EPrevost | -- 05-24-2011 @ 8:14 AM |
Hi everyone, 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
|
|
trjford8 | -- 05-24-2011 @ 8:48 AM |
Car Girl, I would make two recommendations before you start your restoration. First become a member of the Early Ford V-8 Club. The V-8 Times magazine will give a lot of help with your project. The V-8 Club also has advisors who can answer many of your questions. Second you should purchase the V-8 Club's 35-36 restoration book. This book will give you some great information on your car that you will need for you to do your restoration.You can purchase this book on the main page of this website. 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.
|
|
BrianCT | -- 05-24-2011 @ 8:56 AM |
Good morning. 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
|
|
EPrevost | -- 05-24-2011 @ 12:36 PM |
Thank you. I have already ordered the V8 club book you have mentioned. I intend to keep the car as original as possible(including the brakes) and to use it for weekend car events.
|
|
EPrevost | -- 05-24-2011 @ 1:10 PM |
Thank you for the input. The car needs alot of work... 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
|
|
35topdown | -- 05-24-2011 @ 2:46 PM |
I am also in mid restoration of a 35 Phaeton - going back together. It was restored in th 70's, but needed a lot of TLC. My dad stored it under a carport. I believe that in 35 the seats were leather and the door panels were artificial leather. My car had a LeBaron Bonny interior and looked really good when we took it apart, so I'm going back with the same kind. The seats are still good, so just the door panels,etc. will be replaced. I agree with the top material. I will ask you something - I took lots of pictures during disassembly, but the pictures of the top frame irons have dissappeared. They were completely taken apart for chroming. Do you have pictures of the top irons as they are assembled? I would appreciate getting in touch with you to compare notes. I took my horns apart and got them working, buffed out the bell and painted them. They look like new. I did not know there was a delux version of the Phaeton. Richard ref772@yahoo.com
|
|
EPrevost | -- 05-24-2011 @ 10:50 PM |
Yes, there is a Deluxe and Standard version of the Phaeton. The car I own is not fancy, so it must be the standard. Just wondering what the difference is between the two models. 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
|
|
JM | -- 05-25-2011 @ 6:21 AM |
Car Girl & 35topdown, It would be great if you would both post some pictures of your cars. Maybe as they were before any restoration started and some of where you are now. Also, there are some folks who post over on the www.fordbarn.com website Early V8 forum who are also restoring '35 Phaetons, so you may want to think about joining that forum as well, and maybe ask your questions on both forums. 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
|
|
TomO | -- 05-25-2011 @ 7:54 AM |
According to the V-8 Album, the Phaeton was only available as a Deluxe with 2 horns and 2 tail lights. The Standard trim was available in the 5 window Coupe, Tudor and Fordor Sedans. Tom
|
|
EPrevost | -- 05-25-2011 @ 9:27 AM |
Thank you Tom. That is very helpful. Now I now that my aunt's car is a DeLuxe. ![]()
|
|
Jim Wilson | -- 05-25-2011 @ 11:36 AM |
35topdown, 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
|
|
35topdown | -- 05-25-2011 @ 5:12 PM |
Jim -I would really appreciate that. Email is ref772@yahoo.com. If you need a physical address, I can give you that in your email. I wil post pictures of the 35 before I started on it.
|
|
35topdown | -- 05-25-2011 @ 5:26 PM |
Car Girl- 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.
|
|
EPrevost | -- 05-25-2011 @ 9:05 PM |
Hi Tom, Can you tell me if the '35 Phaeton has rubber arm grommets on the front and rear braces that hold up the bumpers.
|
|
EPrevost | -- 05-25-2011 @ 9:21 PM |
Hi 35topdown, 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
|
|
TomO | -- 05-26-2011 @ 6:20 PM |
The parts catalog that I have does not show a grommet for the rear bumper irons. Because of the way the bumper irons mount to the frame, there should be no need for one in the rear. The front bumper arms pass through the front fenders and do require the grommets. Tom
|
|
35topdown | -- 05-26-2011 @ 7:00 PM |
I had more than the irons chromed. I did the bumpers & guards,grill,windshield frame, the dual cowl windshield, and a lot of little parts. The all the parts amounted to 3K with a lifetime guarantee. I had them done in Colorado. I have no idea what the rivets will run. A 3' stick of stainless bar should be about $40-$60.
|
|
danliveshere | -- 05-31-2011 @ 7:42 AM |
In australia the 35 phaeton was available as a std. They had a painted grill, windscreen and posts. Only 1 tail light and 1 front horn.The dash knobs were a different colour, and I think the interior door handles were different. The picture is my phaeton. Very rusty. Lots to do. dan
|
|
TomO | -- 05-31-2011 @ 8:29 AM |
Dan, I have no experience with Ford vehicles manufactured for export or in any other country than the USA, so all of my comments apply to cars manufactured for the USA. 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
|
|
supereal | -- 05-31-2011 @ 1:02 PM |
We have installed a number of interiors, and prefer LeBaron Bonney. If you have a problem, they know what to do, and will replace any pieces that tear or don't fit. I used plastic instead of leather for the seats in my '47 convertible, and have often wished I had spent the extra for the better quality. Plastic is very hard to get placed on the seat backs, and like any open car, the material gets very hot when the top is down. This makes the plastic less resistant to cuts, etc, while leather does not. Installing an interior in any car is a big job, so don't cut corners on quality.
|
|
danliveshere | -- 06-01-2011 @ 3:37 AM |
TomO, I've heard (but not completely certain) that the phaetons sold in Australia were pressed in Canada and assembled in Australia. We didn't sell enough to warrant the expense here in Australia. Only around 20 1935 phaetons still on the road in Australia today. All our motors etc were Canadian, that way Ford could market them as a British empire product in the Commonwealth Countries. At that stage we were mainly British ancestors and Ford had good success marketing the cars this way .
|
|
EPrevost | -- 06-04-2011 @ 10:37 AM |
Hi 35topdown, 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
|
|
EPrevost | -- 06-04-2011 @ 10:39 AM |
Wondering what place you used in CO for plating. Do you live in CO ? Are you very satisfied with their workmanship and price for chrome ? Car Girl
|
|
35topdown | -- 06-04-2011 @ 12:42 PM |
I've been making rivets out of stainless bar stock. The hard part is that the holes are not consistant even from rright to left sides of the same bar. They vary about .050 or so. so they have to be custom done one at a time in order to get a good fit. A set would probably run in the $100 range. I don't remember how much the top irons were since there was a bunch of parts. I am satisfied with the work done. I told him I wanted a good job, but not necessarily concourse quality. This car will be used for local parades, shows, etc. Not for auction sales like you see on TV. I am in Texas, but one of our club members used to live in Colo. and he told me about this guy. They were old buddies and he trusted him. If you will email me at ref772@yahoo.com, I'll get his company info to you.
|
|
calwestra | -- 06-05-2011 @ 9:27 AM |
Car Girl & 35topdown 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
|
|
ford38v8 | -- 06-05-2011 @ 10:52 AM |
Cal, you have a beautiful car, and my compliments also on the aesthetic photograph! 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
|
|
35topdown | -- 06-05-2011 @ 1:06 PM |
Cal- 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.
|
|
EFV-8 Club Forum : | https://www.earlyfordv8.org/forum |
Topic: | https://www.earlyfordv8.org/forum/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=18&Topic=3123 |