My first step into old cars, I’ve always been an old motorcycle guy. Picked up a 62 Econoline five window on trade from a local guy. It had been sitting for over a decade. He did some minor stuff to get it to roll and for some reason rattle canned it purple. I’m only a weekender on this project so progress has been pretty slow but my intent for now is to just get it running and driving down the street. My eventual list is pretty hefty but nothing too crazy; paint, replace some rusty bits and pieces, finish the interior and enjoy the heck out of it. I am new to old cars and have some basic knowledge but will probably ask advice from time to time and appreciate all responses and advice.
First thing I did was remove the front bumper. I went back and forth and then I jacked it up and took it off. This last weekend I spent time trying to get it to start and run correctly. It was sputtering on start and would die under load/in gear. Tinkered with the carb some and found the choke was stuck open for multiple reasons. A little lubrication and that butterfly was flapping again. I ran out of time but suspect a vacuum leak is the culprit of my stall in gear. More next weekend.
I've had a thing for those econos for a long time. Have yet to own one though. Cleaning the gunk out of that carb had to help. possibly low fuel delivery for your stall, or the vacuum leak like you suggested. Itll be a cool bike hauler in no time!
Lotta potential there, looks pretty solid too. Those things take to a rubber rake like a fish to water. Good score.
I have too and was stoked when I stumbled on this one. If passes the vacuum test then I’ll move on to fuel delivery, it does idle really well with the choke though.
Popped the carburetor off after work today and lightly disassembled. Turns out there was some grey colored gas in there. Methods for draining the tank besides running it off? Looks like a search for a rebuild kit is in order tonight and a soak in some cleaner for part of this thing over the weekend. This is a Holley 9230 if anyone is wondering.
Looks more like muddy water than gas. You may want to drain the tank and flush the line after rebuilding the carb. Good gas ought to make it run better than that muddy water.
Here’s my 62 with a 302 swap and garage paint job. Have fun with yours. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I’ve been cruising around looking at different paint schemes on the E100’s. I like this combo a lot. What’s the white you have on there?
Used to have one, without the corner windows, nothin' fancy daily driver, but I still think about it.
I went digging around the wreck yard today to see what they had. No Econolines but plenty of Falcons, Comets and even a few trucks. Picked up a decent amount of small bits and pieces, vent window latches, window crank handles etc. also walked out with a crust Holley 4694 which is more accurate for my 200ci motor. It needs a full rebuild/spiderweb removal but should help this epup run down the road nicely. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
If you are keeping the 200, and have the scratch, a Weber 32/36, or even a 38/38 and a junkyard Duraspark II distributor and module (from any 70's-up Ford 200/250), will wake up the remaining sleeping horses. Aircooled VW shops often have used Webers for sale. They are easy to rebuild, and re-jet. The distributor that is in there now is a failed Ford experiment, that was mediocre, even when brand new. When I ditched the one in my Falcon, and put in a modern one, it felt like I added 50hp.
I’m not too concerned with more HP for now (that could last through next week though). I’ll definitely mark this and come back after I’ve had some time to acclimate myself to driving it a little. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
The Holley 1904 ended up being a paperweight. Broken idle mix screw (yes broken in the body) a huge amount of rust inside. It made its way into the garbage. Picked up a kit for the Holley 1946 that came on the truck, got it rebuilt and back on the motor. Have some idle adjustments to make before it will run down the road. Maybe later this week. I did end up draining the tank. Gas that came out didn’t look too shabby. I ran another gallon through and cleaned the line. Drained the oil again and threw on a fresh filter. I am considering pulling the valve cover and replacing the gasket, there seems to be an excess of oil on the sides of the motor and the driveway. Unless of course if these are prone to marking their territory. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Does anyone have a sketch on a napkin or the actual pages from the manual on how the parking brake is routed and how to adjust it. I cruised through the Econoline topics but didn’t see anything, maybe I missed it. Thanks in advance. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
The first step is to make sure that the rear shoe drag is set properly. If the shoes are too far from the drums, it will be hard for both the hydraulic and the parking portions of the brakes to work properly. I am having a mental-pause on exactly what the E100 mechanism looks like underneath, but most Fords in the era are like this: You can tension the cables in two places. One is where the lock nut tag is, the other is where the adjusting nut tag is.
My brakes were just a touch on the soft side so I’ve been adjusting them one at a time as I have time. The parking brake handle is pulled to the PARK position but the truck rolls with no resistance. Thank you for this. I haven’t been able to find a picture, diagram or anything close of the actual setup on the underside so I can compare and repair. I’ll let you know if they match.
Brakes adjusted on all four wheels. Turns out the handle for the parking brake is stuck. Checked the entire system while I had it up, no frayed or broken cables, all parts move freely and engage the system. Not sure how I’m going to get the handle to release, I’ll update when I do. Figured out how to adjust accelerator cable on accident. Loosened up what I thought was part of the parking brake. Good fortune was that it did need a little slack taken out of it. Took the mirrors and a good number of rivets out of the doors. I’ll fill and prime them another day. Put the Falcon handles I found at the scrap yard. They need clips and beauty rings to finish off. Headed to the Portland swap in a couple weeks to look for a few bits and pieces. It’ll be my first ever go at the swap and I’ll post pictures of any goodies I walk away with.
Moose, back in the day I had a 61-2 van like your pickup. I put a 200 in it(mine came with a 144) three speed overdrive with a 4:11 nine inch, rebuilt everything under it. Gave it a little lower in front stance. We hauled mini bikes to the kids races for several years, the machine was a road eater, freaked folks out seeing one of those going 60, let alone 75. Never got it painted and like a lot of my projects, now sitting in the barn on the ranch. Hope you enjoy yours as much as I did mine, Bones
35 years ago, I had a '67 Supervan, loved that thing. About the same time, a buddy had a pickup, and another had a '66. I may be a weirdo, but those things are a blast to drive.
This is my first go at an old car, I’ve done lots of motorcycles from the 60’s. It’s been a learning experience so far and I’ve enjoyed most of it. I have that same motor and trans in mine and I’m looking forward to it running down the road getting stares. If you ever want it out of the barn I am always up for an adventure.