

1947_ford_hot_rod_sedan_3_lgw_zpsisjop7yz.jpg

1947_ford_hot_rod_sedan_16_lgw_zpsbv35bgd2.jpg
 
Spent the past two days digging the nests and crap out of this thing.

I think I may have convinced myself to NEVER grab one of these barn relics again.... Effing hell it's gross. I'm not kidding when I believe I've excavated about 80 lbs of dirt, gravel, dust, mouse and squirrel crap, nests, bug and spider carcases and walnut shells from this thing. I was gloved up, masked, goggled and the fine stuff still got into my nose. Muddy boogers? Yep. :puke:

Got some old 15" Ford F150 wheels and some roller tires mounted up for it but holy keerap are the drums stuck! Gonna take some sledge massaging and a bunch of PB Blaster to get them moving. I'll probably have to pull the drums off and hit the insides with a wire wheel. I need this to roll off the trailer and into a spot at my lot and as it is, it's not a roller. The brake master is rusted stuck too so I gotta see if I can get the e-brake working. It moves but I have no idea if the pads are getting tight.

Haven't put a wrench on the engine crank yet. I'm considering pulling the heads off the flat head and giving the pistons and valves a good soaking before turning anything. Would be cool if the engine was salvageable. I tugged on the fan belt and one of the water pumps appears to turn as does the generator. I'm cautiously optimistic since the engine has been sealed up with the plugs, breather, dipstick and oil bath air cleaner all in place.

Worst of the rust is on the passenger front fender, hood, lower door sill area where the lower seal was, the trunk lid and latch area, and above the windshield. The trunk rust and the windshield rust are all due to mouse nests holding moisture. ****ing rodents.

Some detail pics:

IMG_20151206_141241727_zpscw0tm6ic.jpg

IMG_20151206_141250692_zpstxvsqxg5.jpg

IMG_20151206_141306722_zps7lianjyw.jpg

IMG_20151206_141301429_zpsq3maxtjr.jpg

IMG_20151206_141327731_HDR_zpslli3pys9.jpg

IMG_20151206_141344372_HDR_zpsqe3mdokw.jpg

IMG_20151206_141355980_HDR_zpsgwwbp8dc.jpg
 
Last edited:
IMG_20151206_141427964_zpsvqblaadc.jpg

IMG_20151206_141445598_zpsnbghe4lo.jpg

IMG_20151206_155517857_HDR_zps0yploufa.jpg

IMG_20151206_141059543_HDR_zpszsmanfz2.jpg

IMG_20151207_155228162_zps1kaxoffz.jpg

IMG_20151206_141139998_zpsg3gi0weh.jpg

IMG_20151206_141212229_HDR_zpsoxzauumv.jpg

IMG_20151207_173527726_zpsxdczgfo6.jpg

IMG_20151207_173540134_zpspuzlrdis.jpg
 
Last edited:
Progress.......

Trunk floor is better than expected. Body mounts are in great shape, just the driver's side of the floor and along the sill edge is swiss cheesy.

IMG_20151207_155246762_zpsqkfvtfpv.jpg

IMG_20151207_155309457_zpswvqio0ps.jpg


Turns out that the sill edge at the doors is actually just a carpet pinching piece of trim. The floor rust is non existent except for some spots under the carpet trim. The running boards are in great shape and solid. Lots of scaley rust around where the door seals sat wet but the door themselves are damn-near rust free.

IMG_20151207_155022047_zps1ytjrl2j.jpg

IMG_20151207_155032615_zps0rbsj6rf.jpg


The worst spot is above the windshield. The channel above the inside inside trim is crumbling and when I pulled on the next packed in there, it took a dime sized chunk leaving a hole above the windshield. Dammit.

IMG_20151207_191334978_zpswg1ox0zh.jpg


Dusted off the dash and hit the glove box button with some WD40 and it closes now. Note that this was a radio-delete car.

IMG_20151207_155045296_zpsytymvmeb.jpg


Found a newspaper laying under the front seat...... apparently the paper and/or newsprint ink is something the mice really don't care for, it's not been chewed on, pissed on or otherwise damaged.

IMG_20151207_174343170_zpsbgdlxynp.jpg

IMG_20151207_174404660_zpsowdap2j8.jpg

IMG_20151207_174327862_zpsogqihczf.jpg

IMG_20151207_174538771_zps2ye27jot.jpg

IMG_20151207_174630167_zps8hmmgc6s.jpg


Very surprisingly..... I only found one mummified mouse carcass, and NO coins or other currency. Found 3 pairs of women's bakelite sunglasses but they literally crumbled when handled. Back in the day, Nebraska DMV would publish a "phone book" of license plate numbers. Found 2 of these in the glove box, one for 1959 and one for 1963. You could look up people by their plate numbers..... crazy.



Now I've gotta get the drums un-seized, bolt up the rollers, and haul it over to the pressure wash to blast the crud off the body and engine compartment.
 
Last edited:
two things.... Is the newspaper worth more than the car? And, exactly how much were you drinking while in Nebraska?
 
Maybe Tom can show you how to work with lead to fill the rust holes. One thing about those old cars, they have heavy sheet metal.
 
Troy, give me a call. I would like to talk to you about your project. I ran across a tool you might like.
 
flamethrower?! :eyes:
 
Back
Top