1958 Country Sedan project

Just finished reading your thread on HAMB TKE, very interesting. The first car I remember my folks had was an all white 58 Country Sedan, red interior. I think it was a V8. Therefore, I follow anything to do with these 58's like Jairus's here.

Heater cores! Ugh! I'm finishing up swapping out one in our '88 Trooper. Fun times! I found the heater hoses were hooked up backwards on mine so I should be getting much warmer air from it next winter over the last few winters.

 

Thanks for the great pics from Portland, Jairus!
That 55 Buick looks sweet.
That Nova doesn't look like a bad deal. Was it a solid car?

Are you going to add more grille bullets?
They're cool!

 

Jim,
Depends if I can find vintage bullets. Modern bullets are weak, thin and poorly made. Not nearly as nice as the vintage pieces.

Just to prove that I am from good stock.
My Dad was a low rider from SoCal back in the early days and he instilled good ethics in his sons.
Here is my dear younger (by two years) brothers project just a scant week ago replacing rusted body panels.


And the engine.....


That car is the one shown a few years ago in this pic of me and my mother:

Yup, same car I kid you not!!!

 

Jairus,
Was looking at the pic of the back end of your wagon. Everything looks lined up and gapped correctly, but the passenger side tail lights aren't even. Seems strange. Any idea why?

Luv your brother's Y block. I had a 57 with an ECZ motor and 35K original miles. It was going to be the last car I ever restored but I sold it when I moved; along with an original Paxton supercharger setup, a pair of 3 deuce manifolds, 6 strombergs, 10 FoMoCo deuces, a footlocker full of Holley carbs and a Hurst shifter.

In retrospect, I F'd up and now I'm settling for an 80 Catalina Safari. Go figger.

 

Sedan

I love them all. I also love the longroof T-shirt that I purchased from you!
I get many compliments.
Best of luck.

 

Vintage bullet-headed cop:



Modern what-is-this? (W.I.T.A.H.?) cheap imitation:


=

=



=
​

 

Fully jointed action...hmmmm.

 

Lets not give Hollywood any more ideas. I dread to think they'll invent a ̶n̶̶o̶̶t̶̶h̶̶e̶̶r̶ double-jointed dimestore bullet head

 

Thanks for the tip about the brake line. Unfortunately, I too thought of the rear main seal, after I had the transmission back in the car... Oh well.

BTW - I am jealous of your new rear bumper. There is a reason I mostly show pictures of the front of my car.

Regards,

Jason

 

Jairus - I also wanted to give you this link if you didn't already have it. Someone took the time to scan every page of the 1958 Ford Service manual and post it online. It has saved me a lot of work over the last few years.

http://www.oldcarmanualproject.com/manuals/Ford/1958/Service/index.html

 

Does your car have a Y block? If so, the rear seal can be replaced with the trans still in the car. It's a 2 piece rope seal and access from the back of the block is not required. It does take a special socket to remove it.

 

Thanks TKE, but I already have one. I have never owned a car yet that I didn't purchase a repair manual for, but this one came with the car.
And... I have always included every manual I purchased along with the car as it was sold.
Which is it should be.

As for the bumper.... while they are not expensive. They are quite rare and one year only. Good luck in your hunt as it took me 2.5 years to find mine.

 

Jairus,

Do you remember how much it cost for you to replace the window felts and rubber in your front two windows? I have no felt left, and both windows are cracked. It is time to put together a budget for the project.

Thanks!

Jason

 

Jason,
I am at work or I would pull the receipts and tell you exactly... but I remember fairly well as it wasn't that long ago.

The felts, runs and wipes came from Carpenter at one of the auto shows. So they charged a bit less than if ordered direct. But their re-pop stuff is first rate.
I believe I paid about $80-85 for both doors.
The door glass was cut locally for $50 each and I did all the installation work. Not easy to do... they look professionally done if I don't say so myself.

 

I like this one; however, I never ever was a fan of the flat black/primer color on any rod. I'm not an artist by any means, but I do know what I like, and I like that blue the car was painted. But, it is your project, so have at it and best wishes for it and your business. BTW, some of us Big Kahunas do wear up to a 5XLT....