Mind the gap

Xavier removing the door handle and lock cylinder

While the engine is out at the machine shop, I returned to the body, starting with the doors. Since I'm already thinking about the repaint, I need to start working some odd and damaged things that I've noticed along the way, not the least of which is the way the doors hang. See the pictures and you'll notice what concerns me: the gaps between the panels on this car need adjustment, but neither door is even close to being aligned. The body lines dodge all over when going through the doors and it bugs me. I need to consider several things when approaching potential solutions:

1. The driver's door is not the original
2. The car had both quarter panels replaced in an earlier restoration
3. The doors appear to have never aligned right in the pictures depicting the older resto results

That seam is kinda janky, door creaks as well

What, me worry?

Gotta admit, in the back of my mind I'm thinking that it is within the realm of possibility that the body wasn't braced when the past owners cut out and installed the new quarter panel sheet metal. And if that hunch is correct, the body could have flexed during the process, and the doors may never hang right. It's all speculation regardless. Even if true, we can't let that stop us. So Xavier and I decided to work with what we got. The strategy we decided on is to start at the rearmost doorseam- the one we can't really do much about (unless we cut out and reinstall the quarters, which ain't gonna happen), and when we have that seam looking good, adjust and re-hang the fender up front to get the front seam looking good. We acknowledged that we may need to rework some sheetmetal on the door skin to get our body lines sorted. Did I mention we're making this up as we go? Being that we are bone noobs at bodywork, if anyone out there has expertise, or would like to lend a hand, we're pretty receptive!

Permission to treat the witness as hostile, your excellence?

The piece in my hand is supposed to be attached

There are secondary reasons we decided to dismantle the doors, one of which is the presence of a big dent on the interior of the driver's door which will need attention, and some klunky action on some of the windows. We set out to remove the glass, regulator, door latch, and wing window assembly from the passenger door. Got some surprises when doing this! First surprise was that the window wasn't really attached, only gravity was holding it in, so when I pulled up, it just came out. Glad for good grip, since I didn't fling the window across the freakin room. Surprise #2 was the wing window assembly (isn't that the part Ralph Nader got all bothered about back in the day?)- When removing the assembly I discovered that on of the pop metal mounting tabs was sheared off. So the entire wing window assembly was attached with a single bolt. When reassembling the door, we'll endeavor to, you know, attach things and stuff. Third surprise was the rust under the rearview mirror mount, which I took care of with a grinder

Removing window trim

Not sure we actually had to remove every last mechanism from the door, but since we've never done it, it sure was interesting to learn how all of it goes together. And I'll tell you, the door weighs considerably less now that it's just a sheet metal shell. This should make all the fitment adjustments a whole lot easier. We can just prep and paint the thing too, without having to mask, also a plus. On the driver's side we'll probably just remove the glass, handles, and the trim.

More photos

Pretty dirty down in the door, plus more mud dauber nests.

Where's the hardware? This was undoubtedly leaking

The kid, desconstructing a door

Dented driver side inner

Rusty mirror mount, sanded down

The part where I stumble into the secret handshake club

Condition Grover! We're going industrial, yo.

I learned a great deal of what I know about cars from Bill, the big brother of one of my best friends John in the old neighborhood. When I was working with Bill (as designated shop lackey!), he'd often send me on errands to pick up this thing and that, coating solvents, fabrication odds and ends, metal stock, a sky hook**, lunch, or whatever. Apart from sky hook hunts and lunch pickups, he'd send me to unadorned buildings hidden back in the light industrial section of Addison. These dimly-lit and often cluttered places would be occupied by people who would either accept that you belonged there by virtue of the fact that you found your way there on purpose, or who would challenge you immediately, since you weren't a familiar face. Bill would always give me a name to ask for however, and I was always supposed to drop his name to stand down the inquisition. I learned quickly some social engineering techniques- to always walk in like I owned the joint, since bewilderment could get you shut out.

Since I'm still relatively new in my town, I struck out to find the secret locations of the following vendors:

• Welding gas and supplies
• Automotive paints, coatings, and supplies
• Steel, aluminum, and other metal stock

Here's the thing, I couldn't take the old approach, since Bill would normally write down exactly for what I should ask. This time, I had a fairly good idea, but I really wanted to leverage the knowledge  of the folks who, you know, know stuff because they're professionals. If I were to fake a level of expertise I really don't have, there's no way I could ask for help, or learn anything new (plus, as good a bullshitter as I pride myself on being, I suspect that they'd soon catch on). The old approach is OUT. I tried a new approach: Tell everyone the truth (GASP)! Here's how it went:

Met Mary of National Coating Supplies (NCS), who was hidden in plain view in north Urbana. I drove out and introduced myself. She liked my idea of taking body shop classes at community college, and told me that when we're ready to paint, she'll help us with supplies and advice. She also gave me a line on a welding gas supplier, who was hidden away in a different part of town. Wow, that went well. So far, so good.

R.J. Smith hooked us up - time to get at it!

Drove around the light industrial maze in east Urbana and found that welding gas supplier NCS Mary recommended, R.J. Smith- Walked in and met John. I let John know about the Mustang project, the new welding rig, my level of expertise (modestly described as an "advanced novice", or "have 2 community college classes under my belt, and know enough to be dangerous". Success! John had some solid advice, helped me figure out the correct wire to use on the Mustang floors (0.030"), and walked me through the process of getting a nice tank of Argon/CO2 shielding gas for the welder. I also picked up some tip gel and pliers. Great folks.

Finally, my co-worker Daniel informed me on the low-down that there is a steel material/stock warehouse in town called Kurland Steel Co. He described it as tricky to find, since it's not well labeled. Sounds familiar! After driving around it once and missing it completely, I saw in the middle of a large gravel lot a dark warehouse with a solitary man donning a heavy tan coat, kevlar gloves, and ballcap, all stained with oil, cutting a 16" I-beam with a behemoth of an industrial saw. This must be it. I wandered haltingly into the warehouse and was struck by the feeling that it might be an excellent place to film a post-apocalyptic industrial scene- it felt kind of Blade Runner-ish, maybe Terminator-ish, maybe Chuck-should-get-the-eff-out-ish. The gentleman running the saw kept on looking up at me with a puzzled look. After getting in within earshot, I stuttered and half-explained what I was doing. He kindly directed me to the office. The office was nice, potted plants and all. There sat the office manager named Kim. She looked up, also with the same puzzled look I got in the warehouse. They know I don't belong here. I managed to croak out an explanation of what I was doing, and what supplies I might require. Kim was patient; she did not roll her eyes I think, but I suspect she may have been slightly annoyed that A) I didn't know exactly what gauge and type of steel I wanted, and B) I didn't know "how this works" (and I totally didn't). Since I did have my welding cart plans on paper with me, improvised, and decided on the fly what I'd need, and in what quantities, she hung in there with me. At the end, she even gave me a suggestion on sourcing some good casters for my cart project. As scary as that was (first time, whee), I did get a slip to take back to the warehouse, where our original guy got me all set up: 24 feet of 1-inch square tube steel stock, and a 4' x 8' sheet of eighth-inch steel. He helped me carefully load it in my truck. I asked the warehouse worker his name and shook his hand. As he pressed his leathery hand into mine he said, "Grady, I've been working here for 37 years". I was glad to meet Grady. He's probably the guy who saves everyone at the end of the post-apocalyptic movie, probably by cutting the big bad in half with his bad-ass-as-hell saw.

What I learned:

1. Social engineering may get you through some doors or past some obstacles, but if you want some help, you'd better stick to telling the truth.
2. The secret handshake club is probably a myth. All of the people I met are normal, the apprehension I feel is just because it's all new to me.
3. Most folks are happy to help you out. Hooray for humanity!

** On sky hooks: This is the runaround meant as a joke of course. There is no such thing as a sky hook after all. As much fun as Bill had with me, I think when I was in the service, I elevated this idea to a form of art unparalleled since- in addition to sending the uninitiated out to look for the legendary and storied "sky hook", we'd send guys on a hunt for some "shore line" or, if feeling ornery, up to the forecastle to get a "left-handed bosun's punch", which would result in a bruise in the recipient's arm after a burly anchor-chain hoisting boatswain's mate gave him a shot to the arm (or two, for flinching!). Ain't I a stinker?

Time to leverage some experts

Avacado and cucumber facial for this guy

After talking with many folks in town, and at car club (Illini Automotive Club), I drove the block and crank out to G&G Machine Shop in Rantoul and dropped them off for full treatment this afternoon: hot tank, magnaflux, hone and deck, bearings and freeze plugs, crank journal polish. If you're an engine block, this is like a spa vacation. You know, get all exfoliated, have a refreshing dunk, clean out those pores, get your bearings! The engine should come back all relaxed and renewed, smooth journals, stress-free, and all of it's worries massaged away. Brad from G&G will be our masseuse, er, machinist. He seems chill and knowledgeable, and had quite a few ideas and suggestions, all on which we'll capitalize. Excited to see what he can do!

Cranks gonna crank?

Block Party

The machine shop can't check or clean the block with the pistons or crank in - so today I removed the last of the rotating assembly.

I did a bit of Tetris in the garage to start off- all the stuff we ordered is now just laying around in the way. I used a bit of the bar area in the house to store boxes and parts (temporarily! temporarily!) so we have a bit of room to work. It's tight but we'll make it work.

Minimalism is about reducing the thing to its essence

Inspected and marked all of the connecting rod caps before disassembly.

Plowing ahead out of my comfort zone, I finished the disassembly of the Ford 289 by removing the pistons and crank this morning. The kid was asleep, and I felt slightly guilty about finishing this myself, but damn, there is totally no underestimating how crack-o-noon late a teenager can and will sleep in on a weekend morning! So sorry to the kid, I'll make sure he's conscious and caffeinated for the reassembly I guess.
 
The connecting rods were  stamped, but before I started, I dyed and numbered them again to be sure. I've assisted on a few motor rebuilds in the past, but since this is my first solo no-training-wheels run, I'm being pretty slow and deliberate. No hurry. I saw the neighbor glance across the driveway and into the garage bay, spying the engine internals arranged on a work table. I got a 'oh wow cool' look, which made me smile. What'd be even cooler is if I manage to put this thing back together and it runs. We'll see!

Bearings have some scoring, pistons look good

So I got all the pistons out. One of the books I'm working out of says that after I loosen the caps I need to tap on the pistons with a dead blow hammer and wooden dowel to get them out. Wooden dowel? Didn't really have one handy- I searched the house high and low, and ended up, er, appropriating a wooden rod my wife uses to hold the front door open, and used that. What do ya know, the ol' wooden dowel technique really works well! She shouldn't miss that thing until spring or thereabouts, so we're golden.

To do: I need to order new connecting rod bearings and rings. I will also need a piston ring pliers. 

Engine uber-experts, inspect away - bearings a little look burnt to me.

Next, I got the bearing caps off and the crankshaft out. I like that we've gone to the lengths we have at this point, because after the crank came out I did see some galling and scoring on some of the bearings, including the main thrust bearing. So if we had merely installed the new heads, valvetrain, and intake, there's no telling how long this engine would have run before encountering problems.

To do: I need to order main bearings, rear main seal, connecting rod bearings, camshaft bearings, main bearing cap hardware, and harmonic balancer.

How many man points you get for ordering up a magnaflux job?

So there it is, the essence, the bare block. I will send it, the timing cover, oil pan, and crankshaft to the machine shop. First thing I'll have them do is ensure the block is worth rebuilding by checking it for cracks or other game-ending imperfections. Second thing I'll ask them to do is to check the crank journals to make sure they're ok. They look ok to me, but I see what looks like it might be slight scoring, but what do I know? Machinist will let me know what's up. If everything is ok, I'll have them hot tank the block, pan, and timing cover and return it to us clean and ready to paint

Next, welding. Lots and lots of welding.

In the next installment, I will show you why it's stupid to buy a welding cart after you buy a welder. As in, we're going to make a welding cart! And we're going to make a wall rack to store rims and tires, and whatever other fab thoughts invade our brains because WELDER MUAHAHAHA. If you missed the announcement, yeah Christmas came early and my family who loves me bought me a wirefeed MIG welder. So we can patch the floors, fabricate brackets, and indoctrinate the kid Xavier into the "joins metal with fire" club, secret handshake and all!

More pictures from this weekend:

Happy Thanksgiving! Smoking a turkey and putzing around in der garage!

Yes, that's a snowblower in the background. Winter's coming! You know nothing, Jon Snow.

Easy, killer. Yeah, on tight.

I-L-L!

 

Crankpin and main journals - what do you think?

Cracking the code

So I've been trying to piece together the story of the car. I have some of the history in a great album full of photos, including a restoration performed in the late 1980's. There are however some inconsistencies that made me wonder if the narrative was accurate.

 

Where'd the driver's door come from? 

This sticker matches the VIN on the driver's door, but...

The first thing I wanted to research relates to the window sticker that came with the car. Sure enough, the details of the VIN and options in the window sticker match the VIN and trim codes on the door (5F07Dxxxxxx). It indicates a 1964-1/2 289 4V (4 barrel carb) coupe**. The trim codes matched the tuxedo interior, and 3-speed transmission, but the paint code is hinky - This is a Rangoon Red car, the trim code specifies "Wimbledon White".  Additionally, the VIN found on the inner fender (5F07Cxxxx) indicates a 1965 289 2V coupe (which this is) Conclusion: The driver's door must be a replacement, sourced from a (probably junkyard) 1964-1/2 GT coupe. Even though I have insurance papers from the former owner that show the car as a GT-optioned vehicle, the details in the Mustang Restoration Guide refute that as well. The only we have that one would find on a real GT is the rear valence and exhaust horns. The car is missing just about every other detail that would be standard on a GT, such as rallye gauges, rocker panel trim delete, and GT trim pieces.

This is from a really cool 64-1/2 GT, but not ours

Where'd this engine come from?

C8OE 6015 A - 1968 Fairlane block

Once I pulled the engine and flipped it over, I noticed some casting numbers:

0-C8OE-6015-A

Decoded, we find out that this block came from either a 1968 Ford Fairlane or a 1968 Torino.  

  C8 = 1968
  O  = Fairlane or Torino

C6OE - 1966 Fairlane heads

  E  = Engine

I went back for fun and checked the heads, which are stamped:

289/66 C6OE

which is a 1966 Fairlane or Torino.

C5AR 705D - 1965 Mustang manual trans

Transmission, intake manifold, timing cover, and water pump?
C5AR, C8AE, C5OE, and C8AE, respectively. So, looks like the trans might be original as well as the timing cover. The rest is a mixed bag of 1965, 1966, and 1968 Mustang and Fairlane parts.


Looks like I don't need to worry about the engine staying with the car, or even about the heads staying with the engine since it looks like it was all mix-and-matched sometime in the past.

Thanks to MustangTek for decoding aids! 

C8AE 8425 - 1968 Mustang intake

** Note interestingly enough that even though the window sticker VIN shows a 289 4V engine ("D" code), the option detail then contradicts the VIN (!) by specifying a 289 2V engine. I can't reconcile that- it makes me wonder if this window sticker is a reproduction or something.

C5OE - 5059 - 1965 Fairlane timing cover

C8AE - 1968 Mustang water pump

Captain curiosity changes the plan

Taking off the pan - this was not part of the original plan

The plan as conceived was to ditch the engine components that I didn't want to mess with (heads, cam, carb). I was simply going to throw the new heads and cam on and button it all back up. This of course was a fiction I told myself. I don't even know why I fool myself into believing I won't disassemble the engine down to the bare block. I mean, I am the same guy who in 4th grade, took a very nice wristwatch given to me by my grandmother and disassembled it during class in a fit of curiosity.**  This weekend I came clean and acknowledged that we're going all the way.

Don't ask the Internet how to do this

ZOMG Danger! (not really)

This all started when I decided the clean off the deck of the engine block - there was a lot of old gasket material on the one side. This stuff was more stuck than I've seen in the past, so I Googled "remove head gasket material", which produced a zillion forum posts and YouTube videos, most containing full-on flame wars about all the ways people go about this, followed up with posts by other people exclaiming that using any of the methods explained would somehow ruin the engine.*** After starting and stopping a couple of times, I decided that having the opportunity to go through everything shouldn't be ignored. And if I go down to the bare block, I can just hot tank all that crap off (I can keep making excuses - like I said, I gotta be honest about my predisposition towards just taking everything apart. I'm good with it)

 

Back to the teardown then

The kid, pulling the harmonic balancer.

Since we now need to remove the crank, thought I'd show Xavier how to use a puller to pull the harmonic balancer. We took the time to discuss what the balancer does, and about rotating assemblies, forces, and physics in general.

So here's the list of what we removed this weekend:

• Oil pan, oil pump
• Distributor
• Harmonic balancer
• Timing chain cover, timing chaing
• Lifters, cam, cam sprocket
• Flywheel

Only thing left is to remove the main bearing caps, pistons and connecting rods. We will then send the block out for cleaning.

 

Inadvisable color plan - let's do it!

This photo has nothing to do with the color - I just like it :)

 Xavier and I have been tossing final color plans around, but since we're going to be working on the engine bay and engine soon, we decided to nail down some colors. The color we're picking for the finished car is a 2013 BMW color called "Black Sapphire Metallic"++ which looks damn near black, sheens blue under the sun gun. To get the contrast we want, we decided to get crazy and paint the engine bay and the block Alpine White and Gunmetal Metallic, respectively. Yeah - white engine bay. Should be awesome looking, if we can keep after the "clean+detailed" part. And if the engine doesn't spew oil everywhere. The practical part of me cringes, but the artist in me loves this scheme.

 

Camshaft Forensics

 

So last week, we were wondering why we found a valley full of bent pushrods. Since we pulled the cam this week, I wanted to explore one theory as to why the valvetrain was damaged: AKA the "crazy cam profile" theory, which posits that if the cam produced a valve opening greater than 0.5", it could bend something.  I took some time to measure the cam and see if we can't figure this out.

I measured the cam lobes as:
1.575" DIA
1.735" Eccentric
(intake and exhaust were identical)

The rocker arm ratio for the Ford 289 is 1.6, which gives us:

1.735" - 1.535" == 0.16" cam lobe height

0.16" x 1.6 == 0.256" valve opening height

Disproves the crazy cam theory. Maybe I'll go through the old heads later on to see if we have 7 stuck valves.


** For the record, I was using whatever "tools" available in my desk during my brief amateur horology stint. Think pen clips, safety scissors, and spiral notebook wire. After getting the bezel off the back to expose the jeweled escapement and fiddling with a miniscule screw, the main spring exploded out of its little nest and shot across the room, as the wide-eyed 10-year-old me watched in amazement. Gramma believed every young gentleman should have a smart wristwatch. I got sort of grounded. Despite the punishment, I am still trying to prove to myself that given the right attitude and tools, I could repair that damn watch, if I ever happened to locate that damn spring.

*** I read screeds about everything from "red ScotchBrite will rain aluminum oxide down into the bearings" to "the plastic Roloc discs will remove enough material from the engine deck to screw up the cylinder head mating surface". Mostly, I observed a whole lot of professional mechanics calling each other names. For the record, I found this guy to be the most reasonable.

++ Color codes: 
BMW-MINI-475 (Black Sapphire Metallic)
BMW-300 Alpinweiß III (White)
no paint/manufacturer picked yet for "Blue Gunmetal Metallic"

More pics from this weekend: