No lights, gauges or ignition.? Were the headlights on when the vehicle quit? It's hard to say what the problem could be because we do not know if it is wired originally, or someone has changed things around. Is these two completely separate problems or one? Does it have original wiring? If not, what does the aftermarket wiring look like, nice and neat or a bird's nest. I'm not familiar with what components were fused originally on Early Fords, but it would be unusual on any vehicle for the lights to be on the same fused circuit as the gauges and ignition. It is not a good idea to add any other circuits to the fuse to your ignition system. Example, sometimes when a bulb burns-out the filament will arc to a ground and blow the fuse. That happened at work quite often , especially with the 1157 taillight bulbs' long filaments. You can drive home without the lights but not if it takes out your ignition system too you'll be walking.
Like "Joe 1950" said, you are going to need a test light or a voltmeter. It's nice to have both. The test light will tell you that you have voltage to the circuit but it cannot tell you how much voltage is available.
The first thing is to find the fuse box, if it has one. Hook your test light to ground and run the light down the left-side of each fuse (normally it's the left-side that supplies the voltage). This will tell you that you have power to each fuse. Next run the test light down the right-side. If you have power on the left but not on the right, the fuse is blown. Why it blew the fuse is where the diagnosis can get a little complicated, especially with intermittent problems. Just replacing the fuse might temporarily solve the problem but there is a good chance it will blow the fuse again and it will pick the worse possible time to do it. I would not trust it until I figured out why the fuse blew. Were too many devices drawing more amperage than the fuse was rated for or did a wire or part short to ground and blow the fuse? You were going around a corner when it quit. That could be a clue, maybe the wiring moved and short to ground. That just means the wires insulation wore through and the wire was able to touch a metal ground, instantly blowing the fuse. Most original cloth covered wiring on these Early Fords have seen better days. And people are terrible at wiring their own cars, never put a wire through a metal hole without an insulating grommet. Support the wires so they are not flopping around, keep them away from moving parts. run the wires inside a piece of protective conduit.
Crimped on connectors is another place to look. When I see those aftermarkets blue and red crimped on connectors, I assume they were poorly crimped and are likely the problem. They make good crimping plyers and cheap ones. There is also a top and bottom to the crimping plyers and there is a top and bottom to the connector. The crimping part of the plyers needs to be perfectly aligned with the top of the connector. Look at how a factory connector is crimped; it is not just a wire smashed inside a connector. The connectors' open ends fold wound the wire and then down into it. Factory crimps rarely fail. It takes practice with good crimping plyers to make a nice crimp. It doesn't hurt to solder the crimp too. Take your time when wiring and do job you can be proud of.
What if you do not have power to the left-side of the fuse? That could mean something like an ignition switch controls the power to the fuse. That is a common way to wire an ignition system but not the headlights. They are usually wired to work off of their own switch. If there is no switch to the fuse you have bad wire or connection. There are some factory brake lights o vehicles that the fuse will not get power until you step on the brake pedal. If you don't have power to a fuse try turning the switch on to the switch in the circuit.
I took College DC and AC voltage classes 42years ago. I finished those classes, then quit college and became a phone company mechanic, what a horrible decision that was! The first day of class the instructor said, "the first thing you need to know about electrical devices is they all run on smoke, because when you let the smoke out, they no longer run".
