1951 Ford F5 truck

I can't believe that I haven't posted anything on this Blog for so long.Too much FB and I-Gram I guess. So I thought I'd post some photos of my last restoration project that took place a little over a year ago. My son Markus and I purchased a 1951 Ford F-5 truck from Marshall Baker in October of 2016 and started a 5 month restoration process over the Winter while business was slow.

1974 Photo of the Model A

I thought it would be appropriate to add a photo of my car as it looked in 1974 when I drove it to high school. And yes, that's me striking a pose with it!

Why is it when things get busy we forget to update our blogs? A lot has happened since my last Model A update in June of 2012 so I thought I'd add another photo here. Since winning the antique auto class at the 'Friends of Steve McQueen' Car Show in Chino Hills last June, I've been able to install my LaBaron & Bonney upholstery kit. (I'll upload some more photos of the interior at a later time) Monika and I also took a very memorable European vacation with our two granddaughters, Kat & Abi, in July last year visiting family and friends in Austria and even spending a week in Italy. During that trip I kept our homebound family abreast with photos and stories on Facebook so I guess that's the best place to view those memories.

Last January I volunteered to chair the 2012 Christmas show committee...little did I know that I would be the committee. I did get some wonderful help from Verla Covey and Pat Richardson that is much appreciated but next year I'll suggest an actual committee. The show is tomorrow and I'll be glad when it's over. Merry Christmas everyone!

Finishing the upholstery

Seat back and cushion fits well. Now for the door panels.

I used all the original springs and wood frames. Everything was still in pretty good condition considering the 41 years it's been since I first installed them!

LaBaron Bonney's instructions leave a lot to be desired. I'll bet they have not upgraded in decades. The paper looks to be type written and photocopied. And nothing is very clear. For $1,200 plus I would have expected more!

Installing Dynomat for noise reduction

After discussing it with my son, Markus, we purchased a case of Dynomat soundproofing material. I've installed it on each side of the car including front side cowl, doors and rear side panels. I've also installed some on the rumbleseat floor.

Studies show that only a 25% area needs to be covered to significantly reduce noise. One side is covered with an aluminum shield for heat reduction while the opposite side is covered with a tar like substance that adheres to all sorts of surfaces. Easy to install!

We'll see how well it works but it already sounds better just sitting in the garage. lol

Upholstery panels installed

Here are some photos of the final install of the side panels and headliner. You'll notice that there is some puckering in the headliner but I was assured from a fellow Model A enthusiast that there is a way to get rid of this. Rudy Perez has suggested that, after parking the car in full sunlight, I take a spray bottle of water and lightly spray the affected area and let it dry. The material is supposed to shrink up when drying and tighten the wrinkles out. I'll try it as soon as the weather is appropriate.

So now on to the seat upholstery...This could be interesting!