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It was 1980 something and my Dad was a a car auction with a pal and looking for a car for my sisters. There it was, a 1964 Ford Galaxie, running, clean, 4 doors and looks like it was going for a fair price. Until Clyde leans over and says "oh yeah I've got one like that, I'll give it to you for a quarter of what that sells for". So dad comes home with a 2 door convertible, beat up but running, and the girls were on their own. Mom was kind of excited to have the convertible in the end, so he started to work. Pulled the body off the frame, send the engine to another friend to be rebuilt, and started finding parts. Sometime in the 90's I was getting old enough to help. We put the motor and transmission in. Scraped so much grease out of the frame, sandblasted the frame and body, and I learned what Bondo smelled like. One day I came home and told mom we had a great day working on my car. "My car?" she asked. She knew it was over.  We moved, I became a teenager, dad worked out of town a lot, and nothing happened on the Ford. Money was tight, time was scarce. I went to college, graduated, got a job out of state, bought a house with a single car garage, lived there for a decade. Dad told me he never really even liked the car, he just liked working on it with me. Last month I bought a new home with a two car garage, visited home, loaded up, and we hauled it down. I finally have a space to work on it, the money to buy parts, and hopefully the skills to do it righ Project Milestones! [*]Get the motor running - Within 2 Months [*]Drivable - Within 4 Months [*]Painted - 2019 Goal [*]Upholstered 2020 Goal. Since the last two are just $$$, I'm hoping those can be sooner, but hope is not a strategy. I gotta save up. Getting to paint honestly means a lot of little things are done, functional checks, convertible top mechanism is working, other stuff. Getting to upholstery also means the exterior trim is done and I'm hoping it's a 'drive to shop with interior in tatters and get back mint'. Overall the work has been true to original to date and that's how it's staying. I'd like to have it as an all original cruiser. Current Status! Car looks like a hoarders nest. "all the parts are there". There are bags and jars of bolts with notes in them as to what they go to, and zero organization otherwise. I have 6 hubcaps, and 6 headlight trim rings, and clearly only need 4. Motor - 390ci, rebuilt, never fired. Same with transmission. Oil pan has a dent in it, first order is to pull it and straighten it out. Wiring "All there, never messed with", actually, some cut wires located throughout. Mostly everything unhooked. Tires "They've been stored inside, no problem!". Same tires in the picture from 1994. Brakes, fresh pads, brake line disconnected at master, probably for the best for now. Steering, apparently the power steering pump has a leak, I need to investigate. Exhaust, brand new exhaust pipes, actually the only work done so far in the 21st century. The exact right mufflers are hard to find, at least they were for me, they are long and 6" round with an integral tailpiece. I ordered some new and they're 8 weeks out. Cooling, the radiator has been cleaned Fuel/Air - 4 Barrel carburetor is rebuilt, the fuel tank steamed and coated. No fuel hose but the hard lines should be fine... more investigation required. Finishes... bumpers need to be rechromed, trim has to be cleaned and checked. Interior is a wreck. It was sitting in the Nevada Desert for years, fun fact, the original owner was Carson City Nevada! Body - not bad. The hood is still painted with trim on, and I have a replacement trunk lid as the current one is flattened. We suspect from parade service. There's a small dent still in the drivers side fender by the door. Photos! I took some right after unloading and a few after I gave it a wipe down with a wet towel.      Look at the freaking size of this door! And it opens to like a 80 degree angle.   I also still have that drat Cornbinder, so I'll periodically be working on that in here too. These two projects couldn't be much further apart. The International was purchased for practice and utility, and I long ago decided that it's not a collectible so it's the base of a lot of experimentation. I freely cut holes in the dash, added to the flatbed as I needed, and I'm in the middle of replacing the carburetor with outdated GM EFI. Meanwhile I'm paying way too much to get the right mufflers so that the Galaxie has the right sound and look.
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Jul 27, 2018 01:39
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Thanks! The reason for the drivable goal is mostly so I can get it parked on one side of the garage and give my wife a covered parking spot. I put together a plan for running earlier this week: Oil pan fix Set heater box and run all coolant and heater lines Ignition wiring Fuel plumbing Vacuum lines Connect Throttle linkage Install mufflers If I can get one of those per week it’s looking good. I’m most concerned with the oil pan and the ignition wiring. The pan looks like work to get out and the wiring is always harder than I expect.
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Jul 27, 2018 04:55
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You guys are probably right that my schedule is optimistic, if I apply a pessimism filter to that I’m still expecting to be able to get it in and out of the garage on its own power by December. Here’s a blind pic of the pan, I think I’m already boned trying to get this out, we’ll see.  Also my first order of parts came in, oil pan gasket, fuel cap, and new keys and cylinder for the ignition since this one is missing or lost and New was $8. The gas cap doesn’t fit. First loss in the books. I think the gas tank isn’t in quite right since the cap was hitting the cover plate. And I got a magnet with a 70-75 International pickup on it! Edit; I have to point out two things in that picture too, first, it’s very clean underneath, a layer of dust sure but no grease, which is quite a change for me. Second, look at that massive X in the frame! Added structure to lower the center of gravity and provide some stiffness to the topless. StormDrain fucked around with this message at 00:35 on Jul 28, 2018 |
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Jul 28, 2018 00:32
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Light night tonight, went camping this weekend. Cleaned up and organized a little, I think I need some clear storage tubs to sort things out and gain some space. The parts fairy left behind a few foam seals for the heater box so I put those in, I think they were left out due to no access. A little spray adhesive and long reach needle nose pliers got it done.  I planned out the install, I need to get a new hose to one of the defrosters, and the fan control didn’t work at all. It kept getting stuck. I consulted the Bible for help.  I popped off a couple of nuts and got it loose, cleaned and lubed up. I’ll pick up a new bulb too before I drop it back in. Seems to work now. Found all the wiring and cable connections so I think the next part will go fine.
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Jul 30, 2018 05:13
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Yeah I felt it as soon as I hit post. I need a battery so I can test these connections and probably to get the ignition cylinder set properly so I can test these things. I should also mention the sand. Since the entire car was sandblasted there is sand everywhere. The dash curves back down and had a little stiffening flange, covered in sand. I need a 90 degree shopvac attachment to get at it. The sand is probably why the fan switch was getting stuck. There was sand in the ashtray. I’ll eventually pull the AM radio, excited to find where the sand is in it. I tried to put a new ignition key cylinder in, but I was met with resistance... sand.
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Jul 30, 2018 15:57
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Cleaned and organized parts into some clear bins, vacuumed out the interior, removed a defroster hose that was in tatters (the other is soft and new), and ordered a new one. Also ordered bulbs, oil filter, and battery cables. I’ve got a few days of wrapping up projects inside the house now so this shipping delay is good. I have shelving to put up in the pantry, an office/laundry room to paint, carpet to trim, and a lot of furniture to move back. See you guys this weekend.
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Jul 31, 2018 16:58
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Goal hit tonight of getting the heater air box installed. The defroster outlets measured 2.5” so like a drat fool I ordered 2.5” hoses. I really needed like 2 5/8 or 2 3/4 but that wasn’t really available anyway. It’s wire reinforced so I clipped the wire on the inside in two places and stretched it over. Worked fine, I put good aluminum duct tape at the upper vent connection and just the pin on the bottom. I put a new bulb into the heater control housing, I even tested the connector first. Then slid it in and connected the housing to the dash, which resulted in some cursing as one nut is very tight clearance and sand kept falling on me. I took a break just to vacuum out as much as I could get to, there’s still some above the wiper motor. I also should have worn safety glasses but I’m an idiot, and I was so contorted to get under it I thought I’d be done before I went blind. There’s a boot for the fresh air connection with a steel ring much like a shifter boot, and I couldn’t quite get it to line up as it came from the parts pile, turns out the ring was upside down and I had to flip and punch new holes through the rubber. It’s maddening when a replacement part is wrong but close, makes me triple check and finagle it for an extra few minutes. Below is old, new, and new rubber.   Hooked up a hidden cable and the electrical, then hoisted and supported while I connected onto the firewall. Easy job with a lot of going back and forth.  Also installed a new key cylinder but it looks like the ignition switch needs to be taken apart and lubed up, its real sticky.  I measured the battery tray to find a new battery as I thought I had seen something others didn’t, alas it’s too narrow for a group 48f. I’ll grab the recommended 27F if I can find one. Not highest on the priority and I might push it out to next month if I can. Tomorrow I’m going to wrangle that oil pan, and after that I think I’ll tackle the cooling hoses. I’d like to give a five star rating to the battery powered led shop lights with a magnetic back too, awesome for working under the dash and hood.
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Aug 4, 2018 05:02
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Knocking down the list a little more today, slid the oil pan out, hammered out the crater and reinstalled. Someone at some point in the recent history dented the oil pan by using it as a jack point. It could have been me as a child, but I don’t remember, either way I paid for it today. Fortunately Ford had an easy way to replace without pulling the motor or dropping something large since I don’t have an engine hoist. Ironically I had to jack up the motor using the oil pan as a lift point, using a block of wood at the front edge.  It also listed the loosening of the stabilizer bar (sway bar), but it wasn’t in the way so I didn’t see the point.  Oh that’s why. There was also something like 20 bolts for the oil pan but they were torqued properly and the electric ratchet made that a breeze. I had to get some gasket remover and a gasket scraper to remove the new but old and crispy gasket. Put on a fresh oil filter since I had it, even though the old one was dry. Items left before I can fire it: Fuel plumbing and fuel Fill with oil and pre oil PCV hoses Gas pedal linkage Coolant hoses to heater and coolant Spark plug wires and ignition wires Mufflers Battery and wiring to starter Clean ignition switch Vacuum hoses Some of these things are needlessly difficult, I don’t know where the hoses for coolant or vacuum run since I can’t find it in the manual and I never saw it together. It’s not like they’re complicated but that slows it down. I’ll probably get a few small more done tomorrow, oil, pre oil, throttle linkage, maybe battery wiring.
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Aug 5, 2018 04:36
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Light and easy, hooked up the heater hoses, mounted the starter relay, filled with oil, pre oiled it by manually running the oil pump, and I think I have it timed right. Close anyway. Maybe 180 out. Probably right. I’m pretty sure about the pcv system now but didn’t have the right size hose to get that done. I’ll tackle the ignition wiring sometime soon too, but I have to trace those wires out first. They used to use little boots but the new coil uses eyes, so I’ll swap those. I still have no clue where the vacuum advance hooks to, and I have a crazy looking vacuum tree thing that connects someplace. I also need to grab some bolts for the throttle linkage. It was nice to turn the motor by hand, felt smooth and solid. I also charged the battery on the International, did some continuity checks of my IAC but couldn’t get it to set the IAC closed when jumpered. Since I had the multimeter out I was checking the ground I was using and it had some resistance, 20-40 ohms, so I jumpered it straight to the battery and it worked! Got the truck started and backed into the driveway where it died. It’s good to have it moved and I always like working in the driveway over the street. I had to show my neighbors it wasn’t a permanent fixture. Not that anyone was complaining, got a compliment from one yesterday. And the guy across the street was putting a 383 into a low rider for a customer so he gets it.
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Aug 6, 2018 03:36
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Sgt Fox posted:Looking good, its coming together. Any thoughts about taking the dash out and using an air compressor to get that sand out once and for all before you have too much back together? I may do that yeah, probably the best time was just now before the heater core was installed, to me it was a finishing type job and I’m focused on mechanicals. I’ll be taking out the instruments and radio at that point so I’ll start the detailing in earnest.
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Aug 6, 2018 13:23
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I just now located the vacuum port for the distributor advance on the carb, but it’s a threaded hole. Originally it was a hard line, and I haven’t come across one in the piles, plus the new one has a short rubber line. The threaded hole is the size of a 3/16 brake line fitting and that’s a common source for a barb. Me, being clever, whipped up a combination with a fitting and a short section of brake line left over since I’m also a hoarder. What I found out was the fitting bottoms out before seating the line, leaving the line loose, so that was a waste of 15 minutes and 2” of brake line. Instead enjoy a photo of my helper Cheesecake. 
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Aug 9, 2018 04:55
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Raluek posted:Is it pipe thread or inverted flare in the carb? It looks like it’s 1/8” pipe fitting actually, here’s what most people use if they go with a rubber hose: http://www.carburetor-parts.com/Brass-Hose-Fitting-Rochester-14-x-18-Pipe_p_2680.html
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Aug 9, 2018 05:11
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Raluek posted:Then yeah, the brake line bodge won't work unless the (straight) flare nut is happy enough to seal into tapered threads, and you weld the brake line to it. Easier to see if you can scare up the right fitting at an auto parts or hardware store, probably. Oh yeah and even mail order at $10 is fine. Some it’s blind it felt like a good fit but I’m not going to mess around with it, I did think I had what I needed to do it for free though! I would even have bent that cunifer line to resemble original.
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Aug 9, 2018 05:24
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$2.49, ace hardware, perfect fit. 
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Aug 10, 2018 02:26
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StormDrain posted:Items left before I can fire it: There’s a NAPA a few blocks from home, I bought the hose for the pcv valve and installed that, a ring terminal for the generator connection to the regulator, hooked up the throttle linkage mostly (no spring or pedal) connected the oil pressure wire and temp sender and the power to the coil. Figured today was wiring day and went a couple steps further. I would have bought a battery and cables to the starter and ground but they didn’t have the sizes I wanted. They did have a battery but it seemed foolish without the cables so I let it go for today. And it might have tempted me to do something dumb like crank it. I did find out that I’m missing a dashpot for the carburetor, which seems like an odd piece to be short. There isn’t any mounting for it but there is empty threaded holes. I also found a plumbing fitting on the choke to investigate. The wiring to the temp sensor and oil pressure sensor are in awful shape too, I’m going to cut and splice them next. Napa also didn’t have or the guy couldn’t find the 3/16 vacuum line so that’s still off. I’m generally pretty happy to get an afternoon of work without spending more than $10 though.
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Aug 11, 2018 23:58
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Small potatoes still but I prefer to call this 'constant progress', hooked up the positive battery cable to the relay and the next section from the switch to starter. I'm really not sure where the ground is intended to connect, but I see a good point on the block that doesn't have a bolt so... that's the plan. I texted a co-worker who has a fastback of the same year for reference pics but no reply yet. I also managed to pull a busted choke heat tube out of the hole using some pliers, PB Blaster and hope. The hole on the right was basically invisible to me until I read up on it. Filtered air comes down through the hole on the left, through a warm passage then up out the right side and through an insulated metal tube to warm up the choke and close it. Sounds terrible - I hope it works. New choke tube kit on order. I realize now I perhaps need two of them. I certainly didn't find any and the fact that one part was busted doesn't bode well.  Next up I've come to the conclusion that either California built cars had more PCV tubing than the manual states or the intake manifold is not original to the car. There is another outlet here near the base of the carb and a tapped hole on the other side that seem to match images for later year cars with another PCV run. Debating closing them off, since I do have the functioning PCV system per the rest of the states.   Finally I need help identifying this guy:   I thought a tree like this would be some kind of heat or power actuated vacuum distribution thing, like I had on the truck. But I only have one source of vacuum and that's for the distributor advance. I didn't see any sort of reference to that being modulated or anything. This little guy is made by Trico and my guess so far is that it's some kind of washer fluid pump but i don't really know how it would pump. There's a place for a wire that's clipped off as close as possible Upper left in the first picture. I also would guess a washer fluid pump would only have three connections, one in and two out. Really one in and one out is how the universal one works. I don't see anything like it in any catalog of parts or any image searches.
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Aug 15, 2018 04:38
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autism ZX spectrum posted:This thing's in really good shape! Doesn't look like there's any rust at all Keep in mind we’re looking at a car that was completely stripped, body off frame, sandblasted dents pulled bondoed and sanded and shot with a cheapskates amount of primer. Since it lived in the desert though there wasn’t much moisture. Also being a convertible it was given every chance to rot, the floorboards have been patched as they were gone.
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Aug 16, 2018 03:37
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Nah all the HVAC controls were cable operated. I removed it 20 years ago and put it in this month, I didn’t see any vacuum connections.
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Aug 17, 2018 15:56
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I replaced some small time wires that looked rough. I knew if I didn’t do it now it was problems later. I do wish these push on connectors were easier to source, I ordered ten and it turns out these are #10 studs and not #8 like I bought. So I went with the more reasonable nuts and star washers with stud connectors. I did the ignition, coil power and temp sensor. Here’s a typical example of one, it broke completely about a minute after this photo.  Of course the stud on the temp sensor is ridged and not threaded, so I think I’ll keep looking for the right connector. I also installed the choke tube from the universal kit. Not a bad job either, tricky part was forming the tube with no reference. A tutorial online suggested chucking the stud in a drill and using sandpaper to get a deeper taper, so I did, and it drove in fine. I need something to trim out the ends of the insulating wrap, bell bottoms aren’t in style.  I also thought this was interesting, thanks repro guys for indicating that this is for cylinder 6, I’d hate to mix that up. 
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Aug 20, 2018 00:56
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I have a couple small time but obnoxious problems. First of all, the temp sensor wasn't a threaded electrical stud connection so I ordered a replacement so I can hook it up. Not a show stopper but it's a pain to get to since it's under the air cleaner. Second, I ordered a new ignition switch since the old one was gummed up and cleaning it did nothing. Third, I can't get the fuel filler centered in the filler door, which is kind of required to use the original gas cap since it's huuuuge. And to add to that pain, I can't even get the gas cap on, nor can I get a replacement gas cap on, the tabs on them don't clear and I can't spin them on. I also searched through the parts bins but didn't find the dashpot for the carburetor, so I ordered a new one with a bracket. Today I dropped the fuel tank and mounted it again trying to get the filler centered and ended up in the same place, except now I also have a piece of wood stuck in there that I was using as a shim. It's loose, but the geometry of the area doesn't allow it back out without a lot of bending of steel. I did manage to plug the intake manifold outlet or inlet or whatever, so expect to see that fail later on when I find out it's pressurized and not vacuum. I also found a hose that connects the oil breather cap to the air intake. A connection by the way I have seen on almost no other cars out there, and isn't mentioned in the manual, but I can find the oil caps for sale. I think it's a California specific item. I had to find some kind of achievement today, so I went ahead and installed the shifter and console. The shifter mounts to some sheet metal inside, and is wrapped with the console and a trim plate. I couldn't get the knob off the shifter (apparently nobody else could either), and it's holding that trim plate hostage, so it all has to go in. I also popped under and put the linkage on temporarily, some washers that act as bushings are needed, but it all works for now. It's missing the kick-down linkage too, so I may spend some time looking for that rod tonight. In a way it feels like a detour to get that console in but on the other hand it's very large and putting things where they go makes a difference. Hell I even ordered carpet samples so I might go way off target here. 
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Aug 27, 2018 00:13
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I charged up my battery in the truck for a few days on the trickle charger so I decided to start it up, just to get the fluids pumped around and straighten the wheels. To my surprise it started easy and idled along, without the typical surging and ran fine as long as I left it, 2-3 minutes probably. Problem is it was smoking a lot from what appeared to be only the passenger side tailpipe. There’s no crossover so that helps with diagnostics I feel. Would that be indicative of a fouled spark plug causing a poor burn? It was a grey smoke and smelled of fuel. Maybe I should check all my spark cable routing too. The only way I could reset my IAC was to jumper ground right back to the battery, so I am planning on cleaning and adding ground connections since that’s a typical issue with these rust buckets.
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Aug 28, 2018 16:20
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Dagen H posted:I don't remember anything about your truck, other than it appearing in your avatar. You're running GM TBI on a 345, is that correct? How's it working? There are a poo poo-ton of FSJ guys running TBI on their AMC 360s. Yeah that’s it. I’ve been having a tough time getting it commissioned, I feel like I have a few little issues that are compounding. I’m also too optimistic. If it’s smoking I probably have a leaky valve seal or piston ring. I might do a compression test some evening.
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Aug 28, 2018 16:39
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Today I spent way too long organizing nuts and bolts, which was out of control before we moved and didn’t get better when I speed packed it. I also visited sidetrack city and cleaned the dashboard, and put on some weather seal parts that go behind the headlights.  I ordered a new ignition switch, which went in easy.  And the new temp sensor with a threaded stud, and a dashpot for the carb that was MIA. I talked to my dad and he said if it’s not there it never was, since the guy that rebuilt it went through it. However there is a small wear mark on the linkage where the original hit. The new one isn’t exact but it’s functional.  I also solved a mystery in a bent steel tube and rubber hose that didn’t seem to line up anywhere. It provides a vacuum connection at the back of the transmission, and solves my mystery vacuum inlet on the manifold. Ok what’s left: Battery Ground connection Throttle spring and mount Mufflers Gas cap Coolant I have some plans for the throttle spring mount and ground connection, I’ll buy a battery whenever. Mufflers are still a few weeks out I think. No solution yet for the gas cap. Is there a reasonable way to buy 5 gallons of coolant? It’s drat expensive at the box stores.
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Sep 2, 2018 04:37
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True, it’s 20 quarts full capacity and bone dry, which is 5 gallons. Generally I’ve found 3 gallons to be the tipping point where the larger pail is a cheaper deal. Picked it up at Murdoch’s for $10 per gallon of concentrate, got three and that leaves a spare for the trunk.
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Sep 2, 2018 18:09
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Oh god I forgot how painful filling an empty system could be. 3 quarts in and blob blub, had to wait for it to get in there. Pumped it a little with the hoses and moved onto another task. I painted the headlight brackets, muffler bracket, and hood brackets with epoxy paint.
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Sep 2, 2018 21:59
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Good to know! Sometimes I wish I was going to Boaz McPherson route and clean up the finishes, upholstery and all that, but drat I got to hear that engine run before that even gets touched.
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Sep 2, 2018 23:14
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Ugh this goddamn poo poo. This is a warning to everyone thinking of finishing someone else’s project. Most bags and cans have labels but this one did not. Somehow I figured out it had screws for the front end sheet metal and trim, and I mounted the headlight brackets. Then sorted and put the rest of the fasteners in a parts organizer.
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Sep 4, 2018 00:58
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Today’s goal, fill the brakes. It was not met. I built a cap for my pressure bleeder today, using a new one I purchased. Some brass fittings, o rings, washers and it went together easily. I then noticed the cap has a hole in it, which matches the one on the car too, and I filled it with epoxy putty. Great stuff that is. I also had to cut a thick rubber washer to get a seal between the cap and the reservoir. I stood on the cap at one point and was able to maintain 10psi with my body weight holding the cap to a rubber sheet. There was a ton of learning between starting and finishing but that part went fine and took about 30 minutes. So that’s sorted, and it could have gone smoothly from there.  Here’s one of the first ways I screwed up. When I put pressure on this very first fitting leaked. The connector was a bit rounded from the get go and I figured the bend there was hindering a seal, so I made a new line up. It looks much nicer and was worth the effort. It took as long to get the bottom fitting undone as it did to make a new one, but whatever.  When I was installing the new line to the master though I noticed there was no stop for the line. It came to me with a plug mounted in an adapter that I took off, turns out the adapter is the mating surface for the line. Dumb! Put that on and it took more pressure, but once I hit about 10psi it drops. I checked all the other fittings and at the bleeders but none of them make bubbles. I wonder if it’s a wheel cylinder? Considering they’ve been dry for this whole time it seems likely. I was able to hold 10psi with my finger over the output of the master so I can eliminate that at least. I did get my shift linkage hooked up properly. I think that’ll need some adjustment, but it works. I’ll know more when it’s moving under it’s own power I think, and I should look at the mechanism below the trim plate inside. I’d better chock the wheels though before I reverse it into my toolbox. I also dropped the fuel tank, there were rubber strips on the sides of it to isolate it from the body, but originally it had an insulation blanket just in the middle. I think that’s my problem with aligning the gas cap. I didn’t put it back up though because I can not get that cap on! It’s killing me. The step in the lip for the cam to ride in has a 3/8 hump, the cam to rubber is only 1/4. If it was ANYTHING else I’d dremel off a little piece but I can’t do that. It’s so confusing since it is the original tank and the original cap. It’s much easier to mess with that while the tank is dropped so that where it stays for now.
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Sep 9, 2018 03:57
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First of all let’s appreciate this drum brake. This is like the instructional model right off the line.  Second, I confirmed that I’m losing air at least at this cylinder. It’s Monday night and I am not going so hard as to look at all of them. There’s a part of me that says, fill with brake fluid and see if it seals up, and another part that says that’s dumb confirm these aren’t dried out or damaged first while it’s dry. I’m gonna listen to the second voice, the reward isn’t enough for that risk. I’ll check out the other three corners this week or weekend and see if I’m losing air on any of the others then more investigation. Like most people I hate taking apart drum brakes but I’ll get over it. 
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Sep 11, 2018 04:26
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Kaptainballistik posted:Try removing all the bleeders and giving it a good pedal pump after a gravity bleed. Hey I forgot to reply. There’s no crap in here at all actually, just air. Everything is new or rebuilt and hasn’t yet seen a drop of fluid. After pulling the axles on the international and replacing brake lines I’ve done every method of bleeding, the motive pressure bleeder was the clear winner for me. The feeling of watching a tube of brake fluid go from rusty to clear without getting up, without squeezing a vacuum and getting tiny air bubbles from the nipple, without the coordination of a friend pushing the pedal, or the unknown of having to check the speed bleeder was awesome. Then you give a few pumps and go to the next wheel and it’s three steps, hook up the wrench and hose, watch it, tighten it.
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Sep 11, 2018 04:33
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wallaka posted:I would very much recommend replacing the master cylinder with one from a '68. That fruit-jar single circuit one can be dangerous as hell. It’s crossed my mind but it’s not on the immediate list. I know I’m not talented enough to get that done properly right now, and I don’t want that failure sidelining me while I sort out the rest. I should have enough time after I get it moving stock and while I save money for the paint job to do that though.
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Sep 12, 2018 04:30
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Good news and scary news today. Good news, passenger front wheel cylinder doesn’t leak air. Scary news (but actually lucky), this side had a Cotter pin in the nut holding the drum and ultimately the wheel in place, the drivers side did not. I had no other reason but this leaky wheel cylinder to check. It was finger tight. Tomorrow I’m getting another set of jacks so I can throw that rear end in the air and check the rear brakes and see if I need 1,2 or 3 new wheel cylinders. I probably won’t share the wheel nut deal with pops, for his sanity’s sake.
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Sep 15, 2018 01:48
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IOwnCalculus posted:It's been a long time since I've dealt with front drums, but the actual torque specs for the tapered bearings on the front discs for both my C10 and Ranger (which actually use at least one of the same bearings, ha) are just barely snug enough to load the bearing. Which usually ends up being pretty light and easily undone when the pin is pulled. That makes sense. I’ll look it up before they go back in. The important takeaway was the lack of a pin. The preload on the International was like 50ft lbs and then back it off a quarter turn until the locking washer lines up. Very satisfying procedure.
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Sep 15, 2018 03:53
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When I took off the drivers side I though oh what a weird nut, but it’s fine threads it guess that stays on fine. Then tonight I got the cap off the other side and saw the Cotter pin and thought oh poo poo.
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Sep 15, 2018 04:37
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Boaz MacPhereson posted:If those wheel cylinders aren't crazy expensive, it might be worth the peace of mind to just replace all four. If only a couple have crapped out, what's to say the others aren't far behind? My thoughts are that brakes aren't really something you want to half-rear end. Gosh drat you.
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Sep 15, 2018 04:37
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Boaz MacPhereson posted:Hey man, I'm just throwing out ideas. I never said they were good ones. The problem is they’re so objectively correct. Old rubber sucks, and with the single pot master I should focus on getting them all perfect for piece of mind. Goal of the car is to be a comfortable cruiser and if I’m stressing on the pedal feel then it’s not comfortable! Ugh that they’re $20 each in the front but whew that they’re under $10 in the back. Worth the effort even though drums are a pain. It’s lessened due to them being dry and clean though. Thanks for the bearing torque tips to the rest of ya!
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Sep 16, 2018 00:22
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You’ve got to laugh sometimes, and never take anything for granted. I put in the new front brake cylinders today, not a bad evening job and it took about two hours. The brakes have nice clean hardware and none of it has been used to stop the car so it was pretty clean and I struggled with the springs as usual but remembered and looked up some tricks. Drivers side was first since I had seen it leaking air, but after I hooked it up I still couldn’t get the pressure bleeder to hold pressure. I did the soap again and had a tiny leak at the hose to cylinder and a leak at the cap where the fitting connected, so I tightened both. It still lost pressure and I could hear it a little. So I soldiered on to the passenger side which went a lot faster. This side never showed signs of leaking but I gave it some soap just to check if my connections looked good. It was perfect! The whole brake circuit holds air pressure at 15psi. I left it on so I could follow up in an hour and see. When I was putting the passenger side back together though, I noticed the adjuster was stamped with an “L”. I would expect it to be an “R”. So I checked the diagram.    Springs are different, and there’s no levers for the adjusters. So it looks like some hardware kits are in my future. I suspect these are all the right springs in all the wrong places and no cables for the adjusters, but I’m gonna start over fresh. They’re hilariously inexpensive.
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Sep 21, 2018 03:35
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Fo3 posted:Could the factory have abandoned auto adjusters some time during production and just changed the design? If I had to guess I’d say a PO, likely the Carson City Motor Pool changed it because they didn’t care to do it right, or my Dad had all the parts off and no reference photos and guessed. The reference photos I found online all match the diagram, and parts are available, so I’m going to try to make a match.
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Sep 21, 2018 15:23
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Larrymer posted:Man, gently caress drums. That was me after “finishing” the first two. I may take the others apart and swap the cylinders tonight. I was really thinking that when a spring went on wrong and I had to undo it and then it flew a few feet. I of course was wearing safety glasses.
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Sep 21, 2018 21:28
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| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 21:37 |
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I spent a couple of weekends with plenty of time and no parts. Now I have parts and no time. Mufflers came in, brake parts came in. I even took a shot on a new fuel cap that fits perfectly. Then the weather goes into a hard Denver fall, family comes to visit, we’re throwing a mystery party, a Broncos game with family... I am pretty stoked about that gas cap though. It means I can put the tank back in. Then I’ll put the brakes together, and on down the line.
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Oct 12, 2018 05:17
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