Sections from a ’49 Ford dash...
Sections from a ’49 Ford dash were pieced together to create a new dash, and a centralized big-inch, all-in-one Hainline gauge was used. A Kenwood stereo and speaker system was installed by N.W. Audio and a kit from Painless Performance made wiring the car easy. The owner-restored banjo wheel is stock, and the column is ’39 Ford.
The firewall was set back 1-1/2 inches and the rear wheel area was slightly tubbed to accept the bigger wheels. Smoothed running boards, a custom fuel door by Hagan, a V-butt windshield, a filled cowl vent, and shaved handles and decklid trim all followed before Paul Reed (Plattsburg, Missouri) began the body and paint prep work. Reed and Eddie’s brother, Jim, painted the car using PPG Beechwood Green paint below the stainless steel trim line and a blue/black paint above.
Details that followed included Eric Campbell lettering the valve covers and adding the winged Mercury logo to the air cleaner, wiring up the ’39 teardrop LED taillights from Technostalgia, and bolting up the ’39 Ford standard bumpers.
Inside the cavernous interior a ’49 Ford dash had been cut up and sectioned together to centralize the gauge hole, which was filled with a five-in-one gauge from Hainline. Controls for the Vintage Air system are located just below the gauge, and the ’39 Ford steering column and banjo wheel (restored by the owner) helps retain the car’s old-time feel. The stock-appearing ’36 Ford window cranks control the electric windows supplied by Carolina Custom.
Bob Gossi, of Gladstone Auto Trim, used Mazda 626 seats to build the interior for Eddie, and covered everything with a khaki-colored vinyl. Dynamat insulation can be found under the short-loop carpet, and a Kenwood-based stereo system was installed by N.W. Audio in Platte City, Missouri.
Though he thinks he might have liked to have installed a five-speed instead of the C4, Eddie is very happy with the outcome (it does look better than when he first brought it home!), and believes the project was time well spent with his dad and brother.
Paul Reed and Jim (Eddie’s...
Paul Reed and Jim (Eddie’s brother) painted the sedan at Paul’s place. Using PPG paints, the pair sprayed Beechwood Green sprayed below and a blue/black up top, which complements the minimal use of chrome and stainless on the car’s exterior.
Eddie Lindsey has seen a Y-block...
Eddie Lindsey has seen a Y-block or two in his life (his dad, Gerald, owns about 20 ’57 Fords), so putting one in his ’39 was second nature. Gerald assembled the motor after Camble Machine machined the block 0.030. An F-code cam went in and an Offenhauser three-Deuce manifold was bolted up along with a trio of Barry Grant Demon 98 carbs. The Lincoln valve covers were painted and lettered by Eric Campbell, who also added the winged Mercury logo to the air cleaner.