1947
FORD CONVERTIBLE CUSTOMIZED
My
First Project - 1957
by Ron Eason
I started work [when we had the work] with my father Jim Eason Sr. in our Body Shop at 2347 Drury, Kansas City, Mo in1950. I was 10 years old and worked there until 1962 when I graduated from College with a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering. In the 7th grade I read Dr. Robert Goddard’s books, which inspired my goal to become a Rocket Research and Development Engineer.
In 1956, I brought a 1947 Ford Convertible for $35.00 with money I earned working at Montgomery Wards on St. John St. KC., MO., where I filled mail order sales on roller skates. I worked on the car for two years [1956 to 1958]. My dad would not let me drive it until it was finished with the admonition "I am not going to have a son of mine driving a junk car around town." Dad always had a word of advice, "Do something, be something, become some thing!" "I don't care what but be the best at what you do."
Dad taught me acetylene welding and brazing when I was 10. At 16, Dad taught me to spread hot lead and how to finish it. Then he taught me to shrink sheet metal for collision repairs. He always said "if you can’t get a job in engineering, you can fall back on the auto collision repair." Dad and I, with a little help from my brother, customized this 1947 Ford Convertible. The photos, that follow, were taken in Blue Valley Park on 23rd Street K.C., MO.
We removed all the moldings and leaded the holes. Then we installed a 1955 Chevy Grille, 1948 Plymouth Bumpers and recessed headlights with lead {frenched them in}. The seams of the rear fenders were welded and leaded. Then, we welded and sculpted1955 Olds quarter panels of the car forming a scoop, like the F4’s. We cut pieces of a 1958 Chevy Grille to fit into the scoop openings.
The trunk was leaded in and an electric solenoid with pushbutton switch was installed for remote opening. The door moldings were leaded in and pushbutton solenoids were place in them to open the doors. A key switch was located in the front grille area. Note the 1955 Olds Grille sculptured into 1948 Plymouth Bumperets.
This photo shows the rear of the car with a 1955 Olds Grille sculpted into the rear and 1948 Plymouth Bumperets. The exhaust pipes were toughed through the oval openings. We welded and leaded the Tail Lights and recessed [frenched in] them. Note the chrome moon hubcaps on the rear and the spinner hubcaps on the front. I lowered the suspension 4”. We also fabricated rear wheel skirts [not shown in the photo] that made the car look lower. Note the running board. The car was painted with Nitrocellulose Lacquer in a 1958 Chevy Harvest Gold color and I added red and white accents. For effect I added white and red pinstripes.
We removed the stock 1947 Ford engine, replacing it with a 1948 Full Race 272 C.I. Mercury Flat Head engine with three-dual carburetors coupled to a Lincoln Zephyr Transmission with 4:11 rear end differential. The engine was in a 32 Ford Roadster that burned methanol when I purchased it. The car would idle in second gear at 35 MPH. When you pressed the chrome-plated model A accelerator pedal, the tires would smoke up. A local sprint car race driver built the engine. It actually had a sprint cam in it with a lift so high dual springs were installed to keep the valves from floating at high RPM but it was hard on the dual pointed distributor . I could run neck and neck with the 1957 and 58 Chevy 270’s. Local police would stop me just to look at the car and wondering how a 16 year old could have this car. They understood after I explained but it was embarrassing on a date.
This photo shows interior [ blurred a bit]. It was custom fabricated in red and white naugahyde. I painted the trim red and white and the door armrest marbled in gray, red, green, blue, yellow and black. To accomplish the effect, the paint is dribbled, color-by-color, on a wet gray paint background then sprayed with thinner to make the colors run together without mixing. After the paint dried, a surface is clear coat finishes the job. I had a lot of fun with this part of the work.
This photo shows the interior, notice the heater box with two small doors. The total cost of all this work was about $2000 to $2500 depending on when you call it finished. I spread this cost over a two-year time span.
This photo shows a second modification I made when I started college. We removed a top from a 1948 Mercury Coup and sculpted it to fit the convertible top contour. We chopped and channeled 2 inches out of the heighth. A sheet metal extension had to be welded into the convertible top well and four anchors installed at the corners of the top. I got the idea from the 1957 Thunderbird's removable fiberglass top. It took two people to remove the top. I was out of luck if it rained while on the road, but if I drove 35 MPH or faster the rain didn't collect in the interior of the car.
This photo shows the top fit-up and the sheet metal work necessary to finish the framing. Notice the weld scorch along the top rail. The convertible top was just too noisy with squeaks and rattles.
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