Oh Lordy, I now own a Fordy (a Lincoln actually)..

[njsteve]

Well today wasn't much fun. I have been attaching accessories and hoses, etc. I went to tighten the transmission cooler lines to the transmission and the adapter that is attached to the case snaps right off...flush with the case. Gee, how about pulling the trans for a fifth time?

No way.

So I jacked up the transmission from the back end and pulled the transmission cross member. I then angled it down as far as possible to get a clear shot at the fitting area. After an hour with a tiny chisel tapping in a counterclockwise direction I was able to see the remaining threaded section move. Luckily I had a 40-year-old Easy Out that I bought back in high school in the bottom of my tool box. I gently tapped it in with a small hammer and it stuck enough to be able to wrench the piece out. I'd get maybe an 1/8th of a turn and the Easy Out would fall out. (hence the name, I guess???). I reinserted, tapped and wrenched for another half hour til I got the sucker out of there. Thankfully no damage to the threads in the case.

I then went to the local NAPA which of course had every other fitting but the one I needed (Of course their inventory said they had it in stock). They called the other store in town who's inventory said they had two...I had him ask them to put their hands on one and tell me if it was actually there. IT WAS! So off across town I went.

They had the correct fitting for $1.80 and I was happy again. Installation went fine and the transmission is back up in place. Of course the hydraulic cylinder in the transmission jack failed so I had to use a floor jack for support of the tail shaft but all is well again.

Here is the offending fitting:

[njsteve]

And here is crazy 1970's gas crisis modification #1.

I bet this was some trick that my Grandfather probably got out of the J.C. Whitney catalog back in 1972 or so. He was the ultimate tinkerer and backyard mechanic wanna-be. I know he is smiling right now and slapping his knee, while winking to my Grandmother and saying: "Well, the kid found THAT one...lets see what he finds next..."

:-)

I couldn't figure out why the heck I could not get the transmission kick down lever to adjust and operate the transmission lever. I would pull the throttle all the way back and it would never contact the lever. Then it occurred to me to check full throttle to see if it was fully opening all four barrels of the carb. When I disconnected the cable I could get about an inch more travel in the throttle arm than when the cable was attached. I then I looked closer. The cable has a built in return spring in the form of a tightly wound coil spring on the cable itself. When you pulled all the way back it would stop.....up against what looked like two octagonal spacers.

Only they weren't spacers, they were 1/2" threaded nuts that someone had cut a notch out of and then slipped them over the cable behind the spring and clamped them closed with a vice grip. Thereby preventing the throttle from opening the last inch and/or engaging the four barrels, and/or activating the kickdown/internal pressure adjustment in the transmission. So that probably didn't help the lifespan of the transmission either.

Anyway, I used a cutoff disc on my Dremel tool and removed the offending spacers and lo and behold I now have full throttle capability and a working kickdown lever. Whodathought?

So, in conclusion, I imagine that not only will the rebuilt engine be a bit peppier than it was originally, it should be a helluva lot peppier than I ever experienced in this car either driving it in my adult years, or as a passenger, in my early childhood, now that it has a functioning four barrel.

[njsteve]

More stuff going on. Got the original date coded alternator and smog pump back on. Jeez - these Fords have everything bolted to everything else with individual belts for everything, as well. That monster 460 engine looks tiny in that enormous engine compartment, doesn't it? Looks like a 289 in a Mustang engine bay. At least there's room to work!