igor

My Falcon crunches when going into reverse but if I put it in 5th first then slam it straight back into reverse it's quiet as. I've forgotten what Escort shift pattern looks like but try what downtrail suggests.

You'll know when the clutch is dying because it will start to slip like a wet bitch on steep hills and you will find that when you put your foot down the engine speed will increase but the vehicle speed will not. This may or may not be accompanied by the foul stench of burnt clutch lining.

If you were here in New Zealand I'd suggest dumping the 4M and repowering with something like a Falcon or Holden six that you can get parts for easily. Must be something available in your part of the world that would be an easy swap if you really can't get the 4M fixed.

Just read a good quote..  

 

 "90% of all carb problems are electrical"

 

Will keep that in mind next time I decide to make a fool of myself.

Reminds me of years ago when my dad's B1600 was doing weird shit like that. He shagged around with the carby for ages and fixed a few obvious things but it still ran like shit. In the end he got a mechanic to sort it and the verdict was "it was something electrical".

Don't bother flaring the guards. Just pump the hydrolastic right up and run it rebel. Most cops won't notice a tidy looking grandpa spec car like that. I've only been pulled up once in my Wolseley 1300 but lots of times in my Falcons. Love that replacement washer reservoir. To get the dints out of the bumper you might get away with just beating the fuck out of it with a hammer if the chrome plating is good and well stuck on.

Nothing wrong with EA coon throttle body injection when it's working right Ogre. I've got two with over 450,000 ks on them and both were running sweet last time they ran. My current daily is another EA with the 3.9 Multipoint which is fine too but it does idle a bit high and rough sometimes. Maybe it needs a new manifold gasket as dr.wylde suggests above. I'm not keen to fuck around with it in case I make it worse. I've got a Haynes manual but I haven't found it to be as helpful as those for the older cars. It tends to say things along the lines of "there are no user serviceable parts in here, this is beyond the scope of this manual, so consult your local Ford dealer".

Max passengers and still be travelling a long way or just max people jammed in a car? Can remember back in the days when no-one cared about seat belts being one of 11 going to scout camp in our leader's XC Falcon sedan, 5 in the front, 6 in the back. Brother's mate taking 8 in a Mini must have been even less comfortable though.

Your Rona looks ok on your profile pic Mike. Is it the family spec bench seat model with the 12R and column three speed?

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/motorbikes/motorbikes/other/auction-830951195.htm

You'd have to be nucking futs to ride this thing.

Ima have to add Te Puke to Rotorua via Te Matai Road and the back road to Haumarana as a favorite. Nice and fast up Te Matai road then the gorge for doorts followed by fast flowing drive down into the rotorua side of it*

*Only if you don't get suck behind a campervan or logging truck tho

Also Old Te Aroha Road from the bottom of the Kaimais off the road to Matamata heading towards Te Aroha is super fast and I managed to make myself feel carsick along the fast straights where you can get a weightless feeling happening off the sweet dips and rises along them

My children like that weightless feeling on the humps and hollows. They call that sort of thing the roller coaster road. There are a few good ones around our way too.

Now quite convinced that the coil was not the problem. Don't know the real answer but wish you luck.

12R, bench seat, column three speed.

Why?

Yeah, what kyteler said ^. That's why I don't get the current mania for lowering cars. For me it limits their usefulness and drivability and invites damage in places not readily visible. Do you really want to bang it on the ground at every driveway and rough access road?

Austins rock! My pick for old Corollas is the wagon for its versatility but I just like wagons in general. Like kyteler says watch out for bogged up rustangs. A flash coat of paint can conceal a multitude of rot and future expense.

What he said ^. Four wheel drive is widely believed to be a device for getting you twice as far into the shit before you become hopelessly stuck and have to walk out.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/toys-models/die-casts/matchbox/1970+/auction-823066673.htm

Inside of yours looks almost the same shade of yellow as this.

there are quite a few ways to skin the cat but its how you cook it that makes it taste good or something. or just get a deer, I dont know what cat tastes like but deer taste good.

 

this is brilliant. Who's up for chicken chow meow?

Back in the 80's a guy I knew had a Model T Ford pickup. It could go places showroom fresh Landcruisers couldn't purely by virtue of its taller wheels giving it the ability to drive over larger rocks. Another mate had one of those first Suzuki 4x4s that came out. The LJ50. 2-stroke. Looked like a baby Jeep. Was his hunting car. Could sneak up narrow as bush tracks where full size 4x4s couldn't go and if it got stuck four guys could pretty much lift it out. I'd be keen for an LJ50 myself just for teaching the children to drive and stuff.

Always fancied a V8 Defender or one of those stage one LR109 V8s the army had but I can't see either being practical for everyday use due to them being as hungry as fuck. Discoverys are gay looking and the new RangeRovers are too fancy. Like the old ones from the 70's a bit though.

I fired on a Peckett steam locomotive on a museum line a few times many years ago. There was a valve controlling what we called a blower to boost the fire a bit. That would be what runamuck refers to.

I remember back in the day a lot of T-buckets used forklift radiators.

What he said ^. Garage door best solution all ways around.

If it were me I'd go widebody but if you are in city traffic and tight parking most or all of the time this might not be the best. I don't like the way narrow gutted Japanese trucks (especially box body) lean excessively on fast turns. Gave myself a fright once on the motorway like that.

Go OS. J1 or TK Bedford. Meets all your criteria except for being dinosaurusly old.

Geese make good roasts. Just like a really huge duck. Bastards to pluck though. Any left over next day makes a good curry. Wonder how much they charge if you kill a goose and try to carry it out along with your chosen parts?

kyteler makes a good point about the size of cars growing with each generation. It's like the car grows a size and the manufacturer must then produce a new small one to fill the gap in the range. Toyota's offerings between 1970 and now are a perfect example of this. And every time my wife says the Falcon is too big I remind her that it was first released stateside in 1959 for the 1960 model year as Ford's new small car alongside the full size Galaxie.