Tearing Down the Front End - Part 2

I finished disassembling the front end tonight, and finished dropping the trans. The trans is filthy and I decided to pull it to clean it up, and make room so I could detail up in the trans hump.

Here is a pic of the latest.

Sure is a lot easier to get at stuff now! After getting everything removed, I went ahead and removed the old frame mounts that were welded in place. They are in the wrong spot and really needed to be removed. To make matters worse, he cut a chunk out of the frame so the oil pan would fit. I'll have to trim some stack and weld it back in to give it a bit more strength.

Next step is to start detailing all of the parts that were removed. I've already started on the hardware and am having good results using a product called EvapoRust from O'Reillys (and I'm sure others). I wash the parts and drop them in the solution. Two days later I pull them out, wipe down with a sponge and rinse, then toss back in the solution again for 1-2 more days. Rinse clean, and then hit them with Rust Fix giving them a black oxide finish. They need to be treated after final rinse because the will flash rust as they dry.

Here is a picture of some parts prior to being treated with the Rust Fix. They were complete covered in surface rust with only minimal scale. To eliminate scale rust, you need to crape, blast, or otherwise mechanically treat the metal before if will come completely clean.

Lots of detail work to do, but before anything goes back together, I need to work out the positioning of the new motor mounts. They are from a '69 T-Bird with a 429 and should allow me to get the engine positioned in the vehicle properly. Might get a chance this weekend to fit them, but we will have to see.

Tearing Down the Front End

I got started on pulling the front end off the car a few days ago. Taking my time to take pictures as I go so I can put it back together, and bagging and tagging all of the hardware. I'm finding a lot of dirt and a little bit of rust. Not too bad overall.

I had to pull the rocker moldings to get the fenders off, and when I did I found some rot at the rear corners. A little bit of work to do there, but not bad overall. Otherwise, everything is looking very clean and coming apart nicely. Almost the whole front clip is removed. Just need to finish pulling the inner wheelhouse from the passengers side. I'll get some pictures up probably tomorrow night showing everything apart.

When I pulled the passenger side fender last night I realized that the heater core is located under the fender and the only way to access it pull the fender, or pull the passenger side hinge support, and at that point, the hood too! Looks like I will be chasing down a heater core while I've got everything torn apart.

I may have to do a couple very small reinforcement repairs to the inner wheelhouse on the passengers side under the battery as well. The weld nuts have very minor damage in the surrounding metal that I will give a quick once over with the welder and grinder.

Will have more tomorrow night along with new pics!

How to add third row seats to a wagon...

This is another catch-up post covering the third row seats. I was fortunate enough to find a set of seats still in the car in a '68 Ranch Wagon in Texas. And even more fortunate to find someone willing to sell them, pull them, take pictures, save all of the hardware, and ship everything. It is complete save one bolt that went MIA. It is also the opposing seat configuration (my preference) vs. the rear facing single seat. The hardest part of the entire install was working out where everything went since I didn't pull it apart myself, and I didn't have any measurements.

Prior to installation, this was a 6-passenger model with a rear-facing style folding compartment cover (sorry about the bad picture).

Fortunately, the floor of the rear compartment was only a little rusty, with no holes and very solid. It did have a couple of dents which I drove back in with a sledge hammer and a 2"x2" and 2"x4". Nothing too severe, or that would cause any issues now or in the future.

I removed all of the panels behind the middle row seats to start and then did a quick clean up of the floor in the rear. I then mocked up the rear-most portion of the assembly to see just where things hit. Typical of Ford, the mounting locations were all "marked" by indented recesses in the panel (yea!) I carefully position the panels and fastened them in at the top, marked for the lower fasteners, removed all of the panels, drilled holes, welded in nuts and reassembled the rear section. Fit like a glove!

The lower seat mounts were a little more work since I had to install the seat and work out how they sat to get the position for the fasteners since they want to rock a bit. Still, not too bad.

The upper seat was a pain. One side mounted to the rear panels that are already installed, but because the back of the seat makes up part of the decking, positioning the other side had to be precise, or there would be a mismatch in the decking height.

The forward mount is a pivot insert that welded into place. It had to be best estimated from reference pictures I received and mocking things up best as I could. One side I hit first try. The other I thought I missed by an 1/4" and thought I had a real mess on my hands. After looking at things a little closer I realized that the new panel that spanned the area between the second and third rows was sitting a little high, and a minor adjustment to the seat bracket pivot made up the difference.

Now I have fairly even gaps, and the decking is about as level as possible since there are some dips and dents from 40+ years of use. All interior components that need refinishing will be done at the same time, so nothing has been painted to match yet. Overall, very pleased with the install and the kids are eager to try it out!

Tearing down the front end

Got the car back in the garage as planned, and glad I did. It's been snowing a very wet snow all day, and the dew wipes and weatherstripping are shot. Also, as planned, I started to disassemble the front end of the wagon last night. I'm finding that I need to be a bit of a contortionist to access some of the bolts. Not all parts bolts were fasted with J-bolts, so I'm having to get both a socket and a wrench on them at the same time. Took a little creativity, but the worst (I hope) is done. Thank goodness this car is as clean as it is. Even with a little bit of rust, some of the fasteners were putting up a pretty good fight. Anyhow, here are a couple of pictures of the car prior to disassembling the front end. Not the damaged front right grill and fender extension, and the left fender that will be replaced.

And in the engine compartment ...

And finally the "custom" welded in frame mounts.

I purchased some '69 429 T-Bird mounts that I was told could be modified to work, so I will have to see what I can do to make them work. I may do a bit of a tutorial on them if I can make them work elegantly. My plan is to fit the engine while the front end is off the car. Since I will be pulling the radiator support, it should help to simplify the process of working things out since I'm sure the motor will be in and out a few times at least.

I also plan on trying to clean up the wires and hoses some. What a mess! Right now the fuel line and fuel pump are just laying along that side. I may try to bring the fuel in from the back of the motor rather than the front to help keep things tidy. Will post more pics of progress in a couple of days.

Switching gears ...

Well, the prospect of up to a foot of snow over the next three days has forced me to clear the garage and bring the car back in, so I'm switching gears from the console and moving back into the engine compartment. Before doing so, I got about half of the cracks repaired and redyed 4 pieces of the console. They look great and the console base is feeling much more stable already.

Now I will be working of doing some detailing in the engine compartment. I'll be starting with removal of the old frame mounts for the engine. They were cut up and welded in place. Unfortunately, in the wrong place. They sit about 2" to far back to allow for clearance of the oil pan on the 429. I need to drop the trans as well to clean it up and then move it into the correct position.

After that, I need to clear and clean the engine compartment. LOTS of oil and grease in there from the previous owner's engine swap. They cut and welded up the oil pan to make it fit and did a poor job of it. It leaked like crazy.

I have a quart of Eastwood Products Extreme Chassis Black that I will be brushing on to the frame radiator support and inner fenders, and I have have there sealer/primer/rust converter that comes with a long tube so you can apply it inside of a close space like the frame (very cool product, by the way), but there is a lot of cleaning to be done first. All this is being done in preparation of getting the engine back in the car. With moving the engine forward, I'm afraid I may have to have some work done on the exhaust to get it to hook back up. Photos to follow...

Got the seat belt reinforcements

Got a box in the mail yesterday with my seat belt reinforcements. I need to remove the sheet metal that is still attached and then run them through the blast booth to clean them up and prep them for installation for the third row seats.

Come to think of it, it is just about time to start removing the belts from the car, wash all them, and get them ready for installation. I was able to pick up some parchment colored belts that are correct for a '67. They are the deluxe belts which just makes them expensive. If you are ever parting out a car, don't overlook something like the seat belts. a good full set of deluxe belts from the '60s can easily go over $200 with the hardware, and over $300 if they have been detailed.

Since my car was a 6-passenger wagon originally, I need to get two belts for the third row seats I added. As it turns out, they didn't install a center belt for the front or second row seats either, but doing the bucket seat swap will eliminate the need for an additional front belt, so I ended up getting enough to do three additional passengers.

All of this will be going in the vehicle when I pull the car back in the garage hopefully in the next week or so so I can install my freshly restored disc brakes, front and rear springs, new suspension bushings, drop the trans to clean, replace the fuel line, add seat belts for third row, and detail the engine compartment.

Whew!

Broken center console restoration started...

I dug into the console last night. Pretty much what I expected except for how many pieces were used to put this together. I am used to the mid-late '60s consoles out of the Fairlane, Torino, Mustang and Cougars which tend to be a bit more simple in design with parts like the glove box area bonded into the body of the console. Everything on this Galaxie console is fastened. Even a plastic center brace that keep the console base from spreading apart is a plastic strip that has been pop-riveted in place.

That being said, this is going to be a cool looking console when it is done. The trim up the sides is stainless and in nice shape. The hinges had very minimal corrosion, and the fasteners overall are in good shape.

Everything got an initial wash with strong batch of lemon Lysol to clean, disinfect, and remove any 40 year old odors. The parts aren't clean at this point, but the bulk of the dirt and grime are removed so I can see what I am working with. Tonight I will begin repairs to the damaged areas of the console. There are cracks in the exterior case at the front. No doubt these happened at removal. They are fresh and look like they happened when someone grabbed the front of the console and pulled to help breat it free from the carpet. This also split the affore-mentioned center cross brace, and probably split the reinforcing strip at the back of the console as well. Basically it almost split the console in half. But, this is all fixable.

Other repairs include reattaching a tab to the shifter insert that cracked off and fixing several smaller cracks around mounting points. It sounds bad, but it really isn't. Just a little more work.

At some point, something was mounted to the front glove box lid (tach?). Two bolts through the top and tightened into it permanently deformed the padded lid. At this point I don't think it is repairable, so I am going to keep it and keep my eyes open for another lid. Maybe I'll mount a tach there myself since I don't have one in the dash. Console mounted tachs from the factory aren't unheard of, and they keep the column looking clean as well, so definitely something to consider.

I am missing the rear ashtray assembly which I will either replace (anyone have a spare for sale?) or I will build an insert for the space and add a power port for the portable DVD player for the kids. The floor shifter also came with this as did the shifter "hump". Both need work, and the shifter arm underneath was cut off and I don't have the piece, so I'm not sure if I will look at converting to a floor-shifter or not, but I have most of what I would need if I decide to do it at some point in the future. That decision doesn't need to be made today, or even before the console is installed. In fact, I had planned originally to just modify an aftermarket cup holder to mount in the shifter slots, so I have options.

The side braces that attach by three pop-rivets each and one screw and sheet metal and need clean up as well. No surprise there. Everything is in very good condition relative to what I have seen from other parts cars. Anyhow, these will get a trip through the blast booth and then prime and gloss black paint. When done, they will look like new. Very minimal pitting and mostly on the underside!

Cleanup on the fasteners and hinges was started last night as well. I tossed them all in a rust remover that I get from O'Reilly's (formally Murray's). It runs about $23 for a gallon, but it is non-toxic, bio-degradable, safe for contact with your skin, and does not attack anything except iron oxide (rust) from what I have seen. I have had brass, chrome, aluminum, pot metal,, and plastic sit in a bath for several days without an issue. The area where rust is at will darken if left for long times, but can be cleaned up. I will check on everything tonight. Usually takes a little brushing with a soft-bristled toothbrush and a second day in the rust dissolver to get things clean.

I should wrap the console up by the end of the week, assuming I can get out in the garage to work on things. Should have more either late tonight, or Thursday.

Rear coil springs

Finally chased a good set set of rear coil springs down. Hopefully I will get them later this week and I can get them cleaned up and installed. The rear driver's side is bad, and the wagon is sitting about 2 inches lower on the that corner.

I ended up buying used because new are not available unless I have them custom made. The cost to do so is over $200 plus the shipping, and I just couldn't justify that cost on a project I paid $1,300 for. Got the used ones for $60 shipped to my door from someone I have bought from before with good results.

Now I just need to run through the steering after I get the wagon back in the garage and pull things apart for installing the disc brakes. Guess I won't be surprised if a ball joint or tie rod is needed, but it will be an easy job at that point.

A little more on the drivetrain

Turns out the 460 engine that was swapped for the 390 that was originally there didn't run so well. I should say more correctly that it was dumping a TON of fuel. I decided to rebuild the carb, and while I was going to be removing things, the intake was going to be swapped for a Edelbrock Performer. Yes, there are plenty of other manifolds that would make buckets more power, but this is a mild RV build and will never go beyond 5500 RPM.

I used Eastwood's Carb Renu to retone the carb. I also swapped out the manual choke for an electric choke. It came from a used Holley 600 CFM carb that I bought off eBay for about $25.

I then decided that if I was going to be pulling the intake, I would pull the heads with some higher-compression ones. They were low-compression D3 heads and and I could pick up a few horsepower. I found a set of relatively recently rebuilt D0VE-A heads. The stud bosses are already machined for adjustable rockers, and the seats have already been replaced. Since most heads are notoriously poor flowing on the exhaust side, I decided I would work the heads over a bit as well. So I ported and polished the exhaust ports, polished the combustion chamber, and did a small amount of work on the intake bowls and blended in a couple of sharp corners.

After pulling the old heads I found the block scored in several cylinders. No smoke from the engine just yet, but these are pretty deep.  I started to check into the cost of reworking the block and crank, buying new pistons and rings, and more and decided that I would look for a rebuilt short block.

I found a zero-mile one on eBay local and picked it up for a good deal less than rebuilding the 460 block. It's a 429 rather than 460, but that really isn't that important to me one way or the other, so long as it works.

It ended up having a bunch of media in the water ports that needed to be cleaned out, but aside from that, everything looked good. I pulled a couple end caps and one of the mains to confirm the bearings were new and clean, and that the crank looked good. It all checked out, so I will need to finish putting it together.

One humorous find was the torque converter. It turns out the previous owner tossed a 10" converter in behind an otherwise stock 460 with a highway gear. It must be a 3000+ stall. I'll be replacing it with a big ol' stock converter.

I'll add more on the build as I get it put back together.

Brakes almost done ... next, the console

I'm working on wrapping up the brakes and spindles for the conversion tonight. Almost finished with blasting and painting parts. Below is a picture of the completed first side. I was able to salvage both rotors, and although the pistons would compress in the calipers, I decided to buy remanufactured ones. At only $21 apiece, it didn't seem like it was worth the effort or the risk in trying to clean/blast them. The inner and outer bearings both looked pretty good, but I opted to replace them as they have been sitting for some time.

Next up will be the console. I want to refinish that before I bring it in the house. I got a chance to go over it with the shop vac earlier today. All the usual stuff: broken glass, 1/2" think gunk in the seat belt buckle storage recesses, and a smattering of mouse poop.

Next posting I will get some pics of the cleaned up console, and what repairs need to be done.

Catch up ...

This post is to catch everyone up with what I have done so far, prior to starting this blog, but I guess I should probably say a little something about this car first.

This is a 1967 Mercury Commuter Wagon. It was purchased late in the Summer of 2011 for a guy in Texas off of eBay. He is a jerk and tried to rip me off. With a lot research on my part, and a lot of help from a couple of members of The Fairlane Club of America, long story short, I got the car, but with a number of issues. The motor wasn't what was claimed. The oil pan was cut up and pouring out oil as was the power steering, and trans pan. The shocks were shot. The electrical was messed up.

LOTS to do!

So I jumped right in. I started by pulling the dash. At some point (probably when they swapped the engine) they kinked the heater control cable, then tried to force the controls snapping the adjustment lever off. I picked up a used dash assembly for parts and replaced it. Had to get one with factory air to match.

Next issue, the electrical. When you turned the key on, the dash lights came on as did the driving lights. Sounded like a short and after hand inspecting the dash harness while still in the vehicle, I found the harness had dropped off a mount, and three wires were cut after rubbing against a sharp edge. Fixed those and the problems went away.

The fuel pump was wired hot all of the time and controlled by a toggle switch the previous owner added. I reran the circuit tying it in to the fuse panel and so it would be hot only when the ignition was in the on position. I opted to maintain the toggle switch as a secondary control / emergency kill switch.

The radio was missing, and the factory speaker was shot. I had a refurbished AM/FM factory Ford radio from the 1970s that I had purchased previously, intending to use it in the Cougar, but opted to add it to the wagon since I had it opened up. I picked up a set of front and rear speakers. One front speaker mounted in the stock location. For the second, my friend Paul and I fabbed a bracket up off the underside of the dash and mounted the speaker pointing down. Rear speakers were installed into the rear interior quarter panels. I didn't want a raised, surface mounted speaker grill, so I took a slightly different approach. I will try to get some pics of that install posted later. Works, and looks great, by the way!

Next I added a set of opposing third row seats from a 1968 Ford Ranch Wagon. I ended up having to add a bunch of the decking trim as well, but the installation looks great. Still need to add the seat belts. In fact, I just purchased the last thing I need to add the seat belts ... anchor reinforcements that keep the bolt from tearing through the sheet metal.Should get those in a few days. I will need to remove the sheet metal that is still attached to them (rough cut), clean them up, and get them installed.

I'm still in the process of fixing the suspension up. I picked up load-assist shocks for all 4 corners to handle the extra weight of the 460 engine that was swapped in (now going to be a 429 ... more on that in a future post), for the third row seats that I added, and for anything that might be towed behind the vehicle in the future since I will be adding a trailer hitch.

Plenty left to do to make the car safe to drive like replace the vinyl gas line (yes, vinyl), replace both the front and rear coil springs (rears are shot, and the fronts are a bit soft), and complete the power disc brakes swap among others. Once I have that work settled, I can start thinking about making this pretty again. I have pretty much everything I need. Just need to dig in to the body work. The car is very clean and very solid, so the work that needs to be done is mostly to deal with the scrapes down the sides of the car on either side. Need to replace the DS fender too, but I actually found an affordable NOS fender.

The color will be going back to the factory 2-tone bright green metallic with white roof. Very cool!

Console and bucket seats...

Just got the bucket seats and center console I purchased for the wagon. They are from a '68 Galaxie and need a little help, but lots of good stuff. Really nice trim. Seat tracks work when the seller thought they were frozen up, and the foam is in good condition. The console looks like it's in good shape also. There is a pretty large crack that I will need to repair up on the front driver's side, and the ash tray lid is missing off the back. Otherwise should just be a matter of cleaning and some minor adjustments.

As a nice, unexpected surprise ... the seller included the automatic trans shifter and floor hump. Both need work, but both I think can be salvaged! Not a bad score for under $200!

My interior is parchment, and I like that, so the seats will be reupholstered in parchment to match. The dashpad is factory black, and I'm not positive how the console was treated in the Galaxie / Monterey / Marauder lines, but I'm thinking I will redye in black. Definitely have some cleaning to be done. Apparently a previous owner was a smoker and the ash tray is still loaded. Blech!

Busy work...

Spent the evening cleaning, blasting, and painting parts. I sure would feel a lot better about this if the pile of complete stuff at the end of the night was a little larger! I will have to see if I can figure out how to post pictures, or I need to finally set up an image hosting account and post them there.

Update ... here are some before and after pics ...

Getting things started...

For the sake of convenience, and to make available to others who might face similar challenges as I do while working on their restoration projects, I have decided to start my own blog and post updates here rather than through the various car forums I participate in.

I presently have three cars that are undergoing work in various states of completeness. In no particular order, they are:

1) 1967 Mercury Commuter Station Wagon
2) 1968 Mercury Cougar
3) 1969 Ford Cobra

I am getting this blog started after I have already begun work on wagon and Cougar, but I'll do a little work to catch things up and just carry forward from there.

Enough for now, but more later.

Thanks,
Paul

P.S. Here are a couple pics of the Wagon...