What have I done?!

[Admiral]

Perhaps against my better judgement something followed me home the other day... I picked up a 1951 Crestliner!

Cosmetically, the car is rough, but overall it’s very solid and, more importantly, complete. For now, I call it the Rustliner. Nearly everything is there unlike my first early Ford restoration, which required more searching and scrounging for parts than I would have liked. And so begins the long process of bringing this machine back to life, but I look forward to the challenge!

 

[FlatheadTed]

WOW good on you ,great challenge there ,there was one done here in a similar state ,

 

[Seth Swoboda]

I like the Crestliners. A friend of mine locally has one. I've worked on it and driven it. You have a nice example to start with.

 

[95476]

Looks good,
Being productive is healthy.
It sure beats sitting in front of the TV watching all the talking heads argue.

 

[mercman from oz]

Congratulations. They are great looking cars and were discontinued part-way through the model year, when they were replaced by the all-new Victoria.

 

[34pickup]

Question; What all were the differences in the Crestliner and a regular 2 door sedan other than the name plate and the side trim?

 

[Tinker]

Little parts add up. Something to be said about being all there. Rockers are always rusted out. Less body work the better though and it looks minimal.


Nice project!


.

 

[tubman]

Question; What all were the differences in the Crestliner and a regular 2 door sedan other than the name plate and the side trim?

I believe most of them had vinyl (or similar) tops, also, I think they also had special steering wheels with a stylized "F" in the middle (supposedly sourced from "Frazer" surplus).

Sorry to say that car has a lot of rust (witness the sizeable holes in the rockers and bottoms of the quarter panels). Plus those fancy stainless trim panels on the rear of the front fenders can cover a multitude of sins. The upper grille surrounds and the taillight trim also appear to be missing and can be hard to find. Hopefully, all of that stuff is in the trunk. Luckily, the special Crestliner trim appears to be complete. When I did my car in the late eighties, the regular Custom trim was easy to find NOS and relatively cheap. I haven't looked for any lately.

 

[19Fordy]

Here's a Crestliner wheel. Limeworks sells them.

Before you commit to restoring your Crestliner you might want to compare what you can "buy one done" for as opposed to what your restoration will cost. Plus, the time. The price of 50's cars is dropping each year as the market fades away. Parts are drying up and restoration costs are soaring. You will end up spending more money on restoration than what a #1 51 Ford convertible or Crestliner would have cost. For example:
https://www.carsforsale.com/1951-ford-crestline-for-sale-C1041074
Very seriously reconsider what you are contemplating.

 

[RalphM]

“Very seriously reconsider what you are contemplating.”

If you have the time and $, why not? They are certainly not making any more of these. Always a good ing to have one more on the road.

 

[19Fordy]

“Very seriously reconsider what you are contemplating.”

If you have the time and $, why not? They are certainly not making any more of these. Always a good ing to have one more on the road.

Yes Ralph, you have a good points. If time and money is available OP is "good to go". Plus, there's always the personal satisfaction of restoring your own car. It's a wonderful feeling of accomplishment.
However, just wanted OP to be aware that restoration costs today can surprisingly hit mega bucks (never to be recouped) in a heartbeat. That's why it's best to save up enough money to buy the best condition car you can afford at the outset. Resurrecting a rusted hulk with missing parts can be very expensive.

I wish the OP all the very best of success.

 

[RalphM]

As Clint Eastwood said “ A man’s got to know his limitations “

I know this is beyond mine

 

[Ken Henry]

Here's an album including rust repair pictures on my 51 deluxe. You have the advantage of the problem areas being apparent. Mine were lurking under 1970s fiberglass body work... Good luck! Ken


https://flic.kr/s/aHsjkqrJnt

 

[Admiral]

Yes Ralph, you have a good points. If time and money is available OP is "good to go". Plus, there's always the personal satisfaction of restoring your own car. It's a wonderful feeling of accomplishment.
However, just wanted OP to be aware that restoration costs today can surprisingly hit mega bucks (never to be recouped) in a heartbeat. That's why it's best to save up enough money to buy the best condition car you can afford at the outset. Resurrecting a rusted hulk with missing parts can be very expensive.

I wish the OP all the very best of success.

Thanks, 19Fordy! You certainly make valid points about buying one of these cars already completed. But for me it's as much about the journey as it is the destination.

Not that this Crestliner is some rotted-out hulk, it's actually very solid (rockers notwithstanding, though it did come with a pair of NOS replacement rockers so hooray for that!), but it's fun bringing an old car back to life. I have a decent skill set and shop space that enables me to do this without taking out a second mortgage. The '36 I restored was in far, Far, FAR worse shape than this shoebox. If I could get that thing roadworthy I can do practically anything!

 

[Admiral]

Here's an album including rust repair pictures on my 51 deluxe. You have the advantage of the problem areas being apparent. Mine were lurking under 1970s fiberglass body work... Good luck! Ken


https://flic.kr/s/aHsjkqrJnt

Beautiful work! Looks like your '51 was quite a project.

 

[flatford8]

Good for you on the attempt to make it go again!!!!.....Love Shoeboxes!!!...Mark

 

[Tinker]

You could always get the mechanical part solid and just drive it. Not every car needs to be show quality. If you are a factory restorer dude. Get all the mechanical working and drive (stop/go).



If someone ask you if you are going to paint it (and mostly they are body guys or into street rod cars). Say it's done. Worst sincero is someone makes it a streetrod or a rat rod. If not they have a good start. Just have fun in your own way.

 

[LBs 37V8]

So you need another project, lol! Good for you. I’m sure it’ll look just as good as the ‘36!

 

[AlexLohmann1]

I like the Crestliners. A friend of mine locally has one. I've worked on it and driven it. You have a nice example to start with.

Admiral, as Seth mentioned he's worked on this crestliner with me for my family.

It is for sale if you're interested. Ready to roll!

Hop in press the gas pedal and hang on!

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[Darrell S]

Admiral, as Seth mentioned he's worked on this crestliner with me for my family.

It is for sale if you're interested. Ready to roll!

Hop in press the gas pedal and hang on!

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Temptation is a terrible thing, how much?