rick60

Thanks for the information. The tap pads on my brother's car were in very poor condition. The literally fell apart as I was removing them. I did not notice any snaps on the top pads. Those pads were probably not the originals. I don't know if the replacement pads will have snaps. I haven't seen the pads as of yet and the car will not be ready to have the top installed until later this year. Thanks. Rick

I've posted this question in the general section because I think it may apply to any make of car. I'm redoing my brother's '61 Ford Sunliner. I've removed the convertible top material. This appears to only the second top installed on this car. The top pads appeared to be the original ones installed from the factory. I noticed that there were snaps installed on the top (inside) of the side rails. There are two on each front rail. There is one on each center rail. The snaps installed on the front rails are positioned towards the ends of the rail. I looked in the shop manual. There is no mention or pictures of these snaps. I don't remember seeing these on my '60 when I replaced that top. Does anyone know the purpose of these snaps? They were positively installed by the factory. Could they possibly have been used in conjunction with straps to secure the top to prevent chaffing when it is stacked? Any information is appreciated.

This may be slightly off topic. When I was working as a mechanic at an Oldsmobile dealer I saw an unusual Buick. One of the other mechanics called me over to his bay . He told me the car he was working on had a "three on the tree". He had a'78 or '79 Park Avenue with a three speed manual trans. It was a two door painted a brown/gold color. The car was equipped with power windows, a/c and other options. It looked like a factory installation. The steering column was black. It was the semi gloss black that GM used at that time. The car did have a matching brown factory correct steering wheel. The car was in for an oil change. We assumed that the conversion was done by an aftermarket company. Nobody thought to ask the owner about his car. It sure looked factory. This occurred in 1979 or 1980 in the Chicago area. Any additional information would be greatly appreciated.

I'm planning to rebuild a 1960 352 FE block this winter. I'm looking for a machine shop that is experienced with these engines. I want to build it to stock specifications. I also want to have it balanced. Does anyone know of a shop in the Chicago/Milwaukee area? Thanks.

Most engines usually will "stop" in one of three positions because of firing order and compression. These areas will show wear on the ring gear. If the 30% missing is uniform across the entire ring gear, it is probably designed that way.

They look like the caps from a rear drive, Nova based, Omega.

Be sure to check your fuel pressure. A restricted fuel filter will cause a "no start cold" condition. If your fuel pump is loud when the engine is running it is most likely a restricted fuel filter. The pump could also be defective. Make sure it is at factory specs. A little below specs will not start the vehicle. It will run with low pressure after you get it warmed up. I'm a former Chevy mechanic. When I was dispatched a "tow in, no start" I would check the fuel pressure. If it was below specs I'd start the vehicle with a shot of carb cleaner and then drive it into my bay for the repair. It was easier than pushing work vans up hill. Good luck.

Thanks very much for the information. I'll pass it along to the owner.

A coworker inherited a '46 Pontiac. It is a low mileage, original condition car. He stated that the underside of the car was sprayed with white lead many years ago. This was a form of rust protection. I've heard of white lead, but don't really know what it is. Can someone tell me what white lead is? What it's use was/is? How it can be safely removed from the car without damaging the car? Thanks.

Check out this web site. 1936 Pontiac Restoration

I used to own a '50 Pontiac. It had a miss on # 3 cylinder. It turned out to be the same problem. There was a small hole in the casting between the intake and exhaust chambers. It caused an internal vacuum leak. It acted like an EGR valve that was stuck partially open. I cleaned the area until it was bare metal and applied JB Weld. The fix worked. It last for the16 years that I owned the car. ( still kicking myself for selling that car! ) The hole that I had was about the diameter of a pencil. If it was much bigger a replacement manifold or weld repair would have been required. Good luck with your car.

I spent a lot of time using the factory supplied template when installing a rear antenna on my "60 Ford. After I drilled the holes I went to install the retaining nuts. That is when I noticed that there were two holes located in the top of the rear qt. panel inside support structure to allow clearance for a socket to secure the nuts. It would have been much easier to drill the holes from the bottom. A hole saw the same diameter of the support structure hole could have been inserted and the pilot drill of the hole saw used to drill the hole for the antenna studs making sure not to allow the hole saw damage the sheet metal. You may want to look on the inside of the rear quarter panel for similar holes in the support structure to aid in finding the location of the rear antennas on the Edsel.

Be sure to check your spark plugs for carbon tracking. If the previous ignition wires were bad they will arc across the spark plug insulator and cause a carbon track. This will appear as a thin black line on the plug insulator. It will cause a random misfire. The only fix is to replace the plug and the wire. If the wires are new you can try applying some dielectric grease inside the boot. A spray bottle filled with water is a good way to check the secondary ignition wires. Just mist some water over the wires and look / listen for sparks. You may also get it to misfire when spraying the wires. O2 sensors generally don't cause misfire problems. An O2 code can be set when you have a misfire due to a rich condition. Good luck.

I've used DOT 5 for several years. The only problem was the failure of the brake light switch. I keep a few extra switches on hand. I've only replaced the switch in my Ford once in 10 years. I've never had to add fluid. No leaks have ever occurred.

I have a 1960 schematic that shows no fuse. There is a 20 amp circuit breaker. This provides 12v for the fan and compressor. The '60 schematic shows 12v provided to the fan switch at the brown wire. Red wire is low speed, blue wire is medium speed, orange is high speed. You know that the motor and ground are good because the motor works when 12v is applied. You know that the circuit breaker is good because the ac clutch is engaging. The next step is to see if 12v is available at the brown wire at the switch. If there is no 12v at the switch, check for an open circuit between the switch and breaker. If 12v is available use a fused jumper wire at the switch connecter to bypass the switch. Brown to orange should provide high speed fan operation. Brown to blue should provide medium speed fan operation. Brown to red should provide low speed fan operation. You can also check for input voltage at the resistor. Red will be 12v when low is selected. Blue will be 12v when medium is selected. Orange wire should vary depending what speed is selected. An ohmmeter is the best way to check wire continuity. Be sure there is no power in the circuit when checking continuity. If you bypass the switch and the blower works, the problem is the switch. If there is no varing voltage to the orange wire terminal of the resistor when 12v is provided to the appropriate input terminal, the problem is the resistor. If there is voltage available at the orange wire terminal of the resistor or fan speed switch your problem is an open circuit in the orange wire. I'm pretty sure that there is no difference in the '59 or '60 schematics. It will take you less time to do these checks than it did for me to type this reply. It is a very simple system. Good luck!

FREE 1999 LeSabre front door switch plates. These are NOS perfect. I was going to install these on my LeSabre but it was totaled on the Edens expressway (broke my heart). The first person to email a shipping address can have them. I will not be able to ship until 19 May 09. Thanks Rick rln31455@yahoo.com

Try squarebirds.org

I have a few water pumps from Ford fe engines that I would like to rebuild myself. Does anyone know of a source for the parts needed to rebuild these pumps? Thanks.

I'm not sure. I've never seen one in person......just pictures. I don't know the part number either. I'm hoping someone has one available from a 1960 full size Ford. I think the 58/59 floor pans are different from 60. Thanks

Just last week I was on my driveway working on my brother's '61 Ford. I was listening to talk radio and was a little upset about the actions of some local politicians. As I was doing a slow burn, a young man about 20 years old approaches me. He states as follows: " I attend UIC (University of IL Chicago) and I'm working my way through college. I need money for books." I waited to see what he was selling. He repeated his line. I asked him if he was selling anything. He looked surprised and said "no". I asked him if he wanted me to give him money so he could buy books. He said, with a straight face "yes". I was shocked! I recently finished putting my two boys through top colleges. They handled a heavy academic work load. They also did volunteer work in the town where their schools are located. They also managed to work part time to assist with the financial burden. I went off like a bottle rocket! I went on a rant that basically advised this kid that he was not working working his way through college. He was BEGGING his way through college! I also let him know that there was no entitlement program. He should get off his butt and get a job! (my rant was a little more profane than this account) First he turned red, then he turned a very pale white and walked away at a brisk pace. This kid actually thought what he was doing was acceptable. My wife said I was too rough on him. I don't think so.

I used it on the outer panels of a beater Olds. The product was gloss black when applied. It turned to a flat black after about six months. It did stop the surface rust. I did very little prep to the metal before applying the product. I was not concerned with saving the car, I just wanted to see if the product lived up to claims by the manufacturer. It worked well for stopping surface rust. The car was driven in nasty Chicago winters.

I'm looking for a '60 full size Ford six way manual seat adjuster. The seat moves forward, backward and tilts in the front and rear. There are two adjustment levers. This is not a power seat. Thanks. Rick rln31455@yahoo.com

I WAS WORKING AS AN OLDS MECHANIC WHEN THESE WERE NEW. OUR DEALERSHIP HAD ONE. IT WAS RETURNED TO OLDS. THE BODY WAS BENT. YOU NEEDED TWO PEOPLE TO LATCH THE TOP. THE WINDSHIELD WAS THREE INCHES HIGHER ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE. AS BAD AS THE FIT AND FINISH WAS, THIS CAR GENERATED A LOT OF EXCITEMENT IN THE SHOWROOM.

MY DAD BORROWED A FRIENDS 41 CHEVY, SHORTLY AFTER HIS RETURN FROM WW II. HE PARKED THE CAR AND NOTICED THAT THE "CLIP ON" MIRROR WAS ON THE GROUND NEXT TO THE CAR. MY DAD REINSTALLED THE MIRROR AND RETURNED THE CAR. A FEW DAYS LATER THE OWNER SAID "HEY, WHERE DID YOU GET THE MIRROR?"

The Astro/Safari vans easily last 300,00 miles or more. Fleet managers love them. I have a Safari cargo van with 185,000 miles. I bought used. It is a retired phone company truck. I used it to haul my two boys stuff to college. I thought I would sell it when they were done with school, but I fell in love with it. I use it to haul car parts and stuff for the house. When I arrive at Home Depot everyone thinks I'm a professional contractor. At 185,000 miles it still looks good. I have done very little work to keep it on the road. It gets 21mpg in the city, 26mpg on the highway. I was formerly employed as a mechanic at a Chevy dealer. I was surprised the Astro was being discontinued. I asked the general manager of the dealer why they were going to stop making such a money maker for GM. He replied that GM could no longer meet emission requirements. It was not cost effective to redesign the vehicle. I worked as a GM tech for 28 years. I noticed a lot of quality problems were the result of engineering required to meet the demands of the government. AC problems, paint problems, trying to meet emission and C A F E requirements. I also noticed some of the same problems with import brands. I also worked at an independent shop, part time, for ten years. I spent some time at a Honda dealer. It seems when imports break they are still fantastic cars. The repair is considered routine maintenance. If an American car breaks it is because it is American made. It is very popular for Americans to hate America these days. I watched GM die a slow death for the last 20 years. I don't blame GM. I always thought the product was good. The "hate America" attitude was the problem. Even if GM cars spit $100 dollar bills out of the tailpipe these people would find a reason to complain. I find it ironic that the best cars ever made by GM come at a time when the company is in trouble. Remember....AS GM GOES SO GOES THE NATION