Hi Folks,
I'm new here but I am old as dirt and have been a Ford guy for over fifty years. A lot of my ideas are still radical and I tend to want to adapt and mix the new with the old.

My first car was a '53 Merc and I wish I still had that car. Since then I have had a lot of different Ford cars and trucks, both new and used.

Now that I have been retired for six years I have been working on three different projects, all Ford thru and thru...

I recently posted a short intro over in the Thunderbird forum because I recently acquired a '63 Bullet nose T-Bird. I have a special place in my heart for the "63 because that was the year that I graduated from high school and went into the Air Force.

I joined this board because I want to learn more than I now know about all things Ford as well as maybe help a few folks with some of the things I have learned over the years.

Here are the projects I am currently working on;

My latest acquisition and project is the '63 T-Bird See : Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket for a slideshow of pictures.

Last December I acquired a 1954 Ford.C-800 COE. See : Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket for a slideshow of pictures which are not in chronological order, to get an idea what I'm into with that project.

For several years now I have been working on and off on my 1953 F-100 project which has evolved into a massive undertaking on my part that is at present at a standstill due to technical issues I have yet to decide what to do about. For a collection of mixed pictures of various parts of the project see : Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket . I call this one the "Radio Flyer" because I plan on incorporating a lot of my amateur radio mobile equipment and it is also kind of little red wagon theme. There really isn't much 0f the original '53 F-100 left in it becauseit's a '53 cab sitting on a '99 Explorer rolling 4WD chassis with the rear end modifed for a '90 T-Bird SC IRS. The cab has a floor pan and firewall from a '99 Explorer so it bolts down onto the Explorer frame. It is also being adapted to accommodate a 3.8L V6 T-Bird SC engine which is supercharged. I have acquired a lot of stuff to go into this project.

OK, that's enough from me for now. I just wantede to introduce myself and tell about what I'm into so as to attract anyone else that might bo doing similar things with Ford products. I like to swap and share ideas and suggestions and I am open to all sorts of ideas and learning from others.

Later Folks...

Dave
www.daveboley.info

 

Hi Dave,
Welcome to the site !
I'm sure you will get a lot of responses on the T Bird.
It's the C 800 that I can share some conversation with you. If I remember correctly they came with a 477 engine and the sloppiest shift pattern especially going into reverse.
They were a powerhouse and fun to drive. Where I worked at one time we had a fleet of them. I presume it's a single axle and not even sure if they made a tandem . Isn't that the engine where they had two thermostats to prevent overheating if one went bad?
Nice pix , you sure have your hands full !

 

Even though I have a title, all I have and wanted of the C-800 is the cab. That is why I know nothing about the rolling chassis and drive train. I want to sit it on an F-350 or F-450 4WD Dually chassis with a 7.3 Powerstroke and automatic transmission. It will essentially be a toter for tag behind, fifth wheel and gooseneck treailers. The COE is temporarily on the back burner for now as I wait for a good deal on a rolling chassis. I'm looking for a wrecked truck as a donor. I have the title for the COE and that is how the project will bw registered when finished. That could be several years at the rate I'm going.

The T-Bird is the on deck project for now. I'm currently trying to decide what to do about the engine problems. I can get a good running 460 from a '77 LTD but I don't know if it will fit.