Duncan's (sort of) project - 1940 Ford

[Duncan]

I went to a local cars and coffee thing this morning, and got back somewhat early.  My wife's out of town, so I decided to get busy on the seat and got it ready to start making some patterns.  I don't have enough clear plastic and can't get it until Tuesday, so I am completely kicking back tomorrow and going to enjoy the holiday.  My neighbor and I will be hanging out in his garage close to the fridge with the beers in it 🙂

 

 

 

Edited May 27 by Duncan

[EDM620]

On 5/24/2024 at 6:49 PM, Duncan said:

fell directly on my hip

I've been blessed with having had both hips replaced (arthritis is a bitch) so know that pain

[Duncan]

7 hours ago, EDM620 said:

I've been blessed with having had both hips replaced (arthritis is a bitch) so know that pain

 

I was just happy it wasn't broken, tbh. 

 

Hopefully, yours are doing okay.  One of my very close friends just got home from the hospital last Wednesday.  He just had one replaced, and one more to go.

 

 

[EDM620]

1 good, the other not so much, many (horror) stories in that. At least I don't let it keep me from doing most things but I'm apparently rather stubborn... so says my wife 😇

[Duncan]

I spent three days last week just working on cleaning up the '40 Ford for the car show yesterday.  I washed it, used a pro grade clay bar over the entire thing, then polish and then a complete waxing.  I also spent a few hours detailing the windows and interior.  The paint looked nice and shiny, and the clay bar made it feel smooth like new paint. I've owned the car nearly three years now, and it was way overdue.  I have no pics, but there were nice cars there, and it was held in a big City Park on grass with a LOT of nice shade trees about the area.  It was a very pleasant day.

 

I had a message from someone interested in my 720 seat.  They came by this morning and bought it.  Glad to have the room.

 

I made this really large piece for the pleated area on the 521 seat.  I changed up the design on this one from the other two Datsun seats I did, and I'm also doing the back rest and seat cushion pleats at one time.  I really wish I had a shop and a way to make a larger table area for larger pieces.  It's hard to get this big ass piece through my machine and keep the sewing nice. It's not really bad, but I'm a bit picky..

 

 

 

 

I'm headed to San Diego one day this week.  I'm replacing the damn tire pressure sensors on my daily driver.  My friend has a manual tire bead breaker and I can replace the sensors myself.  I did one here at the house, and breaking the bead on one side of the rim is difficult without the right tools.  

 

I bought four OEM Delco sensors for about $75.  The dealer wanted $200 per tire, and the place where I buy tires wants $150 per tire to replace them.  I can probably do the other three in about 60 to 90 minutes by myself.

 

I hope to get this seat finished this week.. 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 3 by Duncan

[Duncan]

Man, super side tracked this week.  I had to do quite a bit of stuff to my daily driver.  I have a good friend who is a service manager at the dealer, and they always give me good service and my friend gives me price breaks where he can.  The prices have gone through the roof, so I did the tire pressure monitors and the brakes myself.  I'm not fond of mechanical work much anymore, but I saved $500-$600 dollars on the sensors alone.  (seriously)

 

I also need to spend an entire day on my garage door replacing a bunch of self tapping screws.  That have a lot that are stripped or loose.  It's a sectional door that vibrates a hell of a lot, and I'm always replacing bolts and screws.  It's not hard, but it's a pain.

 

Somehow, I found the time to redo this large pleated section on the 521 seat.  I had a very hard time pushing that huge piece through my machine, and I wasn't happy with the exposed stitches.  The new piece is quite a bit better.. 

 

Getting old and retiring is not for pussies.

 

 

 

[Duncan]

Been busy as hell on other things than the seat, but I managed to get a few hours in on it.  I hope I can get the backrest done in a few days.  Other than that, blah, blah and blah blah...

 

[Duncan]

I decided to put a more modern stereo into the Ford.  I need to get the rest of it together, but I found a great deal on a sub.  I need to modify my trunk just a bit to get it to fit..

 

[Duncan]

Hitting the 521 seat hard the last few days.  I hope to have it all wrapped up tomorrow.  I changed the design on this one up a bit.  I wanted to try some new things.  I did, and made a couple of rookie mistakes.  To be expected, unfortunately.

 

The good news is I'm picking up all my new steering column parts for the '40 tomorrow.  I also have all new power steering parts on the way landing near the end of the month. I guess GM went from the Saginaw type of pump to the newer type II pump, and there was a brief stop with some model in-between.  Of course, I have the in-between one.  I just decided to replace all of it, so new pump, bracket, AN lines, and reservoir. 

 

Hope to get the seat back done tomorrow.. This is the seat cushion.

 

     

[Duncan]

I made a glaring mistake on this seat, and the covers are going in the recycle bin.  Oh well.  I'm taking some time off on the upholstery for a bit, and turning my attention back on my '40 Ford.    I've been dragging my feet the Ford for a while now, and it'll be good to get these changes/upgrades done.

 

Now, where was I on this silly car??

 

 

[Rustbin]

Sorry to hear it didn't work out, mistakes are learning experiences. A tip for sewing over piping (or welting) is to cut the piping core back a little more than a seam allowance before sewing the next part over, if you are using a 3/8 seam allowance cut the core back 1/2 inch so it doesn't deflect your needle. Sometimes taking a break from a project helps a bunch too.

[Duncan]

The problem was I keep the old covers until I finish a seat.  I usually take a sharpie and clearly mark them CUSH or BACKREST.  For some reason unbeknownst to me, I didn't mark them.  I apparently looked at the wrong cover, and noticed the welt did not go around the entire perimeter, and clearly, I must have grabbed the wrong cover..

 

I now know that the backrest always covers the rear of the seat cushion as far as the welt goes.  Good chance I will always remember this going forward.

 

I can let a few minor things go, considering I was going to price this at $125, but that one I just can't let go out.  It was a stupid mistake, and it's another lesson learned the hard way.    I was kind of dejected about it yesterday, but I'm (more or less) laughing about it today.  Live and learn.

 

 

I'm going to redo this one, but I'm in no rush to get back on it.  Maybe in a week or two.

 

 

Edited June 20 by Duncan

[Duncan]

Movin' right along.  Took a few hours but the old column is out.  After getting the stuff out, we decided to replace everything from the end of the column to the steering rack.  Unfortunately, it was kinda done haphazardly, so the whole thing is going to be new.  I like steering even more than I like brakes :)

 

Also pulled out the entire power steering stuff as well.  That's all getting replaced.  

 

 

 

The last thing I want to replace is the headliner.  If you look in the door jams in the picture, there is some mauve colored wind lace.  I'm not a fan of it, and the headlner is the same color  I put black carpet in the Ford and it goes really nicely with the burgundy interior, so I'm going with a black headliner, as well.   If he doesn't retire soon, I'm going to use the same guy that did my back seat in my old wagon.  I'm too old to be trying to do the headliner in this :)  

 

It's nice to finally get this happening.

 

Edited June 22 by Duncan

[Rustbin]

If it were mine I would do the headliner ivory and match the wind lace to the upholstery but it's not. For ease of making it look cohesive, black wind lace would tie in the black headliner and if you have black carpet it will look totally balanced. Oh ya a working steering wheel would be nice too.

[Duncan]

I have been considering redoing the interior panels.  I was thinking about doing the upper part of the panels in ivory along with an ivory headliner.  I'd keep the pleated portion the same, and just change the smoother part of the panels.  I've seen that color combo used, and it does look really nice. 

 

My upholstery guy is really good, and he is a one man shop.  His waiting time is usually six to eight months.  I'm going to try to see him this week and get in the queue.  I'll have plenty of time to mull it over. :)   

 

We're currently waiting for steering parts to put it back together.  The guy doing the install is very meticulous, and he is making a lower column mount, along with a custom floor plate.    It'll be nice, but it won't happen quickly..  

 

 

[Duncan]

Told my wife I was going to take a breather from doing the seat and she said "riiiggghhhtttttt" 

 

Waiting for parts for the Ford so here's taking a breather..  I'm not really the type to sit around when there's stuff that I could be doing.

 

Edited June 25 by Duncan

[Duncan]

Ever since I bought the Ford, I have been looking for a new repro radio delete plate.  They have always been listed as a new part from a company called Vintiques, but the damn thing have been out of stock for at least three years.  I do a search for the p/n and description every other month or so, and they are still out of stock.  

 

I can't believe it, but I actually found a new one in Australia.  Pretty crazy.  I sent the Paypal off this morning.

 

When I did the wagon, I searched nearly every day for a new RHD Centerlink I needed.  I could only find used ones in Australian junk yards, and they were really costly, and I really wanted a new one.  Turns out, I found a new one somewhere in Texas, and it about $75 bucks.   

 

Anybody that works on old cars usually has funny stories like this.  Luckily for me, I bet there aren't too many 40 Fords in Australia..

 

 

[Duncan]

On 6/24/2024 at 7:40 PM, Rustbin said:

If it were mine I would do the headliner ivory and match the wind lace to the upholstery but it's not. For ease of making it look cohesive, black wind lace would tie in the black headliner and if you have black carpet it will look totally balanced. Oh ya a working steering wheel would be nice too.

 

I did talk with my interior guy.  I'm going with a suede ivory material with the burgundy wind lace because of the dirt factor.  The original headliner was a suede-ish material, and I would like to keep in the neighborhood of somewhat original.. He thought a black headliner would make it too dark in there.  He also knows a vendor that he recommends that can make one, and it would be substantially less money than having him make one in his shop.   

 

The irony of this situation is that if my car was running / driving right now, he could have got it in this week.  He's normally an appx 6 month wait..

 

  

[Rustbin]

I think the original interiors were done in Mohair. When we were doing the '38 we ended up using an automotive velvet because Mohair was too expensive. If I remember correctly it was done in burgundy too. That one was dark inside with it's dark headliner. I reupholstered the seats while my boss at the time did the headliner and interior panels. Premade ones are usually less expensive and more accurate than custom one offs for interior pieces because using an old one for a pattern makes it hard to be perfect. I hope your parts come in soon so you can get in on his next scheduling gap.

I used to do numbers on the seats and letters on the backrests to identify which part fit where, it was especially helpful on seats with lots of panels or when doing several seats at the same time. Sewing marks with pip st or sp denoting where piping (welting) starts or stops, also with zippers zip st and sp. I don't think zippers were used on automotive upholstery until the nineties so no worries on Datsun interiors.

[Duncan]

I do use a numbering system, even on these simple truck seats.  On the 720 seat I did, the boxing ended up being 8 or 9 pieces. That's a bit much for my brain to remember.  I'm using clear plastic to make patterns, and I write UP on the patterns so I know it's facing the right way when I cut the fabric out.  I also number the foam sections and write the number on the back side of the pieces.

 

I always appreciate you chiming in.  I need all the help I can get :)

 

 

[datsunfreak]

11 hours ago, Rustbin said:

 did the headliner and interior panels. Premade ones are usually less expensive and more accurate than custom one offs for interior pieces because using an old one for a pattern makes it hard to be perfect.

 

This is what I was going to say. Why not go premade? Can't get the fabric you want? Or don't want to do the install? 

[Duncan]

1 minute ago, datsunfreak said:

 

This is what I was going to say. Why not go premade? Can't get the fabric you want? Or don't want to do the install? 

 

I peruse the Ford parts suppliers fairly regularly along with some of the vintage upholstery companies and have never seen a headliner offered for a '40 Ford.  My upholstery guy mainly does lowriders, and deals with a place that all the local shops know.  Apparently, this place makes them to order, they even have a book of fabric samples, AND they turn them out very quickly.  

 

My choice of fabric, fast turnaround, guaranteed fit and lower price?  I'm all in...

 

I did install the headliner in the wagon and it went pretty well.  Unfortunately, my vertigo has gotten worse over the years, and looking up with my head back has become quite difficult.  If I didn't have vertigo, I would probably attempt it.  The Ford and the Datsun are very similar types of headliners and I'm fairly confident I could pull it off.

 

 The vertigo sucks, but otherwise, I'm pretty lucky.  I just need a little help with a few things these days..

 

   

[Duncan]

My wife has yet another new entryway seat.  She is chuffed at it's bespoke details.

 

[Duncan]

Finally.  I have been looking for around three years for a new, repro radio delete plate for the Ford.  I can't believe I found it in Australia with a parts store that specializes in vintage American cars.  The shipping was more than the piece cost, but after three years of looking, I really didn't care.  It's going to look a treat once installed..

 

 

[EDM620]

Shiny... 👍