You've Lost that Spark

Thought I would give a quick update here while I avoid doing school work and my fantasy football team doesn't seem to want to score points today!

I broke out the thermal temperature gun the other day and was testing the coolant and I decided to check the headers as well.  Every cylinder was running at 500+ degrees except cylinder #8 which was at 200 degrees. I decided to go ahead and get a set of spark plugs.  I haven't changed the plugs since I have had the car and it probably was overdue anyway.  So I went out and picked up a set of Bosch Super Plus Spark Plugs from Summit Racing.  The plugs came and I ended up spending some time on Thanksgiving Day in the garage while the turkey was cooking.

Old Plugs (top) with the New Plug (bottom)

Feeling Gassy

Finally have some time to catch up on some of the projects that I completed at the end of summer this year.  One of my main goals was to get my gauges working reliably and the other was to replace the gas tank.

Gauge Problems:

• Temperature Gauge Pegs at 'H' around 200 degrees
• Fuel Gauge reads 'E' at a half tank of gas
• Oil Pressure Gauge pegs at high upon start-up
• Voltage Gauge reads fine

The first step was to replace the voltage regulator (previous post).  Although everything works now on the cluster, the gauges are sill not reading accurate.

So the next step was to go through and start replacing the sending units.  I picked up an Oil Pressure Sending Unit as well as an Temperature Sending Unit from Mustangs Unlimited.  After installation of these parts, the oil gauge worked perfectly but the temperature gauge was still running too high.  

I was out of ideas for the temperature gauge, so I hit the VMF Message Boards.  Someone mentioned adding some resistance to the wire to bring the gauge down so I went and picked up a 1/2W resistor kit and added a 3.5 ohm resistor to the line.  This brought the gauge down to where it reads 180 degrees around 3/4ths and creeps up to 'H' around the 220 range.  I am now comfortable with both of these gauges and don't feel like I need to freak out when I am sitting in traffic with a temperature gauge pegged at 'H'.  Now if I see that the gauge is pegged at 'H' I better get off the road and let it cool down (hasn't happened yet).

Temperature Sending Unit

Oil Pressure Sending Unit

New Gas Tank

Since I was going to be replacing the fuel sending unit, I decided to replace the tank as well.  It is at least 30 years old (if not the original) and just a good idea.  My guess is the float on the old sending unit has a hole in it that is letting gas get into it and not properly float.  

Regulators!

I finished up my finals for the summer and was able to get out to the garage tonight.  The order of business for the night was pulling out the console again and replacing the voltage regulator.  The last time I had the console out was for the Mini Tach Install.  But even before then, the gauges have always been a bit messed up.  The gas gauge only goes to 3/4 full and I don't trust it under 1/4 a tank.  The oil gauge pegs at high during start-up, and the temp gauge always reads high (but never over heats).  All together, I never trust if the car is going to run out of gas and overheat.

After doing so reading up on the forums, it looks like the voltage regulator might be the culprit of all three gauges not reading right.  The voltage regulator on a first generation mustang has a bimetallic arm and heating element that regulate the current flow to the instruments and keeps it close to a constant 5V.  The contact points can wear out over time, so I decided to replace it.  I picked up a solid-state one from Mustangs Unlimited.  The solid state is more reliable than the points version.

The new regulator (top middle, green) replaces the old one (bottom middle, white)

I also replace the high beam indicator (blue light) with an LED light.  The cluster is now 100% LED (and awesome).

We will see over the next couple of weeks how the instruments read, but I hope that fixes the readings I get now.

The junk yard dogs helped me out today (they become possessed after 10pm)

Project Summary - Suspension Upgrade

I finally get a week of vacation, no school or work for a whole week.  So I thought I would catch up on the blog while I wait for my flight to Maine.

Project Difficulty:

I'm not going to lie, this project was extremely frustrating at times.  Whether it was trouble removing springs on day 1 or struggling to get the steering linkage out for the rest of that weekend.  And don't even get me started about the brake switch, but at the end of the day I was able to get everything back together without throwing in the towel.  I was able to get the car aligned and everything seems to be working fine.  I still need to put on new strut rods and bushings.  The kit I had came with new bushings, but not strut rods.  When I was at the alignment shop, they were also unable to get the bolts on the strut rod loose, so sometime of the next weeks I am going to replace the strut rods and bleed the brakes again.

Overall, due to the frustration and time I give this project a 4/5 angry cavemen

Driving Impressions:

This is where the project pays off.  Once the car was aligned, it drives awesome.  The new brakes are solid and the car no longer pulls to the right when you try to brake hard.  The car also feels a lot more solid when driving.  Bumps in the road no longer disrupt the balance of the car.  The larger front sway bar and Koni shocks were a great upgrade and I really enjoy driving the car again.  Even though there is still a little bit of play in the steering wheel (I suspect the steering box has some wear in it), the steering is more responsive as well.  It feels good to get the car back out on the road and since there hasn't been rain in the forecast lately, I have been taking advantage of being able to drive the car around town.

I give the project a rewarding 5/5 happy cavemen.  Everything worked the way it was supposed to and through all the cursing, sweat, and blood, I am now able to say I rebuilt the steering and suspension as well as upgrade to disc brakes.

The Finish Line

Where I left off was three weeks ago and man has it been an interesting three weeks.  I have managed to get out in the garage at least one day each weekend (even during my weekend class I took) and fought to finish this project.  I was able to get rotors and calipers mounted on both sides and started installing the new master cylinder.  And that is pretty much when everything when down the crapper...

Drivers Side

Passenger Side

Bench Bleeding the New Master Cylinder

So I get the master cylinder bled, and mount it to the firewall.  I then go to connect the pushrod to the brake pedal and attach the brake switch to the pushrod and pedal as shown in the diagram below...

This is What it Looks Like When Things Go Right

I get everything together and decide to check if it works.  I connect the battery and now my brake lights are on all the time!  What the hell happened???  So I start scouring the web for ideas and it looks like there might be something wrong with my switch.  I then decide to clean the switch, maybe it is stuck always contacting the connection.  I get play back in the switch and check it when it is not hooked up.  The brake lights are off and they come on when I add pressure to the switch.  Well that's good, the switch doesn't seem broken.  So I hook the whole assembly back together, reconnect the battery, and the damn lights are still always on!  Son of a....

I disassemble the who contraption thinking that there is something wrong with the new pushrod.  Keep in mind, every time I  install or disassemble this contraption requires me to wedge my fat ass upside down between a seat and huge steering wheel, all while working in an area that my fingers can barely reach with the steering column and all the pedals.  It is a real pain and uncomfortable.  So I get the new pushrod out and decide to compare it to the old one.  There is probably 1/8" more steel at the end of the new pushrod than the old, so I decide to grind some of the end of the new one down a bit.  After grinding, refitting, seeing the lights still on, swearing, disassembling, and grinding some more about 3-4 more times, the length is the same size as the old pushrod I pulled out.  I install the new pushrod one last time, connect the battery, and not the lights aren't only not on, but now they don't even work at all.  You have got to be kidding me!!!!  Now I go to the message boards and start begging for help.  You have got to be kidding me.  After trying a couple more different things (like adding plastic weld to build the tip of the pushrod) and spending 6 hours working on this, I decide to pack it in for the weekend and just order a new switch.

Close But No Cigar

I am so close to finishing this project.  All I need to do is finish mounting the new disc brakes, install the new brake cylinder, run some brake lines, and bleed the brakes.  Unfortunately though, work and school are keeping me busy during the week and I am busy over the next two weekends.  So far, I have spent about two full weekends working on the car.  The first weekend was spent pretty much disassembling everything and getting together just a few basic things.

This past weekend was a lot better.  I spent about 15 hours in the garage this past weekend.  I was able to get everything apart and put all the suspension and steering parts together.  I also was able to find a place to order new rear tires.  The 245/60R14 tire size is pretty unique, but I was able to find them.  I also started installing the brake parts.  I had some trouble removing the brake cylinder, but once I was able to get that apart, everything started going together pretty well, until of course I look up and it is 10:00 at night on Sunday and I needed to stop.

It was a pain to remove, but it finally came out

Steering and spindle together ready for the brake parts

Dust shield and caliper mount installed

Rotors and Calipers installed and ready to go

Man I wish I had time to finish this.  It is killing me to not have the time and know that is so close to being done.  I want to get the car back on the road and drive it again!

Steering and Suspension Rebuild - Days 2 & 3

Day 2


Day 1 was exhausting, but day 2 started out better.  After running some errands, I was able to complete what took 8 hours the day before in about 2 hours.  Sounds about right?  It takes for ever to figure something out and then takes about 1/4 of the time when you do it the second time.  Well I knew it was too good to be true, because after I was able to get all the suspension components off the car, it was all downhill trying to get all the steering components free.  Removing the steering components was extremely tough and exhausting.  I tried everything: pullers, pickle forks, heat, and BFH.  Finally I had some success with the BFH.  And after about 3 hours, I finally had a steering linkage out of the car, but still attached and I needed everything off because I need to reuse the center link.  Frustrated I called it a night....

Why won't you come apart???
...and no, the rubber mallet in the picture is not the BFH I was trying to use to get everything apart.

Will this ever be finished?

Suspension and Steering Rebuild - Day 1

Finally got started on the suspension rebuild yesterday.  After about six trips to the different parts stores throughout the past couple of days, I was finally ready to start the work.

The Goods:

I got everything I needed from Shari and John over at Opentracker Racing Products.  I highly recommend them if you are looking to rebuilt the suspension and steering of your early Ford.  What I like is they offer vintage racing equipment that has been updated and improved over what was originally offered in the 60's.  It fits very well with my goal of updating the car but trying to retain that stock look from the outside.

• Standard upper control arms
• Standard lower control arms
• Roller spring perches 
• 1 1/8" front sway bar kit 
• 560lb 1" drop coil springs
• Poly coil spring insulators
• Manual steering kit with roller idler arm
• Strut rod bushings
• CSRP disc brake swap kit

Giggity

Rear Suspension Work

It seems like work, school, and life have been getting in the way of me getting out to the garage to get some work done.  This is an update about six weeks late (sorry).  My goal for this year is to work on the suspension and tighten up the steering.  Back in March I was able to work on the rear suspension.  The goal is to install new Koni shocks and I also wanted to get rid of the traction bars (I am not a big fan of them).

Before:  Worn Shocks and Traction Bars

2011 Year in Review

I have to say it was a good year.  Why?  Because I bought a great 1967 Mustang fastback and couldn't be happier.  It was a fun year.  I got to do a bunch of different small projects on the mustang including:

• Furry Dashes - replacing the lower dash pad
• Back to Stock - restoring the center console back to stock
• Back to Stock Part Deux - restoring the air cleaner back to stock
• Mini Tach Install - installed a mini tach and LED lights into the instrument cluster

We also got to go to some cool car shows this year. The Car Craft Summer Nationals in Minneapolis was the highlight of the summer.  Lots of horsepower and cool cars there.  The Blue Cruise and Memories Car Cruise were some fun local cruises.  Even won a trophy at The Hill's Annual Car, Truck, and Motorcycle Show.

I'm looking forward to 2012, especially this spring.  I would like to rebuild the steering and suspension of the mustang.  Actually I have a pretty long list of things that I would like to do, but we'll see what I will be able to do (or what Marissa will let me do....haha).