Thought I should get busy and get started with the build thread for my 63 wagon. Got this crazy idea one day and decided to do a 63 wagon, as I really liked the fins going down the side, so sexy, PLUS, ford never made a 2-door wagon in the 63-65 bodystyle. You may have noticed a lot of the late model cars coming out, now have a hint of that body line, what was once old is now new again!! That reminds me of my old 55 F100, it had a push button start....now, the new cars have that feature???? Whats so new about that? Ha!!!! So anyway, bear with me as I get the pics rounded up and dont be afraid to give feedback, as I like that!! Good OR bad. Got the car home from Albuquerque(sp?) And the donor car from Casper, Wy.
Heres a few pics of the wagon being cut apart, the center pillar was removed and I couldnt wait to get that door installed!! Was pretty gung ho about this back in 2011.
Now to trim off what wasnt needed from the wagon so I could get that other quarter and the "B" pillar mounted
Now, do the same thing for the passenger side and get it all welded up!! Sure wish it was a s easy as it sounds, lol Gonna be a cool ride IF it ever gets done!!
the drivetrain is from a 91 Grand Marquise with 89K miles on it, 5.0 EFI w/ AOD, should be real nice, have the ron francis EFI harness in and ready to be finish wrapped. Gonna just super clean the engine and trans, reseal and new water pump, etc, and repaint. Donor car.......
I used all the original inside structure from the 2-door sedan, will have the roll up windows. As far as the interior goes, I think I will leave that up to the interior gurus, but will be using the same type inside trim panels. Couldnt see myself just welding up the rear doors...that seems pretty hokey-doke to me, I wanted the real deal. The donor 62 was in bad shape, turns out the only good parts were the doors and quarters, ha.
More pics, I changed the outer door handles as well, fox mustang style, with thumb arthritis its very difficult to push the buttons on some of those old cars. And I kinda like these 15" wheels as compared to the 17" mustang wheels I also have, havent decided yet.
This is an awesome build! I love seeing an idea like this transformed into reality! It's going to be one sweet ride when you are finished. Thanks for sharing!
Replaced the outer door handles, SO, I guess I'll replace the door latches, never liked the way the early 60's fords doors closed and the sound they made, "thud", so I installed latches from a maverick, and the striker plates as well, I did this to my 65 fairlane in 2005, and they worked great.
New shock tower braces needed to clear the intake plenum, and new saginaw p/s pump, goes with the cavalier rack
cant decide which tail lights to use, 56 ford or 63 galaxie? Think I'll make the holes for both and switch them out as desired.
Am going to be using an 8" dual diaphram booster from ebay, http://www.ebay.com/itm/8-DUAL-DIAP...UCK-HOT-ROD-/300803456966?hash=item4609487fc6 And the m/c is from a 90 mustang. The whole assembly was too long to fit in the space provided so I "notched" the shock tower, just a bit, think it'll work fine. In my 65 fairlane I used a 7" single booster and am thinking that because the wagon is a little bigger and heavier than the sedan, it could use a little more stopping power.
What to do with the interior so it doesnt look like a conversion? , well I decided to weld the inner trim pieces around the "middle" window together, and make one out of the two, think it looks pretty good. And I added some steel around the window opening to give it a cleaner look, and once the headliner is installed it should look awesome.