Los_Control

I love the sound of crickets I think I should yank this motor out, install a flathead 230 . Actually, these dang fords and maybe only the 302, has 2 drain plugs. The pan has a front & rear section, they ran a cross member in the middle, you need 2 plugs on this motor. What I laugh about, I talked to a friend of mine that use to have a mustang, he told me about the two plugs. I slap my forehead, but then I kinda remember myself that 10-15 years ago, I knew they had two plugs. Just laughing about it, the engine is still not even close to sitting level, I do not like it, but the car was built back in 1998. Lasted this long, if it goes out I would be trying to talk the owner into a y block. Not my choice.

My buddy installed his mirror on the heater ?

Ok, will toss out a opinion. I was a remodel carpenter, and for years, bathroom/kitchen remodels was my bread and butter. I understand the 70's was fiberglass .... Today I would never consider fiberglass. I would 100% run tile with a metal tub, sad that a cast iron tub cost so much. Cast iron would be my first choice, steel would be my second choice .... fiberglass would not even come into play.

I posted here the other day, and still working on the neighbors car. Cooling system is fixed. My todo list, Repack wheel bearings ... there is one loose and just maintenance, grease all zirk fittings same time. The Brakes are original drum and single reservoir. I just need to do a safety check and clean, adjust as needed. Replace worn parts also, but they work pretty good as is. Put the seat back in it's original position .... The builder drilled new holes and moved it forward for his short wife. And I wanted to change the oil. And this is what bugs me, I was more concerned that the dipstick showed over 1 quart more then needed. Then when I crawled under it to change the oil, The drain plug is in front of the oil pan, the deep stick is located in the rear of the pan ... pull the plug and less then 1/2 quart comes out. I am just assuming this is not great but works, is fine. The pickup tube is in the rear of the pan, this is a pressurized oil system. I need to find a hill to back the car up on, get the engine level and change the oil. I usually only see this discussion on drive line angle, never oil pan angle. Wondering what advice if any to pass to the owner?

I paid $1800 for my avatar, and it runs but still needs lots of work. I just gave away a 52 and a 49 truck, went for free to a good home, hope they get one running.

I seen a 1951 4x4 Marmon-Harrington pretty sure it was a 3/4 ton pickup ... been sitting for years in a field and they wanted $300 for it. I wish I had the time and money then, sigh ... those are awesome trucks

You will find as you progress, for this car, you may pay $500 to get stock wheels, not to mention brakes and other goodies. The initial price is a agreement between to people trading. If both parties are happy, enjoy ... just saying there will be more to come.

I have to admit, $500 seems like a lot for that car. If you can drive it but not sure about the brakes etc ... you just need to pm me and tell me where it is so I can go look at it I paid $1800 for mine, maybe too much but was I wanted. And is a truck, not a desoto. We pay what we think it is worth, $500 is a drop in the bucket. Looking forward to pics, yeah everything can be replaced and made better.

Thanks for replying Plymouthy Adams I look on line, seems like maybe 13 pounds was original ... I think I want to go 7 pounds ... just me. As far as fan goes, there is no mechanical fan, no room for it. It has a electric pusher fan in front of the radiator, That also was not working and I replaced. It is on when the key is on. I dunno, thinking I'm going to slap a 7 pound cap on it and call it a day. Then it needs other work, vacuum leaks, brake pedal is middle of the road, The driver side wheel bearing is loose, oil seems almost a quart to much ... this car was built in 1998. Daily driver for awhile and then parked .... last known work on it was 2003. OMG, she is one dirty girl ... Just a fun project for a good neighbor.

Working on this old Ford for my neighbor. It has original cooling system, with a mid 90's' 5.0 mustang motor. efi The water pump was shot, T-stat stuck, hoses rotted .... I flushed the radiator, got everything replaced. Test drive and all seems to be working well now. To finish the cooling system, I am adding a flushing T, flush it then antifreeze. I still need to replace the radiator cap. This brings questions, hoping the smart people can help me answer. Currently it has a cap that has 16v stamped on it, am guessing it is a 16 pound cap. For a 1954 radiator, heater core, seems like to much pressure to me. It also had a 195 T-stat, I dropped it to 180. Thinking I could get a old school cap with the lever on it, call it a day .... but what poundage for the old radiator? Or, should I stick with a modern cap, go hunt the antique shops for a reservoir bottle, and create a modern system with the old radiator. Again, what pressure cap to use. Going from 195 to 180, I think will also have a effect. Mixing old cooling system with modern motors has been done forever, just not by me ... could use some advice here.

Happy Birthday, enjoy the day!

If it was mine, I may think about filling the bed with fresh cow manure. Just to keep people away from it, and me Just drive the crap out of it. Thats just me though Love your work and results

What I would look at. Just to add to it, when I looked at mine. I had so much calcium build up, I could not run a fence wire through the tube. With some effort, I did get my tube cleared, replacing it may be a better option.

I doubt the water pump is not putting out enough water ... though it may need to be replaced. I would bet, pull the water pump and you will find the water distribution tube behind it is clogged. This will stop the flow of water through the block, can be replaced without to much blood loss. I would also pull the welch plugs and clean the casting sand out of the block while working on it.

Here is my 2 cents, worth exactly what you paid for it. These engines are solid and will take a lot of abuse, just do not run them over 3000 rpm. If they sit for a long time, you can bet will be 3" of sludge in the bottom of the oil pan. You want to pull the pan and clean it. I bought a complete engine gasket rebuild set from napa, think it was $110 These engines are also known to get stuck valves after sitting, Just because you get the pistons freed up, does not mean the valves will be free ... yank the head. One motor that had been sitting since 1978, had 5 stuck valves. Pull the head and rotate the motor, I got 4 valves freed up in a hour or less, the 5th was more stubborn and needed a little more love. Thats my opinion, buy the gasket set, yank the head, yank the pan, get it moving freely and then lets talk about other issues you may, or may not find.

I had a 1969 Triumph 650 hard tail, that bike was so light, could "almost" stand still and just balance it while standing up on the pegs. The one and only time I participated in a slow race, I was riding against big Hogs ... I made the first round and laughed ... This is cheating and I dropped out of the race. Good times indeed

Sounds like a good plan ... had a friend that broke down on the road in a older motor home, they charged him $1k to build a aluminum tank. Was a lot of money, but was a nice tank. And it got him back on the road to get home. When I bought my tank, I was working on a 1949 3/4 ton. With the longer wheel base, that truck already had the factory rear bracket for the gas tank. I assume all the 3/4 tons and up have the bracket. But it is a simple triangle shaped bracket and probably faster to build a new one, then to grind the rivets off the frame to remove a older one. I was told by tanks over the phone, when I ordered mine. Something about the angle of the spout is different, I was going to have to use a hack saw and cut the spout back some, and then would need to use a longer rubber hose then original to connect the filler tube. Just a couple mods and the tank works for these years also. Just saying, Tanks never said anything about modifying the floor. Just my humble opinion, I think tanks is a viable option, while a custom stainless steel is a better tank.

What I find interesting, hope you can see it in the photo ... The front of the tank is 1" from outside edge of frame, while rear is 3" from outside edge. This is all factory , I assume there may be a reason for it, I dunno what it is. Curious why you do not want to use the Tanks version already made? Sure with enough money, can build a nicer version .... I bought the tanks version along with a new sending unit. Not installed it yet, but it looks like decent quality to me, there is one bracket that needs to be made to mount the rear of the tank but pretty simple to do.

Thats a good idea how you vented the doors, keeps the sheet metal from rusting away

Tomorrow will see what can do

I have a 1949 1/2 ton, I assume yours is the same ... if you have a 3/4 ton for example, the wheel base is different and the location of the rear cross member has moved. From cross member to center of the tank hole is 21 and 3/4" I think thats what you need, since you are making your own tank and assume mounting bracket, you need to do the math for those. My original tank though, is 19 & 1/4" from center of spout to edge of tank and start of the original mounting bracket, which mounts on crossmember

When I worked on my heater .... no real tricks here, just a flap that opens and close controlled by a cable ... something is binding on yours

I think it finally sunk in, I do have to admit to having a hard head. Been awhile since I started this thread. Since then I had to do a bunch of work on my house, that kept me from working on projects like my truck I did pick up a better compressor for the shop .... and a radio! This compressor is still a bit weak in the knee's, twin cylinder, 30 gallon, 5.7 cfm @ 90psi. I have 1/2 a chance to do something with it compared to my old little compressor to run nail guns. Exact same problem, the hose fills up so quick that it clogs the air .... you control the flow of sand from the bottom of the tank, you do not allow more sand in the hose then you can remove from the hose .... guy can actually get something done .... A wise man once told me this ;D Sometimes I need to be hit with a 2X4 to understand a idea ..... Thanks again Also I got some other advice from another forum, I built a frame that sits on a 5 Gallon bucket, window screen ... and sift the sand through the screen before putting it in the blast pot.

Been pretty lucky here so far. We have been in the 90,s, then it cooled back down. It did prompt me to get my window ac in my office installed. Today we had 65 in the morning, upper 80's for afternoon .... just wish it would stay this way year round