Tag Archives: Mustang

Mustang Hose Woes

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I was about to start the pillar moldings mini project when I ran into a couple mechanical issues.

About a week ago the Mustang began squealing when pushed to high revs.  That normally indicates one of several problems.

1. It could be a water pump

2.  It could be the power steering pump

3.  It could be a pulley

4. It could be a bolt that was holding the alternator bracket to the engine worked itself out and was in contact with the fan belt.

5. It could be a combination of the any of these.

Now the Mustang did, every once in a while, drip some fluid from the power steering control value but it wasn’t a huge deal.

Well, Saturday I went to start her and the battery was dead.  It’s over 3 years old and I had left the lights on the day before and had to have it jump started.  So off to the auto parts store I went and pick up a new 3 year battery and stuck it. When I started the engine up, it made the squeal and I decided I needed to fix this, before the pillar molding.

So with a neighbor revving the engine I noticed the bolt protruding from the water pump/block ( it passes through left side water pump housing in to the block).  With the revs the fan belt would flex and briefly hit the bolt.   This bolt was “custom” made when we were fitting everything up to reman’ed long block and was about 7 or 8 inches long.

It took a bit to get that back in place, had to loosen up the alternator’s other two supports and toss a little loctite on the threads and she was good to go…..almost…..

Yeah….option #5 above was the correct answer BTW.

Started it up and there was still a squeal – not the same squeal but clearly an ‘accompaning’ squeal.  Shortly after that a power steering hose let go and well liquid does what gravity  make it do and I spent the afternoon cleaning the driveway.  So there went my allotted time for Saturday.   So replacing both hoses seem the best way to go and they’ll  be in today.  Right now it’s at the shop down the street, I had no time to undertake this task at the moment, will be traveling the next couple weeks.

One of my travels takes me to the National Corvette Museum.  I’ll spend an entire day there which include the assembly plant tour.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

V8 Reference Book

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I grab every book I think is useful in any of my hobbies.  I happened to be at the mall the other day and had some time kill and wonder down to Borders books store.  Pick up a book entitled “Ultimate American V-8 Engine Data Book” 2 Edition  by Peter Sessler, published MotorBooks.

This book has engine identification codes, component casting codes, internal dimensions and specs, and power and torque ratings.

It goes back as far as 1952 and covers Fords, GM, Mopar, and AMC, Packard and Studebaker.  It includes big blocks and small blocks.  There is a lot of information.

I learned from this book that all of the engines possible for the Corvette in 1984 were rated @ 205 hp.  The CFI was the main power supplier, but it also had listed a couple TPI’s (engine suffix code ZFC), TBI (engine suffix code ZFJ – supposedly for export only) and a 4v for California (engine suffix code ZFF).

They also inform you of the transmissions that go with the engines.

There are listings for cylinder heads parts or casting # as well as intake and exhaust manifolds as well.

I think this one is worth the  $30.00.

This is a great transition to introduce an up and coming feature for this blog.

I love engines…(duh).  To me the history of development, what was used when and where and maybe even why can be fascinating.  I’ll be tossing out specs and the like and hopefully some, ” I would have never guessed that” information.  Now, I don’t have this all in my head, it will be researched stuff or some experiences. (My 1974 Torino was a good case study..tell you the story soon).

Thanks for reading.

Tim

SCCA Event 4/25/2010 Auto Cross Part II

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So the other cost I mentioned will be in the area of tires.

In this event I just ran with my street tires 255/50 ZR 16  BFG GForce Sport and stock rims (only chrome). There was a lot of tire spinning and some smoking.  The surface of the track was…well lets just say less the optimun..ok…fine…it was horrible.  (You could toss in a few cuss words in front of horrible and you wouldn’t be over dramatizing.)  It was black top, cracked, uneven and there was grass and weeds growing on the far end. The tires looked rough when I finished the 10 runs.  Too many more events (this was the second auto cross on these tires) and I think I’d have to replace them.

So that really means that to protect the street tires and the chrome rims, I really ought to have an other set of tires and rims.  Now you are talking money that many of us average guys aren’t going to spring for.  This is true for vette owners..tires are not cheap for the older vettes. Not so for my co-worker running his Civic, they are reasonable. 

Take my C4  the tires and the Wheels are uni-directional.  Not unusual for tires, but my 1984 C4 rims only go one way and are labeled left front, right front and the same for the rear.  I do have the original set of rims that I will eventually restore to the factory aluminum and clear coat, but right now they would for auto crossing.  But the rubber can run upwards of $700.00 and if I put racing rubber on it, according to SCCA rules it will change my class.

The last cost is the “I broke it cost.”  They could be just about anything on a car that’s racing.  Anything mechanical, brakes (oh..they will wear out a lot faster in auto cross…or at least the way I do it!!!!), undercarriage,  right down to the dreaded “cone damage”. (yeah…yeah….I know you aren’t suppose to hit them…I know the object of the race..but man did I kill some of them ‘good’..no doubt!!!)   I did no damage to the vette but I did see a Evo that took out a portion of his front air dam.

In fact the vette performed flawlessly, only problem was the driver.  I’ll get to that next blog.  You’ll laugh and I’ll give you my times and points and we’ll talk about PAX times and classes.

Thanks for reading.

SCCA Event 4/25/2010 Auto Cross Part I

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The name of my blog includes “racing”.  This isn’t meant to be watching on TV and reporting back, it’s meant to be my events.  My blog title also includes  “Average” and includes budget as well.  (You might as well include ‘time’, as in average amount of time to spend on the hobby.) 

I just finished running a Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) event.  It was a blast!!  I’ll get to my times in a bit, but first, let’s talk about cost of this particular event. 

Straight up to join SCCA there is the yearly fee for the national membership and there is the fee for your regional membership. Total cost here was $80.00.   Now the events are not free.  In my regional club which run events in the Tucson areas and Phoenix as well, they have to offerings.  They have a round for points and time and they have the time only round.  There are separate prices for each. 

Today when I showed up (you can pre register and save ..I think…$10.00) filled out all the paper work and went to pay.  The fellow taking the money asked if I wanted “time only” and  I’m thinking…do I only want to be timed…so I said “No.” and he said “That will be $30.00.”  So I paid. 

Now I have co-worker who talked me into joining SCCA and he attends regular events at the local drag strip – the auto cross is held in the huge drag pit/parking area.   He cleared up my misunderstanding and said if I wanted the “full” experience I need to go back and say yes I wanted the ‘time-only’ round as well.  That cost me another $10.00. 

So putting this together we are at 120 big ones this month to race.  Not too bad, I’d have to say. 

There are more costs and I’ll get to that in next portion of this subject. 

SCCA Event 4/25/2010

Wrenchin’ Tip – Fuel Line Threads – Comment from A reader

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I replaced all the fuel lines and brake lines on my 65 a few years ago, and I used this flaring tool and the thread seal that comes in a tube.  I have never had a leak, and I have never used the teflon tape.  You don’t need a real expensive flaring tool to work on these old Mustangs.

Flaring Tool

  

Soaring’s ride: 

1965 Mustang

  

1970 Mustang – Update and Next Mini Project – Pillar Moldings

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My '70 Stang

The last I blogged about my Mustang I had finished up the installation of the new dash pad and replaced all the bulbs and cleaned up a few years of dust.

If you recall (well you don’t have to,  just go back and read the posts) I talked about planning and how I could have saved time by waiting to put new dash pad on (not cap, pad) until the pillar molding came, but I decided not too.  The molding came in today….so out with the old….

Old cracked and broken

And in with the new:

New
Mustang Unlimited

I have pretty good luck with Mustang Unlimted’s parts and service. I recommend them.  (No I don’t get paid for plugs or compensated.)

These will have to be painted which is very common with interior parts.  I even had to paint the replacement arm rest.  I have the paint and I’ll post up the entire process.

I finally got the exhaust manifold taken care of (I didn’t do it). But apparent when I had the custom exhaust with hooker headers created and installed, they didn’t use locketight and they loosed up with the vibration of daily and drag strip racing. The right side had to be replaced and the left side was just tightened.  Oh she sounds so much better.

Thanks for reading.  I’ll get the pillar molding replacement pretty quick.

Tim

Auto Factoids for 4/18/2010

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4/18/1955 Lincoln becomes a subdivision of Ford. 

1954-Lincoln

Here are a couple that I did not know.

4/22/1954 – Hudson and Nash merge to form AMC.

4/23/1987 – Chrysler buys Lamborghini.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Auto Factoids for 4/11/2010

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We have a couple big ones this week. 

4/13/1904   Cadillac plant burned to the ground.  More info on this site:   http://www.car-nection.com/yann/dbas_txt/Factq-s.htm 

Hey, on the same date in 1965 Pontiac produce car number 10 million!!  We miss Pontiac!! 

On a lower note, Volvo produced its first car on 4/14/1927 

1927 PV4

 

4/15/1924  McNally published its first road atlas. 

4/16/1908 Oakland began selling its brand of cars. 

I believe they actually began producing cars in 1907.

 

4/17/1969 Ford began selling the Maverick.  <cricket…..cricket…>  Come on..it was a good car and getting more and more collectible!!! 

wait…for it….wait…for it 

OH YEAH…..4/17/1964……Ford produced the MUSTANG!!!! 

Oh..wait..that's not a 1964...it's my 70!!!!

 

Oh..here ya go. 

1964 2+2 Fast back

 

Thanks for reading 

Tim

C4 Vette Valve Cover Replacement CLOSURE

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Closure for all the blog readers. 

Finished this up today.  Here are some pics.  (Yeah..I know..forgot to take them before I put the air cleaner on…but you get the idea.)

Only issue..the thickness of the chrome covers was less than the originals and I had to get a shorter set of chrome bolts.  I have got quite a collection for chrome bolts now!!

THE END.

C4 Vette Valve Cover Gasket Replacement Part V

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I’m now at the point where I can re-install the valve covers.  I’ve painted them and cleaned up the gromets (for one of my vette buddies who was dismayed when the saw the interim pics).  

If you remember I had to remove a few things including vacuum hoses, spark plug wires, a/c parts.  In addition the bolts that hold the covers down had spark plug wire holders  and other brackets for hold wires.  

Brackets that would mount through with the bolt for the covers passing through.

 

Keep this in mind as I explain what I learned from my decision to use Fel-Pro gaskets. 

Ok..fine enough dramma..lets get to the lesson I learned (which is often learned the hard way when you have average skills and less than average experience). 

I am not smarter than the engineers at GM.  They knew what they were doing when the used permatex…it was all about the bolts.  Specifically, the length the engineers decided do use, or maybe it was the budget guys. They knew how to follow the build sheet. Here is the bottom line.  The length of the bolts supported the thin layer of the permatex and the brackets shown above and that was it. 

They did not support the thickness of the gaskets.  They were just under a 1/4 too short.  With the brackets and the Fel-Pro gasket in place barely two threads poke out, not enough to catch the thread on the engine.  errrk….When did I know this and what got into your head to do it anyway? 

Fare enough question.  I found out when I queried a couple of Corvette forums about what gaskets to use.  I got a lot of responses, everyone has an opinion..ya know!!!  But only one had actually done an 84 C4 and he said..if you don’t use permatex you are going to have to get longer bolts and BTW your bracket for the spark holders won’t fit.  So I knew this before  I picked up the valve covers (but not before I ordered the set from the supplier).  

Why I didn’t go with the permatex solution was the amount of space and jostling what I had to do when I took them out.  I was pretty sure getting them back in would be worse and the changes of wiping off the some of the permatex and messing up the seal, making the odds of redoing it high. 

Finding the longer bolt took some doing.  The auto parts store…yes..yes.. the same one that said they didn’t have anything but cork and when querying another employee show me what I and originally asked for..didn’t have the proper bolts.   The 84 C4 was all metric, bolts and nuts, you can even switch the digital the dash from US to metric.  The heads are 11mm the threads were 6mm and the pitch was 1/4. 

I ended up at ACE hardware and the only thing that would work and look good were the chrome.  Ok…average guy with average budget…warning..they weren’t cheap…I know that when the manger took me to the back of the store and showed me a stack of boxes that were padlocked shut.  They lock them up!!!!  They were over $2.00 each, washers were nearly a $1.00.  

So I decided on the chrome but they only had 7 bolts..I needed eight with washers as well, they only had 1 washer.  When did we as a nation have a shortage chrome???  Any way I went ot another Ace and the guy there didn’t have any, but tried to tell me the ones I purchased at the other ACE wasn’t correct.  He had the washers so I picked those up and traveled to the next ACE (they’re a lot like Walgreens..they’re on nearly every corner here in Tucson). 

Replacing the covers was about the same as removing them and while doing it I was very glad I didn’t use the permatex, most of it wouldn’t have made it on the covers or the engine.  I’m thinking at the GM factory they put the valve covers on before the AC and all the vacuum hoses and alternator…etc. 

Tomorrow I’ll  finish this up….well maybe…one more lesson was in store. 

Thanks for reading. 

Tim