Gee's 68 Mustang

[Gee]

I got the tail shaft back from the shop so I thought that was a 5 min job and the car would be back on the ground and driveable. Wrong again.

The 'new' shaft is made from a second hand Falcon drive shaft. 1.75" tube, second hand yoke and new unis and bearings. It is heaps lighter than the old one and pretty much everything was unusable on the old one. The new one is also about 25mm longer which it needs.

 

I climbed under to slip it in and got this far...

I tapped it back out to check it and the spline is exactly the same as the old one but without the extra 30mm or so of counterbored part. Basically it should fit better than the old one but does not. At the back I have this...

I measured both ends and the 35mm gap shown is pretty much what I need to get it in. Once fitted it will have a good amount of back and forth.

Talking to the shop he said the problem is likely due to the second hand yoke being twisted which is why it is hard to fit and remove. The old one slips right in. We'll either replace the yoke or counter bore it so it fits. It will depend on getting enough engagement.

I refitted the old shaft and got it back on the ground so it was at least driveable. I went to start it to take it for a test drive aaand, nothing. Cranks but wont light off. I put my hand under the fuel filter and it came away covered in varnish so I thought a new filter was a way to go. I got a nice new filter from Repco, cheap and see through so I could see if there was gas.

Looks nice and clean. I'd prefer full of gas but. So I either have a blockage or dud pump. Either could happen as the car sat for ages before I bought it so the tank will be full of crap. It runs well normally though.

[Gee]

I disconnected the fuel tank line and got the expected run of fuel down my arm, in the eye, etc. Plenty coming out there. Disconnected the filter and blasted the line out with Contact Cleaner. Not sure if any gunk came out but plenty of fuel there too. If fuel was getting to the engine bay but not getting drawn in surely it is the pump.

Got a new Carter mechanical pump for $54 and decided to throw it in.

That is the view down. Bit of a prick to get at and can't swing a spanner in there so off came the power steering pump.

As with everything this was also a bit of a prick. The top attachment is a threaded rod with a nylock nut. The whole rod came out so hopefully it would go back in. Later problem.

Next came the fuel lines, easy enough from below.

Then the pump itself. For some reason it had a 9/16" and a 5/8" bolt because of course it did. Cleaned up the mounting face as much as possible and had a look inside.

Some v8's have a extra pushrod on the cam for the pump and it will drop out and end up in the oil pan if you don't secure it first. Hopefully mine does not. I did look up a few videos of 289/302 pump replacements and they didn't mention it so hopefully I'm good. If not, engine out.

New pump went in much easier than I thought. I got the lever under the cam and managed to get the bolts started then wound them in slowly to seat the pump. Again hope I haven't caused an issue but I'll find out.

I managed the get the power steering pump back in ok but it is probably a bit loose, again later problem. The battery is on a regen cycle so once that is finished I'll give it a crank and see if it goes. I did notice when actuating the old pump that air seemed to be coming out the side so it could have a dud diaphragm. Hopefully that was the problem and I'm good to go now. I'm saying hopefully a lot in this post.

[Gee]

It's alive! Took a little bit to pump some gas through but started sweet as.

Good seeing fuel in the filter.

Good to confirm it was the pump and that I fitted it properly.

Took it for a test drive and something tinkled and fell on the road. I went back to find it and it was some random clip. When I got home my wife thought the wheel nuts were loose and so I checked them and noticed something missing.

This thing goes in there.

Fixed.

I had also noticed a clunk in the boot when going around corners. Turned out to be the wheel brace.

It is still a pig to start hot but I had ordered a new Pertronix coil (to match the rest of the ignition) as that might have caused my non start. I figured I may as well throw it in, coils don't like being hot and the original chrome one is probably old. Started right up but the proof will be road tripping to Americarna. A few more things to do then we are off.

[Gee]

Went for a warrant and failed on the front left wheel bearing. Got a warning last time so fair call. It'll be fixed this week along with the rear suspension.

A little wary about my new power steering lines. I had fitted some heat sheathing as the original lines were burnt and the new line is probably not fire proof but this seems to have some damage now. It only contacts at full lock so hopefully it won't be a problem but I have put some ally tape on the area for some extra protection. Ally tape fixed most problems. 

Took the Mustang to Kumeu, don tell the fuzz. I wanted to get it out a few times for 'testing/shakedown'. Bloody good event this year. Hotter than the face of the sun but the shady bar was good.

[Gee]

Got the wheel bearings replaced along with the rear shocks and bushes, and front brake pads. Apparently both bearings were toast so both should have failed a warrant so I'm glad I planned to do both sides anyway. Got The warrant and headed to Orewa for the Rodders Beach Fest.

The bearings must have been FUBAR as it seemed to be a lot more steady around 60MPH, the rear suspension was much better as well. Didn't sound like an old trailer any more.

Found the Mustangs older topless brother

I asked about the colour and they said it was painted by a previous owner around 1992 in a Chevy colour that has been brightened up a bit. Ours was imported in 1991 so maybe some guy imported 2 cars and painted both to match.

I'm always partial to an XD as well

And I like a good fairlane. One of the few American classics that would get me out of the Mustang

And I found this nice HQ Premier with a 253. I like the double lights but the nerd in me thinks the coolest part is the AA badge.

[Gee]

I finally got the new driveshaft back from the shop. It required a few trips back and forth as the first yoke was twisted and so I was given a second yoke to try which fitted and had to be returned. The shaft now has a new (second hand) yoke and is rebalanced.

It is a 2.75" falcon shaft and yoke with a rear uni for the 8" diff. It has new bearings and is balanced. We could have used new parts but the driveshaft guy doesn't like the new ones as he thinks the old ones are made better and are cheaper so the whole thing cost just over $800 rather than over $1k if I needed more power or new yokes.

The new one is a lot lighter than the original, due to smaller diameter I think

The yoke slotted in nicely with not much fluid loss but I probably need to recheck my level anyway.

The bearings look a lot better than the originals

The rear was a bit fiddly. Ineeded to slack it off and wiggle it a bit to get it to line up but didn't take long. Put a bit of mid strength threadlocker on so hopefully this will be nice and secure.

Now for a test drive...

[Gee]

We made it down to Americarna after months of mucking around. We headed down to Puke on the Thursday afternoon and headed off to New Plymouth from there.

First stop, gas and coffee at Hampton Downs

The Mustang runs really nicely on the motorway and Waikato Expressway. No problems overheating in traffic and cruises at 60mph easily. No more vibes and it is nice having the steering wheel centered again.

Without aircon we got a bit toasty ourselves so from Hampton Downs we had the windows cracked to let in some air. It's a bit noisy and the wind is almost as noisy as the (not subtle) exhaust. Also noticeable with the exhaust though were the fumes. You don't notice so much on a normal short cruise but after 4hrs we were smelling of burnt dinosaurs. The steering is still pretty notchy around centre at speed. Low speed it is not noticable and through the twisties on Mt Messenger it was great, apart from getting a bit sideways on a crappy pot holed corner.

Made it in good time though.

Got ourselves a hotel with a secure carpark too

Put the muzzy to bed and off for a beer.

I've only been to the Beach Hop but Americarna was great, didn't feel as busy but still heaps of cars. We got a beer from a local micro brewery and stood on the curb outside watching the cars go past in the Friday night parade. We did get fumed out for the second time in the day. 100 big v8s doing laps on a city street will do that.

Came home after dinner and found the mustang had good company

And some cool ones up stairs too. The truck is an original flathead from Rotorua.

[Gee]

Americarna day 2 (for us at least) and the cars were all parked up on the main street. Heaps more people around but still plenty of room to move and look at cars

I'm pretty sure this on is an original GT

Nice galaxy. I should have taken a picture of the chev in the background, turned out to be a mate. Imaculate everything and 600hp 510.

I quite like the notch back Barracudas

We headed home on the Sunday after a false (non)start. Not sure what drained the battery but I didn't even get a click. To make it worse I had spent 3 days trying to charge my jump kit to no avail so it was worthless as well. Luckily a local had some leads just up the road so he drove home to get them and came back to give us a jump. Good bugger. I was a bit nervous stopping at the servo a few minutes up the road but it started first pull. Lucky.

Enjoyed the scenery on the way home and used the quarter windows for ventilation rather than the main ones. Quite a bit better on the fumes front. Still some work to do but when is there not? I might give it a rest for a while but I think the steering will need to be sorted before the next big road trip.

 

[Gee]

I think I might know what the starting problem is...

Pretty sure that should be something over 12VDC. Charged it for another 24hrs with it disconnected from the car and still 9.8V. This has dropped at least one cell, probably shorted since it had none volts before I charged it.

I haven't checked the alternator voltage but I'll get a new battery and check it then. The car could still have a short draining the battery but easy enough to check if there is current draw when I fit the new one.

[Gee]

Went to Repco and got a new battery. Then went back to Repco to get the correct battery, (Repco branded) Century 68MF if anyone is interested.

Threw it in and checked current draw. None. All good.

Hooked it up and checked the voltage again, 12.6VDC, still good.

thought it was sitting a little low and then remembered the battery spacer that was in it. High tech piece of particle board.

Thought it could use a coat of paint.

Looks like it was meant to be there.

Last check was to fire it up and check the charge voltage. If it wasn't leakage current running it flat I needed to make sure the charge was within limits

13.2VDC at idle just after start, not too bad, needed a bit of a rev to see if it would come up to 14Vish. Got to 14V, then 15V then nearly 16V. Guess I know why the battery was toast. Guess I'll look at a new (internally regulated) alternator.