Camels 1964 Country Sedan Wagon

[Camel]

Discussion here http://www.oldschool.co.nz/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=30825&hilit=desert+spec

So picked this up for a reasonable price, definitely no trailer queen but pretty much rust free and hasnt been hacked up by anyone so thought it would be a good basis for my next project.

1964 Ford Country Sedan

factory 289/cruisomatic/9 inch

NO DICKEY SEAT

super shit matt black paint job

totally fabyouluss orange roof paint job

no carpets

no seat belts

fucked front bench seat

cruisomatic transmission slipping

engine and box not in car

However has been previously registered in Aus so no dramas just need a Queensland RWC/WOF.

This thing needs some love to get it legal, I had to get the car transported up from NSW then went and picked engine and box up a couple of weeks later.

Bought myself a tear down table and stripped the box to figure out why it was slipping. Turns out no one had done a service on it in ages and it had the grey sludge throughout the box including servo housings etc. The front band was toast, pump thrust washer had snapped its retainers so was spinning and intermittently blocking off oil feeds to clutch packs. Also found that the modulator piston had seized in the casing which would have lead to the initial loss in pressure resulting in the front band slipping etc. Another thrust bearing in between the clutch packs was also completely fucked and had made a bit of mess of one of the surfaces. I was considering buying some bits and repairing this transmission but after stripping it down had second thoughts. The reason why I didnt just grab another trans is that the 1964 (and I think 1965) 289 had a 5 bolt bellhousing pattern on the block that ford quickly changed to 6 bolt. After some research I found that a pre 70 C4 had the same bolt pattern on the transmission side so managed to score another box for $300 which wasn't fantastic on the inside (I only checked the oil, filter and pan) but should do for the moment. Gutted I didnt get photos of the damaged parts etc.

Sweet massive downstairs rumpus room/trans area and parts storage

As for the 289, the previous owner had knocked the frost plugs out as he was planning on storing it for a while. I tried cleaning the plug holes up with a wire brush and 3M scotch pad but it wasn't doing the trick so had to hunt around to find a die grinder wire wheel small enough to fit. Got them all cleaned up, smeared a bit of jointing paste on for good measure and knocked the new frost plugs in.

Was about to drop it off the engine stand ready to throw in the hole but heard a metallic noise from the sump when we were rotating the engine so whipped the sump off to find a block plug, parts of the pickup bypass spring, and a tooth off the crank timing chain sprocket. Not ideal. It does look like the engine has had some work though as its way too clean in there. As this is just a temporary engine I have decided not to replace the cranking timing chain sprocket and hope for the best, I will not be thrashing this motor so am hoping it will hold up for a little bit.

The plan is to get it running and legal using this engine/trans as they are quite anal about engine numbers etc over here then swap in a 460 big block when I get my mitts on one. I'll most probably swap to a C6 trans also.

As you can see the factory bench is pretty rooted so purchased some mexican blankets to recover it with for the moment. Will also score some seat foam to patch the sweet holes etc.

Gotta love the oldschool dash too, am keen to add some mild pinstriping to the lower metal section.

Anyway thats it for xmas, when I get back from holidays in NZ will get a sump gasket, slap sump back on then bolt trans on and drop in the hole. Also need to track down a starter motor then should have all I need to get it running and go for a RWC/creep around the block.

Also cant decide for the life of me what colour to go, want to spray that roof ASAP as it is atrocious, also trying to figure out what direction to go with wheel/tyre combos. Input please....

[Camel]

So long time no update.

Things have been progressing at a medium/really slow rate.

I stripped the trans down and was no good so scored a late 60s C4 (much more common and has the same bellhousing to trans bolt pattern) forked out the cash and got it rebuilt. Also picked up a reduction starter for it which is extremely loud.

Got the engine in the hole and running and took it for a creep round the block but the factory 2 barrell carb was leaking so have not driven it since. I have a rebuild kit from the states that I will throw at it when I get to it.

Have also been getting parts in from the states on a pretty consistent basis.

Trim rings

Spider bullets

drag link balljoint

alternator

carpets

carb kit

dizzy

leads

fuel pump

trans pan with drain plug

trans cooler

seat belts

etc

I also forked out for a set of brand new bf goodrich wide whites (225/70/15 with 2 3/4 whitewall) and picked up a set of 15 x 6 kelsey late 60s rims which Spencer kindly painted bright red for me. The mounting plates for the spider bullets required quite a bit of work (grinding) to fit the rims and am slightly concerned that these may stress fracture as the spider is not very light... the alternative however is new rims which would be a bit gay, will see how I go.

Also found that the exhaust bracket had been bolted through the floor pan and had mangled a bit hole in it so made up a super sturdy new bracket and patched the hole in the floor. I also replaced the rear brake hose as was perished and replaced the steel line to the rear brakes as it had decent surface rust.

After looking at getting some foam to do a temporary job on the front bench seat I decided I would just get both seats completely re upholstered so pulled them out and they are away getting done at the moment.

Once they were out had a bit of a dig around and found some rust around one of the body mounts so cut the floor out to assess the damage. Doesn't look too bad except for the fact that it has eaten through into the sill as you can see in the below pic. To properly repair that would mean body off the chassis as it would need the floor pan brace removed so for the moment it will get a heavy dose of POR15 and wurth cavity wax until I have a shed sorted with enough room to tackle that task.

Oh and the aussie-tastic ranga roof is gone too, I stripped that back to bare metal and spence bombed it with white. It needs another coat but will do for the moment until his car is back together and we have a bit more space. We will also give it a fresh coat of satin black as the bling wheels and roof make the black look even worse than it is, which is no easy feat.

Still so much that needs doing though!!

Im hoping to replace the left rear floor pan this week and have dropped the fuel tank out as it has some dodgy patches and is starting to leak so will get an alloy replacement made and painted black for stealth. Hopefully faster progress and a few more updates shortly.