Got my 63 Merc "Grimstone"

Hey, I see the white steering column... that was special on Canadian Falcon vans only, at least I think that's true!

DemonDog, what condition is the steering wheel and horn button on the "new" van? I have wrecked my horn button...

Carlos, if you have a clean (not cracked too bad) steering wheel and a nice Econoline horn button OR ring-style, I might be interested. I'll send you a pm soon about your other questions...

i keep the white steering+automatic column for my p.u. sorry.its a 64 econo hd

carlos67v65pu wrote:i keep the white steering+automatic column for my p.u. sorry.its a 64 econo hd

I agree you should! Rare piece. If there is a good black one, I'd be happy. I wanted to get the ring-style button too.

Working on sketching out paint schemes on paper... hope to scan them in soon to share. Good news is that my mousetraps have been dormant for a few days, so I can work in the garage ALONE again! Work will continue soon, but I hope to finish my concept drawings...

Wow, been a while since I updated this! No more mice, but no more progress... I was contacted by the prev owner who used the van for his band "Grimstone"... his bandmate also had an A100 painted in a similar theme. Anyway, I am currently stuck on paint and name concepts. As well, having bought a really nice 65 Ford SuperVan, I'm tending to it's relatively minor repairs before getting back into this one.

One thing that I have done is bought some rattlecan etch primer, Duplicolor black primer and universal gloss black. I've done some welding repairs to some of the pieces I've removed from the van (worn tranny & clutch linkage pins / eyelets). Basically plan to redrill eyelets and re-grind pins to take up some slack. Then after I have several of these parts stripped and cleaned, I'll coat them black. Have brought several pieces into the house.

My garage isn't insulated. Our outside temperature this morning was -31*C (-24*F)... not a lot of work going to happen out there for a little while! But I hope to continue bringing in stuff in the house that isn't bolted down for some fresh paint!

White steering wheel was part of the custom equipment package which anyone could have ordered. It was on all the 65 Special pickups and the Falcon DCW's and CCW's to the best of my knowledge.

Did a little painting last night, as the tenant downstairs was gone back to the farm for Christmas... no one to offend with paint fumes in the house!



Off the 65 SuperVan is the disassembled heater box and the new wiper bracket. Off the 63 panel is the tranny linkage, gas tank straps, parking brake w/ antique stove handle, clutch rod and pedal. All have been stripped, degreased, etch primed and surface primed with black. All that's left is the gloss black topcoat. I might hit that today, as I'll be spending the next few days over Christmas at my gf's and the family. Fumes won't bother me any either!

All these pieces used almost a full can of etch primer (except the plastic heater box), and a full can of the flat black primer. And I didn't get frostbite either! After Christmas, I should be back into reassembly of some of these components, and hanging them up to wait their turn for reinstallation!

I actually have my tranny in the house too, waiting for detailing! I think I want to go with Duplicolor Cast Iron Engine enamel for that, to match the engine block. Engine block needs touching up too, but I don't think I'll bring it into the house.

Question: use the same primers under a high-heat paint like engine, caliper or manifold paint? My unprimed valve cover, oil pan and block have flaked off paint in places. It's the one in front, you can see the flaking more on the oilpan, but paint adhesion is a problem all over.



Thanks!

After a google search, I see the answer is "no", as the primer isn't designed to handle the high temperatures. Either I had grease on the surface, or I didn't scuff the surface (probably... drill-mounted nylon brushes seem to polish clean metal). So while I have the engine sitting in the cradle, and the tranny out, I'll try to make sure it's got a little bite for the engine paint to hold on to! Oh, and I did hit my parts with Duplicolor Truck and Van Universal Gloss Black. Soon, I'll reassemble my park brake lever and heater box!

Been a while, but I have spent a long time cleaning a few parts I brought in the house... and have been able to do some more painting finally. Be careful about breathing in or igniting fumes if you do any of this in your house... maybe not the smartest thing I've ever done, but the garage has been way too cold! Most of my time was spent cleaning these parts, not painting.

Anyway:

Tranny and driveshaft (used Duplicolor Cast Iron on tranny).


Handbrake is in this one.


Front Anti-sway Bar.


This might be all I do before spring. I want to prep the 66 SuperVan to get it on the road, and by then I can start prepping the undercarriage on the 63 for the POR-15 treatment (which means laying down on pretty cold pavement).

I LOVE CLEAN SHINY VAN PARTS!

In the winter you feel held down by the weather and sometimes you have to do what your doing to feel your getting somewhere.

On the garage floor thing go to a carpet store and get some used carpet and cut it down to a 31/2 x 10 foot piece (something you can roll up to keep it out of the way) easier on the back and keeps your body off the cold cement

Long time since I updated this. There's a few scattered topics around. I've decided to get in to blogging, so that I can document the project all in one place. Here is the start... old news for all of you, as so far, I only have created the first post... the day I got it.

sasktrini's Grimstone blog

While I'm at it, the project is moving in a new direction, as I acquired a engine, transmission, wiring harness and computer from a 2002 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor for cheap... FI 4.6L V8 Ford Modular Block, Mustang heads, auto tranny, great condition! It looks something like this:



which means major floor and doghouse mods and frame reinforcement!

I'm not going anywhere, but I think it may be easier on occasion to update the blog once I get it caught up and I can get started on the project again.

Yes it's almost time to get back at it...lol. I have allready done my official 60 foot burnout across the lawn. My wife loves it when I do that. Keep me posted as to your plans so we can coordinate the efforts.

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!!! That Van has music in its History..... pruuufect fix for you. Right on.

That looks like a lot of power, are you sure thats your plan?

I Think it would do wonders in front of the 9" ford diff I'm working on......Yup. Cop Power.

Very cool, you have the eye for detail. Keep up the great work.

Really like the Blog approach Corey ! keep it coming!

Grimstone is still alive and well... Just have not been able to do any work on it the last couple years. Only progress has been the engine shopping. Today, Big W and I got a couple goodies for it... the engine cover and the Taurus cooling fan! Wasn't hard to find... snow has only been gone for a couple days... I don't think anyone has been scavenging the yard in several months!

I pretty much have all the important bits that go between the axles now!