Projects Im getting Married! Project 46 ford begins!

When in doubt, throw it out!

 

Not much of an update but an update none the less. Mallory on the left and ech cs2300 on the right they fit! now to remove this strap change that spade to a circle terminal hopefully this is the right size.

Wipe it all clean, smear on some grease and see what happens

 

Soooo close.

So ends up the wires are too short to add a ring terminal to so I mocked up and re drilled, cut and heat shrink the straps. Which makes for a lot of dancing. Had a hard time getting the inner half of the insulator on the stud to get into the hole but I got it. Only down side is the rear most set of points didn’t/ won’t slide all the way down the locating pin. It did while doing all mock ups so either something is under it or it’s just in a funny bind.

you can see when I put the screw into the base plate it pulled the points out of alignment but didn’t get the set to slide down the post. So this morning I removed the screw and I’ll take it back apart tonight… again.

 

So last night I took the set back out and put them back in. Did the assembly dance we all know. ( parts you know go together but only go together if you do it very specifically )

anyhow got them as good as they are going to get, it appears to me that the may have never set exactly the same because they have different looking spacers on the bottom Of the alignment poles and looking at photos online they look like mine do.

anyhow I used a pick to make sure the rubbing block on the points was making contact evenly and spent a lot of time gaping the points exactly on the top of the lobes at .020. Checked them after they were snuggled down etc. I will check them
Again after it’s run for a a while since they are new but they are pretty dead on.

anyhow I smear some supplied grease on and buttoned it all up.

super nervous to even try to start it at this point I gave it a shot after checking every possible wire and connection.

aaaaaaand I think I’m getting a little rumble but not enough to start. Volt meter landed around 7 so I sat the battery charger on it over night and I’ll try again around noon. But it did seem, or my desperate ears want to make it seem like it was getting spark even if weak when I tried.

man this thing better start

 

Oh man, I can feel this. After spending most of the last 3 years chasing an issue I now think I have figured but haven't had the time to take care of, I'm right there with you. I've got my fingers crossed for you man.

 

Got home after work and the driveway was over 100 degrees so I didn’t bother trying. It’s on tomorrow list now.

 

It worked!!!!!! Grabbed my son…. Ok he demanded he come with… pulled the charger off, plugged the battery in and closed the hood. Two cranks and maybe one pump of throttle and it lit off!

revd it to get all that not starting fuel out and took it to the end of the driveway and let it get to 160 deg. Idles perfects, restarts perfect. Man I’m so relieved. Finally!

I need to button up a couple things and get started on some rear shock mounts but first we are gonna cruise the neighborhood this afternoon in what feels like victory.

 

YES!!! I'm so pumped for you, this is awesome!

 

Dude I can’t believe it just started right up! I turned the key let the pump run for like 4 seconds turned the key, hit the gas once turn again and it’s good!

blew some soot out the pipes at start up and reving in the garage but zero fuel or soot from sitting in the driveway even with the choke on for a little bit. Didn’t let it get warm enough to open the thermostat…. Or seal up that crack in the exhaust manifold lol. But shit it worked! I’m still so surprised and happy haha

 

Today is a good day!! Congrats!!

 

How's the 46 been working?

 

@05snopro440

so far it feels ok. Havnt left the neighborhood really but I’ve driven it around for 5-15 minutes a few times. Seems a little meh til it gets some heat in it but otherwise ok.

today we drove around the neighborhood for about half an hour and dipped out on one of the exists to a faster road outside of the neighborhood for a quarter mile or so.

The only thing it’s doing consistently that I don’t like other than than the cracked exhaust manifold making noise til it’s warm is it wants to shut off when I come to a complete stop with the pedal all the way down. So a quick stop sign it’s ok but parking or pulling into the garage and stopping it will shut off.

I noticed while in park that it does sound a little rough but when I give it just a little throttle it evens out. So based on all that I think the idle speed needs bumped just a hair. I might double check where my idle mixed screws are set as well when I do that. As well as pop the dust cap and check everything now that it’s had 45-50 minutes of cruising around the neighborhood so far.

It’s supposed to rain all this week but if I get a window and a chance I’ll rip it down a near by “fast” road and see how it does with some more rpm.

all in all satisfactory

 

Just a thought, could the stopping issue be related to float level?

Glad it's getting there, I hope you can trust it soon.

 

I don’t think it is but I guess it could be.

when this whole debacle started I fucked with normal and fast idle speeds trying to sort out the starting so I feel that’s likely it. I was going to try to get to it today before work but the kids had other plans.

keep ya posted

 

Does that distributor have an advance where the plate that the points are mounted on move? If so the straps from the points will keep it from advancing, and will need to be replaced with flexible wire. If the plate is non moveable ignore this post.

 

Good question.

I don’t think it moves, the previous wires were pretty short and I’ve seen these points in this style distributor before so I think it’s ok. But that is a good thought.

 

This morning got it warmed in the driveway and bumped idle speed up a touch. Good improvement but if I put my foot all the way on the brake to the floor it’ll die. Warm, cold, regardless of gear. If I give it some gas it’ll stay running no trouble.

That says some sort of vacuum leak to me and the vacuum gauge reading leads me to think it’s around the intake manifold

. Talked a bit with @porknbeaner and @Austin kays and they both agreed. Austin and I talked about maybe it being a brake booster issue, it’s not making any noise or acting wrong in any way but pulling the hose and capping the line and then taking another vacuum reading would be easy.

Im gonna do a little spray test next chance I get but I’m betting on me needing a new carb base to manifold gasket. I’ll take Beaners recommendation and get a fat one just to take up any irregularity.

The gasket looked fine to me so I reused it when I swapped motors. Same carb and manifold matted together. But it’s like an 8+ year old gasket so it wouldn’t be a surprise.

getting closer. It’s a lot nicer when it actually starts when you want to mess around with it.

 

You know if you drive it Friday I could take a peak after Karen gets inked. Another set of eyes is always good plus look at my username.

 

Oddly enough starts great when it’s warm. Did a bolt check on the carb and manifold and found one carb base bolt and one intake bolt on each side that I got a little nudge out of. Could have been enough for a teeny annoying vacuum leak. I’ll fire it up next chance I get and see if it’s fixed now.

if not I’ll go down the vacuum leak rabbit
Hole of checking everything.

 

You know shortest route of finding a vacuum leak is a can of carb cleaner. Not only will you find the leak but your engine ends up a bit cleaner lol

 

Got a chance to drive around the neighborhood yesterday evening, it’s been sooooo nice out the last 24 hours.

snugging the bolts seems to have fixed 95% of it but not 100%

My weekly shedule changes tomorrow and I should have waaaaaay more time to mess with this so hopefully I can leave the neighborhood for the first time in a long time and see what it feels like at speed etc.

With the 3:00 gears it’s kinda doggy around town and I need to drive it faster to know if it’s running like it was before and it’s just slow cruising being kinda meh, or if it needs a little more tweaking.

either way I think I will do some spray testing for vaccum leaks and once I get that sorted start adjusting the idle speed and mixes with a vacuum gauge.

 

To ferret out a vacuum leak, with the air cleaner off and the engine at idle, place a hand over the top of the carb. If the idle picks up and smooths out, you have a vacuum leak. If it tends to die out, you don't have one. I use the spray to pin point the location.

 

Alright so this morning I fired it up and got it warm. I noticed that my cap for the vacuum port is looking a little dry and cracky, I’ll find a variety pack of them to order and have in stock but for now I don’t think it’s a culprit.

vacuum gauge on I basically ended up fatting up the idle mixture by quite a bit and messing with the idle speed and it got my vacuum reading to be about 5 pounds higher and very steady. Car sounds noticeably different out the exhaust as well.

went for a couple laps around the neighborhood and it seems improved. The car is geared pretty high so it’s always a little doggy around town, low speed areas etc, and it had been in the driveway idling at a steady 180 deg for I would guess a half hour so I could tell it was warm just driving that little bit.

it’s a new engine but after driving this thing for around 11 years the whole package has certain signs that it’s hot. Didn’t have time to finally hit some faster road and see how it feels so it got parked back in the garage. Maybe tomorrow I’ll get a quick jaunt down a quicker path. But there’s the update for the night

 

Just got in from driving got about 20 ish miles between 40 and 60 mph. Mix between two lanes and in town traffic. Mostly gentle hills.

Everything seems fine other than having to relearn that gas pedal. It wants quite a bit more rpm than the old motor so 0-35 mph if I don't have a gps to tell me speed feels like “am I even moving?”. It's just very calm and quiet. But it runs up from 35 to 55 pretty quick. I think it may need the initial timing tweaked a bit. And it for sure needs the shock put back on the rear lol

Either way stayed around 180 deg, 60 pounds of oil pressure idling. Only weird noise was when I got back to the neighborhood and I get a noise like a tail pipe bumping into a tire. Slow rotating noise.

Like a clunk. Doesn’t do it sitting still, reved it park and nothing, I can shake the car around and nothing. When it’s not all hot I’m going to grab the drive shaft and see if I’m getting any wiggle. Doesn’t sound like it’s coming from the front joint but could believe it’s coming from the back.

I think I greased it right before the trip last October so about 700 miles ago. But it did sit still for a long time. I'll give it a grab and see if it moves I guess.

thats all for today

oh and that cracked passenger side exhaust manifold is not improved from the last time
I messed with it. Gonna have to change that when it gets cold this winter.

 

Haven’t gone out to check it yet but looking at ways to check for a failing u joint while
it’s in the car I checked the boxes on rotating thump at low speed, clunks going into reverse and a low speed screech that I didn’t even think was related.

I initially thought maybe it was a brake caliper hanging up. 11 years out of one set of u joints ain’t bad. I tried to grease them every 6 to 12 mo the and they were in good repair and greased last October before the trip but stuff wears out and I’d rather catch it now instead of when I’d need a pull home.

Does how ever put a hitch in my plans for the fall. Guess I’ll see if there is a part number on them and then go see what the should run money wise.

it’s a 74 bronco 9” to a Chevy th350 trans. I’m thinking that should be a stock bronco rear joint and the front some sort of Chevy to ford cross joint? Been to long and I don’t have a part number for that written down.

Another thought is, can I put the rear of the car on ramps and be able to pull the slip home out of the trans with out dumping an ocean of fluid on the floor?

 

I had a daily that would chirp in reverse (ended up being the u-joints). Some moisture got in the roller bearings and rusted them together. It didn't make the noise moving forward, only in reverse. These were a non-greaseable flavor so I just replaced them.

Make sure the front wheels are blocked well and emergency brake set so the car can't roll if you put the rear on ramps.

U-joints are largely universal. You probably have a 1310 joint - you can confirm by measuring the cap diameter and width of joint (both axis). If they are different dimensions 90* apart, that means you have a conversion joint (1310 to 1330 or 1350). Within those series, there are solid and hollow joints, greaseable and non-greaseable. But largely, they are universal amongst manufacturers. You can find a pretty good video on youtube for how to replace them - easiest way is with a press (I never had that luxury until recently).... more "fun" way is with a big effing hammer and a torch.

 

Yeah these are needle bearing and greasable. I’ve pumped them full every 6-12 months for years.

I typicaly put the joint in place with a big vice and socket.

thanks for the info that’ll give me a direction to head on this

 

Looks like the rest should be a spicer 1310 joint.

some of these options look exactly the same on paper but even from the same manufacture some are 40% higher. Guess I’ll go full @Tim_with_a_T and learn more about u joints than anyone needs to know. Lol
First question. How do you grease theee things with a nut on the cap instead of a zerk?

 

I haven’t seen the nut cap ones before. Might try digging around on Spicer’s site for some 1310 part numbers and try those?

 

That is a spicer. I did some nosing around and you can just barely see the top of the bolt is funnel shaped. It takes a needle tip on the grease gun to service. If you look up flush type grease fitting they show up.

I think the idea is no hole in the body makes them stronger but you can still service it compared to a sealed u joint.

anyone ever used a sealed joint? I’ve no experience with them but this front joint is a real chore to reach the zerk as it is now.