Gee's 68 Mustang

[Gee]

Got The brakes and exhaust leak fixed. As suggested by someone wise in such matters there was not much wrong with the brakes. They swapped drums left to right and checked everything then got it retested and it passed.

They fixed the leak like this

That will be a bit more secure and has upgrade potential. 

[Gee]

When I bought the Mustang one of the first things I wanted to fix was the rear windows to get the pillarless look but both regulators were stuffed. I replaced both but the one bent straight away from binding. Fitted another one but was a bit wary about getting it aligned properly so I took it to my usual guys to sort out.

Windows go up...

Windows go down...

And the full window. Looking forward so some summer arm out the window cruising.

While it was in the shop I asked for a fe wmore checks. It has been running ok but was idling high. I am slowing working through the usual checks to confirm the engine health and I wanted to check for vacuum leaks. They couldn't find any leaks but did say the timing was set to +20 advanced so they adjusted it down. They also noticed the vacuum advance was not working so I got them to replace the dizzy.

Old one out..

New one in..

Random Aussie brand. Old one was probably original (or OEM spec) but had a Pertronix. The diaphragm is buggered though. New one is a shiny electronic one. I would have gone for a simple mag pickup but that was what was available.

The also found it only had 6VDC once started and on tracing the wiring found someone had tied it into the temp sender power with a piggy back crimp which was shit house. They fixed that and got a good 12V. I had wondered why the coil power was running on a random black wire but I had measured 12V when I replaced the coil.

New leads too.

 Runs good but I need a good run to properly test it.

[Gee]

Took the Mustang to work for a test run and it is running well with its new dizzy. Since I had it there I decided to play with the temp indication system. It has barely moved off C since I bought it. I have replace the sender and crimp with no effect. Measuring the sender cold it is 500ohms. Grounding the wire to the gauge puts the gauge off scale high so the wiring and gauge work fine. 

Rummaging around in the drawers at work I found a 5k pot and soldered on some test leads.

Adjusting the pot I can get full hot, full cold and in the middle.

First time I had seen that. Measuring the pot at this point and it is 34ohms while the sender was around 50-60 idling in the garage after getting home.

Looking online I get conflicting info about the senders, either 500ohm or 100ohm. Looking to buy they don't state the resistance but there are pots for a gauge and for a light so maybe I have the one for a light? I'll have to check the P/N and maybe sway it out but if it is wrong then the original was too.

[Gee]

Had the mustang on the dyno today with a bunch of other cars. Was a good opportunity to see what sort of numbers it would do and by extension how healthy it was.

I was second up after a nice old Porsche that was converted to EFI. It made around 185kw and was quite impressive.

The mustang had a few issues making it harder to get a number. I don't have an RPM gauge, the temp sender is wrong so it never reads warm, the oil gauge works but is more of a suggestion and the trans wouldn't stay in 2nd. For some reason it was trying to shift up. Don't really want it bucking off the dyno.

I had warned them about the RPM gauge and we agreed on 6000 as a max limit but I thought it would peak way lower so just back out once it does but they had to guess the RPM to tip in and setting the dyno up was difficult. I would have thought they could put a clamp on the HT lead but I don't think they do many old cars.

Once they figured it out it made 145kw and 287nm but was still climbing. Who knows if the RPM was accurate. The AFR was rally rich. The graph is in lambda apparently but they said it was around 10:1 AFR with some lean spikes. I'd expect it to tip rich but that is a bit much. I may need to chuck some smaller jets in it, fit an RPM gauge, and look at the trans/shifter linkage. 

On the plus side, it made the same HP at the wheels that it made factory at the crank so I can't complain too much. Leaning it out may make it smell a bit better though.

[Gee]

Carby info for later. You can just see it is an Edelbrock Performer 1404 which from the chart below is a 500CFM. Interesting that the throttle and venturi diameter diameter is the same as a 600.

I think some tuning can be done by replacing the step up spring which is easily accessible but without an AFR reading it is guesswork. I could get a TEMU or Ali express AFR gauge for less than $100 but anywhere else is much more and not worth it for me to experiment.

 

[DRREMN]

18 hours ago, Gee said:

Carby info for later. You can just see it is an Edelbrock Performer 1404 which from the chart below is a 500CFM. Interesting that the throttle and venturi diameter diameter is the same as a 600.

I think some tuning can be done by replacing the step up spring which is easily accessible but without an AFR reading it is guesswork. I could get a TEMU or Ali express AFR gauge for less than $100 but anywhere else is much more and not worth it for me to experiment.

 

I got a aem wideband for around $300 for when I get my car back running, has a pretty similar setup to yours and seems to run super rich, I was looking at the ali express ones too but saw heaps of bad stories about them and them not actually being wideband sensors when they actually turned up so I bit the bullet and spent the extra $$$ figured it would eventually pay for itself in fuel savings (or atleast thats what i told the mrs haha)  ,   on youtube thunderhead289 and junkyarddigs has heaps of info and tricks for setting up edelbrocks on fords and getting them running mint, they make it look easy 

[Gee]

 

 

20 hours ago, DRREMN said:

I got a aem wideband for around $300 for when I get my car back running, has a pretty similar setup to yours and seems to run super rich, I was looking at the ali express ones too but saw heaps of bad stories about them and them not actually being wideband sensors when they actually turned up so I bit the bullet and spent the extra $$$ figured it would eventually pay for itself in fuel savings (or atleast thats what i told the mrs haha)  ,   on youtube thunderhead289 and junkyarddigs has heaps of info and tricks for setting up edelbrocks on fords and getting them running mint, they make it look easy 

Thanks. The chepos do have narrowband sensors as far as I can see. I have a WB sensor as long as the gauge can be connected to the same plug, where did you get the gauge?

BTW, the chat thread is here:

 

[Gee]

I found an AEM AFR gauge at NZ Air Filter.

I thought I'd give it a go as a science experiment. I had the O2 bung so I could fit the WB sensor easily

I thought the angle was a bit odd as it faces the outside of the car but I think the exhaust shop chose this to follow the speedo cable so I zip tied it to that. I managed to keep plenty of clearance to the headers.

I had to split the grommet to feed the wiring through but someone had already fed a dodgy grey wire around the grommet so it ended up being an improvement.

The wiring under the dash is a 50 year old mess and the stereo install is just ok but I managed to tee into the switched power for that which should give me fused power.

I need to get a gauge bracket of some description but it works

Ignore the numbers, it fluctuates like mad at idle but settles in once the revs come up. I assume the pulses mess it up. Not sure if I can set a filter to slow it down.

[Gee]

Cruised to Coffee and Cars at the Auckland Showgrounds today and then afterwards headed east to Buckland Beach. Bloody hot in the car but nice with all the windows down. 

AFR sits a surprisingly lean 13-14 at idle and around 12ish cruising and back to 13-14 off throttle. Not terrible but could be better. Bit dodgy looking down at the gauge so will have to sort something out to hang it.

[Gee]

I got a we delivery from the Mustang Centre. I have been chasing the temp gauge for a while and worked out previously that the sender was the wrong resistance value to indicate on the gauge so I had to hunt around for the correct one, harder that I would have thought. While I was at it I ordered some other bits to make the postage worth it.

The sender is an easy swap but I did have to give the crimp a wee squeeze.

I also swapped in a new air filter. I thought that was a good idea since it was probably quite a few years old.

It was a bit of a pain. But old and new are 3" but I had to wind out the filter stud in the carb to get the nut to engage. Lucky it has a wee lock nut to tighten it in unlike others I have had which I needed to cut down some threaded rod.

I took it for a drive and got a satisfying indication on the gauge. Previously it hardly moved past the C line. It even went up after shutting down which is a good indicator it is accurate enough as the temp would rise with no water pump or fan operating. Drop as soon as the engine starts again and water flows.

 

[Gee]

Did some boring maintenance stuff: Replaced the crunchy radiator hoses. I never liked the braided cover on the top hose either, it achieves nothing and keeps pricking my fingers any time I get near it.

Got some new OEM stuff which looks a lot nicer and nice and soft.

Easier to fit than I thought but the lower hose clamps were a bit of a FAF.

Topped it up with 5l of coolant and water, should end up 50:50 but I will need to check it after a drive. I don't think I got it up to temp in the driveway, it does take a bit of time so I'll need to drive it and make sure it gets all the air out. At least I have a working gauge now so I can keep an eye on it.

 

[Gee]

The AFR gauge looks a little better now. I'm not showing a picture under the dash, it's embarrassing. The gauge comes pre-terminated which makes installation really easy for a novice but leaves heaps of extra cable you don't need. The cheap plugs on it are not easy to replace so there is a big loop to hide out of the way.

[Gee]

Got into the carb tuning. Haven't tested but it was an easy swap as I just changed metering rods.

The chart below is for a 1403/1404 carb. Position 1 is stock 

1....................1423 (.086")............................1460 (.065" x .052") ..............................none - stock calibration

I wanted to go one step leaner in power and cruise which on the chart is position 6

6....................1423 (.086")............................1463 (.067" x .055") ..............................Rod

This means only a rod change with a 1463 rod.

First step is to undo the torx fasteners, no need to remove the cover, it just swivels out of the way. 

I put rags down the throat of the carb to catch anything I might drop but one moved just as my torx bit fell out of the driver. Luckily it was caught on the booster venturi and I could grab it with a magnet.

The numbers are hard to read but the needle was a P/N 1460 (labelled 65 62). The piston holds the step up spring which is left in the carb and the rod is held in by a tiny spring so a bit fiddly to remove.

The new one was selected and fitted and all put back together. Just need a road test now to see if it worked or if another change is required, the next step is the stock rod but a different jet. Springs and rods are easy but I'm not sure about jets. I don't know how you get them down the hole and lined up so hopefully my change is all that is needed.

[Gee]

Road testing the carb changes showed the needle change made more of a difference than I thought. Drivability was the same but AFR sat on 13-14 in cruise.

Nice having a temp gauge that works too. Was bloody hot but engine temps sat in the middle which I assume is good.

 

[Gee]

Cruised down to the hop, a day later than planned but managed to avoid the water. I did pick up a stone chip and crack that was rapidly moving up the middle of the windscreen so we had to make a pitstop in Paeroa for a repair. Tried to get a picture but it didn't show very well. Great service at Secure Glass Paeroa. Stop drilled the crack and managed to fill it mostly. Only charged $50 (normally $90) as he couldn't guarantee it and also gave me advice on the road closures.

Stopped at the Waikino Tavern to wait for the roads to clear. Great place and I rate the local gin.

Also chatted to the guys driving this cool Model A. Small block Ford and Jag rear end.

Saw a really nice 67 fastback that I think was Brittany Blue, my original colour. Had a nice set of Classic Instruments gauges, 5 speed, and Baer Brakes but otherwise a fairly stock looking build. I'll just leave that here for inspiration.

Mine ran well with the tune doing what it was supposed to except for one stumble leaving me stuck at the Bombay BP intersection and a light that didn't change for the next 10 minutes. Was hard to restart, possibly due to underbody temps, but ran fine after that.

 

 

 

[Gee]

Finally got around to pulling the seats out. It's a bit of a pest as the floor is double skinned so you need a 1/2" long reach socket. Not a 5/8" the internet says, strange as google knows everything.

Have to pop some very old bungs out too. I could get new ones but I think they'll do a few more years.

Bolt is right up there and once 3 are out the whole seat moves making it a pig to keep on the last one.

4 nuts and bungs out. One of these things is not like the other one.

Seats look really good unless you look closely. What's the problem?

 

Oh, that..

Seat foam is toast too and a previous owner had jammed some foam in there to prop it up so will be good to get some comfort back.

Car is a bit empty without the seats too. Might take the opportunity to throw some more dynamat under the seat base while I'm at it. Oh, and give it a vacuum.

[Gee]

With the seats out I wanted to use the chance to add some more Dynamat. Pealing the carpet back is easy enough but I was a bit lazy and didn't remove the seatbelts which may have been a mistake.

Got pristine 1960's Brittany blue under here, aways nice to see.

Now to cover it up and never see it again. I left some gaps where the seat rails go just to make it easier.

Underlay back in. not sure when this was first put in but it is in reasonable condition

Then the carpet back. It is quite wrinkled due to the abuse of pulling it back. I'll have to give it a bit of a roll out before I put the seats back in.

An in automotive archeology news, I found another durry under the carpet. Some previous owner must have had a habit.

 

 

[Gee]

Got my seats back from the upholsterer, look a bit better now

The rear seat back went in fine but the lower sits too high. It was always like that but I kind of hoped they'd see a problem and fix it. Might need some wire manipulation some time

Can't tell unless you sit in it though

Fronts were a lot more work. The rails slide independently when not fitted to the car so I thought they were not fitted correctly till I figured it out. Bit of a prick to line up through the carpet too

Looks pretty mint now though and much more supportive.