Car Running Countdown

You and me, both, bro! :banghead3:

We're only at 40F and 40 MPH winds, windchill makes it 36 F! Tomorrow is at 54F, Sunday at 59F, then back down to 40F and Rain on Monday. Its a drag, but it gets up to normal (61F) by Wednesday.

 

Okie dokie.

 

Still too cold (40F) and 40 MPH winds. I'd be like a dog shivering razor blades, trying to get the wiring in or the seats installed. YUK!!! Tomorrow went from a forecast of 59F to 38F and rain. Nothing until Monday, guys, sorry. :banghead3:

 

Come on Stormin' Tell the weather men to get it right.

 

He never listens. That why I'm still TWO-ON-THE-FLOOR-WITH-OVERHEAD-LACES!!!

 

yeah it's hard to talk with pat&ben in the way.

 

Yeah and Corduroy pants really slow you down.

 

Yeah it's all that friction

 

Yeah, the old sperm count really goes down with all that heat!

 

wear a ac cup

 

Lots of Critical Mundane details yesterday

I've got this horrible cold, now for over a week, first time in 15 or more years. Actaully I can't recall one this bad. But I got my energy back, so I was out in 78F weather yesterday putting new ground wiring in. So I dremelled away the paint and tinned the sheetmetal (solder), changed the ground contacts and used new screws.

You southern guys probably don't have the tailgates with the De-Icer elements in the glass. Mine didn't either until some twit shot my Mexican glass with a BB gun. Well, the wiring looms going into the tailgate hatch were all dried out. So I tussled with them and fed the wiring (live and ground) through, and got them in and done. Then I applied sealer to the passenger floor board drains, reinstalled the wiring loom ducts and passed the wiring up to the front. I can't put the interior mouldings in until the headliner hoops are in, and they need the dome light wiring first.

By Tuesday, I should get the steering wheel column back together and installed. It's raining with lightning on and off today and tonight, so it's all inside work.

But first a word from my trick-doctor:


Item #30 is the little rubber boot where the tranny linkage and steering shaft go through. My old one was dried out and broken, but the Donor's was in great shape. In Guadalajara, MX, where we bought the car, they can get a surprise downpour of 5 to 7 inches of rain, two or three times a day! The old one was stuffed with old J-Cloths to keep the water from coming in!

I had a nice chunk of 3/8 think wetsuit foam, that I cut into the interior shape (1st of three layers), then 2 more for the bottom opening. What for? We don't get rain like that, up here, but we do get road slush/melt, and the J-cloths don't repel it. Plus the engine fumes stay on the outside.

I inserted them in, without cutting the shaft holes:



Here they are assembled inside (interior view):


Engine compartment view:


The bottom one (wider section) is where the steering shaft column shield should be inserted inside the boot. It may be 'doable' after the column is installed, but its a lot easier off the car. It's also the one where the extra two foamies go in. It's kind of a double sheathed rubber boot.

When I install it, I'll put some black sealant on the perimeter, inside and out to keep the water out, and I may use an old rubber tire skin from the engine side to keep any splash back from happening. I figure this is one of the reasons that the rust is really worse on the Driver's side floor, so this should help to keep it under control for the next 30 years.

 

Done! Lots of neat tools in this system.

Well, I started reassembly of the steering column. The shop manuals are useless except for that diagram in my earlier post. There is a sequential order, and most of it is logical, there are a couple of quirkie steps.

I took mine apart in the Spring of 2007, and most of the donor too. Luckily I kept all the small assembly parts in separate, labelled containers, and laid everything out on the floor. Like building a model hotrod.

I left off the column-mounted Cruise/Horn/Signal switch and wiper controls since I've still got the dash and pedals to install (less stuff to bang my head on).

The quirkie stuff is Fairmont-related, not generic enough for other Fords, but it does pay to disassemble carefully. One plastic collar on the shifter shaft was cracked. I had the spare. It picks up any slack and cuts the metal-to-metal noise.

That parts list shows screw and bolt lengths and threads, as well as head types. They are critical. Don't force them. Try them first with your fingers. If a locksmith has to replace yours, he'll order stock hardware kits. Or he'll tell you he can't fix it...

My Cruise Control is old-style (not computer controlled). It was a Dealer installed unit, made for Ford by Rostra. Here's a couple links you may find helpful to troubleshoot yours:

Covers EEC IV and non-EEC units (with wiring diags.)
http://www.thorssell.net/hbook/ccmain.html

Rostra's site has Support PDFs:
http://www.rostra.com/Default.htm

Rodders' supplier carries replacement parts and other automotive switches:
http://wire-works.com/LeversCruiseKnobs.php

 

Norm, there is a separate manual for the steering column.
Do you still need it? I have a copy.