Lahti35 Posted September 28, 2023 Author Share Posted September 28, 2023 On 9/24/2023 at 7:22 PM, EmTee said: Whew! You can say that again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted September 28, 2023 Author Share Posted September 28, 2023 (edited) The last few nights I've been wrapping up stuff under the hood in preparation for the engine install. I replaced the rag joint Tuesday night, not a terrible job if the engine is out! Ford provides a nice wide crossmember to sit on and it's all right there in front of you. You do have to remove the column clamp, firewall bracket, loosen the column mount inside the cab, and slide it back 2" but nothing crazy. The new joints don't come with the horn jumper wire like the original so you have to make a jumper. I read too many posts on forums where people replace their joint and then the horn doesn't work and they can't figure out why. I even tested with the multi-meter to verify just to be sure I've got a good path to ground, no mistakes! I saved the old one for rebuild some day when I'm old🤪 I read it's a real bear to do. While I was in there I spent some time cleaning the lower frame area of grease, dirt, and oil. The brake equalizer/warning switch is down there and I may have to service it sooner than later so I wanted it clean. Some more general tidy up followed and I pronounced the engine compartment open for business. The engine goes in tonight after work. I also spent some time preparing my lift and reviewing some Ford diagrams to make sure the mounts go in the right way. I drained the oil from the engine and put a new filter on, oil looked ok with nothing beyond what one would expect for break in. Some vacuum hose and temp sender installation finished the night around 11. If this thing goes in there ok I'm going to buy a steak dinner for the wife and I, I didn't think this day would ever get here. Edited September 28, 2023 by Lahti35 (see edit history) 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted September 29, 2023 Author Share Posted September 29, 2023 (edited) It's in the hole! Installation was pretty smooth, took 45 minutes with my neighbor helping out. He's a car guy working on his high school late 40's ford truck with a Ford FE engine in it also. The lift had to pull it pretty high up in the air to clear the core support, high enough to make me nervous. Coupled with the fact that it had to be tilted at a nearly 40 degree angle then leveled out to get it down into the transmission tunnel makes for a bit of fun. I did go get a steak dinner, I earned it! Edited September 29, 2023 by Lahti35 (see edit history) 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Congratulations! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted September 29, 2023 Author Share Posted September 29, 2023 2 hours ago, EmTee said: Congratulations! True dat! Feels great! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom M Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Very nice. You earn a top of the line steak for all the work you have done. 🥩 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 7 hours ago, Tom M said: You earn a top of the line steak for all the work you have done. 🥩 Porterhouse! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted October 2, 2023 Author Share Posted October 2, 2023 I spent the bulk of this weekend doing all the little stuff you need to do once an engine is in place. I went through and hooked up vacuum hoses, linkages, heating/cooling hoses, speedo, battery cables, etc... I found my upper radiator hose was too short as I had cut it to fit the break in stand and the radiator was lower than in the actual truck... No great loss, it was one of those "cut to fit" generic things, the correct on is in the way. By the end of Saturday things looked like this... First thing Sunday I went to the hardware store to get some odd and ends that held me up somewhat the day before. Once equipped with my new supply of fasteners I was able to connect the drive shaft. Hooked up the skid plate bracket also. I added a big ground strap from the engine to the frame underneath, can't have enough grounds! Then I had some fun with the alternator brackets. Hindsight tells me they should be put on before the fan/pully because there is a distinct lack of space there when the pulley is installed. I fought with the lower bracket for 10 minutes before I go the upper bolt in as it's a really tight fit. Proud that I had avoided taking the fan off I moved to the upper adjusting bracket where I found there was no way to do it without taking the fan off... Rats! Loosening the fan to get 1/4" clearance did the trick and the bolt went in. Next I went to put the power steering bracket on and found it was being blocked by the oil pressure sender. I installed a T to run a oil pressure gauge in the cab that extended how far the sender stuck out, too far it turns out. A 90 degree fitting and a piece of pipe will get it out of the way, just need to get the pipe but I found a 90 today and installed that. With the bracket now fitting I was able to install the pump and the cooler. I still need to get some hose this week for the return line to finish the install but the pressure line is hooked up. The last pieces I need for the exhaust should be here tomorrow so I'll work on that in the evenings this week. I hope to have it installed by next weekend and fire it up again. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted October 2, 2023 Share Posted October 2, 2023 Once everything is back in order and connected under the hood you need to show that sad looking air cleaner housing some love! That beautiful FE paint job sure makes the tired air cleaner stick out... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericmac Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 This looks great. While it's too new for Old Car Festival, there is always Motor Muster, an equally good show. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted October 8, 2023 Author Share Posted October 8, 2023 On 10/6/2023 at 1:26 PM, ericmac said: This looks great. While it's too new for Old Car Festival, there is always Motor Muster, an equally good show. I'd thought about that, I may attend with it if it behaves! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted October 8, 2023 Author Share Posted October 8, 2023 Working on some small stuff today... I tried to roll the engine over with the key last night but no go unless I pushed the gear selector up as far as it would go. Ah ha! The neutral safety switch needed to be adjusted so I did that this AM, rolls over no problem now. I found some extra thick washers for the power steering pump bracket bolts, they ran out of threads before they could contact the bracket and lock the PS pump in place for belt adjustment. A quick look at some Ford parts diagrams showed I was missing these, once installed the issue was solved. I also cut my return lines and connected one end until my Oetiker clamps get here... Charged the battery, hooked up some wiring and hooked up the trans cooler lines... I should say I tried to hook up the trans cooler lines, one fit perfectly but the other was way too short no matter what I tried. This sort of stuff cheeses me off but it's been so long since I bought the set of cooler lines I can't remember where I got them from so I'm on my own here. I did have some 5/16" line here so I unrolled some and set to work making a new line. I had to do some adjusting to clear the header but it turned out ok. Not perfect but pretty good, I can live with it. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted October 10, 2023 Author Share Posted October 10, 2023 I spent yesterday evening filling up the transmission and doing a few heat cycles on the engine while flushing the radiator to make sure the system was ready for coolant. No issues and no leaks. This old accessory radiator "window" shows you it's full. I did find that my vintage oil pressure gauge in the cab is lying to me. No way I've got 50psi at idle after it's hot. My other gauge said 20psi hot, I'll track down a new gauge for the cab. Hopefully I can get the exhaust done in the next week and move on to dialing in the engine idle speed, choke, and jets. I need to quiet this sucker down, no fun working on it with just headers... Man alive it's loud! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 I've never seen a radiator sight glass like that before. Was it there when you got the truck? Sounds like you're making good progress on your final assembly checklist! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted October 10, 2023 Author Share Posted October 10, 2023 2 hours ago, EmTee said: I've never seen a radiator sight glass like that before. Was it there when you got the truck? Sounds like you're making good progress on your final assembly checklist! I put it in there. It's something I bought NOS and had it on the shelf for years now. Seemed like a neat thing to try. The brass bung is two parts, there is an inner flange with a sealing ring and the outer nut. The sight glass screws into the brass part once it's installed. I sealed the glass with Rectorseal and let it setup for some time before filling. It was fun to try and get the inner part in place past the baffle in the top tank, tight fit! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted October 12, 2023 Author Share Posted October 12, 2023 I spent 2 hours tonight installing the alternator and doing some tuning... I checked the timing and found it at 11 degrees AFTER tdc, I had dropped the timing back some during break in and went too far. Ran much better at 12 degrees BEFORE tdc, lol! No harm done it seems... I got the idle down to 800rpm in park, spec is 650 in drive so I left it a bit high to account for that. Vacuum is at 20 at idle, spec is 17 so nothing wrong with that. I'm still going to have to do some more tuning on the idle adjusters and fast idle cam but I'm going to wait until the exhaust is complete and my new spark plugs show up. I decided to switch to the old fashioned copper core autolites instead of the fancy ones in there now (which are most likely fouled some after running rich during break in for a time). It's tough to see the idle adjusters in poor lighting as they are buried under the float bowl so i'll wait for a bright afternoon. Then this happened... After getting it tuned-ish I stepped on the brake while running and selected each gear in turn to allow trans fluid to do it's thing and made sure it was responding. When first selecting a gear there was hesitation as the fluid went where it needed to go, response was instant selecting gears on the second go around so I put it in reverse and backed out of the garage. I have pushed this truck in and out of the garage countless times in the last 2 1/2 years so it was nice to just go for a ride. What goes out must go back in so... Once back in the shop I tested the charging system and it was working at 14.25V so another win for the day. I'm really looking forward to getting an exhaust on it and going around the block. I'd like to get a few miles on it before it snows to finish breaking in the engine and be ready for spring fun. Almost there! 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted October 22, 2023 Author Share Posted October 22, 2023 I've spent the last 10 days working on the exhaust... Mostly waiting for parts and actually with a few days of real work. Space is tight under the oil pan and the exhaust has to stay high enough to avoid the tie rod/suspension travel. I've had to design, redesign, cut, trim and take apart several times to get it as compact as I can. The left bank goes under the oil pan and connects to a Y-pipe. The right side comes down and over and connects to the same Y-pipe. The Y-pipe has to squeeze over a crossmember and between the frame and transmission. It took awhile to get the outlet of the Y-pipe centered but I got there tonight. Everything is tacked, and it all clears the obstacles. Once past the transmission things open up and it's easy. Plenty of room for the muffler and the arch over the rear axle. I'm waiting on a few more bits of pipe so I can make the tailpipe exit out the passenger side behind the wheel. The muffler and tailpipe are clamped on for aiding in install and keeping the size of the pieces manageable. Unfortunately I noticed the reviews of the clamps I bought after I bought them, they were not kind! I ordered some new clamps that DON'T strip the bolt threads when you tighten them up, they will be here in a few days along with my pipe bits. My next test is to see if I can remove the tacked header collector assembly... I have concerns with the space available that it may not come out for welding, I hope I'm wrong! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted October 29, 2023 Author Share Posted October 29, 2023 The rest of my exhaust bends came in and I finished the exhaust system. I did have an issue with the collector gaskets with one squeezing out on the way to the recommended torque spec. I noticed the passenger side collector gasket looked odd after I torqed it down to 20ftlb as recommended by the Remflex gasket folks. When I mocked up the exhaust I placed spacers in-between the flanges to account for the gasket so it wasn't a lack of space. Before I hooked up the rest of the system I decided to pull the pipe under the engine and examine the gaskets. Glad I did... Yup, it was toast. I did notice the flange on the passenger side pipe had a crown to it around the inside diameter. I ended up filing it some to flatten it out, it could only help. About that time I got a new set of the Remflex gaskets in and reinstalled the unit. This time I did not torque them down, I just went by feel and watched very carefully for any squish out. They ended up staying in place ok, and they don't leak when running so i'll just monitor them and see what happens. Today I took it for a short 1 mile drive... hooray! It behaved well, plenty of power. I did notice that there is a rhythmic vibration when driving, I strongly suspect the drive shaft support bearing as it's non serviceable and looks to be original. I'll pick up the bearing along with U-joints and just replace them all for good measure. Last thing I did before calling it quits was to tune the engine again. I found the timing had shifted and tracked it down to the points which I had neglected to tighten well when I set them originally. Oops! I adjust the idle screws for best vacuum and set the idle at 800rpm as per the shop manual for an automatic. With that done I set the choke and it's "fast idle" cam that kicks the throttle up to 1400rpm when engaged. Good enough for tonight... 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted October 30, 2023 Author Share Posted October 30, 2023 Before I do a serious shakedown run after tuning it good I wanted to get the drive shaft rebuilt and get that nasty vibration fixed. It's a two part drive shaft with a support bearing so it's a little more complicated than usual but not anything crazy. I did some research before removal so I was able to see the pitfalls and avoid issues. The two shaft pieces have to be orientated a certain way, the u joints are in alignment with each other. Incorrect alignment can cause vibration so I made it a point to check orientation before removal in case that was an issue but it's not, the two parts where together correctly. It looks like none of the U-joints or the support bearing has ever been touched and are original so that's a good thing. I had to take the driveshaft apart to measure for the correct parts... The U-joints came out like normal, nothing special. The support bearing on the other hand is a tough customer. I watched some videos of the bearing removal and short of having a press and bearing puller it looked to be a "chop it into bits" with an abrasive wheel type of thing. I did have a gear puller and figured I could make it work if I could give it something to bite on the bearing. I solved this by welding on some tabs after I had removed the bearing retainer and grease cover. The retainer had to be heated and slowly backed off the shaft to gain access to the bearing grease cover. Slow, tedious work but it was nice to save the retainer that I had seen cut up in other removal videos for reinstallation with the new bearing. You can see the tabs I welded on here... The heat from welding helped too, warming the bearing enough to expand it slightly and make removal easy. The old bearing all gone. All the bits disassembled. The new parts should be here Wednesday so I want to clean the shaft ends some and have them ready for reassembly that same night. I also got my brake warning light rebuild kit and special tool so that's on the agenda soon also. It's getting colder and darker so i'm trying to get as much done as I can before Thanksgiving... 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted November 6, 2023 Author Share Posted November 6, 2023 (edited) I spent the last few days fighting with the drive shaft... I was able to get the support bearing installed and all the u-joints pressed in save for the last one, the problem child that connected to the pinion yoke. While pressing in the u-joints I was very careful to make sure all the needle bearings were in position but I was getting tired near the end of the night. While I made sure the center member slid into either cap when they were in position (before pressing in) I was unable to test that it would seat fully with the cap retainers in the way. When I did go ahead and press them in one cup would not seat fully onto it's crossmember. I immediately suspected a needle bearing had fallen into the cap and pressed the whole thing out one side of the drive shaft to remove it. It was then I realized I had created a chinese puzzle, with the one cap sticking out slightly I couldn't get clearance to remove the u-joint! I couldn't press it back in and I couldn't take the offending cap off in order to get it out, it was so close but no dice. The last option, the only option really, was to cut the cap off with a grinder. Yup, I knew it! I was able to order a new u-joint for free overnight delivery to the store and after picking it up I got the new u-joint in and installed the whole driveshaft. I didn't realize I was out of grease until I went to lube the u-joints so it was back to the store for a tube, lol. I was starting to feel like I was doing home improvements where you have to go to the store 4 times to get the job done but the missing grease was the last bit and it was ready for service. I went for a short drive down the street and indeed the vibration is gone, problem solved. I think it was the support bearing, I didn't find anything wrong with the u-joints but better safe than sorry. Edited November 6, 2023 by Lahti35 (see edit history) 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted November 6, 2023 Author Share Posted November 6, 2023 Saturday I looked into the fuel gauge which has not worked since I got the truck. I had never put much gas in the tank as it's gone nowhere and only needed to feed the engine recently. I thought i'd put 7 gallons in it and did confirm it was dead. The first thing was to ground the wire from the gauge which will make the gauge read full and eliminate the gauge as the problem. Turned out the gauge was ok and shot right up to full. So out came the sending unit and I discovered the issue... Yup, it's cracked and missing chunks. I've been working on this truck so long I'm starting to forget what I have already looked at and if it needed work or not, lol. I did install a new cork tank gasket like 2 years ago so I don't see how I would have missed the bad float. I took a trip to Tractor Supply as they used to carry floats but no luck, they used to but don't anymore and the current employees where mystified by the object I had brought with me. A further few miles down the road at the auto parts store the computer jockey was also mystified by this brass cylinder and could only assume it went to a fuel pump or carburetor. I came home feeling dumber from the interactions, out of touch with todays parts suppliers, and just ordered one online. Since I had the sender out I popped the cover off and verified the copper brush was tracking correctly. It did need a small adjustment to center it but was ok otherwise. I shined up the wire inside the body also, just to make sure there was no corrosion messing things up and then put it back together. Gotta be careful with those metal tabs, they are fragile! I had to put it back in the tank to keep the gas fumes at bay. When the new float gets here I'll pull it, install, and then put it back... hopefully it works at that point. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted November 6, 2023 Share Posted November 6, 2023 Ford had those floats until 2016(?) or so. I remember trying to buy one right after they were discontinued. Any of the Mustang/Thunderbird/F-series parts houses will have replicas available. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted November 6, 2023 Author Share Posted November 6, 2023 (edited) Today I pulled the truck out to test the cold start settings on the carb I did last weekend. It really had a hard time starting and just didn't really run smooth. There was a steady rhythmic jerking while parked that just wasn't right, it got worse when I gave it gas. Not the result I was looking for so I was going to call it quits and walked away but then turned 'round and decided to check the plug wires. I figured a cylinder was missing so I started pulling wires off the distributor and found this: Yeahhhhhhhhh.... So this is a set of Motorcraft wires, not some cheap junk. Turns out instead of putting 90 degree ends inside of 90 degree rubber boots they just stuck a straight connector on there and let the wire do the 90 by bending. I found two plug wires that were pulled back into the boot. I know what happened, they got pushed up when installed because they are crammed to one side of the boot instead of sitting in the center like a 90 degree fitting would. These are a struggle to plug in and really feel like they are engaged fully in the cap, they had me fooled. Just more so-so parts for us folks to deal with, how much more would a 90 degree fitting have cost? Surprise, the engine runs much better on 8 cylinders than intermittently on 6 or 7, who knew?! Smoothed right out like nobody's business. I had to reset the idle again as the new constantly firing cylinders upped the rpm's to 1000 at idle, I dropped it to the 800rpm spec and it was still happy. I'll try another cold start this week and see how it does at the factory settings with 8 cylinders firing. One other thing I did was drill a small hole at the lowest point in the muffler to let out moisture. The hole is too small to make a difference in noise or performance but keeps the muffler from rotting out sooner from the inside. I'm at the point where I can start to do some real drives, out of the yard and past the corner stop sign anyway. We'll see how she behaves on a 15 minute drive shortly, followed by a 30 minute trip if that goes well. Baby steps at first, don't want to get really far away from drydock if things go sideways... Edited November 7, 2023 by Lahti35 (see edit history) 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted November 6, 2023 Author Share Posted November 6, 2023 1 hour ago, Bloo said: Ford had those floats until 2016(?) or so. I remember trying to buy one right after they were discontinued. Any of the Mustang/Thunderbird/F-series parts houses will have replicas available. Yup, they used them for decades on everything. I found one for $10 shipped. I almost pulled the trigger on a NOS one from the 70's but it had some corrosion going on. Hopefully the new one I got is of good quality! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Perkins / Mn Posted November 7, 2023 Share Posted November 7, 2023 22 hours ago, Lahti35 said: I found two plug wires that were pulled back into the boot. I know what happened, they got pushed up when installed because they are crammed to one side of the boot instead of sitting in the center like a 90 degree fitting would. These are a struggle to plug in and really feel like they are engaged fully in the cap, they had me fooled. Just more so-so parts for us folks to deal with, how much more would a 90 degree fitting have cost? Surprise, the engine runs much better on 8 cylinders than intermittently on 6 or 7, who knew?! Smoothed right out like nobody's business. I had to reset the idle again as the new constantly firing cylinders upped the rpm's to 1000 at idle, I dropped it to the 800rpm spec and it was still happy. I'll try another cold start this week and see how it does at the factory settings with 8 cylinders firing. Can’t believe I just had the same running problem with my ‘48 Chrysler. After installing a complete tune-up kit on my car including points, condenser, rotor, and new cap I had a definite hi speed miss which I could not find a cause for. Sooooo, I read your post and lo and behold I had the same issue, 90 deg boots on straight wires. I too the boots off, plugged the wires back in. Yep, that was it. Reached 75mph without missing a beat (that does take a while in a fluid drive Chrysler 😂). Ordered new straight boots. Thanks to you for your posting and your astute observational skills!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted November 7, 2023 Author Share Posted November 7, 2023 1 hour ago, Jeff Perkins / Mn said: Can’t believe I just had the same running problem with my ‘48 Chrysler. After installing a complete tune-up kit on my car including points, condenser, rotor, and new cap I had a definite hi speed miss which I could not find a cause for. Sooooo, I read your post and lo and behold I had the same issue, 90 deg boots on straight wires. I too the boots off, plugged the wires back in. Yep, that was it. Reached 75mph without missing a beat (that does take a while in a fluid drive Chrysler 😂). Ordered new straight boots. Thanks to you for your posting and your astute observational skills!! I fiddled with mine some more tonight, this time pulling the boot back a few inches and making sure the terminal "clicked" into the distributor cap before sliding the boot back down over it. What I got was front row seat as I watched several of the boots lift off the cap, the only way I could get them to stay was to pull on the plug wire and push the boot down with much force. Obviously this is not acceptable. They must just be taking stock length cables and slapping whatever boots on the application needs vs. installing the correct terminal ends, i'm sure it's cheaper for the bottom line. I'm going the opposite way, I ordered new 90 degree terminals and will be cutting the straight ones off the wire and installing the new angled ones. This is just dumb! Glad you found your issue, this is exactly the type of thing that makes it good to post what we run into keeping these old things on the road. One never knows who could be having the same issue. Thanks for the kind words! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted November 7, 2023 Share Posted November 7, 2023 (edited) Straight terminals are the normal setup with 7mm wires. I doubt the stock Ford right angle boots would even properly cover a right angle terminal. Those boots you have look like they will be fine though, as long as the terminals are pretty short. Edited November 7, 2023 by Bloo (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted November 7, 2023 Author Share Posted November 7, 2023 1 hour ago, Bloo said: Straight terminals are the normal setup with 7mm wires. I doubt the stock Ford right angle boots would even properly cover a right angle terminal. Those boots you have look like they will be fine though, as long as the terminals are pretty short. They just doesn't feel right going in, i've never had to fiddle with terminals so much and still be wondering if they are really in there. The fact that I took my time to install them originally and pulled the caps recently to find two sucked back into the boot like a scared turtle's head scares me some, lol. I'm going to experiment a bit and see what I can come up with. I've never had this much trouble with any plug wire terminals before. Maybe it's these specific boots, or the current terminal ends... can't say. They're just not working like every other standard plug set I've used before. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted November 7, 2023 Share Posted November 7, 2023 I don't like it either, but that's how it normally is. I'm a fan of straight boots. Nevertheless, right angle it is on FE. Nothing else quite works out all right on one of those. I slide the boots way back and snap the terminal in. If it wont snap in I spread it until it will, and then slide down the boot afterward. They still try to walk back up, at least at first. After a while they settle in, but at first they always look a little funny. If boots won't slide well on the wire, I use a little bit of CRC "heavy duty silicone". That particular spray is not like the others. It wont leave an oily mess all over rubber parts. Also if the boots can slide good on the wire, they might drift up but won't be trying to pull the wire out of the cap while everything is settling in. Those boots you have will probably be fine with some right angle terminals. The tails of them are quite long. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 Lathi35, I went through my receipts on the Mercury and the plug wires I have are Prestolite 128033. They worked out great and have the proper ends and fit for my 352. Maybe worth looking in to. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted November 9, 2023 Author Share Posted November 9, 2023 6 hours ago, Laughing Coyote said: Lathi35, I went through my receipts on the Mercury and the plug wires I have are Prestolite 128033. They worked out great and have the proper ends and fit for my 352. Maybe worth looking in to. I'll check them out, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted November 9, 2023 Author Share Posted November 9, 2023 My new fuel sender float showed up today... I was pleased, it looks to be of good quality. After installation I tested the resistance of the sender to make sure it smoothly increased and decreased with no issue after cleaning the parts last weekend. Everything was within spec... Back in the sender went and when I turned the key the gauge came to life with no issue. I tested the operation of the fuel sender selector switch that allows you to see how much fuel is in each tank and it also seems to be working. While the auxiliary tank has yet to have any gas added, the sender is new so I don't anticipate issues (you never know though). Next up is the brake warning light block rebuild (the red light is very distracting), and opening up the rear axle for new hub seals and brake shoes. It's not a simple thing to pull the rear drums off so I'm planning on doing everything while I'm in there and have access. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericmac Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 I continue to be impressed by the thoroughness of your work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted November 10, 2023 Share Posted November 10, 2023 I want to know when you plan to make the first trip for ice cream! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted November 10, 2023 Author Share Posted November 10, 2023 49 minutes ago, EmTee said: I want to know when you plan to make the first trip for ice cream! Sadly, Mr. Twisty and our other favorite local ice cream associates have closed for the season. They've hung up their scoops until spring but I'll be there directly when they open back up! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted November 13, 2023 Author Share Posted November 13, 2023 There are foul things about in the garage... But first some pics of the truck outside! It occured to me that I hadn't snapped any pics of the truck in it's current state since last year... I think it's looking pretty cool! However it's not behaving at all... I went to cold start it and test the last carb settings I made but it would not fire, wouldn't even try. This eventually had me looking at the distributor testing for 12v here and there when I found that the points weren't opening or closing. My brand new points with the modern plastic contact pad had worn down so much that it wasn't being actuated by the cam on the distributor shaft. I reset the gap and it fired right away but gee whiz, they aren't much for longevity! I ordered a couple of sets of NOS points with the old style reinforced contact pad, I'll stick with the classics as I've never had one of those wear down like this new one did. Bugaboo #2 happened when I walked back into the garage to see this on the floor... Now, I've become accustomed to seeing some wet spots under the truck from exhaust condensation but the green made my heart sink as I couldn't help but think a head gasket had failed. What I eventually realized though was I had backed the truck 1/2 way out of the garage earlier so the green was actually under the engine compartment at the time. I popped the hood and found some small specks of antifreeze at the front of the engine on the passenger frame rail and timing cover. Further investigation revealed the source... Yup, the brand new water pump leaks from the cover plate on it's backside. As soon as I wiped away the drop another would appear seconds later. At least it's on the front of the engine and easy to get to, would be nice to get a new part that worked straight out of the box but maybe i'm being too picky these days. At any rate success is anything but a straight path from beginning to end and down a detour we go again! Did I mention it looks cool in the pics???? 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted November 13, 2023 Share Posted November 13, 2023 Truck looks good. Sorry for all the issues you're having. I used Blue Streak brand points. Seemed to be made well and work good. I think they will be labeled under Standard. Worth checking into. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted November 13, 2023 Share Posted November 13, 2023 The Lucky Strikes look right at home! Ugh, crappy analog ignition parts may ultimately be what drives me to electronic conversion... The water pump is another thing - I feel your pain. I'm at the point now where I think long and hard before replacing any working part just because "I'm in there...". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted November 13, 2023 Author Share Posted November 13, 2023 2 hours ago, Laughing Coyote said: Truck looks good. Sorry for all the issues you're having. I used Blue Streak brand points. Seemed to be made well and work good. I think they will be labeled under Standard. Worth checking into. We'll get there in end! I don't recall what brand of points I purchased as it was over two years ago, I don't recall them being the lowest price set but they should have been, lol! I ordered 2 NOS Motorcraft DP-12 points and made sure they had the reinforced rubbing block, I'll try 'em when they arrive and see how it goes! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted November 13, 2023 Author Share Posted November 13, 2023 2 hours ago, EmTee said: The Lucky Strikes look right at home! Ugh, crappy analog ignition parts may ultimately be what drives me to electronic conversion... The water pump is another thing - I feel your pain. I'm at the point now where I think long and hard before replacing any working part just because "I'm in there...". You're not wrong there! It's getting tough to find good parts... I'm not buying the cheap stuff either, but it might as well be with the issues. I may have a set of gaskets for the water pump, I'll have to check tonight. I tried getting a wrench on from behind but there isn't enough room, the bolts I could access were tight so there must be a flaw in the rear cover gasket or something. I know what I'm doing this weekend! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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