Gunchsta
Gunchsta HalfDork
3/26/21 8:14 a.m.

3/26/21 Update 

 

Arm rests did NOT fit. Bolt spacing is off by about 2". Mine are about 4-1/8", the ones I ordered are closer to 6". I played with making some adapters and it didn't quite work out. 

Also my cleaned relay worked for about a day and stopped working. No matter, a new one is on the way. 

 

Today is road trip day! Took the car into work and leaving around 11 to go visit a friend in Sioux Falls. Should be about a 4 hour drive. Just me, the Mercury, and the open road. Should be fun. 

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter)
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
3/26/21 11:06 a.m.

In reply to Gunchsta :

Arm rest issue probably 2-door vs 4-door

Gunchsta
Gunchsta HalfDork
3/26/21 4:21 p.m.

Mobile is owning me right now. I made it to Sioux Falls, the car drove amazing 

 

Gunchsta
Gunchsta HalfDork
3/26/21 4:22 p.m.

purplepeopleeater
purplepeopleeater Reader
3/26/21 5:16 p.m.

In reply to Mr_Asa :

@0 some years back I had a '65 marauder & While I couldn't make up my mind about wheels found a set of 14" IIRC Mercury wire wheel hubcaps. they looked good on the car & I didn't have to deal with real wire wheels.

03Panther
03Panther SuperDork
3/26/21 10:01 p.m.

old Ford dog dish

I think he wants way too much, and not quite what you want (I don't think), but I'd be remiss not to pass it along. Been for sale forever.

Gunchsta
Gunchsta HalfDork
3/27/21 7:40 a.m.

In reply to 03Panther :

Those are great looking caps. I'm into the olds wheel covers right now but thanks for sharing those. 

Gunchsta
Gunchsta HalfDork
3/27/21 7:41 a.m.

914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
3/27/21 9:23 a.m.

Wow, right up against the curb she still hangs out more than the full size pickup!

Very cool.

wawazat
wawazat Dork
3/27/21 10:14 a.m.

That is fantastic!

Gunchsta
Gunchsta HalfDork
3/28/21 8:48 a.m.

We made it home! 
 

The only casualty aside from some normal consumables is a wiper arm that flew off about 30 miles from home. In the rain. On the drivers side. At night. 
 

Fortunately I could see well enough to get closer to home and take side streets back so all was well. The car worked really good and truly is a great highway cruiser. It was fun to have it in its element on the open road. The worn out seat however did make my back a little sore after almost 500 miles in 2 days. Otherwise, what a terrific old machine. 
 

Additional pictures to follow 

Gunchsta
Gunchsta HalfDork
3/28/21 8:50 a.m.

Gunchsta
Gunchsta HalfDork
3/28/21 8:51 a.m.

Gunchsta
Gunchsta HalfDork
3/28/21 8:52 a.m.

Saw some cool stuff out on the road, got passed by this dune buggy on a trailer 

mickpiston
mickpiston New Reader
3/28/21 9:40 p.m.

Super cool. Love seeing old cars being used for what they were built for. Great job keeping this rig on the road!

Gunchsta
Gunchsta HalfDork
3/29/21 11:14 a.m.

In reply to mickpiston :

Thanks! I like using them too; here in MN it's hard because year-round use greatly decreases their lifespan with all the salt on the road. 

So, this one gets put away for part of the year, but I try to use it as much as I can during the nice months. 

Nader
Nader New Reader
3/29/21 11:18 a.m.

Is your transmission in D1 at highway speeds?

mickpiston
mickpiston New Reader
3/29/21 12:10 p.m.
Gunchsta said:

In reply to mickpiston :

Thanks! I like using them too; here in MN it's hard because year-round use greatly decreases their lifespan with all the salt on the road. 

So, this one gets put away for part of the year, but I try to use it as much as I can during the nice months. 

Ya I get it. I'm in Northern Colorado. No salt on the roads, but we get some good snow sometimes. I drive my 61 Falcon most days when it's not too bad out. A Holley Sniper EFI conversion made it much more driveable in the winter, killer upgrade.

Gunchsta
Gunchsta HalfDork
3/29/21 1:06 p.m.

In reply to Nader :

Yup. D1 makes it take off in 1st and shift 2 times. D2 is for winter driving and makes it take off in 2nd. 

There's also an option for low, which I think holds it in 1st indefinitely. 

Gunchsta
Gunchsta HalfDork
3/29/21 1:08 p.m.

In reply to mickpiston :

I'm jealous of no salt. I stopped at a dragstrip when I was visiting Colorado and was surprised by how many cars I saw running EFI, but then I wasn't given the elevation and everything. 

I'm glad you're having good luck with the Sniper. I've been curious about all those kits for a long time and have heard mixed reviews. 

 

mickpiston
mickpiston New Reader
3/29/21 2:07 p.m.

In reply to Gunchsta :

Were you at Bandimere near Denver? Cool strip, I'm going to take the Falcon down there this summer for sure. I'm very impressed with the Sniper overall, easy to setup and tune so far.

Mr_Asa
Mr_Asa UltraDork
3/29/21 2:14 p.m.
Gunchsta said:

In reply to Nader :

Yup. D1 makes it take off in 1st and shift 2 times. D2 is for winter driving and makes it take off in 2nd. 

There's also an option for low, which I think holds it in 1st indefinitely. 

That's what is called a greendot trans in the Mustang world.  If you want to have it so that first is only 1st gear and D2 is only 2nd gear and D1 shifts 1-2-3 gear normally you can just change the valve body inside the trans.

Gunchsta
Gunchsta HalfDork
3/29/21 2:24 p.m.

In reply to mickpiston :

Yep, I was at Bandimere. Very cool track, I just stumbled upon it on a trip with my now wife (at that time girlfriend). 

Just casually driving down the highway "BABY DRAGSTRIP LETS GO". She obliged and it was awesome. 

mickpiston
mickpiston New Reader
3/29/21 2:30 p.m.

In reply to Gunchsta :

haha nice. That's actually how I found out about it when I moved here. Was driving outside of Denver and saw the sign on my way to Fort Collins when we moved here. Had to stop and check it out. Super cool family owned track, been around a long time.

Gunchsta
Gunchsta HalfDork
4/1/21 9:20 a.m.

Alright so over the winter I was fortunate enough to have a company vehicle to drive to and from work, so the Mercury was able to sit. 

Well it is now spring and I no longer have a company vehicle (no problems at work just somebody that needed it more got it), so the Mercury is my only vehicle. Luckily she's pretty dialed and fresh off a road trip so confidence is high. 

Yesterday was the first full day of daily driver duty and it turned out to be a little bit of an adventure. Morning commute went fine, it started and left work just fine, but due to a less than ideal carburetor and temperature (28 degrees out) it died on the drive home. No matter, it'll restart... 

Or will it? 

 

Nope, it wont. I was lucky to be going down hill in a pretty low-traffic area so I bumped the key a couple times in neutral and heard the relay clicking but nothing else. No cranky cranky. So, I coasted to a parking lot for further diagnosis. 

I found that no matter how much I sweet talked it (verbally or with a crescent wrench) that starter had just had enough. So, a phone call to my wife and the auto parts store and we're doing a parking lot starter install. Quickly too as daylight is running out. Luckily all of this was within 10 miles of home so I was able to grab tools, a jack, and a change of clothes from home. 

I left my wife at home to work on her Masters degree (she'll be graduating in a week and a half!) and took her car back to the lot to change my starter. I bought a new starter and a new solenoid since those are frequently culprits on these old Fords as well. 

 

 

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