I just signed up on this site this morning. I own a 1935 family car. It is a Ford Phaeton unrestored, but working on the car presently trying to get it back in shape.
Was wondering who sells the most authentic horns for this year car ? Would that be Mac's Auto. I still have the original horns, but they are not in very good shape. We got one to work and the other does not. All the wiring is old.
Also wondering about upholstery and tops ? Do you prefer LeBaron Bonney or Cartouche or someone else ? I live in the US.
I am thinking of Cartouche for the interior because I like one of their colors, and LeBarron Bonney for the top because LeBaron uses "StayFast" material.
Would also like to know what the difference is between the Deluxe and the Standard models on the 1935 Phaeton.
Thank you in advance,
Car Girl
One of the decisions you will need to make is how you want to restore your car. Do want to restore it for show or do you want to restore it for your own personal needs(tours, parades,,local car events, etc)? Making that determination will have an effect on how much $ you spend on the car.
Personally I think you should go with the leather interior, which means LB . How bad is the original. I would consider just leaving it as original as possible.
Brian
I intend to keep the car as original as possible(including the brakes) and to use it for weekend car events.
The body and paint work is being done right now.
LeBaron and Bonney does not have leather as thick as the original. I am deciding on a leather look alike from Cartouche at the moment. I like the walnut color very much and I am hoping that it will hold up better over the years and (not crack and dry out as leather can do). I have a truck with leather upholstery that after 12 years does not look to good, but then I have not taken good care of it either. I have the old cracked and split original material. The original color a medium brown however is not very attractive to me. The car's original exterior color is black and the wire wheels are red. I will be staying with those outside original colors.
Do you know of anyone who had chosen CarTouche for their vehicle ?
Car Girl
Richard
ref772@yahoo.com
What color is your cars interior leather, and exterior paint and wheel color ? Ford did the seats in leather and not the door panels. That really surprized me when I took the interior materials off the car.
My top irons are intact, but the chrome was all but gone. I am opting not to rechrome them because the original chrome did not hold up to well, plus they will not have the original rivets if they are pulled apart. I am going to have them powdered coated in a chrome color instead. I am not worried about the car being shown for points. Powder coat can be chemically stripped off in the future, if someone wanted to go back to chrome. I just want whatever I do to the car to last. I might be able to get you a picture of the top irons, but my computer is not working very well.
Car Girl
The EFV8C/A is having two national meets this year and if you could make either of these shows you would probably see some '35 Phaetons there and you could ask the owners lots of questions. Good luck to both of you with your cars and I hope you enjoy owning them as much as I enjoy owning and driving mine.
JM
This message was edited by JM on 5-25-11 @ 7:32 AM
Tom
I am nearing completion of the restoration of a '36 phaeton. The top irons I purchased came with a set of drawings showing in great detail the order of assembly, fastener dimensions, etc. The drawings were prepared by an F.J. O'Brien in December,1968. O'Brien must have, or had a technical background as they are very well done. If you would like a copy, give me your address and I will send it to you.
Jim Wilson
My 35 Phaeton is cream with red wheels. The interior is brown and the top is tan. I am going back with the same color combination. I'll post some pictures of it (the ones I can find) if I can figure out how to post more than one at a time. The issue of taking apart the irons can be a problem. I will have to make all the rivets boing back together. That will also allow me to make oversize rivets where needed. Stainless machines easily and shine up really nice. If you decide to take yours apart, it shouldn't be too much trouble to make 2 sets of rivets while I'm making mine. I have a mill and lathe, so I do all my own machine work.
Can you tell me if the '35 Phaeton has rubber arm grommets on the front and rear braces that hold up the bumpers.
That is a nice photo of your car. It is wonderful that you can make your own rivets to put the top irons back together.
I am sure that to have my top irons chromed will be cost prohibitive for me. I was going to have the interior door handles done over with a nickel plating, but I was told that would cost me 40-50 dollars per handle, so I will buy new ones instead for 21.95. Just wondering how much are you paying to have your top irons chromed ?
Are the rivets you are making very expensive ?
Car Girl
Tom
Disclaimer aside, thank you for sharing a photo of your car and the Aussie differences. I hope that you are able to bring your phaeton back to life.
Tom
Let me know how things go with the rivets for the top frame.
I had a lot of parts chromed like you did. Just not the top irons.
Wondering how much it will cost you to redo the top irons in chrome with new rivets.
Car Girl
Are you very satisfied with their workmanship and price for chrome ?
Car Girl
I can't enchourage you two enough to finish the task fo rebuilding a Phaeton. Just last year we finished the 8 yr build of our 36 and it's a dream to drive around. Just yesterday we had a bride and groom in the back seat driving them away from the church. I purchased a complete set of top rail from Indiana. Cost us $1800. So if you have the rails I would do anything to reuse them. We had nothing.
Horns we also didn't have. We found a orginal set from Bill Randal in NY. We found him through this board. He can rebuild your horns I'm sure of it. Our sounds so orginal we love it.
If you have any other questions let me know. cal@wefrogit.com
A comment on the bride & Groom drive from the Church: I'm sure that went very well, to the pleasure of all concerned, but I hope the happy couple was family or friends. The reason is, if you accepted compensation of any kind for the service, you were basically self insured for virtually all risk, as your Insurance Company would disown you. I'm sure you will agree that a fat envelope slipped to you by the Father of the Bride could come back to haunt you in a Court of Law should something happen to that proud Father's Daughter while riding in your beautiful car.
Alan
Thanks for the encouragement. This car will get finished for sure. It was restored in the 70"s by my dad and I'm going back through it from the frame up. I have posted pictures of it on my website at www.richardfinley.com.