Gunchsta said:
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
I see what you're saying - I think the master itself only has 2 bolts and those upper bolts are for something else, but I could be wrong.
The upper bolts are likely for the frame that holds the pedals. The below is for a '67 Mustang, been a while since I've taken mine out, but I'm fairly sure that the bottom two bolts share the holes with the master cylinder.
https://johnsmustang.com/products/1967-1968-mustang-brake-pedal-support-bracket?variant=25079554408512
Back in High School a buddy of mine had one of these- I think his was the Montclair, which we joked sounded like some sort of a filled donut. 390, 2bbl, and IIRC some flavor of FMX transmission.
That Breezeway window- you want to fix that. The experience of cruising down the back roads with all the windows open and that back window down is basically like being in a convertible, but with shade.
There is a spot on these cars that rusts, quickly and silently and, if not addressed, diabolically. My buddy's car looked clean, not too rusty (at least not for a New York car) and had only 30,000 miles on it. One day, with 5 other guys in the car and a trunk loaded with camping gear (read: kegs), he had an emergency stop. When the back end of the car came back down the frame cracked. The E-brake cable stretched, and the car wouldn't move. He had to get the mess towed, and when they got it home they discovered the frame or unibody or whatever had rusted right in front of the rear wheels, and the car pretzelled.
Ended up selling the car to a guy who wanted the 390, and the rest got scrapped. Sad end to the coolest ride in my high school.
In reply to volvoclearinghouse (Forum Supporter) :
Montclair does sounds like a jelly filled donut, which really isn't that far off from the driving experience of this machine. Sucks to hear about the frame on your buddies car; I've been under mine a bit and didn't see any cause for alarm, but I'll definitely double check.
I want to fix the rear window. The wife wants to fix the rear window. I have some deferred maintenance to catch up on but the window will be getting looked at. The car has no dome light either, the interior light fuse may be blown and that may control the rear window. We'll get there.
In reply to Gunchsta :
"full-sized Ford and Mercury frames that were used from 1965 to 1968 are both known to rust-inspect the frame about nine inches back from the front torque box. You can weld in a repair section, being careful to maintain frame alignment, but realize that the frame is weakened. If a frame is badly rusted, you can swap it with one from a Southern or Western car." He also notes that rust affects the metal around the quarter panels and can occur in the trunk if the weatherstrip is faulty"
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/1965-mercury-monterey-montclair-and-park-lane
8/29/20 - Update
Brake hoses 2/3 complete. The front two I ordered were correct, my guess that the rear one was the same as the front was incorrect. Further searching is required on that.
I had to replace a very short section of hard line from the tee under the master to the rubber line bracket on the drivers side. I also added a p-clip to the rear hose that had been split off with the addition of the dual master. My dad stopped by right as I was finishing up and was able to help me bleed the system.
Once I find the rear hose on top of the axle and replace that the brake system will be pretty well up to snuff. I think I'll do front shocks & sway bar links next as I know for a fact those are garbage. Exciting things!
I'm not finding a listing for the rear center brake hose for this car anywhere. I did find something I think will work though - Dorman H36603 / Ford C7ZZ-2282-A. Looks like I'll need a pair of 7/16 to 3/8 adapters to go with that. Will confirm later.
Awesome. My great aunt had one of these.
My vote is for chrome reverse and baby moons.
In reply to Gunchsta :
i don't have a specific part number, but i bet that line is probably common with every solid axle full size Ford made from 1960-ish to 1980-ish. glad to see you jump on this so quickly. brake engineer high five incoming.
I ran into the same issues with not being able to find brake hoses locally for my 1969 (built may 1968) Lincoln MKIII. Check Ebay, I ordered the full set from a guy off of there and they were OEM quality
The vendor on the 'Bay was Brake Hoses Unlimited
In reply to HotNotch :
where's the MKIII build thread? I love those boats!
In reply to HotNotch :
Thanks for the tip, I'll check them out! Also those MKIII's are super cool cars!
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
It seems like it has to be doesn't it? I wonder if in later years they switched to 1/4" line which is why I can't find anything.
*receives online high five*
I'm glad I jumped on this too, I'm actually really psyched on the dual master. It seems like hotrodding without any downside.
Called the local parts store, going to pick up the 36603 brake hose and some adapters on my way home from work.
Also forgot to post this picture of one of the front brake hoses that came off. Not the worst I've seen, but better suited for the trash than the open road.
LOVE THIS!
My highschool best friend bought a 2 door '63 about 20 years ago that he's still working on reviving.
This one is parked a few blocks away, maybe I should go put a note on it...
8/31/20 Update - miniscule improvements
Last night I didn't so much work on the car as find some parts I thought I had. One item I re-located was some vacuum line I had purchased and almost immediately misplaced. Once I found that I replaced 2 cracked and hardened vacuum lines - one from the vacuum modulator to the trans and one to the choke horn. Exciting. Actually, kind of exciting because I knew these were crappy and I also knew I had the parts on hand to fix them, so $0 improvement last night.
The other thing I found in my attic parts stash is some sway bar end links Cousin Eddie sent me for my Civic project. I think I can use the bushings and rebuild the original links on my car. Fixing a Mercury with Honda parts sent to me from a forum member in Texas. Classic!
Will confirm later if these work, I can't see why they wouldn't. They may not last as long because the Mercury probably has 1,000lbs on the Civc, but I think they'll do just fine for the time being.
Thoes lines look terrible. I have blown out more soft lines in the last year than I ever have. That gives me the heebe jeeves.
9/6/20 Update: Finished the brake maintenance
Old line on the left, new line on the right. I wasn't able to find a listing for this hose, so I punted. What I ended up with is for a 67 Galaxie I believe, part number BHA36603. It is not the same, but I was able to make it work.
I ground off the bracket and made my own, and I had to enlarge the hole in the other bracket on the frame to get the single line end through, but all in all it worked fine. No pictures of final install because, well I didn't slow down enough to take them.
Once the brakes were bled we made a run to the local home improvement store and picked up some wood for a project my wife is doing. Those are 6' wide 1x4's laying flat across the trunk. This is a big car.
And then I went to replace the crusty, cracked v-belts of which there were a bunch of different listings for... the parts guy grabbed me some that were too short. No matter, I actually had a new pair of these belts left over from another project and they fit perfectly. Posting picture so I remember what part number to order. I'm going to buy at least one more of these to have as a backup.
After I installed the belts I moved the accelerator pump arm because I've been chasing a slight off-idle stumble for a while now and went for a test drive. Belts work great, little stumble is still there. I grabbed a selection of glass fuses and replaced the dead one for the dome light, so now I have a dome light! I'm actually pretty excited about that one. I ordered a lens off ebay since mine is currently missing. Thrilling stuff!
Hose looks like a good fit, I went with a universal hose from speedway when I ran into the same problem on my car.
Just fired the parts cannon at the ignition system - Plugs, wires, cap, rotor, points, condenser and coil are all on their way. Also ordered shocks and sway bar bushings - spent about $200 with my local parts store.
Some of the ignition parts will be 'peace of mind spares' to have on hand/in the glove box. Plus and wires I will replace.
Pillows!
These were under the drivers side of the massive bench seat. All 3 of them. I have to imagine these were added to keep the older gentleman before me in a position where he could see out of this barge. Upon removal I realized why - the seat appears to be supremely lacking in support. Luckily for me I'm pretty tall so I can still see fine, and find the worn seat to be more comfortable than the pillow-bottom lumpy mess before.
Fearing they were a great attraction for mice, I opted to remove them and dispose of them.
Highly recommend a Perktronics electronic ignition. It's about $100, but well worth it. I am so done fiddling with points. Toss the points in the glovebox to have if the Perktronics fails, but I've never had one fail yet *knock on wood*
I had a Pertronix setup in my Nova years ago and wasn't terribly impressed. I think on the SBC the air gap was set by bending the plate they mounted to.
I intend to keep the points for now; they seem more predictable. And by that I mean you can count on them to suck consistently, much like a carburetor.
In reply to Gunchsta :
On a SBC the HEI is a better choice. We run HEI on my wife's 1st gen Camaro. Firewall clearance is an issue, though.
I've run Perktronics units on Volvos, Chryslers, a Corvair, and a Jaguar. I don't think I've ever seen one that had a bendy adjustment thing like you mentioned. The one in my Corvair has been in there for 15 years, and I've never touched it.
In reply to volvoclearinghouse :
It was a long time ago, I could be misremembering. I'm not opposed to trying again but at the moment I don't see the need.
Gunchsta said:
Bonus pictures from our adventures on the way home.
This was called Devil's Punch Bowl - it was some cool natural like pit/waterfall thing. Fun to walk around and look at the different ways the plants were growing on the side of the rocks near the waterfall.
Looks like Turkey Run State Park (or maybe Shades State Park). If so, it's some of my favorite hiking in the Midwest.