Finally got me a Wagon today!

If the front end is squeaking, my best guess, from years of experience with these cars, is that the lower ball joints need doing. They are pressed in. I would skip cutting the coils. That is not a great idea, as it can compromise the handling. If the back is sitting higher than the front, then either the rear springs have sagged. New Cargo Coils will fix that, no problem. I would think about swapping out the shocks, all the way around. The Ford gas shocks for the car are still readily available at less than $40 each. If you want to have the car sit lower, change all the springs and use the Thunderbird springs. They are about 3/4 of an inch shorter, and quite stiff, but still comfortable.

With the engine, the 351M is a good, solid, torquey engine. What it takes to wake it up is a good cat/dual exhaust system. There are two cats, one per bank, and the factory cats flow pretty well. There are aftermarket ones that flow even better. Use 2 1/4 pipes, with either an H or X pipe and MagnaFlow or Flow Master DeltaFlow mufflers, and you'll gain somewhere around 25 horse and 4 or 5 mpg on the highway. That will bring you up to the horsepower of the mid-70s 460, by the way.

If you do want to improve the performance noticeably, go with the late 80s 351W and keep the AOD it originally had. That will really wake up the performance and gas mileage. That AOD can be put behind the 351M as well, with an adapter kit.

 

About the hesitation: Check the timing. These cars are supposed to be at 12 BTDC. They run better at about 14. You may also be needing a new accelerator pump. That will cause a really bad hesitation. The other thing to check is the vacuum lines and carburetor mount. That can also cause a lovely hesitation.

 

When you mention the hesitation upon accelerating, it made me think of the accelerator pump. It's the little rubber baffle that is on the front of the carb. I've had a couple of rigs that sat for a while have this same issue. The rubber can dry out and crack and let air in when you first hit the throttle. It's a cheap and easy fix.

 

Thanks for the great suggestions. Yes, I am wanting it to sit lower all around. Sounds like Tbird springs are the way to go. As far as Tbird springs, I'm assuming 77-79? Any other years?

I didn't even think about this thing having cats. Is there any reason to keep them, if I replace the exhaust with duals? Here in GA, a car this old isn't required to pass emissions.

Also, I'm assuming it should have an Autolite 2100??

 

What I have found with these cars is that they do handle best with the ride height even all the way around. Tires that match front and back are best as well. They are amazingly well balanced if you keep things as the factory made them. The 77 - 79 T-Bird springs are the only ones that will swap in and give you the firmer ride and slightly lower height. The 76 and older 'Birds were a completely different beast. The good news is that the Thunderbird shocks are still readily available from Ford, and the springs are very easy to come by as well. Doing all 4 corners should come to less than $500, including labour. If you really want to tighten up the handling, PST has a complete front end rebuild kit, and when you get that, there is a love discount on the heavy duty anti-sway bars, front and back. With the poly-graphite bushings, all the slop disappears. When it comes to wheels and tires, I'm going with a set of 16s, with Pirelli P6 tires. For your wagon, a set of 225/60R16 is the way to go. They should be the same diameter as the 225./75R14s that came on the car, or at least near enough.

Yes, the Carb is the Autolite 2100. Nice simple carb. Swapping to an Edelbrock Performer intake and square bore carb will improve both gas mileage and performance, though. You can also add the Edelbrock multi-point sequential fuel injection, or one of the after market throttle body injection systems.

I don't know about there, but here if a car had cats from the factory, it has to have them now, even if there is no emission test required. The very low restriction cats do not harm performance or fuel economy, and do a good job of helping with the environment.

 

I can see my wagon went to a great home. I can't wait to see what you do with it. I am still spread too thin as it is on project cars so I doubt I would have ever been able to do any of this stuff, so I'm glad you were the one who took her in.

Not to mention my family and I were NOT in agreement on this car, so I really wasn't able to enjoy it. The last owner passed it on to me for the same reason, so It was cool to see that you didn't have that problem at all.

A couple of things I planned to do; number one was get rid of the small wheels and tires. I think Mustangs Unlimited in Suwannee sells full sets of new magnum 500s with tires, I thought those would kick ass on this car. Another thing was the rear window. There is a switch that is bad somewhere in the system and I don't think it will be easy to find, or find a replacement for. I still suggest running a whole new wire and adding a switch under the dash. If I had had the car for another week I would have probably addressed that.

I hope to see plenty of pics as you change things. I hope you enjoy it!

 

Thanks James! I was on Craigslist & Ebay last night looking at wheels. Definitely liking Magnum 500s myself. But I also like Torque Thrust wheels. Saw some vintage Cragar SS wheels too that would be cool.

Heck, if all you need is another week, I can always bring it back over to ya, and let you fix that back window!

 

Oh, one other thing. The mother-in-law saw it yesterday, and just fell in love with it! So, chalk up another point for the wagon!

 

I think technically Federal law says anybody tampering with Emissions Equipment is subject to a fine of up to $5,000. A lot of people do remove them. As for whether it makes a difference in power/fuel economy, I can't say. They do make aftermarket low restriction ones as mentioned. I would expect they would help fuel mileage. One reason (back in the old days some people took them off, was because you could still buy leaded gas (regular) & it was cheaper than unleaded.

 

The exhaust that was on Nora had 2 high flow, high performance cats. People often thought they were hollowed out, or not even there, based on the sound and exhaust flow. They provided about the only tiny touch of back pressure there was in the system, and believe me, that wasn't much at all. If you can go 500 miles, plus, on one tank of gas in one of these cars, the exhaust is not slowing you down in the least, and I did that regularly on Nora.