Abe's 54 Rebuild Thread
 

Most of you know Old Betsy is in the shop to get some rust fixed, get a new "correct" 53-56 bed, and a repaint. I thought I would start a "Rebuild Thread." Here are some pictures I posted earlier.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...8f370ee4cc.jpg

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...d591bb9f00.jpg

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...79dd21140a.jpg

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...cfaa8ce7b3.jpg

Here is a picture taken today of my old bed. I have to get it in the garage where I will take it apart. I plan on using the boards, skid strips and the cross members. I plan on painting the the boards Meadow Green (with exterior house paint) as beds were painted body color when they came out of the factory.


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...ff2d438995.jpg

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...fb395b141a.jpg

Will keep you all posted as we progress.

Glad you started this one.

I may have missed this elsewhere, but where did you buy the new bed?

And where did you find Meadow Green house paint?

I'm looking forward to this one.
What is your timeline?

Subscribing and awaiting more pictures.:-drink

Abe ole Betsy will be shining pretty after the rebuild. What color outside did you decide on. I'm sure the team had lots of suggestions.

I didn't get it yet. I am going to the local paint store and have them match my Meadow Green paint chip. In the factory they just sprayed the whole bed with the body paint but wood expands and contracts unlike sheet metal. So Ax and some others recommended I get good quality house paint.

I bought the bed from Mid West Early Ford at the Spring Carlisle last April for $600. I just got the two bed sides, the front panel and the rear cross member. I will use the other cross members from my old bed.

As soon as possible. In my head I was hoping for May, but he is really moving on it so I got to hustle and get my old bed apart, get my seat out, strip it and paint the frame and get it reupholstered.

So it may be earlier than May!

I am keeping it Meadow Green the original color.

Thanks to all and I will post more pics as I take them.

Abe, I am looking forward to seeing Betsy in her new paint! I've always liked the '54, my dad had one when I was a teenager. What is all that white stuff in the photo? I hope we get thru the rest of winter without seeing any more of it.
Mark

About that white stuff.... Last year had lots of it. My snow blower was used hard. So far this year I haven't had to use it. Thought I would today but we got more rain than snow. It is very sloppy today.

Subscribing

Congrats! That's exciting, I'm also looking forward to the progress.

Factory correct or not, the one thing that really catches people's eyes on these trucks is the wood beds, in natural tones. I couldn't bring myself to paint them.

Yes, I know what you mean, but my oak bed is turning black after 17 years. So I decided to paint the boards green.

No doubt painted beds are more durable, but natural wood tones are more attractive. It looks like you plan to drive and use your truck as opposed to a show queen, same as me. With that in mind, 100% Tung oil might be a good choice. I think re-oiling it from time to time would keep it looking good and avoid the dreaded cracking varnish syndrome. And you wouldn't have to worry about scratches from real loads.

Just a thought on your bed floor. I was impressed when I saw on this site a rebuild
"Belle" 1952 F-1 build thread. This is an impressive build and they show very good taste. They used a Behr transparent stain color, Spruce. This is a deck stain and is a very good product. The color is good for a meadow green paint job. The stain may look good longer than paint and not show scuffs as bad as paint. You get to see the wood grain too. Upon seeing this on his build thread, when I get to the bed on Austin's truck I am going to buy a small sample size to check it out first hand. As for your project, work safely and best wishes.

I say paint 'em if that's what you want.........I did the shiny varnish thing on mine, pretty, but useless if you want to haul anything.
Looking forward to your rebuild!

It was in the 60's today in Central PA. I got a lot of work done on my bed and bench seat.

Bed Before:
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...1214ddf5a4.jpg

Bed after the boards and cross members were removed:
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...10127e780e.jpg

Then I went to the body shop to deliver new door latches. Here are some pics of Old Betsy:

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...1c6429ab9e.jpg


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...a15f023e20.jpg


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...d6955dd2a3.jpg

He is making progress!

While I was at the body shop I took the seat out and brought it home. I tore off the old vinyl cover which was in pretty good shape. I had that put on in June 1977 by Gibble Auto-Upholstery in Manheim, PA.

Here is the seat before:

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...e8e6177b43.jpg


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...a679ce9ba4.jpg


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...5ea1ee719d.jpg

You know how guys have found all sorts of interesting things when they tear apart their seats? Well since I have owned this truck since 1977 I knew I would not find any neat surprises. Well I was surprised when I removed the vinyl. Look who made it.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...60d10ba2f2.jpg

My last name is Stauffer. And I have been sitting on my own name for nearly 40 years! No relation though. Look at this sign I have hanging in my garage:
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...fcf8cda75e.jpg
And down to the bare springs:

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...7fefa28b2b.jpg

Next step is to the sand blaster!

What is the odds of that! Looks like you are making progress. Are you going with an aftermarket cover?

No I bought NOS original stock woven vinyl in the herringbone pattern which was used in 1954 with red vinyl for the sides.

The seat springs look pretty tired.

The springs on the passenger side looks like a wide and curvy bum size depression and the drivers side look more like skinny or more narrow bum depression.

The passenger side is where my girlfriends sat!

Actually the passenger side is in good shape. The drivers side has several broken Zig zag springs that I knew about,but I found out the steel stock in the front edge is broken and that may have put more pressure on the other springs causing them to break.

I am following your thread. Very interesting as I "intend" to start on my 1954 F100 this year. It has been sitting for about 20 years.
Elmo

Thanks, Elmo.

I just got my seat and seat brackets and tracks from the sandblaster nicely primed. No pics since it is raining cats and dogs here. I bought 3 feet of new Zig zag springs from a local furniture store that does their own re- upholstery. So next I have to rebuild the seat and then paint and then take it to the local Amish man that does upholstery.

Was at the body shop today too. He was painting my bed. So things are moving along. I have to sand down my boards and prime them and then get green exterior paint from the paint store and get them painted sonwe can put the bed together.

Wow, it's moving very quickly. That's awesome!
Now, get to taking pictures!!!!!

Yep. We need pics or it didn't happen... :-X06

OK, boys here are the pics of the seat after the sandblasting and priming. I also spent most of the day fixing the broken springs. I am pleased with my work but its a good thing I don't do this for a living. I am kinda slow! Here are the pics:
Here is the repair stock I got from a local upholsterer:
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...ab9d39a53b.jpg

Here is the seat back that needed two springs repaired:
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...4c10a80903.jpg

Here is the seat that needed a lot of repairs on the drivers side.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...f13a0b0030.jpg

Here is the from edge of the seat that had a broken wire stock.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...86ad8de5dd.jpg

This shows two support stock under the springs that were snapped. The second row needed some work too.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...47f40eeb9f.jpg

Here is my fix on the broken front edge:
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...891e722ccb.jpg

Here is a closeup of some of the repairs towards the rear of the drivers side seat. The zig zag springs I got from a wrecked 56 in my local junk yard came in handy here.They were really rusted but the blasting cleaned them up nicely.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...8dd0a32fd3.jpg

This is a picture showing you the passenger side end support. This is what is totally gone in the driver's side. it is all one piece. I cut a length of my repair stock but I now have questions as to how to bend the spring wire without breaking it or losing the strength of the support. I held the wire in vice and bent it with a hammer. This is tempered steel. And I dont want to get the wrong shape for the bend... Any ideas?
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...64c1ae01a6.jpg

Nice work Abe! :-jammin

Good stuff. What are those little clamps you are using and where did you get them?

I got them from a local auto re-upholsterer. They are just little clamps that you put the wire in and crimp it.

Nice job on the seat. That looks really good.

Looks great Abe! Keep the pics coming! Maybe see you at spring Carlisle ? Let me know

Thanks, Dennis.

I found out how to bend the spring steel. I went back to the furniture store where I bought it. They said I must first make the steel flat. You put the steel in a vice and use a large screw driver or crowbar and loop by loop straighten the bend.

I need 6 angled bends for my application. Same thing. Put the steel in the vice where you need the bend and use that large screwdriver to make the bend.

Easy peasey. If interested a chance to work on it this weekend I will post picks. And then off to the Amish upholsterer. Hopefully he will not have a lot of jobs lined up. His phone message said he is out of the shop until March 1.

Thanks, Joe. No not this spring. I don't think i will need anything. I am going to Ford Carlisle in June..... as a vendor.

Looking good Abe!

After a failed trip to the local junk yard looking for a seat for a 52 for a local FTE member, Bill (bhalemail), I went to work on my seat. I got tips from the furniture store upholsterers as I said above so I put them to use. I straightened and then bent it to the shape i needed.
This is the early attempt at my shaping of the wire.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...1ad9dbb195.jpg
It needed to be flatter as it pushed the seat up too high so I had to make the bends greater.
The rest of the pics show the completed wire in place and crimped in.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...70cca85b65.jpg


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...698b6370a7.jpg


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...e38696deff.jpg


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...f37a313e9a.jpg

So now wait for the Amish upholsterer to cover it.... Oops, I do have to paint the parts of the frame that will show before it goes to him.

Ha ha. That's funny stuff. Trucks coming along nice Abe.

Update February 29, 2016:
My body man is making progress. Went to see him about my hood hinges. I took one pair of used 56 hinges and a pair used 55 hinges I've had for 17 years to see if he thought they would be better than the ones on my truck. He was eating supper so I left them there and took some pics. He is making progress. I am pleased.
here are two pics of my new bed.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...7eb827344a.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...fc0ed5bbb0.jpg

Here are two pics of my rear fenders that need patched and my new front right fender.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...8a29c0f9bb.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...1427ba11e7.jpg

Here is a pic of Old Betsy all alone in a back part of his sprawling complex.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...ea04a1da56.jpg

Here is a pic of his recently purchased 48-50 pickup he wants to fix up and a pic of two Advance Design Chevy trucks. He has another one inside that he chopped and is painting for a customer.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...6b96f87087.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...7b0bec246e.jpg

Funny thing is, after he finished my truck in 1999 he said he will never do another old total rebuild... I think he likes old trucks now!