KW's 1979 Ford LTD Landau

[Arquemann]

Does the VV carb have normal transfer slots? If they're exposed too far, it'll pull more fuel at idle and be more prone to dieseling. I'm guessing you know the timing is correct so it's not causing hot running?

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Does the VV carb have normal transfer slots? If they're exposed too far, it'll pull more fuel at idle and be more prone to dieseling. I'm guessing you know the timing is correct so it's not causing hot running?

VV doesn't really have the same design for the transfer slots, and the idle circuit is definitely unique since its really not adjustable by any conventional means. Idle speed is just set with the idle screw, and I matched it to the underhood decal for curb idle. Timing was bumped up to 10 degrees BDTC over the factory requested 6 degrees.

I'm confident the cooling system itself is not performing as it should, and most of it is probably just all related to all of the sitting the car has done through the years with little being done to it.

[GM_Guy]

Hows the fan clutch doing? Anytime I've had the temp spikes like that its been due to a dying fan clutch.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Hows the fan clutch doing? Anytime I've had the temp spikes like that its been due to a dying fan clutch.

Brand new clutch was fitted when I swapped from the flex fan.

[marquis starr]

hello kw !1 great find ..i love the white ltd great looking car ..i like the old school boxy look looks better than todays crap ugly cars with conflicting body lines and too much electronic crap !1 yes id keep it the way it is just do the tune up stuff and a good detailing is probably all it needs ..its a good original car that id only drive too cars shows and summer use only ..i never understood why ford put 14 inch rims on a big car like this ,,they look out of porportion with the size of the car ..if you found some really nice 15 inch turbines with the ltd center caps id lose the 14s and mount those plus its getting harder to find 14inch tires and 15s will make it ride alittle better ..i bought a really nice 88 white ltd with the same dash ...they didnt change them much just the grille and foberglasss nose and tailights and trunk .. i love it and mine needed a tune up and heater core and a good detailing ..i just run it in the summer and it gets attention no matter where i go especially by young kids at the drive thrus ...anyway good luck with it...

[Kodachrome Wolf]

hello kw !1 great find ..i love the white ltd great looking car ..i like the old school boxy look looks better than todays crap ugly cars with conflicting body lines and too much electronic crap !1 yes id keep it the way it is just do the tune up stuff and a good detailing is probably all it needs ..its a good original car that id only drive too cars shows and summer use only ..i never understood why ford put 14 inch rims on a big car like this ,,they look out of proportion with the size of the car ..if you found some really nice 15 inch turbines with the ltd center caps id lose the 14s and mount those plus its getting harder to find 14inch tires and 15s will make it ride alittle better ..i bought a really nice 88 white ltd with the same dash ...they didnt change them much just the grille and foberglasss nose and tailights and trunk .. i love it and mine needed a tune up and heater core and a good detailing ..i just run it in the summer and it gets attention no matter where i go especially by young kids at the drive thrus ...anyway good luck with it...

Unfortunately as time as has progressed, it needed a little more than just a regular tuneup. Getting all of that ironed out though. Still do need to give a good detailing job... probably will also get a car cover for it despite being in the carport, the tail is exposed to the sun and that won't do down here forever. I will use it year-round though, since we don't have salt application issues down here.

Honestly, the 14" wheels don't bother me that much since this car came on the "plus size" tires, a GR78-14 (P215/75R14) which are similar in profile to the P215/70R15 tire/wheel option used in later years. The smaller FR78-14 (P205/75R14) do look a little odd in the wheel wells since they don't fill them out as much. I also tossed a fresh set of tires on it after purchase since the last set were badly dry rotten and not safe to drive on, so I'm not considering 15" wheels for a while until these current tires wear/age out.



With relevant cooling issues at hand...


The radiator from Summit Racing has landed, a 3-core aluminum job. Already got another driver side radiator bracket to swap out the smaller passenger side one on the factory setup. I also received a few other parts, including a plate-type transmission cooler, an A/C expansion valve, E-Code headlamp housings, and a idler arm. While all not related, I figured additional cooling for the transmission is not a bad idea, I would like to get the A/C working and the expansion valve may be sticking internally, I'd like to see at night and retire the factory incandescent sealed low beams, and the idler arm bushings are just wore out from age so swapping that is just a good idea.

I'm going to slowly start trying to whittle down the to do list since it's not particularly huge anyway, but some days I just don't feel like messing with anything when I get home.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Slowly started rolling into things. Decided to do a simple job, swap the headlamps out.





Still had what I believe are the factory incandescent 4652 lamps. The the appropriate connector pin swap for a H4 and swapped in the Hella E-Code housings instead. Still needs a relay harness for full improvement, but this is better than nothing.

Tomorrow I may start on the cooling system. I popped the cap to note the coolant level was significantly low, in a similar way to how it was when I brought it back from SC. IIRC, it took about 3/4 gallon of coolant to get it in the operating range at that time. There's signs of it having pushed coolant into the overflow tank and the overflow tank spilling over. The system held pressure after the intake debacle, so hopefully with a proper flush job and new radiator, this is not a recurring issue.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Knocked out the radiator and transmission oil cooler install.



Radiator was pretty straight forward, just had to do the typical "adjustments" to properly fit a three core where a single core unit was. One new wide bracket, trimmed the lower mounting pads, and it plonked on in. I did have to swap the shroud hardware over, but that wasn't too troublesome.

Weather was kinda mild today and I didn't take as long of a drive as I did when it overheated last time, but I did let it get fully warmed up in the carport to check for leaks, then made the drive. When I got back, the IR thermometer showed about 205 degrees on the intake manifold behind the thermostat, upper hose was about 180, and the lower hose was about 130. I'll check the radiator fluid level again tomorrow when I get home, but at least this time it was not boiling over and pushing all the coolant into the overflow tank. Hopefully it'll stay that way.



I do need to take a good night drive sooner than later now and verify my low beam headlight adjustments. I think they're about correct, but it's a touch easier to verify once I see how they're throwing on the road. I can at least tell they're plainly brighter against the wall than the original incandescent sealed beams.

[jaywish]

I love the light pattern on the H4 housings. Wonder what a mild LED would do in them?

[Tiggie]

Just here to say that car is looking great. The sides are so clean compared to the up trimmed later cars. The grille pattern and the bumper just work. I would love to find a 79 wagon in similar condition.

[gadget73]

I'm probably the only person who actually likes sealed beams, but when they get old they definitely get poor light output. The bulbs turn yellow and the reflectors stop reflecting well. Fresh ones and a proper aim does wonders, as does a relay harness.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

I love the light pattern on the H4 housings. Wonder what a mild LED would do in them?

Not sure, but I've always preferred halogens where they were already present.

I'm probably the only person who actually likes sealed beams, but when they get old they definitely get poor light output. The bulbs turn yellow and the reflectors stop reflecting well. Fresh ones and a proper aim does wonders, as does a relay harness.

I don't hate sealed beams, but the light pattern from the E-Codes has a much sharper cutoff and focuses considerably more light on the road ahead. If it wasn't for the benefits, I'd have just tossed in a set of new halogen sealed beams instead. I do still need to fit a relay harness, but for now I've just re-pinned the factory connector to H4 configuration.

Just here to say that car is looking great. The sides are so clean compared to the up trimmed later cars. The grille pattern and the bumper just work. I would love to find a 79 wagon in similar condition.

Thanks! I really do like the way the earlier cars were trimmed, as the small extra detail parts make up for a lot in the appearance. I personally feel a lot was lost when the front bumpers lost their vents and the grille changed to the egg crate design. Kinda gave the nose a heavier, and blocky feel despite the proportions still being the same. That's probably the same reason I prefer the waterfall grille design to the '79-'82 Marquis over the later waffle design. Just looks a touch better.



I spent a little time working on some more stuff today. Swapped the idler arm out since the bushings on the original ones were looking pretty lousy. Also started on the 3G swap just for the sake of reliability.



Just need to finish the wiring and refreshing some of the wire loom. I took the time to remove all the externally regulated wiring and de-pinned the connectors it passed through to keep the removal as clean as possible. I've also already run a new charge cable. I should have it all tidied away by this weekend.


Once that's done, all I have on my "to do" list is swapping the TXV and seeing about charging the A/C, installing my radio adapter, and properly adjusting the passenger side visor.

[gadget73]

I'm actually sort of OK with the 1G. the output is crap but at least they don't catch on fire.

[sly]

I'm actually sort of OK with the 1G. the output is crap but at least they don't catch on fire.

This.

[DerekTheGreat]

If I ever had another box or old Ford product- 3G swap. That ultra-low output at idle thing where the headlights dim, wipers go miserably slow, defrost barely works, blinker doesn't blink ect., ect. has to go.