|
|
|
|
|
|
Cam belt Installation- If you have a 2.3L 4 cylinder remember to change the timing belt at 60,000 miles. Anything past that can result in disaster. Filter Tip Removal- Use this when your filter wrench starts slipping: Apply several pieces of electrical tape around the filers circumference, then try the wrench. No muss, no fuss, just dirty oil into the drain pan. No-Stick Carb Gaskets- Got a Holley carb that occasionally mandates a jet or power valve swap? You know then that gaskets will stick and tear. The answer? Butter flavored Pam. It will give the same no stick performance that it offers in the frying pan. Heater Core Servicing-When servicing the heater core or heater case, in your early model mustang , label the heater control cables and their respective control arms with masking tape and an ink pen. Don’t count on your memory to tell you where the cables go when reinstalling the case into your mustang. Door Skin Grain- if your interior door skin grain is all but gone, try this tip. After applying a new coat of interior paint, allow it to dry until it is soft to the touch, but not tacky. Press a piece of vinyl with a similar grain into the fresh paint while it is still soft. You should be able to get enough of a "grain" look to the door skin to salvage it. Wiring Harness Retainers- You’re about to reinstall the wiring harness, but those pesky wiring harness retainers are killing your thumbs. Not to worry. Just grab a nut driver-usually a 9/32-inch or 5/16-inch will do-and push the retainer into the hole into your fender, then again to attach the loop around the harness. Water Shields- When installing water shields behind doors and quarter panels on your vintage pony, make sure the black side faces the door, not the plain tan paper side. Ford coated the black side to prevent water intrusion. Ignition Lock Removal- Just got a new door and ignition lock set for your early model stang? remember to remove the ignition lock all you need to do is unfold a paper clip and insert it into the small hole in the face of the ignition switch. Rotate the switch to pull it out. 69 Mustang Side Windows- Owners of the 69 Mustang will not be happy to know that Ford decided to glue the door windows to a channel on the regulator. Over time the glue fails and the glass will not move or fall to the bottom of the door. Find a later model 70 mustang and salvage the side glass which bolts in and permanently alleviates the problem. Mustang Gas Tanks- The 69 Mustang gas tank is identical to the 65-68 tank except, except for the fact that the 69 holds four gallons more and is two inches taller from the trunk floor mounting flange. You can hide this small difference with a trunk mat, allowing you have what appears to be a "correct" tank in your 65-68. Filler Necks- Heres an old tip from way back, but still worth noting: Install two cork gaskets behind the filler neck of your mustang to prevent scratching the taillight panel with your gas cap. Hood Hinge Springs- need to replace your hood hinge springs? or just want to take them off to detail them before the next show? Grab an old fan belt and loop it around the end of the spring ear. Carefully pull the spring away from the hinge and release the tension. Make sure the hood is supported properly’ or held by a friend, as you remove the springs. Nail It- If you ever had a leak around a bowl screw on your Holley carb because of a bad gasket, simply use a rubber washer off a roofing nail to fix the leak-it works great. Clip and protect-Simple spring loaded paper clips, clip mud flaps to the fenders of your mustang when driving to prevent splashing from puddles and running water. When its time for show, off comes the clips and flaps. Motor Mounts-Need to replace motor mounts on your late model? Use heavy duty mounts such as those from the 93 GT and convertibles or aftermarket heavy duty rubber mounts. Stereo Removal-if you need to remove the electronically tuned stereo from your late model you can use pick tools or even nails to release the stereo from the dash, instead of using the correct and hard to find removal tools. Stereo Light bulb- Is the stereo in your late model refusing to show you the channel and time display? Its simply a burned out light bulb. You can replace the bulb easily in about 20 minutes. Remove the stereo first, and then remove the four screws retaining the face plate. Replace the display illumination bulb (#936) with a new one and you are back in business. Manual Steering Wheel Puller- You may not need a steering wheel puller when servicing your late model steering wheel or column. Once the horn button and trim are out of the way, try alternately slapping the back of each side of the wheel with an open palm and see if the wheel will pop off the steering shaft. This usually works after a few hits. if not, then don’t get overzealous. Go for the correct tool. Hey its worth a shot. Convertible Top Plastic Window-Got a finicky convertible top plastic window. Next time use some paste wax or stick wax (even from a candle) to lubricate the zipper and allow easier use. Convertible Top- Here is another convertible top tip. If you have unzipped your back window, do not try to zip it up with the top latched once the top has cooled from the days heat. Instead, put the top about three quarters of the way up and zip the window before completely latching the top in place. Make Shift Tubing Bender- If you need to make a bend in a brake line and do not own a tubing bender, you can make do with a large diameter socket or even a can of spray paint. You can use anything that is round as a "die" to bend the line around and prevent collapsing of the brake line. Repainting Wheels-To repaint steel wheels without dismounting the tires, cover the sidewall with hand cleaner and when the paint has dried, simply hose the hand cleaner off the tire. Bumpers- When installing NOS or repro bumpers, coat the inside of the bumper with clear paint or undercoating to seal the bumper and prevent rust. Carpet Fix- Instead of cutting an X in your carpet for studs or bolts to pass through, use a soldering gun to carefully melt a hole in the carpet. This will close the edges of the hole in the process, and prevent the carpet from unraveling. Metal Attraction- There's nothing more annoying than getting into your car and finding the starter motor wont turn the engine over. It could be a bad battery: on the other hand it, maybe your alternator isn’t doing the job. Once you get the engine started, touch the back of the engine with a screw driver being careful not to arc any wires. If there's a strong magnetic pull on the tip of the screwdriver, the alternator is working. if it is weak or non existent, you should probably locate your nearest mustang parts dealer. Installing Plug Wire Boots- When installing new plug wires, it can be a real hassle trying to slip the boots over the wires. An unlikely lubricant for such a task is common household furniture polish. Squirt a little on the wire and the boot will slip right on. Best of all, when your mustang is running, you’ll have that fresh lemony scent. Bubble Buster- Mustangs equipped with vinyl tops sometimes suffer localized bubbles, due either to faulty installation or extreme temperature changes. These bubbles can can sometimes be eliminated with an application of heat from a heat gun or heat lamp. When the heat is applied (no more heat should be applied than you could stand to your skin), the material expands, then as it cools, it contracts. In most cases, this will eliminate the bubble entirely. pricking the material with a pin is not recommended because moisture can build up underneath, causing future corrosion problems. Gas Cap Tip- A large number of 1965 Mustang gas caps have the plastic center cracked or broken out. To fix an otherwise perfect gas cap, find a good center from a 66 Mustang wheel cover. This center is nearly the same as a center from a 65 mustang gas cap, aside from being a bit larger. Break out the center of the gas cap and with an electric sander or what have you, grind the wheel cover center down to a point where it will fit into the gas cap. Cement it into place with contact cement and you’ll have a gas cap that looks like new. Ford Distributors- When working with stock Ford distributors, do not mix and match distributor gears and shafts. The roll pin in the gear and shaft are unique to each distributor and cannot be interchanged. Lubrication Application- Watch what you pour into your T-5 gearbox. The late model five speed is designed for ATF lubrication, not 90 Wt. like most others. The thicker oil cannot flow through the T-5’s narrow holes and passages, and transmission destruction normally results from mislubrication. Dual Exhaust Crossover- There's no denying the benefits of an exhaust crossover on dual exhaust systems, but where to put it? With the engine running, spray paint the exhaust pipe with black paint. One inch forward of where the paint stops blistering is where the crossover should go. Use of synthetic oils- Virtually all of the major cam grinders (and more than a few oil companies) discourage the use of synthetic oils during engine break-in-particularly those with flat tappet (solid or hydraulic) camshafts. instead, use a quality grade of naturally formulated non-synthetic oil for the break-in . You can safely use synthetics following the proper break-in period. Besides, synthetics are pricey and you’ll have to drain it out after the first 20 minutes or so anyway. Dipstick tube installation- Dipstick tube installation should be easy. But in some oil pans (or blocks) it doesn’t always work that way. Instead they require no end of smashing, bashing, and "persuading" to get into place. Rather than beating the dipstick tube to death with your largest hammer, try covering the block end with a bit of silicone (or other slippery sealant). Then slip a run of the mill header bolt into the tube and tap the works home. Carburetor spacers- Some carburetor spacers are manufactured with materials that have an insulating effect. These spacers decrease the amount of heat that is transferred from the intake manifold to the carburetor (particularly the throttle plate and the main body). The use of an insulating spacer reduces the fuel temperature inside the carburetor. The end result, of course, is a denser fuel charge to the manifold, which in turn creates more horse power. And one of the best insulating materials to use for a spacer is plywood. The thin layers of laminated wood, bonded together with resin, form a natural heat sink. The spacer offered by Moroso features top-quality hardwood plywood with a sheet of phenolic resin-impregnated paper bonded to both sides. Finally, plywood spacers are easy to modify to suit a given manifold for optimum performance The right way to mount engine oil / transmission coolers- Did you know there’s a wrong and a right direction to mount coolers (engine oil, transmission, etc.)? Cooler mounting is particularly critical when it comes to the location of the inlet and the outlet ports. No heat exchanger (radiators included) works well if the liquid side is filled with air. Coolers should never be mounted so that both the inlet and the outlet ports are on the bottom. The best method is to have the ports on top. If this isn’t possible, the next best scenario has the cooler mounted on its side so that the ports are arranged horizontally Retighten those new header bolts- After you’ve installed new headers (and especially gaskets) on your engine, warm it up and retighten the header bolts. Do it again after another cycle. Once the engine has been through one or two heat and cool cycles, the bolts will always loosen because the gasket is compressing and expanding while it sets. Once it sets, the gasket will remain a constant width. Compression ratio of an engine and the octane of gasoline- When thinking about the compression ratio of an engine and the octane of gasoline, there are some variables that you should consider. Here is the rundown: A higher compression ratio requires higher octane fuel, more spark advance requires higher octane fuel, lower humidity requires higher octane fuel, higher altitude allows the use of lower octane, and leaning of the air/fuel ratio requires the use of higher octane. New clutch fan, wait! Before you contemplate swapping your genuine, made in Detroit clutch fan for a generic version, give this some consideration: Many OEM clutch fans not only de-clutch with speed, they have a built-in thermostat that senses heat, which in turn de-clutches the fan. The majority of after market jobber fan clutches do not have this provision. Cam or crankshaft rust- If you have a cam or crankshaft that has been sitting dormant for some time, you might find a bit of rust on the journals. But before you throw it in the garbage, consider that, according to Stahl Cams (1513 Mt. Rose Ave., York, Pa. 17403) the rust can be polished off using 600-grit sandpaper. Use even gentle pressure to prevent scouring. Installing head studs- Head studs should never be installed with more than 10 foot-pounds of torque (five foot pounds is usually the practical limit). More than that will distort the deck and create head gasket problems. Install the stud with a correct stud and bearing lock (or mount) epoxy. Using set screws for carburetors- If you have a weird combination of spacers and/or gaskets under your carburetor and can’t find a stud of the correct length, try using a set screw. They are available in varying lengths, making them ideal for carburetor stud use. On the plus side, set screws are easy to install-simply because they come equipped with a female Allen-head hex on one end. On the minus side, set screws must be coarse thread to match your intake manifold (regular carburetor studs have a coarse and a fine thread end). As a result, you’ll have less clamping power at the carburetor base.
|
|
| ||||||
