Category Archives: Mustang

Intro Engine History Segment

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If you’ve been reading my “stuff” on this blog or Facebook or Racing in America http://www.racinginamerica.com/ (Henry Ford foundation) you might wonder…what’s wrong with this guy? Does he write for a living?  Well if I did I’d be starving and driving a 1993 Honda Accord with only one plastic hub cap (that’s really my son’s car…he’s a starving artist – I have a plug for him on my blog – RJS Graphic design – he’s pretty good and he won’t strave..Mom won’t have any of that!!) instead of a shiny red 84 Corvette and restored 70 Mustang.  I do it for fun, I haven’t made a single dollar from any of my writing.  I don’t even have sponsors or advertisers for the places I leave my droppings.  Actually this costs me money!!!!

So…yes..I do this for fun and the very informal approach I take…..eeeerrrrkkkkk…..ok folks…I don’t have an approach..real writers do.  The way I like to do this is to just sit down and type…there’s no drafts, unless I save it to finish later, there is no real planning,(hell my poor readers are lucky if I remember to run spell check!!!) other than a Post-It-Note or an email sent to myself when I get an idea.  Nope, I just sit down and type.  If it is on a project I’m working, I sometimes take a break and with the fresh smell of GoJo still on my hands I just start typing and up loading pics.  99.999% of my blogs are done in one sitting.  Type and post. (Sometimes I re-read them…mostly to laugh at my super great witt…HEY!!!!!  DID YOU JUST ROLL YOUR EYES????!!!!  That’s rude!!!)

So I have a list of ideas and one of them was to start a regular piece on engines (I mentioned this a while back.) But man, there’s a lot of stuff out there and great publishing works like the Hemmings nation and Hot Rod magazine do this all time.  Am I going to add some thing never before discussed? Nope.  Am I going to present it in way that nobody ever has?  Well the way I write, yeah probably, no one write like this I don’t think.

My idea was to talk about an engine and include when it was first introduced and what it was used in and for how long, that kind of info.  I’m a big fan of history, history of anything, buildings, streets, towns, cars, really anything that as a little history, I’m interested in hearing about.

So my issue was I just hadn’t sat down and picked one yet to write about.  I was going to do the Ford 302, the engine my Mustang has, or the Crossfire in the Corvette and I will.  But the other day I got my September issue of Classic Car #72 from the Hemmings nation and on the cover was “12 Dynamic Dodge Darts Fun Cars that you must own”.   That triggered a memory of the Dodge Dart I owned when I was in college, I think owned it about 5 months..just long enough to remove all the rust and patch the holes and get it into primer before selling it.

As I read the articles in this issue, I remembered the 318 that my Dart had in and as I read further I decided to kick my series off with Mopar’s 318. 

So over the next few posts I have some interesting details on  configurations and various cars it was used in and some specs.  I’ll try to remember to list the references so you can look up additional info.

Thanks for Reading

Tim

Auto Factoids for the week of 7/11/2010

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We got a first and a last on the same day – 60 years apart.

7/12/1922 – Frist Checker automobile  built

1922 Checker Cab

 

7/12/1982 – Last Checker automobile built

1982 Checker Cab

 

7/14/1955 – First Karman Ghia – I really like these cars.  I might own one some day, but maybe a Covair instead!!!

1955 Karmann Ghia - didn't change much from '55 - '74

7/16/1935…first parking meter in place in Oklahoma City, 30 minute later was the first parking ticket.

First Parking Meter

Thanks for reading

Tim

Auto Factoids for the Week of 7/4/2010

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Here ya go, enjoy. 

7/6/1946…..U.S. began producing car again after World War II.  It is a bit misleading but some cars companies did continue to produce cars.  At the very onset of the war (1942 thereabout), some of the first effort were to build the cars without all the chrome, painting the trim instead, the first “blacked out” (they were actually called “blackout specials or models” ) which became popular with the grilles in muscle cars later on.  Washington dictated that stainless-steel and chrome would not be allowed on cars except on of bumpers, bumper guards, and windshield wipers. 

1942 Chevy Front.

 

1942 Chevy Backside

 

I think it looks great!!! 

7/8/1909  The first Hudson was built. 

Hudson Roadster from 1909

 

Thanks for reading 

Tim

1970 Mustang – Replacing my Pillar Post Moldings Part III

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Caulk another tasks down on the restoration of the Mustang. 

I finished up the pillar post molding last night.  Here is the before: 

Pretty?

 

Now these were not as labor intensive as the dash-pad but here were some issues. 

We’ll walk through them. 

The removing the dash-pad was chronicled in my earlier post and that was pretty quick now that I’ve done it twice. 

Once the dash-pad was removed there is an additional piece that needs to be removed, or at least a couple of screw removed on each side. That is the top molding: 

Top Molding

 

 In the picture above I’m pointing to one of the screws in the top molding that runs the length of the windshield.  That screw  is actually through the pillar molding which is partially behind it.  The top molding has 5 screws, two on each end and on my coupe the fifth is in the center and holds the plastic snap for the ends of the sun visors.  That screw does not have to be removed there is plenty of play after the removal of the four other screws, to safely (without forcing anything) remove and install the new moldings. 

The next step is removing the two additional screws that hold the pillar molding to the pillar. 

Screw Marked Remove

 

and this one: 

Second screw to remove.

 

It’s tough see there but here is a good clear picture…that old mold was so deteriorated it actually fell apart. 

Lower molding screw.

 

When I said it fell apart……. 

Yup. It was in bad shape.

 

The other side came/fell off the same way, in pieces, nothing left to do but snap the other pieces on and…eeerrrrkkkk(insert braking sound)…”Yeah..anybody know if you can insert sound in there a WordPress blog??” ….cricket..cricket…cricket……huuummm where’s my…oh I have no staff…well, only when my son visits (he does some on my graphic design..more on my new logo search later..maybe you all can vote on one??) back to my eeerrkkk…we need to discuss quality of workmanship for reproduction parts.  That won’t be a long discussion..”sucks”…there ya go, end of discussion. 

But really I know that they try, and I am grateful for something that looks almost as good, especially for a rare car like mine (…meaning not very sought after..at least not yet…therefore the profit in making any unique parts is next to nothing.) 

One of the first things about this particular molding is that is about 1/2 the thickness of the original and made of light plastic.  This worked out because the holes are not exactly lined up and there was a larger problem. 

Offset isn't correct.

 

As you can see the molding on the right (the original) where the screw driver blade is located, is recessed about 1/2 an inch, if not a little more.  On the left (new molding) there is almost only about 1/4 of an inch..maybe a bit less.  If the material for the new molding was as rigid as the original there would be no flex in the material and the lack of offset for tab on the new molding would not have allowed the use of the original screw, it would have been too short. Additionally, screw holes A and B  in the picture below were not aligned properly and would not have enough ”give” but allow installation, if it was stiff as the original. 

Improperly aligned.

 

 Was this engineering genius or happy mistake? 

Generally, the fit was close, not contours car show inspect-able close, but close enough for the local guys.  But if you can find parts made from “original tooling” (we talked about that when I was install the dash-pad for the first time) buy those, if your Average Budget can handle it.  These molding just aren’t available in any other tooling. 

With the holes in the wrong place it took some pressure and jostling to get them into place.  One tip I can pass on is do not tighten the screws until you have them all started.   I had to leave the top two screws out far enough to allow movement to get the bottom screw in. 

Keep the screw loose to maneuver the piece around.

 

 In the end the result were pretty good. You be the judge. 

Left side

 

Left side bottom (and my vette in the background)

 

Right side (and my neighbor's truck...like you need to know that!!)

 

Left Side bottom

 

Over all it took about 3 hours with interruptions with phone calls and neighbors stopping to chat.  It’s like Soaring over on www.MustangV8.com forum said..”Those are the kinds of tinkering jobs I like.  You get satisfaction you can actually see.”  (BTW – I like that forum, the Classic Mustang section is great.) 

Thanks for reading. 

Tim 

Vette troubles Overheading Do’s and Don’ts Part III

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The news is all good.

WOT (decided to give her a name) is back in the driveway.  Compression and heads all checked out.  3 cheers for American  Iron!!!!

(OK..WOT is funny because it’s a crossfire with least HP in the C4 Generation.)

Took it for a spin after picking it up and everything seems to be fine.

New hoses, new thermostat, new coolant..yeah…all of the old stuff is back in town, new transmission fluid (maybe over kill but there is the a school of thought that a major overheating event can cause a failure…safe..not sorry) and oil change (I’m not sure what happens to engine oil at 300 degrees – but safe…not sorry).

Thanks for reading

Tim

1970 Mustang – Replacing my Pillar Post Moldings Part II

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I’ve the pillar post moldings painted and ready to installed. 

Just treated with the painting prep spray and wiped down.

 

First coat of paint.

 

I put on 3 coats of paint. 

With the final coat.

 

Now I have to remove the dash pad (again) and install.  That will be later this week, my Corvette is still in shop and the Mustang is my back up car. 

Thanks for reading more to come. 

Tim

1970 Mustang – Replacing my Pillar Post Moldings Part I

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If you searched and found or followed my posts on restoring the dash-board of my ’70 Mustang, then you might recall my planning/scheduling issues.    

As I was taking the old dash pad off, I realized that I hadn’t order the plastic pillar molding.  When I finally called a few Mustang parts supplies places I found them all to be out of stock and they had to put them on back order.  They did finally come in and it’s taken me a bit to actually find the time to replace them.  Well, this long 4th of July week, I’m at least going to get started.  (I have also do the valve cover gaskets as well.)   

So here again is what I’m replacing:   

Yeah..had to get creative to keep them on.

 

Pretty?

 

Now the new molding comes in any color you want as long as that’s black.   You’ll need to paint the proper color.  If you have the specs for you car you’ll easily find the interior color and places like National Parts Depot or Mustang’s Unlimited have the paint for the job.  I had to do this with a replacement armrest.  Which was horrible – replicas all came square and my Mustang’s armrests are rounded and have the overstuffed look like a leather sofa or overstuffed chair.  (I ended up pick up a use one in good shape and painted that..I think it was tan originally.)   

Oh..sorry…I wandered!!!   

The first think you have to do is prepare the plastic for holding paint.  The guys at National Parts Depot recommend SEM 38353 Plastic/Leather Prep. I’ve used it and it seems to do the trick.  Pretty simple….Spray surface, pay attention to recessed areas, wipe with clean cloth.  Use some gloves if you have office worker hands and put out the cigar while you using this stuff.   

SEM 38353 Plastic/Leather Prep

 

Sticking with the SEM brand I purchased a can of Universal Color Coat.  I used this paint on the aforementioned armrest and it lives up to the “Flexible Coating” label.  My Mustang’s interior is VP-15945 Vermillion.   

SEM Universal Color Coat

 

So next up I’ll do the prep and the paint.   

Molding

 

Thanks for reading.   

Tim

Auto Factoids for Week of 6/27/2010

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HUGE this week…I mean HUGE…for me at least. 

6/30/1953  – Corvette debuts at NYC Motorama.  That’s a big deal.  6/30 is also my birthday.  Yup…5 years later to the very day the Corvette debuted my parents had another mouth to feed!!! 

1953 Motorama Corvette..And so it began!!!

 What?  You thought my baby pic…No Way!!! 

And 11 years later to the day the last Rambler was produced that was 6/30/1969. 

1969 - Rambler made a few fine cars...um...this wasn't one of them.

 

7/1/1908 United Motors was formed.  They build car components, at one point include Hyatt Roller Bearing Company (anti-friction roller bearings), New Departure Manufacturing Company (ball bearings), Remy Electric Company (electrical starting, lighting, and ignition equipment), Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company, later known as Delco Electronics Corporation (electrical equipment), and the Perlman Rim Corporation. It was later purchased by General Motors. 

Also on 7/1 the Graham auto plant in Canada produced its first Prosperity Six in 1931. 

1931 Graham

 

Again on the same day Pontiac selected Bunkie Knudson general Manager in 1956.  Bunkie Knudson – race car driver and innovator. 

Another biggie….7/2/1992 the 1 millionth Corvette was built.  It was a C4 Convertible.  Grabbed a picture of it at the National Corvette Museum while I was there a couple weeks back. 

1,000,000th Corvette at the NCM. Photo from my trip.

 

Thanks for reading. 

Tim

Abandon Car Pics Contest Win a DVD

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Hey..I’m still looking for abandon car pics. Email them to me timsweet@cox.net  or drop by Average Guy’s Car Restoration, Mods and Racing facebook group.  Pls include a general location.

I still have two DVD’s to give way!!!  Here’s my latest.

1939 Packard.  Originally from Texas, it got left here in AZ and now sits outside Boot Hill in Tombstone, Az.

1939 Packard.

 

1939 Packard Originally from TX.

 

Still got the flat head tucked under the hood.

Just needs a little TLC on the interior...yikes!!!

Wrenchin’ Tip – Priming a Holley 6/16/2010

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YEAH!!!!  I know!! Where have these been…right?  Sorry, but I think I’m back on track. 

My Mustang has an old school 4 barrel Holley and although it starts pretty quick after a few pumps of pedal to get the mechanical fuel pump to push gas where it needs to be.  But if your old school muscle car or race rod sits for a while or you swap carbs often, you can spend some considerable time cranking on the engine.  This might seem like no biggie, but it can cause lobe failure on a flat-tappet cam. 

For my Holley there’s a better way.  

You need to locate your float-level sight plugs.  

Holley - image not from my mustang

 

A different configuration

 

Take a plastic squeeze bottle….  (Do you really need a pic of a squeeze bottle?)  Well just in case… 

Bottle Pic you don't need!!!

 

this type works the best…. and fill the float bowls with fuel until it trickles…(very little trickle…no fires…please.)  

Float Bowls

 

 This should be enough fuel to allow the fuel line to fill from the tank.  According to the specs a Holley can run 45- 60 seconds on full bowls. 

Keep your cam safe!!! 

Thanks for Reading 

Tim