My New 1978 Ford LTD

[slack]

Rear Brakes Continued

With the passenger's side drum not wanting to come off, I decided to fabricate my own drum puller. I used a three jaw puller and some winch wire rated ate 2500lbs+ to grab around the drum.

It looked pretty good actually:


As I was tightening it down with a 1/2 inch ratchet on the end of many extensions (I didn't want to be anywhere near that thing when it came off) I started hearing some creaking sounds. I figured it was the drum slowly creaking off... NOPE! Damn winch wire snapped and blew up the whole thing spectacularly.


Now at a loss of options, I threaded the lug nuts back on a bit to protect the threads and proceeded to beat the drum with my mini sledge like it owed me money. After about ten minutes of abuse, it finally popped right off. I should also point out that I verified that the drum wasn't hung up on the shoes by putting the car in neutral and making sure I could freely spin the drum by hand before all this.

The removal/installation from here on out was the same as the previous side so I don't think I need any pictures of that.

I decided to keep the shoes as they're in pretty decent shape just in case down the road I find out that they're also no longer able to be purchased like the drums next time I need new shoes.


Here's an odd thing I noticed. One of the pins that hold on the springs for the shoes (the one that goes through the backing plate) on one of the sides was completely bent. I guess at some point it binded and the piston pushed it until it bent? I have no idea.


Now that I no longer had any leaks to the rear and had my new shoes and wheel cylinders in, I figured I'd give a shot at gravity bleeding the rear brakes. (Front and back brake systems are independent)

To do this, I pumped the brakes a few times, attached my box wrench to the bleeder and then my bleeder tube and opened it up. While it flowed out, I took the master cylinder cap off because that's what it said to do in the instructions. It worked okay and took forever. I'm still going to have to do the old "pump pump hold" method with one of my friends to get all the air out.

[slack]

New Radiator

Final update for today.

While I was waiting for the brakes to gravity bleed, I noticed some rust on the upper radiator support and battery tray. I figured it would be a good time to pull those out and start sanding them down and painting them with POR-15. The area under the battery tray wasn't bad but now that I had access, it was on the list to be painted as well.


Stuff removed:


Coat of POR-15 on the parts removed as well as inside the battery tray area:


At this point, I figured I was far enough along that I might as well pull out the leaking radiator and put the new one in.

Radiator came out easily. The original OEM screw style hose clamps rock. I actually reused all of them. I was also pleasantly surprised that the transmission cooler lines came off without a fuss as well.


Now that the radiator was out, everything got cleaned off with some more Brak Kleen and sanding then topped off with a nice coat of POR-15.


I was happy with how well the new molded hoses matched up with the originals. I feel like in the past I've had to make due with some "85% of the way there" molds before.


New radiator and hoses all installed. I had to paint the underside of the battery tray and upper radiator support so I wasn't able to get those back in tonight. I also was sort of disappointed on how poorly the mounts for the fan shroud on the radiator matched up. I was able to get it on, but not perfect. I'm going to have to go back and do a little modification to get it squared away nicely. (What I have will work for now though).


It's been a busy day!

[Tiggie]

Indeed a busy day. Other than the fan shroud, did the new radiator fit okay? Is it plastic or metal tank?

[knucklehead0202]

That's a lot more than I ever get done in a day. Brake job looked like an mf'er too. Nicely done!

[sly]

This is one of the reasons I have a torch. Heat the brake drum around the studs (avoid the studs) and after moment or 2... you typically hear the distinct ping of metal separating from rust. Then lightly tap with the 4# persuasion and it tends to pop right off. Do the same thing with rotors. Of course I wear some leather gloves while doing this so I don't burn myself removing the now warmed up rotor/drum.

[knucklehead0202]

+1, heat is good, although I scarcely ever have it around when I'm working on cars. Pretty stupid considering I carry a B-tank and MAPP in my work truck. Usually not in the same place as the project vehicle, although I should make a mental note next time.

[slack]

Indeed a busy day. Other than the fan shroud, did the new radiator fit okay? Is it plastic or metal tank?

Yeah, other than the fan shroud, it's actually a perfect fit. I think it's a metal tank. I would have to double check. Feels metal though.

Here's the one I bought: SPECTRA PREMIUM / COOLING DEPOT CU401

That's a lot more than I ever get done in a day. Brake job looked like an mf'er too. Nicely done!

Thanks! So far that one drum has been the only thing that's been a true pain to deal with, so I guess it's not that bad.

This is one of the reasons I have a torch. Heat the brake drum around the studs (avoid the studs) and after moment or 2... you typically hear the distinct ping of metal separating from rust. Then lightly tap with the 4# persuasion and it tends to pop right off. Do the same thing with rotors. Of course I wear some leather gloves while doing this so I don't burn myself removing the now warmed up rotor/drum.

Yeah, I had my MAP torch on it for a while as well. I didn't really get anywhere with it. I think the big issue was I have a crappy tip for it so it wasn't blowing enough heat at the drum. I borrowed my friends nice tip for the front brakes and it helped a ton.

[slack]

Front Brakes

Yesterday I completed doing the front brake pads, rotors, bearings, calipers, hoses and brake bleed. Everything went smoothly and my shop manuals actually came in handy. I've never dealt with brake calipers that didn't have slide pins before. These things use an annoying "wedge" set up that I'll say more about further below.

Brakes before anything: All original... and nasty. The outer brake pad was actually rust welded to the calipers on both sides.


Disassembly wasn't so bad. I lucked out again on the brake lines. They came free with some heat.

Here's a pick of the "wedge" that gets hammered into the groove at the lower part of the caliper mount. There's a spring clip that goes over it and an allen key nut that holds it in place. These were a pain to remove. They had to be heated a ton and bathed in PB blaster. A mini sledge and a large screw driver as a punch finally knocked the free. New pads come with new spring clip and allen nut.

Close up:


The one on the passenger side went flying all the way across the car when it finally broke free. You can still sort of see the smoke from the amount of heat it was hit with:


Everything removed (for the most part) and the spindle painted with some high heat paint. I used a glove over the part the bearings ride on to keep paint off of it:


Dust shield removed and also painted with high temp paint:


All assembled. I coated that wedge set up with anti-seize so next time hopefully it's not so bad.


Stupid China allen nut stripped when I tightened it down. I used the original in the passenger side as it's nice hard steel (it mounts to the caliper mount, not the caliper). I'm probably going to take this stripped one out and put the original back in on the driver's side as well...


After everything was done, my friend helped me bleed the brakes. No more Brake light and the car stops fine! Almost to the point I can get the safety inspection!!! Just need tires and wipers!

[slack]

Transmission Fluid and Filter Change

A few weeks ago I decided to change the fluid and the filter as it was dark and probably just as awful as the oil that I pulled out of the engine. Well.... it became a nightmare. (Not really, just more work than it should have been).

So, first of all the dipstick tube screws into the side of the transmission pan. This is great if it actually came off because then I could just drain the fluid from there. Unfortunately, it was stuck on and no amount of persuasion was getting it off. Not a big deal, I figured I would just remove the pan and work the tube out with the pan. This is when the trouble started.

When loosening up the pan bolts, which should be torqued rather lightly, I had two bolt heads just pop right off with little effort. Yay. I then had to hunt down the one retaining bolt that holds the dipstick tube up against the engine. (That was a fun socket + universal + extension + hand snake).

After all was said and done (and broken). I got the pan off. Here's an idea what the fluid looked like:


I ended up using my MAP torch and heading the holy hell out of the dip stick tube connector. I got it so hot, I actually ended up smoking out the whole garage with some nasty fumes. Amazingly enough the tube finally came out with a big ass line wrench. I then used the impact gun on the flare connector at the bottom of the tube to work that back and forth so it would rotate freely. One problem solved... still had the two bolts snapped off in the transmission housing.

Here was the fun part. I tried using an easy out on it... that snapped off in the bolt. I had to use my drimmel to core that out... then the drimmel bit broke off in it. I managed to grind that out. Attempted an easy out again (I know... wtf was I thinking)... well that broke off. I then had to drimmel that out. After this, I figured I would just drill it out and tap the hole (what I should have done from square one). I ended up snapping some drill bits in the damn holes as well. I would like to mention I was going super slow and kept everything oiled, it would just catch on a spot and in a second the thing the toast.

Anyway.. . here's a progress pic of the drilling out before tapping new threads: (Yes, I know I nicked the gasket surface a little.. but thankfully it was okay)


Here it is all ready to be tapped (or almost all ready..I can't remember):


Me tapping the new threads with my hair mopping up all the transmission fluid in the driveway:


Here's some pics of the old filter:


New filter:


So tapping went fine. I picked up new bolts from Ace that were the same thread as the tap and just a hair longer. The two bolts that snapped ended up having a clear run through the casing so I just threaded up that whole hole. This was good because when I reassembled the pan, the one bolts threads peeled off with little effort and now just the threads higher up in the bolt hole are holding the bolt on. Next time the pan comes down that hole will have to be drilled out and tapped the next size bigger.

All assembled:


Edit: I painted the pan with some high temp paint while I had it off as well as the dip stick tube.

[slack]

Battery and Horn and Filters... oh my.

I finally got the car inspected today! It passed!!! Yay!

Yesterday, I did some final tweaks before my appointment today.

I finally put in a new air cleaner, PCV, breather filter and replaced the dead horn.

Here's a pic of the battery with a new universal battery hold down strap and positive battery cable. The old cable was all frayed and there was no strap holding the battery down. This thing worked surprisingly well, I just had to shave down the posts that the wing nuts screw on to:


Old air cleaner... dirty and so old it was basically as hard as plastic:


New air cleaner:


Box of new PCV and Breather just for the hell of it:


Here's the new breather filter compared to the old one:


Old dead horn: This was unfortunate, I sort of like the sound of these old horns... but it didn't work and I had a spare one laying around. I figured it would be good to have one for safety reasons:


New horn that I had laying around:


Test mock up with new bracket I cut and bent:


Worked great! Now I have a horn in the car! Here's it installed:


I'm sure I'll have more coming soon. I have the stuff in the garage to change the rear diff fluid. Can't wait to remember that god awful smell again.

[87gtVIC]

Over time those tranny pan bolts just get welded in place and there aint much you can do about aside from twisting the head right off and fighting with taps, easyouts and drill bits to get it right again. Any chance you can just nut and bolt the one you still have an issue with?

[knucklehead0202]

Those funky old brakes sure give you an appreciation for how easy newer stuff is don't they? As for the whole tranny pan thing, you are a much more patient person than I am, which probably explains why you still have hair, lol. There would've been an angry rant in the garage followed by one on here probably. Not saying I would've torched the car, but the thought definitely would have crossed my mind at least once. Good work buddy, can't wait to see that beast on the road.

[slack]

Over time those tranny pan bolts just get welded in place and there aint much you can do about aside from twisting the head right off and fighting with taps, easyouts and drill bits to get it right again. Any chance you can just nut and bolt the one you still have an issue with?

That's an excellent idea. Yes, because the bolts that broke go through the casting, I should be able to fit a nut on top and use an extra long bolt next time the pan is down. Thanks for the idea!

Those funky old brakes sure give you an appreciation for how easy newer stuff is don't they? As for the whole tranny pan thing, you are a much more patient person than I am, which probably explains why you still have hair, lol. There would've been an angry rant in the garage followed by one on here probably. Not saying I would've torched the car, but the thought definitely would have crossed my mind at least once. Good work buddy, can't wait to see that beast on the road.

Yeah, they sure are strange. No slide pins or anything on them. Just pads and that weird wedge set up. It honestly wouldn't be too terrible if rust didn't exist. (Wouldn't everything?) Also the fact that there's only one allen bolt holding the whole wedge/caliper on.. I can see why they changed it.

Also thanks. I was able to keep my cool by reminding myself I can always tap a bigger hole if I need to. If that would have failed... well then you would have saw my angry rant about it and how I had to pull the transmission. (Probably breaking more bolts in the process)

And it's on the road! It managed to pass inspection last week! It's been a blast to drive. Just have to patch up the exhaust before I can do any real cruising with it as it's as loud as a freight train with it's current rotted set up.

[slack]

Blinker Woes

So, the other night I decided to take the LTD on the highway for the first time. Car ran fine but I hit a bump and my blinkers stopped working.

The next day, I figured out the issue once I got the parking light housings out. For anyone that reads this down the road, there's two screws on the bottom half of the housing on the left and right side and one on the top in the center.

Parking light cover removed: (over my shop manuals that were no help in finding these screws... but after I found them I realized why as they were so obvious it wouldn't have been worth the ink or paper)


Socket screws out of the back with a key way. The opening in the back of the parking light housing seems too small and getting the socket out is a PITA. I was really afraid I was going to crack the plastic getting these out. (And they're not cheap to replace).


Removed:


The offending bulb. I tried cleaning the ground contact up as best I could but it didn't work. There's actually a small pit where the ground terminal sat in the socket on the bulb. Also I learned that the front blinkers seem to be wired in series. If the driver's side goes out, it takes the passenger's side with it. That's true for both the high and low voltage connections.


I picked up two new 1157A(?... The number is right, the "A" might be wrong... it's the orange ones) to replace both front blinker bulbs. I also ran to Ace and picked up some new stainless steel metal screws to replace the ones that were holding the parking light housings in as they were completely rotted out. I actually had to use the easy out (successfully!) on two of them on the passenger's side to get them out as the heads of the screws looked like they came off the Titanic.

Here's one of the better ones against the new replacement:


Also, it looks like I messed up one of the wires going to the passengers side bulb socket trying to maneuver it from it's housing. I used my multimeter and there's a break in the ground wire in the socket. I picked up this guy on eBay to replace it. Looks to be a direct replacement if anyone ever needs this in the future. Brand is Standard and the part number is S519. Not sure why or how a bulb socket can cause cancer in CA but this one does! (Yay?)

[Hearsesrock427]

Just read through this whole thread. VERY interesting car you got there, a bona-fide stripper barge! To think there used to be tons of big old beasts like this around..... and now they're next to unobtanium. It's incredible what happens when callousness and neglect get their way. I wasn't at all surprised to hear the fluids weren't flushed and there were gasket issues from sitting. People just stop caring and let stuff go to waste. The fact you don't have any holes despite this being parked outside for 6 years is incredible. You'd think all the ice wedging and dew accumlating would've killed something. Betting she'd look extra mean slicktopped, and it'd help cut down on water traps. Deleting the trim with it carries additional practical benefits. Namely even fewer water traps and less weight. It's up to you as to how far to go with such things.

First year with a project is going to be boring, as you likely know by now. Gotta catch up on 20+ years of neglected maintenance, replace wear items, etc. You've got a good start already! Shame she had drums at the rear though; full size Fords could be had with 4 wheel discs from '76-'78. Guessing it was an extra cost option, and it would've been at odds with the stripper in this LTD. So it wasn't ordered with them. At least you've got a really solid base for a torque monster build! Early pre roller cam 351Ws can run roller cams with link bar lifters (thanks to khead for that insight!).... all the sex of roller cams with none of the odd factory roller cam 351W cracking issues. Read all about those '94-'96 specific issues on some other forums, either Corral or SBFtech.