Projects All The Twos: 1962 Mercury, 352cui, 2bbl, Too Many Doors.

Got it back up and running today. Passenger size exhaust down pipe flange is leaking unfortunately so might have to get that off.


Idles reasonably well at 500rpm, but the mixture screws are a bit too far in for my liking and it’ll back fire through the carb if you aggressively blip the throttle. It’s wet round the top cover gasket so maybe the floats aren’t right. I’ll have a look at that when it’s cold. Drives backwards and forwards though!


Can you blow the power valve in an Autolite like you can in an early Holley?

 

Yes and holley power valve fits autolite carburetor too.

 

https://www.reifendirekt.de/
Vitour 215/75-15

 

I have a 235/75-15 out back and a 215/75-15 up front on my Ford. The rear tires are a tight fit.
I got them from Tire Rack, Hankook 724 or 727 and they ride smoothly. WW which I turned to the inside.

 

Got it running reasonably well now, little adjustment to floats, mixture and timing, got it set at 36 max mech advance which goes to 11 at idle. No more popping when you blip the throttle. Guess it was just the sum of everything bring slightly off.

Little vid here

https://oneball.smugmug.com/Cars/Merc-Original/n-5ZtcCv/i-zZbftfj

For some reason both rear doors don’t close into the second latch, seems odd that it’s the two but hopefully just needs the striker plate adjusting.


Going to have to put it on hold for a week or so while I get the OT Vette ready for the first race of the year, brake bits turned up whilst I was away so hopefully will be good to go soon.

 

A 215 70 15 ties in circumference wise with the original 14” tyres, is there any advantage to running a 215 75 15?

 

Not really. It's a taller, narrower tire so there would be a very slight degradation in handling, although it would give a very slightly reduced steering effort. But you have power steering so that won't be noticeable.

Unlike the '50s era Ford products, in 1960 Ford finally enlarged the wheelhouses, allowing much larger tires to be fitted with little clearance issues. My '60 Ford Sunliner currently has 235/60-15 front and 275/60-15 rear tires on 15X7 fronts and 15X8 rears with 4.25" backspacing. Plenty of room everywhere. The 4.25" backspace is the key dimension to making them fit. If you fit narrower tires, you can reduce the backspacing by up to 1". Your Mercury should be the same or very close as they share chassis design.

 

Thanks Steve. It’s the extra space in the wheel well I’m trying to hide, it’s kinda got that Jag E-type riding on stilts look at the moment. I’ve got some 15x7 slot mags for it

 

I know what you mean... LOL. When I got the 'vert the PO had fitted 14X6 wheels with 195/75-14 tires, as close as he could find apparently to the OEM tires (or was willing to pay for). They looked like they were taken off a mini-truck, ridiculously small. The ones on it now are larger than I want (very good price for them, and look better that the little ones), my plan is to drop down to a 215/70-15 front and a 255/60-15 rear. I'm doing a stroker FE with a 5-speed manual, so I want more meat in the rear....

 

Having moved the Merc around the drive about 4 times today whilst sorting the Vette I can’t get the electric choke to operate to my satisfaction, it comes off too quickly and doesn’t come back on quickly enough. Thinking about converting it to manual choke. Didn’t really want to go around drilling holes in the fire wall or screwing stuff to the dash but maybe I can find a neat way of doing it.

Wondering if a Weber type choke housing that just replaces the bi-metallic cup will work.

 

Its not the choke, you got too small main jets for ours gasoline.
And thats just my opinion and personal experience.

 

Holley choke fits autolite just fine.

 

I don’t think so, it’s at idle where im having the issue, it’s not running on the main jets. It basically needs to be on the fast idle cam and isn’t rather than the choke flap being closed

 

Maybe try some sort of resistor in choke coil feed wire to delay heat?

Many oem choke wirings are routed via oil pressure sensor that its not heating unless motor is running. For example 1980 gm g body cars.

 

I might try the original type choke, I think from the two carbs I’ve got I can put together a complete mechanism, just need the tube to the manifold.

 

There are two tubes.one takes fresh filtered air from air cleaner.
Thats how it was made in 63...

 

On the 1962s there doesn’t seem to be a pipe to the air cleaner it just feeds from fresh air.

 

You wanna handle that thermal insulation carefully, maybe soaked with water because it might be simply asbest.

 

Already in the bin. That tube was buggered, as was the mechanism, which probably explains the coke build up in the engine as I don’t reckon it’d come off choke.

 

Rear door strikers adjusted and they now close properly, cleaned up the sills ready to put some stone chip on when it stops raining, they’re not rusty as such but dirt roads have taken their toll on the paint.


Noticed this oil change sticker in the door


So in 1981 it’d done 45k



2007 it’d done 49k and now it’s on 50k

 

Could the choke heat tube in the exhaust manifold (where you can't see it) possibly be plugged? Especially since the short fresh air tube doesn't seem to provide any filtering. Can you tell if the choke heat passage that is hidden in the manifold is just a "U" shaped tube, or is that passage something that was cast into the manifold?

 

I believe there’s some fins cast underneath that plate, when a replacement pipe turns up I’ll get the manifold off and remove the plate and see what’s going on. The pipe had been cross threaded anyway so it was no good. It’ll also give me a chance to fix the leak between manifold and down pipe.

 

Cleaned, primered and stone chipped the sills, a few decades of dirt roads had sand blasted the paint off them, just waiting for the stonechip to dry before putting some Castilian Gold on.

 

Two of my four new tyres arrived too

 

Base and clear on the sills.


And put number plates on

 

Back from a weekends racing, one HAMB friendly pic


Set about re-instating the choke heater, got the exhaust manifold off and ground the bolt of the plate, the gasket had disintegrated explains why it was blocked.

Cleaned up

made a replacement plate


Bolted in

Manifold back on and new pipe installed, not 100% happy with the routing but didn’t want to shorten the pipe to start with and find it didn’t reach.


Will have to wait for the sealant to go off before trying it tomorrow

 

Choke works! Will sort the tube out now so it’s a bit neater



Never really had much to do with autos, when you change from neutral to reverse or back there’s a ratcheting sound for a fraction of a second, any ideas?

 

Thanks Jeff. Brakes and gearbox fluid change and it’ll be drivable I think.

 

Remember to tighten converter nuts?