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burnout289's 67 coupe project

Condensation out the exhaust is normal. Pressure test the cooling system before tearing the engine down. Are you losing coolant? If it was going through the motor, you would have tons of white smoke.
 
The car always spat out a little moisture at startup, this was more like a little puddle. I wasn't romping on it, just jabbing the throttle a few times to move the crud around and let it idle until warmed up, so I didn't really note an excess of white smoke (hadn't been looking for it at the time). Pressure test is a good idea, thanks.

I couldn't really tell if I the coolant level was dropping, but there are definitely no external leaks. I smelled coolant all over, but that's because I spilled some while draining it. Does no one make a radiator drain that isn't directly over part of the frame or other structural member?
 
Unless you were planning on upgrading the top end, I would spend a few more minutes diagnosing before tearing in. Coolant will make a thick white cloud, you'll know it even if you weren't looking for it.
 
Thanks, I'd love to not have to tear it apart. Actually, I'm fine with that part. It's the reassembly that I'd like to avoid.
 
well, I pressure tested and the cooling system stays rock steady for 5+ min... can I safely assume that I can return this gasket kit?

my hope is that there is still just debris inside the system that needs to be filtered out. and at this point, if I had to take the radiator in again I would just bite the bullet for that aluminum unit cmefly seems to love. if the fitment is just like stock, my shroud will still work.

any other ideas what I should look for?
 
All-in-all it was a good day. Temp seems to be keeping under 200, romped it around the building a couple of times. At some point, my tach lost signal, so I'll need to see what happened there. But, I was able to return the gasket kit and am glad to not have to mess with all of that.

Next immediate issue is the rear tires rubbing on the fender lips over bumps. It's shaving bits of the sidewall, so that can't continue. Then the roller idler arm and new tie rods.

Question: are the tie rods sold by ORP a higher quality than the "best repro" type from NPD? I'm seeing a big price difference, but am not sure where any of them are made. I'm OK spending more if there's a good reason.
 
Turn signals and hazard are fully functional now! Very happy about that. I also installed new hood bumpers, stops and cowl seal. Took me a while to figure out the seal.

I also took 1/4" of spacer off each rear wheel and cleaned up behind the fender lips. Tomorrow Jake will be flattening those for me. That, especially with the increased offset, should help save my tires. The fronts have 1.5" adapters and I'm going to switch to another set of 1" and add the 1/4" shim. I'm hoping that will still clear the UCA. This will help in front as well...we had to massage the front of the wheel opening because the tires were rubbing at the end of steering travel.

This is all great timing, as my pop should be in town this weekend. I'd love to be able to give him a spin, as he's helped me with quite a few issues on this car over the years.
 
As it turns out, the rear wheel studs are just a hair longer than 1" so I had to put one of the 1/8" spacers back on each side under the adapter. The wheels had slight marks from the studs. Rear lips are pounded flat.

The fronts are odd...I swapped the passenger side to a 1" adapter with 1/4" of spacer and everything looked good. Went to the driver's side and the studs are 1/2" longer on that side! Rather than grind all of those down, we kept the 1.5" adapters on the front and flattened the lips. That helped, but there's still a little rub on hard bumps, at least when turning. A guy who stopped by the other day mentioned he has a fender roller, so we'll use that to flare it out just a bit more and then it should be perfect. Later down the road, I'll replace the rotors and make sure I get ones with shorter studs on BOTH sides.

The engine is running pretty smoothly, she fires right up and is very responsive to throttle. Brakes could probably use a bleeding while I have it on a flat surface.

I think I need a new wiper switch, but damn they're expensive! Mine seems to work fine, but won't shut off until I turn the car off. When I turn it back on, they stay put until I switch them on again. Could that be a wiring issue or do I need a new switch?
 
Got a few miles under under the tires today. The front left rubs way too easily, turns out the entire left side is about 3/4"-1" lower than the right. It's slightly more pronouned in the back, my leafs are probably shot and every piece of rubber in the suspension is disintegrating on some level. Only the swaybar endlinks are new (poly).

Hopefully we'll have access to a fender roller this week adn once that's solved I'm going to bring her home.
 
After driving around yesterday, I pulled the "filter" out of the upper radiator hose and it almost wouldn't come out! Damn thing was packed with crud, but I'm glad it's being caught.

Here's a pic from the first or second time I changed it out, to give an idea of what is coming out:


But, the cooling issues are gone now, so that's exciting. Got some pics from yesterday. Here's what I took with my phone, I got some with my nice camera as well, but haven't uploaded any yet.









 
Atleast you have it out and about. Im a week out from my 1 week staycation.. Problem is i have to work on getting the drivers floor and cab mounts cut out of my f100. Blah!!! I want to drive the stang
 
Ugh, I could use one of those. The BRZ is due for trans/diff fluid changes and spark plugs (not to mention a thorough washing), plus all kinds of things need to be done around the house. Just no time lately! Plus, I'll probably need to take a day off just to go to the DMV.
 
Just ordered a roller idler arm from OpenTracker! I was going to go all-out with the rebuild kit, but realized I need to replace parts based on cost and effect. I'm hoping this helps steering effort at least a little bit.
 
Well, I replaced the idler arm, but need new hardware. The bolts were both bent and threads were a bit gummed up. Also, the center link was held on with a nut and cotter pin...but not a castle nut. NAPA only had grade 5 hardware, but I grabbed it just to get everything back together. Well, the castle nut they had must be too tall, because I can't tighten it enough to get the cotter pin installed. Oh well, not like I'm driving the car around right now anyway. I'm sure NPD will have what I need.

I was going to weld a patch for the antenna hole, but didn't get around to it. I might just try and find a plug to get me by for now. The weather is nice, but I don't want to leave that open long-term.
 
I need to get to that too! LCAs, Bushings, Idler Arm, and New Tie Rods...Ugh, I was hoping my truck wouldnt take the whole week to get done like it did so i could work on it. Enjoy it man
 
I finally got around to putting in an NPD order for the correct idler arm hardware...and ended up throwing in a new export brace & bolts as well. I really want to make something custom, but I'm sure it'll be a while and I got impatient. Hey, if nothing else, now I'll have a nice template to work from!
 
I haven't done much since installing the new idler arm and export brace. I'm amazed at how much better the steering feels just changing to a roller bearing. A LOT of the slop was eliminated, I'm sure it'll get even better when I finally regrease the box.

Since I felt bad about not giving the car any attention lately, I just placed an order on Street or Track for new leaf springs and shackles. Hopefully this levels out the rear of the car and sits at a height I'm happy with. I went with the 5-leaf springs which lower by 2". The front springs are 1" lowered, but I don't trust any of the numbers. The front will get lower anyway.
 
Wait Wait Wait...Did you do the Arning drop too? I forgot

I finally finished my suspension but i need to do the tie rods and idler arm still....So much work
 
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