P72Ford's White Box

[rick99601]

i cant wait to see the terminator wheels on it.

[P72Ford]

I got the car today.

Very pleased with the condition, etc. I sent Tom a few quick questions about a few things, but like I said, very pleased. The car is dirty from the trip, but I'm sure it'll clean up well. Clean up top, and underneath.

Also, the roof was damaged in shipment. Theres a pretty sizeable dent at the top of the windshield, and some scratches. The idiots did it with the car hauler.

I'm working on it now, but it really takes away from the car, and I am pissed about it. I am going to have the fenders and a scratch fixed anyway, but I wasn't planning on this too. The company seems like a deadbeat company, which I am highly annoyed about because they seemed to have really good reviews. Thats why I chose them. If I can get something I will, but if I don't, its not the end of the world. I'll get it fixed.

[Grand Marquis GT]

That fucking sucks to hear about the shipper!

I am glad you're pleased; I am glad she got a great home!

[mrltd]

Man that sucks!

At least you got it....

[87gtVIC]

So Larry was right. The van did fall on it...alright not helping....At least the transport is over and the car is in your possession. Now to raise hell with the transport company.

[P72Ford]

I'm going to let the roof bit slide. Yeah, the roof got messed up, but the transporters are deadbeats, and thats pretty much that. Its a long story, and if you want to hear at all, ask me about it at SF11.

I'll have it fixed when I have the fenders fixed.

I'm sorry I don't have pictures yet, but by the time I get home from work, its damn near dark. I did take the car to my Dad's shop tonight, though; staging for a few quick fixes. It was a bitch to load it on the truck, because its really pretty low.

I wanted to make sure the coolant was ok; down there in AL, they probably rarely hit freezing temps, so I wanted to make sure the engine didn't freeze. The coolant was actually ok, but I added some just to be safe. The PS was whining because it was low, so I took care of that. There are unreal exhaust leaks, so I'll be taking care of those, tomorrow. I'm also going to get the fans operational, and try to get it to run ok. I want to get some fresh fuel in the car, and add stabilizer.

Right now, the car really isn't driveable on the street. You can't give it any gas without feathering it, and you really can't even go WOT. I was pretty sad about that!Performance is way off pace, and I'll dive into that once the exhaust leaks are fixed, and fans are working. The gas pedal is really stiff; I suspect the geometry is partially the issue. I also need to fix the gear indicator, because I already had a misdemeanor with that tonight.

I gave it a quick rinse to get the grime off, and I'll go through the interior and wax it befor it goes away. I'd like to get thse things done by Sunday, so that I can put it away, then. With the help of a good friend that owes me elevnty billion favors, it'll get done. Thankfully, he's an electrician, so I suspect the electrical issues will be worked out in short order.

I'll update and have pictures when I can.

[Pirate]

So Larry was right. The van did fall on it....

I think I cursed it with my joke.

[P72Ford]

Actually, I'll toss up some pictures of the damage, and the car in front of my brother's work. Thats him in the corner of one of the pictures. You can also see my old man's P71.

He thought I'd be pissed that he let the guy go without seeing the damage/ withholding payment...

But I can't be angry at him about it. He was gracious enough to ask his boss if it was ok to drop the car there, and he also handled some logistics for me. He also brought the car home for me, last night.

[mrltd]

Wow, that sucks.

[sly]

^^^ what he said

[Lincolnmania]

ugha

[gadget73]

damn, thats a bad spot too. The brace is right in the way of hammering it from the inside.

[87gtVIC]

There are some holes in the brace but none the size of a hammer or dolly.

Still a sharp looking car.

[gabegt90]

that sucks hope the transport company pays for that

[P72Ford]

Guys.

The guys at the transport company are dead beats. This will come out of my pocket... I'm pretty much over it, now.

I got the car running pretty decent tonight, with a friend. I was going to fix the electric fan wiring... but instead I removed the fans and wiring all together. Removed a bunch of the emissions evap stuff, too. It has a mechanical fan on it now. It took some doing with the large radiator, but its on, and looking remrkably stock. I didn't dress the shroud or paint the fan... but I will. There are more pressing issues, currently. Not sure whether I'll get a single aftermarket fan (now that folks have mentioned the Mk VIII isn't that great), or whether I'll leave it mechanical.

I got all the old gas out of the car and added fresh 93. Pulled the plugs, which were horrendously fouled. Cleaned them, regapped, and put them back in. I wired the choke open (didn't want to hook up the electric choke), and the car starts on its own, now. It idles beautifully. The timing was horrendously off... the headers were glowing with it just sitting outside idling. With the fan shroud on there now, its hard to see the timing tab, but I will mark the balancer tomorrow. I did it by ear and feel tonight, and the headers are no longer glowing, and it generally runs better, and starts much easier. I also hooked the tachometer back up.

I drove the car around a little. The gas pedal is remarkably hard, and there is very little play in it. The car stumbles horribly... but I did manage to get some speed out of it, and the TV pressure seems to be in a 'safe' area. I may move it up tomorrow, just to be safe.

Also. I am really dubious that this car will ever be EFI again. What is left of the wiring harness is pretty well butchered, as are the fuel lines. I am really thinkining it'll be easier and smarter to stay with the carb (though probably not this carb). I will probably do something special with the tank, and make my own return style carb system with a really good aftermarket pump, filter, regulator, and AN lines. It'll most likely get an MSD billet distributor, a new coil, new FRPP wires, plugs, and I'll use the existing 6AL box. Should be a bulletproof ignition and fuel system.

You EFI guys can flame me, but I just can't see going through all the work, and then when I want to go big with the engine, having tuning issues.

I also noticed tonight that the car sounds funny out the tailpipes. I love the exhaust, but the mufflers are goofy. My friend mentioned that it kind of sounds like a flathead, when listening from the tailpipes. Maybe its the header leaks (I'll take care of that tomorrow; I think the poor timing had to do with that issue). But the mufflers will probably get swapped. Its not loud enough, anyway.

I want to try and get the temp gauge up and running again, but I'll probably buy a cheap mechanical tomorrow, just to see whats going on with the car.

Beyond that, I noticed the power steering lines are definitely not to my liking. They leak, and drip on the sway bar bushings and suspension. Not cool, so custom pieces are afoot.

The list I have going for this car is pretty insane.

But... my friend, who isn't much for Fords... he even came clean and told me what a great looking car it is.