Get a balljoint press, the one that looks like a big c clamp. Makes doing the bushings way easier Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Well had a great day today. I broke the last of the ball joints loose and took out the spindles and upper A arms. I could not get the lowers out as i did not have the wrenches to get the bolts out. Do I have to have the upper bushings pressed out to get the shafts out of the upper arms? One rotated in the bushings, the other did not, so I don't know what portends. On a side note, went to my first swap meet this year in Alameda and scored this A/C unit. It was first charged in 65 and according to the seller the motor runs! I hope I can use it, anybody have thoughs on how well these work with the new freons? . Slowly taking apart the steering parts and will have to cut more nuts off :deadhorse:. I break them loose, unscrew them to the last few threads and then they stop as the tie rod starts to spin in its case. Oh well, I will try and get the lower arms out next weekend. Mike
I’ve had luck knocking the upper bushings out with an air chisel. When the tie rod starts to spin, put your Jack under it and put some pressure so the taper seats in the spindle and doesn’t spin. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Tomorrow I am going to have a go at the lower control arms, I have been soaking them with either kroil or WD40 every so often so I am hoping that they are thoroughly soaked by then. Are these arms good to go where the spring sits? It looks like they got a little banged up as there is a lip where the shock sits inboard. I also discovered that I am pulling the original suspension apart as the rivets that hold the upper ball joints are there and have a waffle pattern. Second question is this, do I have the inner sleeve still left on the idler arm? If so, how do I get it off of the stud, cut, heat, twist, what? I ordered a spare spindle and two visor brackets from a yard in 29 Palms (forget the gentleman's name) But he sent me a great looking left spindle that was even blasted! Thank you, Mike
Those arms just look dirty to me, but the pictures don’t look too clear on my phone. Clean them well and look for cracks and if no cracks paint and reinstall with new bushings. It should be obvious from the new idler bushing if that is a sleeve or part of the idler arm. If it’s a sleeve they usually have a slit, fit a chisel in the slit and open it up to free it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Well, got the lower arms out-easily. So something had to go and wrong and it did. One of the arms has a split where a bushing goes through the arm. So, off to get a new one. But the good news is I can reuse the pins-if that is ok to do. mike
Ok I have two suspension questions. 1) How do the shafts and bushings work? I put one upper arm in a bushing and it rotated quite freely. I figured they would have a tight fit like one that I took off. 2) Can I reuse the bolts for the lower arms if the frame is still good? Thanks, Mike
Alright, going to start making up brake lines shortly. I will run the brake/fuel lines on the inside of the frame since I cannot get the clamp off that holds the original ones to the top of the frame rail. So here is my plan: Run each line down the frame in a rubber channel for abrasion/vibration protection and then use large hose clamps to attach them to the frame. Does anyone see any foreseeable issues? Thanks, Mike
Update, Got the front brake line installed, rear brake line mocked up (just waiting to clean some parts up) and installed the rear shocks. Got the front springs and they will hopefully go in at the end of the month with the rest of the suspension. Figured out how I am going to run the long brake line. It will go through a gap just behind where they would normally go. I just have to make up a support bracket for the lines. Mike
Well, I just put a deposit down on a complete 312 (hopefully-well it had a 4bbl carb at least) power train. I will get the rad, engine, tranny and drive shaft. Plus y’all of the PS components and a voltage regulator that looks good. Will pick it all up either this week or next. So my FE’s have to go bye bye really soon. My daughters school has an auto shop program so they may go there. Mike
I used some grey adhesive to attach the conduit for an electrical line to the concrete wall in my basement. It was perfect, tick tight when dry and hardened to the consistency of hard rubber. I tried with all my might to pry the conduit off the wall just to see how well it was holding. It wouldn't budge. I was thinking that this stuff might be perfect for attaching brake lines to the inside of frames. Strong, would tamp vibration, insulate brake lines from abrasion and allow for expansion/contraction from temperature change. Anyone see a downside to this stuff?
Been awhile since I posted but here is an update: I managed to buy the complete 312 powertrain out of a fairlane plus a seat from a ranchero and the steering column from a 59 wagon. A plus is that the engine and tranny only have about 47K on them and have never been opened up! So I am going to try and do a comp check next week and if she comes back good then in she goes-assuming the bearings are still good. I found out I have an oddball MC that Ford only used for 2 years in their cars and the major vendors don't sell them-of course. But my local NAPA was able to find a new one. So I am hoping to have the brake lines done by next week. I have bushings installed on three out of four control arms and they will go in late next week. The last one goes in next month after I get it out of the fab shop. But she will have all NOS ball joints and tie rods. Unfortunately, the diff has to come out so that I can replace all three seals-and that is all I hope. But, then she will go back in with new rear shocks installed. So there has been forward movement-not much but at least I am moving forward. Mike
Well the heads are off! Used a block of wood and some tire irons and they popped right off easily, after a few good whacks. And this is what I found. GOOD-Some carbon ridge-albeit not all of the way around and just a very slight wear ridge. No major scoring, although there is one spot that can be seen and just barely felt. Standard bore, clean piston tops-more or less and Ford valves in the heads. Not bad for a sub 50K engine. BAD-some sludge, not much and it will get cleaned out when on the stand. some scale and goop in the antifreeze in the water jackets. Rust on some valve heads but I think that is from sitting in the yard. Found out the heads are low comp truck heads and not the correct ECZ-g heads. So I have a few options either get the correct 312 heads or shave these down and/or buy domed pistons to bring up the compression. Overall, she is in pretty good shape. Next up is to see what the bearing look like. What do you all think? Passenger head/block and then driver side head/block and finally #6 before scraping and after. Mike
FelPro blue head gaskets is a dead giveaway that it's been into since it was born. Those weren't around back then.
Yep, learning more about OHV's and this engine daily. So far, I think the heads and exh. manifolds were replaced at some point. Why I don't know but the manifolds have 58-59 cast numbers on them.
Nothing so far that I've seen is sounding an alarm, but a close look at the bearing clamshells are probably going to tell you all you want to know. Thanks for keeping us up on your journey.
Pulled both pans and she was decently clean. It is a true 312 with the correct caps. Need to decide if I am going to pull a main cap to check the bearings or just do the end cylinder rods.
I had a productive weekend finally on Betty-well mostly productive. Got her shocks installed (giant pain in the butt and I didn't have the tank in), Got all the rod bearings changed out but I would like to order new rod nuts and then the bottom end will be done and ready to button up. She will need a new bottom end in about 5k judging from the top rod bearing, the crank is worn just enough that the clearances a on the loose side. But she will run fine for what I need right now. The new water pump is installed, so now the engine just needs new heads, fuel pump and carb rebuilt and she should be good to go! The steering components are at the re-builder awaiting their turn now. I have a new lower A arm that I am going to finish up this week and hopefully install the following week. I finished the front half of the parking brake system but could not get the cables hooked up because the new reproduction adjusting rod I bought is about 6" to short compared to the original. I think that once I get an original in there I will be all set to finish that part and then finish the rear brakes-and then I hope to put the rear drums on!!!!!! I also installed the new MC and am just waiting to get the long line in, then the brake system will be done and I can fill her up. Question, the MC did not come with a clip to hold the push rod in the piston like the original one did. I s that normal now? It isn't going anywhere I know but was just curious. Mike
Finally got the front springs in!!! I don’t want to do this again anytime soon. Today it is the rebuilt steering components and front shocks. Later this week the tank will go in, I will see about replacing the timing chain and installing the front brakes. Making progress towards getting her back on her wheels! mike
woah thats a nice one, a very pretty color too!, seems to have a brown interior, my 57 sedan has a black interior with blue and white seats man you got lucky scoring a sub 50k car, my fairlane is at 93k and some change. has all the trim but the passenger side inbetween door trim.
Thank you Cat, the front brakes are almost complete and the PS is about come back out for a bushing swap and then go back in. Then tie rods. Hoping to have her on her wheels by the end of the month. Then I will be onto either glass or floor pans. All the while I am working the engine and tranny over. mike
Ok, the KYB 4515 shock which are correct according them aren’t quite correct as people have said. I wasn’t totally in agreement with cutting open the blade ends of the shock and as a matter of fact KYB said not to do that. So I emailed them and they suggested a slightly different shock. 4752 fits Toyota trucks and is almost identical in length and stroke. It is about 10mm shorter but has about 15% more damping according to their tech dept. Here is the nice part though, the over all width of the blade is the same but the holes where the bolts go are 10mm wider. So this shock is a direct bolt in without having to modify the shock at all. So tomorrow I will bolt them in and see how they fit. I won’t know how they handle for several months but I wanted to pass this info along if it has not been passed along before. Mike
My mistake on reading their email about opening up the shock t-bats. Here is their response. Hi Mike, We haven’t had this issue before, but if you have the tools to do so, you would be safe to use a file to widen the mounting holes (along the length of the t-bar) so that they match up better with the bolting points on the vehicle frame. Don’t drill out the holes though so you can use the same bolting points. KG4752 is very similar to KG4515, but the holes in the mounting bar are about 10mm (3/8”) further apart so it could be a better fit. Only thing is that the damping rate is about 15% higher than KG4515, so you will have a firmer ride as a result. Regards, Technical Support KYB Americas Corporation [email protected] __________________
If at first you don’t succeed, use a bigger F’ing tool! Got the distributor out-not happy about how I did it but it is out and in one piece. Also buttoned up the passenger side brakes. Mike
Looks like “the old pipe wrench fix”. I had a vacuum pump in my pickup years back (same location as a Chevy V8 distributor) that wouldn’t budge. Your distributor looks a like is survived a LOT better than my pump did!
Yeah I just need to to sand down the base and get it rebuilt. Had to tweak a bushing on the steering parts but they get hung tomorrow along with the tie rods!
I temp installed the PS components today and it looks like everything is going to function properly. I just need to know how to tell which long tie rod goes on which side? I know they are marked left and right but I don’t know which number goes on which side. mike
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