Hello, all! Firstly let me thank everyone for welcoming my wife (Tennessee) and I (Keith) on these forums. Also let me thank you in advance for all the great advice and tips I'm sure will be forthcoming over this project. So, we have been looking for a wagon for months on CL and Ebay and praying to find the right car for us. Last friday I came home from work and Tennessee was practically vibrating with excitement over a car that'd been posted on CL. So, I look over the ad (great ad BTW) and also over the TON of additional pics and info about the car he's (N2FordMuscle) e-mailed over. Thinking about it and what we had on hand I asked her to make him an offer via text. He accepted and we decided to hit the sack and get up at 3AM to be in GA by 9AM. We had a funeral to get back to that evening and someone hinting at coming to see her other car that is for sale (a 1989 Lincoln Towncar in triple white). Me, after being on the road for 9 hours on 2 hrs sleep! Anyway, we drive down meet N2Ford Muscle (super nice guy!) drive the big girl, and proceed to fall in love! It was a good sign that he had another wagon in the garage as well. My wife (a consummate haggler) loved her so much she didn't try and talk him down a bit! Debuting the new car with our family and friends the next day at church, my Dad comes up to me before service and says "I think the Griswolds came to church today!" He'd seen the wagon in the parking lot and guessed it had to be ours! We have big plans for this big old girl. We are going to Orlando in October to Disney World with my nephews (I can't wait to see them in the way way back!). Before that I need to make damn sure everything is sound. Tonight got home from work and just had to do something with the wagon. (I've had it 3 whole DAYS!!!) After trying to figure out the power rear window issues (pulled the switch and inspected behind the tailgate panel. I gave up to ask around here for clues. Needing to get something accomplished (and running low on daylight) I started to screw with the luggage rack. Literally! When I first looked at the car I noticed a fair amount of trim screws that were rusted flatheads (I HATE flathead screws!) so, after a trip to Lowe's with some of the screws I got stainless phillips head equivalents. Starting with the luggage rack (forgive the pics, it was getting dark!) EWWWW! I pulled the old screw and got some super-fine steel wool. Scrubbed it down a replaced with the stainless screw. :2_thumbs_up_-_anima I did all of them and decided to call it a night. Hopefully some morning it doesn't look too terrible! I'm trying to find screws for the actual rail supports but the ones I got that were the right size & thread had way too big of heads to recess into the support. Are there specific automotive screws I should be using? Now for the time where I ask questions about the things I need to figure out... 1. As I said, the back window won't go down. Neither with the key nor with the front switch. Nothing at all happens. No noise or movement. Thoughts? 2. The car has an odd sound when it gets up to around 65mph. It sounds like a rattle akin to a diesel engine, just very slight. I have yet to check around on the car for loose things but I thought I'd throw it out there. 3. When you push down on the throttle too quickly it hesitates quite a bit and sometimes even seems to want to stall. I'm thinking my wife's old '73 LTD did the same thing and I just adjusted the throttle cable on the carb. Not sure (old brain). Now on to a list of future things I want to accomplish: 1. Replace all screws/bolts as I go with stainless equivalents. 2. Replace the wood grain and powdercoat the trim around it. Also replace two damaged pieces of trim. 3. Replace the weather stripping around all the doors/windows. Do they make car-specific kits o do I just get a roll and start sticking? Also, what is the best way to remove the old stripping? 4.Grind and prime a few rust spots at the base of the rear windows. I found a primer that's pretty darn near the car color. We can live with a band-aid fix until we get ready for re-paint. OK...now you talk!
Replacing the screws already looks much better! Since Tennessee will be driving it daily, it's a good idea on stopping those rust spots. Since it was always in the garage, and out of the weather, I didn't focus on that. As far as the back window, you could use a tester to see if you're getting juice back at the motor, to make sure it's not a switch or wiring issue. If you're getting juice, then it might just need a new motor. If you're not getting juice....... well that's a whole other "can o' worms". It might be a good idea to have a wiring diagram. For the hesitation issue, I had posted that question before, and received lots of input. http://www.stationwagonforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24131 Good luck! And keep us updated. I, especially, would like to know what you find out.
I'm more than a little familiar with these cars, having had 4 of this generation Thunderbird. On them, there are 2 basic things to check for the hesitation. First, check the timing. It should be at 12 degrees before top dead centre. Next, verify the accelerator pump on the carb. It is an easy fix, as it is on the left front corner of the carburetor. Then, set the air fuel mixture. It is a bit of a pain getting a screw driver in there, but set right, the car should run smooth as silk. You will probably have to use the throttle stop adjustment to lower the idle when it is set right. That will make all the difference in the world.
I can confirm that I already checked this. I purchased a replacement, but when I went to replace it, it looked fine. I replaced it anyways.
were excited that your excited....goofy aint it? you got yourself a great car to start with...and thats 1/2 the battle
Congrats on the purchase! It really is an amazingly good car... I owned it before n2fordmuscle, back when it still had pizza cutter wheels with original hubcaps, and was riding a lot higher. In fact I still have the original radio (non working) sitting on a shelf... I meant to mail it to n2, but never got around to it, which I still feel bad about. The wheels and ride height really make that car... I sold it partially because my wife didn't like it, and when I found the latest pics of it on here tonight, even she was amazed... Just for your info, I was able to roll the tailgate window down once; I used a battery and some wire and just touched the leads to it and it rolled down, but had to have help rolling up as it was very weak, so I can tell you with little doubt that replacing the motor would be the first step, but I believe rockauto carries them. My next suggestion would be to choose an inconspicuous place to mount a universal switch that way you could actually use the window. I had a wagoneer that was like this, and the p.o. Used a random power window switch he got at a junkyard. Anyway congratulations on getting a great wagon!
