1952-59 Ford I'm back on the road

After six months little blue is back on the road. For those of you that don't know I was tooling down the road months ago and realize the smell of coolant. Only blocks from the apartment I continued and park the car to find a melted heater hose spewing, and a transmission hose cut by the balancer also spewing. The radiator was toast and the transcooler was too. I bought a resto-mod radiator that is 4 core and looks like the original which seemed easy enough. Obviously I was wrong since I have a 351W in the bay. I only ended up with 1 1/4 inches between the pulley and the radiator, so I bought the strongest and largest pusher fan that I could find. The fabrication for brackets is no experts job but it works. After months of sitting the hoses from the carburetor cracked and vacuum leaks were ramped thus causing timing problems. This resulted in the engine not allowing proper flow of the coolant and blowing the lower radiator hose off. Sounds like great fun I know.
After getting that mess figured out I was able to drive the car about 15 miles from my friends house to my apartment. The drive took a little over an hour on a freeway. I would like to say the amount of time was caused by traffic but it was not. As I began to climb hills the transmission would put itself into neutral and I would lose power. Turning off the car and letting it cool a bit seemed to help. This resulted in one of the most scary drives that I've had in my short life.
After I got it home she sat for a few days until I decided to look at the car again. By this time I was about to sell the car just on principal. I pulled up the ole boot straps and decided this car won't defeat me. So, I went to the car and started her to listen and find where the problem was. I immediately heard the same whirring sound as I had days before on the freeway, however now the sound was accompanied by a new high pitched whining sound. The symphony sang and my blood boiled. It was like a harmony like you have never seen before. I swear if there was a gun in my hand I might just need a new engine.
Anyway, I called a transmission shop that I knew to be honest and reasonable and they had it towed to the shop. Within hours of beginning work they were able to tell me that the entire thing was burned up like they had not seen before. I thought thats great since these guys have been doing this for about 30 years. After all was said and done, three days had p***ed and I drove her today without any problems mechanically.
Over joyed as I was, the devil with blue paint on stung me again mere hours after the elation started. As I hooked the turn signals again to the ignition the p***enger headlight went out. It will still light up on high beam but no low beam. Actually it had become dim recently anyway. I found that I had lost the bolts to attach the grille to the body and the size of the holes didn't match the thread tool. On the drive home from my friends house I began to hear a tick almost a slight knocking sound. I checked the oil and it was a bit low so about a quart and she sounded right again. Off I went on my journey home with solace that my engine was not going to explode. I was right about the explosion thing thank God since she now is back in the parking spot and will rest for the next few days.
Now I'm left with the thought of what are the sizes of these silly bolts and where to get them. Oh yeah and the thought that maybe something is wrong and causing the ticking/knocking sound. Grrrrr!! Its never an easy day with this car.
So, thanks for reading my ramblings and if you have any input about the two new things I've come across please let me know.

Steve

 

Talk about having problems... Wow! My trouble seems minimal when I lost my radiator due to a Flex fan deciding it was a propeller and wanted out of the engine bay via the radiator. It made a perfect 17 inch hole!!!! I now us a factory style 5 blade steel fan with no problems, pulls lots of air!

 

It sounds like your car could use a good "go-over" by a knowledgeable mechanic in search of obvious problems. I'd suspect that your car was built by a half-fast individual or shop which did not follow good mechanical practices.

Radiator hoses don't melt if they are routed properly, and ****** cooler lines don't get cut by the balancer unless they, too, are improperly routed.

Same with the radiator and ****** cooler, they don't "toast" themselves nor do they wear out or break.

I'd bet the low oil level was more the result of an improper dipstick than you're lack of attention, but a "burned up" transmission hints at long-term fluid level neglect or lack of filter/fluid maintenance from before you bought it.

The sad point I'm making is that most, if not all, of these problems might have been avoided by a thorough check-out by a good hot rod-oriented mechanic. The last thing I want to do is hurt your feelings, but you've said that you're not familiar with early model cars yourself, so it's not surprising that even some of the more obvious problems escaped your attention.

There is absolutely no excuse, however, for you being sold a car with faults and flaws that could have, and should have, been either fixed or at least pointed out to you prior to the sale.

But... Now that your blue beauty has shown its true character...poor mechanical detailing...it's time for you to take control and do the inspection that should have been done immediately following purchase.

Then fix what the mechanic finds. Unfortunately this probably won't be pretty, $-wise, but it's got to be done before small problems turn into big ones as has already happened on several occasions.

Good luck!

 

missysdad1 x2

 

reading the captions on your album, it sounds like the mishmash of parts thrown at/on the engine to get it together are rearing their ugly heads. keep your head up tho, and keep plugging away. all my old timer freinds keep telling me .... old cars are fun. plus, you will have a better idea of what does/doesnt work in the future.

 

Geno- I have to thank you for having your problems in the first place because I was able to learn those lessons from reading the posts.

Missysdad- Don't worry there are no hurt feeling here. I could not agree with you more on getting it checked out. I'm actually doing that this coming week. Unfortunately I continually kick myself in the *** for buying the car at the price I did and for trusting the guy that sold it to me. Most days I would like to shoot him in the face but I think thats just the Marine in me thats been kept at home not fighting the wars too long.

Anyway as always I take your advice whole heartedly concerning the car. I can't thank you enough for the information that you have given me even if its something I've already done, because that lets me know that I"m learning and doing things right.

Dwaynerz- You are right this thing is Frankenstein all the way. I have more years smashed together than one decade combined. People tell me the same about old cars, and I say, "That must be nice, when does the fun start?" Okay I'm only being a smart *** its always fun even on the frustrating days or I wouldn't go back out the next day and try again.

 

You know.... too bad we all don't live next door to one another.... Just think of the cool cars we would have with all the knowledge in this group.

 

Right Geno! x2

 

Don't give up on that '54. Remember, you are learning something valuable and you are gaining experience. You can't get that from a book!

 

I agree and sounds like some 1/2 *** built that car ! Mine was done the same way so now the engine is 90% done and will have all new hoses , belts , radiator , new metal gas lines , brake lines and basically redoing all that could go wrong because I only like to do a job once !
Since you have so many problems I would also repack the wheel bearing and check the brakes , brake lines for rust and wheel cylinders as well . Check the fuel lines from the gas tank forward too ! Make sure all the lines are attached and mounted where they should be !
A little time checking now will save you a ton of headaches down the road ! Be safe !
Just my honest opinion !

Jim

 

THanks flyboy and Jim for the encouragement and advice. I don't really need to check the brakes to see if they are bad, driving down the road tells me that but I have been a bit hesitant to pull the wheel off and even look inside. I did that once on a car and I'm sure I looked at it wrong because the wheel cylinder literally started spewing fluid on the ground. I'm sure the look on my face was priceless. The good news is that out of all the things on a car I have been school trained on brakes and know quite a bit about them. I wish my knowledge base was far more expanded than brakes but I will get there. I do have a plan for the brakes but that pretty much involves rebuilding all four just so I feel safe knowing that everything is new.

 

hey 54... all of us at one time was shown which end of the wrench did the work. nobody here was born with all the knowledge from the git go. all of us learned from someone that had been there/done that and had the greasy tshirt to prove it. as you move up in skill levels, you will be able to p*** knowledge on to those coming up behind you.

 

Yeah I've had the rare occasion of knowledge p***ing already which was surprising but I grabbed the opportunity the second it came up. Now I just need to figure out the proper size of the bolts that connect the grille to the fenders and where to get them.

 

That's where my tap & die set comes in handy, I just find the tap that fits the caged nut or use the bolt gauge and thread gauge on the bolt I need. My neighbor just looks at the bolt or nut and tell me what size and thread it is. I don't think I'll ever get to that point.

 

The ones on the end corners to the fender are 1/4" co**** thread X 3/4" length

 

1/4" co**** thread is the winning answer. Now get rebuild kits for those brakes. Worldwide has them in stock, and they're cheap!

 

if all else fails for grill bolts, you could always try dennis carpenter or some such outfit. kinda goes against the "cheap" factor, but if you want to be sure you got the right stuff, sometimes it pays not to be stingy.

 

Rich are you talking about worldwide Auto Parts? I looked them up and it looks like they are going out of business, am I crazy? I had looked buying the parts from MAC's but I don't want it to take for ever just to get the parts in my hands. Plus I think that MAC's is a little on the pricey side most of the time.

Oh yeah thanks for the bolt sizes. I finally pulled my head out and researched the parts manual. So I agree with that its 1/4", 20 x 3/4" since I just bought some from the dreaded Autozone.

 

I've got a full set of new Raybestos wheel cylinders (1 - left front; 1 - right front; two rear) that came with my '52 Victoria that I will not be using. You're welcome to them '54HotRod. Just email me your shipping address and I'll send 'em to ya. That'll be four less things to think about...

 

missysdad. that will also be 4 less things to clutter your gargae

 

Thats awesome, I will definitely take you up on that offer.

 

Missysdad, thank you for offering the wheel cylinders.

I took the valve covers off today so I could swap them out with some new ones that I bought from Summit last year. I didn't really need to swap them but I thought what the hell it will get them out of the apartment and make something on the engine look a little better. I took a picture of one head and thought the rockers looked pretty dirty. The grime that is on the rockers was something that I thought might not be a good thing but I'm not sure if this is normal or not. I have a feeling this is just caused from the age of the engine and not having a proper rebuild since it was made two decades ago.

 

To me it looks like a lack of timely oil changes by the previous owner. Sludge build-up. If the engine is running fine, I would change the oil more often.

 

Next oil change put in a can of Marvel Mystery Oil in place of a 1/2 quart of oil,should improve things a lot.The next oil change after will probably look really yucky!.

 

Sounds like a plan. I'm interested in seeing this yucky oil change. I'm kind of weird and want to see things that come out of my engine. Well maybe its just the feeling that I am doing good when I change things and all the bad stuff comes out. Anyway thank you for the information. The new valve covers didn't get tightened down because the studs that were with the kit seemed to be made by a lazy chinese child. I say that because I'm sure that they still employ children to make these things.

 

Jeff's advice is good. Increase the detergency of the oil using Marvel Mystery Oil, AND change the oil with greater-than-normal frequency.

As the "yuck" comes loose, it will circulate in the oil until it gets trapped by the filter, so you don't want to knock it all loose at one time.

Gradual cleansing is the key here, so avoid "engine flush" products and go for the half-quart of MMO with every oil change.

BTW: The engine condition confirms the lack-of-maintenance cause of your ****** failure. You just can't neglect equipment and expect it to function well. Thanks to improved lubricants and PCV systems, modern engines and modern transmissions stay squeeky clean inside if they are maintained properly.

 

Thanks, Jeff. I knew there was a additive you could put in the crankcase with an oil change to loosen up the sludge, but I couldn't remember what it was. I thought someone would post the correct stuff.

 

Well, it looks like the old valve covers are going back on because the new ones are pieces of carp and you can't even get a socket on the bolt. There are no indentions that allow the space for the socket on three of the bolts per cover. Oh well it was a good try that ended in a snapped bolt before I could come close to the torque specs. I'd say these Summit covers are total ****. Maybe its the chinese kids that made them not caring enough. Anyway I'm off to start the next project to get the car ready for Ink n Iron.

 

Unh-oh! Take another look at the torque specs you used. (Be aware of the difference between foot-pounds and inch-pounds!!!) The valve cover bolts are "snugged", not "tightened". Too much torque will compress the gaskets and cause leaks instead of preventing them. A broken bolt - even a Chinese "bubblegum" bolt - is a sure sign you're putting 'way too much torque on the bolt. Go easy!

 

My torque specs say 10ft lbs. I thought that was way too much and should be in inch lbs but thats what the Chiltons manual said, I checked twice. Anyway I didn't even get to use the torque wrench because I was just starting to tighten them with the regular ratchet so that I could get them in place. I looked at both ends of the broke piece and it doesn't even have the look of being torqued too much or twisted. The other problem was that the covers didn't seem to actually line up with the head face, as if they were warped or something.

Anyway I have a question about this Marvel Mystery Oil. I looked it up on NAPA's website and it took me to a fuel injector lubrication. Here's the link;https://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx?A=TW_005_0006409744&An=0
Is this the right stuff or did the search bring up the wrong thing?