1946 Ford Fordor project

Ford folks,
Some shots of John's 46.
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John finished the 46 this afternoon. Still some small projects to do like maybe the fog light wiring.
Howard, the 46 is ready for prime time!

Regards,
Chris and Cheryl
 
Ah jeez, now I have serious dash light envy. I tend to quit once I have all the gauges working as I consider that a great accomplishment. Working under the dash is my least favorite part of our hobby.
 
speedometers.jpg
Gary, I think rewiring a dash is a form of torture under the Geneva convention. On Cathy's 55 Club Sedan the speedometer lights were really dim. Found one bulb was 1 CP (supposed to be 2 CP #55) and the other was burned out. Figured out why the 80-year-old previous owner hadn't changed them. Not easy. One of the things that got me started on the 42-48's as a 14-year-old kid in 1973 was the dashboards. I thought it was a really "balanced" design. I have NOS speedometers for the 42-48 if the need arises. Subjective but I think the gauges on a 46 are really neat with the painted numerals.
 
My next adventure on my ‘50 Fordor is rewiring it. It’s still gonna be 6V but probably an after market harness…….Mark
 
Folks,
I had the opportunity to drive John's 46 Ford today for the first time. Looking over the long narrowing hood is awesome! He revs up nice and I had him up to 50 MPH and the brakes were right there when I needed them. I only stalled it once! He ran good, shifted well, and had good power. I had to relearn the three on the tree quickly! A little rusty but we made it with minimal grinding!. I missed the turn signals as cars approached from behind, when coming up on a turn. But I was very happy the new wiring was making those new taillights glow bright red!
John replaced the wire from the coil to the distributor today. I tried to talk him into changing out the wire from the right temp sensor to the left sensor. ( the screw on the left side is in a tough spot behind the oil filter ).
So Howard the 46, has greatly been improved with the new wiring harness from front to back, and is a major portion of the cars improvement. John brought the car back to a good solid safe driver with a lot of hard work and some fresh NOS parts! Who's going to appreciate it the most? John and Cathy are next summer as they add another family car into their fleet of very nice Fords! I really think Howard could go to an Early Ford V8 club meet and have a really good time! John will keep you up-to-date as further improvements are made to Howard.
Regards,
Chris and Cheryl
 
Howard, let John know that it is only 600 miles to the Crowne Plaza in Springfield, Illinois. You could be there by lunch!

Ken
 
Ken, Howard is aware of where Springfield is. He was living in Champaign, Illinois when I found him. I found a service receipt from Oblong, Illinois in his stuff. What a name for a town. We'll see how he does, and I have some more things to fix before that happens but it sure could....it would be kind of a homecoming for him.
 
flatford8 said:
My next adventure on my ‘50 Fordor is rewiring it. It’s still gonna be 6V but probably an after market harness…….Mark
Click to expand...

Mark,
I used the Dennis Carpenter cloth covered harnesses on the 42 and the 46. Looks fairly authentic and easy to use wiring diagrams. The circuit breaker diagram was backward but other than that 100% accurate. When it was done, I thought money well spent.
 
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One of the odd things on the 46 is it has a King Seeley wiper motor instead of a Trico wiper motor. The Early V8 club 41-48 book mentions them and that service parts were not listed in the "Green Bible" published in 1950. I found a NOS one awhile back on Ebay. Nobody else bid on it. I may have been the only guy on the planet that a) knew what it was and b) wanted it.
 
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Photo of my 46 Tudor in August of 1973 and my dog. Paid $25 for that one which might have been too much. Life got better....
 
1942deluxe said:
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One of the odd things on the 46 is it has a King Seeley wiper motor instead of a Trico wiper motor. The Early V8 club 41-48 book mentions them and that service parts were not listed in the "Green Bible" published in 1950. I found a NOS one awhile back on Ebay. Nobody else bid on it. I may have been the only guy on the planet that a) knew what it was and b) wanted it.
Click to expand...

According to the Wiper Man, the '46 wiper units were mostly unreliable out of the box. In fact, he wouldn't even try to rebuild mine nor sell me any of his NOS pieces. Good luck.


I ended up with a New Port system.
 
Thanks, we are gaining. Ordered glass from Sanders to replace the cracked panes. One of the few remaining replacement trunk mats in the USA should be here early next week. The farm where I found the Tudor is still standing. He had a Lincoln V12 engine in the barn. It would be kind of neat if it was still there but I'm afraid to stop and ask as it would ruin the memory if it wasn't. I think I've mentioned before he gave me a 42 Deluxe coupe front clip as he and his brother made it into a stock car. Probably raced at "Hilltop" speedway near here. Later there was a bar there where chickens roamed the place. My Dad was in there the night the bartender shot the jukebox because a guy wouldn't stop playing a song he didn't like. Off into the weeds I go...ha!
 
FortyNiner, I know 46 is different than 42. On my 42 I installed a NOS Trico wiper motor, switch and hoses. The thing shocked me by A) working and B) working fairly well. Most of mine were pretty worn out by the time I got them. We'll see if I get lucky twice.
 
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Couple of NOS parts came in the mail today. It appears that the upper grille bars, rear fender boots (shields), and trunk mats for sedans are out of stock.
I did find a new trunk mat on Ebay and the guy has one left. No way to make one and have it look right with all the contours in the floor. You wonder if you tried to restore one of these cars 10 years from now if anything will be available. Maybe there are a lot less being redone than I think.
 
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Left rear fender boot ready to go on the 46. Already installed the right side. New glass is here so if it stops snowing, I'll move it into the heated garage and start that project.
 
Folks,
John and I check in with each other often. When he came up on the "pass" to visit today I had a family picture that I knew he would like!
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This is my Uncle Jack, with I believe his two vehicles around 1949 or 50?

John quickly described the car to be a 46 Ford that was well dressed. John noted that adding options to cars after the war allowed the car companies to make some money from the accessories.
Also John noted that service men got moved up the list to purchase cars after the war.
Jacks 46, 2 door Coupe has several features John noted:
- Fog lamps
- Radio antenna, added later maybe a 1949 fender mount unit.
- Center bumper guard
- Bumper extensions
- Super Deluxe script on left front fender under the head light

The house was purchased by my grandparents sometime in the late 30's or early 40's. I grew up in this house and it still stands today. I also remember the Chevy truck hauling grain in the early 60's.

Regards,
Chris and Cheryl
 
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Found a set of 46 bumper bolts. Notice the offset heads. To my knowledge they were never reproduced. Warmer weather project.
 
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