Author Topic: 73 Wagon Project - Brownie (Read 30066 times)

dave1987 · « **Reply #330 on:** October 18, 2011, 02:52:07 PM »

After much practice and getting my "new" sewing machine to zigzag stitch again, I finished making one of the cargo covers last night using the thinner black vinyl. I think it came out pretty good! Here are some pictures:

1) The Bernina 830 Record Electronic sewing machine I use
2) Cargo cover finished (top side)
3) Cargo cover finished (bottom side)

dave1987 · « **Reply #331 on:** October 18, 2011, 02:53:55 PM »

4) Corner grommet (bottom side)
5) Corner grommet (top side)
6) Stitches for edges (two rows of zigzag stitches)

75bobcatv6 · « **Reply #332 on:** October 18, 2011, 04:40:13 PM »

dave let me know how much you would charge to make those lol. id love to get one. that looks GREAT.

dave1987 · « **Reply #333 on:** October 18, 2011, 05:00:47 PM »

If you think this looks nice, just wait until I get the brown one done! It closely matches the factory seats!

If it comes out nice when it's installed I was thinking $20.00 or $25.00 shipped. The vinyl is about $5 for a slightly oversized sheet, and $7 for a pack of 10 grommets. Thread and needles are cheap (about $5 for both).

I'm working on finding a way to keep the "stock" appearance for mounting it. The three grommet end will be along the back seat, while the end with the two grommets will go along the tailgate.

More updates to come!

oldford66 · « **Reply #334 on:** October 18, 2011, 05:57:25 PM »

Thanks for documenting this! I love these threads. Very inspiring.

dga57 · « **Reply #335 on:** October 18, 2011, 08:14:38 PM »

Dave,
That is some really fantastic work! I'm impressed. If I had a wagon, I would want one! You probably SHOULD offer them for sale but don't cut yourself short on the labor. They are definitely worth more than the amount you mentioned. Look at it this way... you're offering a product no one else has! Keep up the good work!
Dwayne

75bobcatv6 · « **Reply #336 on:** October 18, 2011, 10:53:10 PM »

id put em up for like 50 lol. atleast then you have some margin for profit to help you on other "pinto related" projects

78squirewagon · « **Reply #337 on:** October 19, 2011, 09:36:42 AM »

I would take a red one for my wagon

dave1987 · « **Reply #338 on:** October 26, 2011, 07:21:55 PM »

Well, I put the tabs in that will stretch the cover over the cargo area, but two holes were required to be drilled in the side metal at the back or the tabs would flex when the cover is on. They don't look bad either, but minor drilling is required.

For the front tabs, I didn't use the rear of the seat since it wouldn't cover the cargo area properly, but behind the plastic panels on each side, I bolted the tabs between the panel and the metal. The plastic panel goes over it and all you see is a 1/2" sized tab centered with the rear most center window pillar. I plan to paint these with undercoating "paint" so it's a rubber type coating.

I will post pictures of all of this once I figure out the good way to connect the cover grommets to the mounting tabs. I did a test hang with some twist ties (that come with yard trash bags) and it stretches and covers very nicely!

Just need to see if I can find some 1" bungie cords, or make something myself with some small hooks on each end. I just needs enough to reach the 1-2" distance between the cover and the sides of the cargo area.

dieseldave4443 · « **Reply #339 on:** November 16, 2011, 10:48:32 AM »

WOW! I think we're kindred pinto wagon spirits! I have a 73 brown wagon too-all dusty accessorized with several hornets nest, missing grill and spider webs. I have the 2.0 and noticed your alternator is in front of the air cleaner-mine is not?

? I too am having electrical issues. I have a fresh battery with no power to anything? I'm going to replace the starter solenoid which is 20 bucks and found a new ignition switch on amazon yesterday for 15 bucks including shipping. I'll be following your thread for progress and try to post some pics of mine as well. Good luck to your venture and maybe we can learn from each others experiences.

dave1987 · « **Reply #340 on:** November 16, 2011, 11:12:46 AM »

Very cool! I look forward to seeing pictures and reading progress on your wagon! It sounds like you are off to a good start on fixing the electrical issues!

My alternator is in front of the air cleaner because the car came with factory A/C. I Don't use it, but I have yet to find the brackets to put the alternator on the passenger side. It was a challenge to find replacement lower driver side brackets for it! lol

dave1987 · « **Reply #341 on:** November 16, 2011, 11:19:58 PM »

Here is the cargo cover!

This is the brown one which actually kind of matches the interior. It is more like a thin rubber mat which is some what stretchy, but still ridged.

The black one was more of a mock up unit which is 100% functional. It is lighter, but also less durable since it is thinner, and it already has some minor damage (aka small tearing) from it being folded and unfolded. Small creases don't unfold very nicely on it. It's texture and thickness is actually nearly identical to the headliner material, minus the pattern.

Well, here are the pictures!

1) Cover from above
2) Cover from beneath
3) Back left corner's mounting eyelet (same as the back right)
4) Front right corner's mounting eyelet (same as front left)

dave1987 · « **Reply #342 on:** November 16, 2011, 11:30:59 PM »

I have not yet painted the mounting eyelet tabs, but they will be painted with a rubber like paint in brown if I can find it, otherwise they will be painted with black undercoating paint.

For the hardware used to mount the cover to the mounting eyelet tabs, I used four "S" hooks that I found at walmart. They are actually "S" hooks for hanging flower pots, but they work great for this application! The larger end of the hook is connected to the cover's grommet and the smaller end of the hook connects to the mounting eyelet tab. Since the cover stretches a bit, it tensions itself and stays tight!

I am planning to add a 2" loop bungie cord to the grommets on one side of the cover witch will give me something to grasp and pull the cover/hook closer to the mounting tabs when hanging the cover. But that is something minor. The important part is that it's done!

Here's some pictures from the outside!

1) Passenger Side
2) Driver Side
3) Driver Side (lower)
4) Rear

dave1987 · « **Reply #343 on:** January 03, 2012, 07:12:04 PM »

Ordered a head gasket set for Brownie today, should be in tomorrow morning. Hopefully it's just the valve stem seals leaking causing the smoking, that or the head gasket. If not, then she'll need a re-ring.

johnbigman2011 · « **Reply #344 on:** January 03, 2012, 10:23:12 PM »

Dave, just read your build forum from start to where you are now. Incredible build!

dave1987 · « **Reply #345 on:** January 04, 2012, 03:27:34 AM »

Thank you John! I hope you found something useful or intriguing from it.

bbobcat75 · « **Reply #346 on:** January 04, 2012, 07:49:47 AM »

that cargo cover is awsome, i never even thought about it, had a factory one on my 86 mustang and loved it.! now i wan to see what i can do for the wagon.

dave1987 · « **Reply #347 on:** January 14, 2012, 09:13:55 PM »

Just finished putting the donor head back together for Brownie's 2.0. Sometime this spring it will be swapped onto the car and hopefully it takes care of the smoking issue under load, with fresh seals and head gasket.

Here's the head, cleaned up cam sprocket, and sorted bolts:

r4pinto · « **Reply #348 on:** January 15, 2012, 08:40:52 AM »

Man that sucks Dave,

Hope this solves the smoking problem. Did you do a compression test on the car? Didn't see that in previous posts.

dave1987 · « **Reply #349 on:** January 15, 2012, 08:42:10 AM »

I did about a year ago, haven't had the chance to any time recently though. Need to find time....

dave1987 · « **Reply #350 on:** February 05, 2012, 09:35:46 PM »

Well, I ordered a new set of cast iron rings, pan gasket kit, front and rear main seal kits, as well as an auxiliary shaft seal for the motor. That coupled with the freshened replacement head, the motor should be nice and sealed up, with great compression again! Should the XR700 electronic ignition turn out to be usable, if not pertronix will be used, it should have some get up and go again!

r4pinto · « **Reply #351 on:** February 05, 2012, 10:10:15 PM »

Progress. It's name be Brownie lol. Nice to hear you're doing away with icky points.

dave1987 · « **Reply #352 on:** February 06, 2012, 07:41:37 AM »

I like the points for originality but love the electronic for reliability. The swap may even give the car a little more umph.

dave1987 · « **Reply #353 on:** March 10, 2012, 01:36:13 AM »

Been refreshing the motor on Brownie with new piston rings, seals, and gaskets. I figured that while I have it all apart, I would clean as much as I could and repaint things. I know the oil pan color is originally black, but the blue is so much nicer. The block will be black, but I plan to leave the crank timing cover and the fuel pump cam cover their raw aluminum color. The intake will remain bare aluminum, as I prefer that over the black that was on it before.

Here are some pictures!

1) The oil pan before reshaping. It looked like someone parked the car on a boulder!

2) With a bit of dead blow hammer and a 1.5" wood dowel, I was able to shap the pan back to pretty much it's normal shape.

3) After getting the bad dents out, I decided to hit it with some fresh light ford blue engine paint, as well as the timing cover.

4) And painted the valve cover as well so it all matches. Still need to do the air cleaner though.

dave1987 · « **Reply #354 on:** March 10, 2012, 01:56:02 AM »

The water pump doesn't leak but I can't get a new gasket by itself, only with the purchase of a new pump. So I ended up getting a sheet of grey felpro gasket material and cut one out.

While it didn't cause any problems, it was quite an annoyance. The oil dipstick tube would come out the block whenever I would check the oil, so I used some quick setting JB Weld to keep it in place.

The distributor, like the rest of the motor was coated in oil and crud, so I cleaned it up and put a new o-ring on it. Hopefully it stays sealed up well.

Instead of raising the motor onto the mounting bolts during disassembly, I dropped the steering rack, which also made removing the starter easy, and gives more than enough clearance to work under the motor. Since I had the rack straps off, I cleaned those up as well, they look good as new! They needed A LOT of cleaning, as I couldn't tell there were any securing bolts before scraping off the inch of crud off the cross member

1) Hand cut water pump gasket

2) Oil dip stick tube secured. Correct angle?

3) Cleaned distributor

4) Steering rack mounting straps cleaned

dave1987 · « **Reply #355 on:** March 10, 2012, 10:12:47 PM »

I ordered a pertronix ignitor kit (1847V) off ebay that should arrive by the middle of next week. I will install it after I start the car and drive it around after the rebuild. I know the points system and I just want to ensure that everything goes well with the initial start up so the new rings seat properly.

Tomorrow I will be finishing cleaning the head, installing the oil pan, crank timing cover, fuel pump shaft seal, and whatever else I can get done before putting the head on. Waiting for another set of valve stem seals to come in on Tuesday and the head will go on.

r4pinto · « **Reply #356 on:** March 17, 2012, 12:05:24 PM »

Nice work Dave! That is one sharp car & gets even better every time.

dave1987 · « **Reply #357 on:** March 20, 2012, 01:15:59 PM »

Started her up for the first time last night, drove her home. I did notice there is a misfire at idle though. Not to noticeable while driving but deffinitely there during idle. Not sure if it is the plugs or the wires.

I removed the pertronix and put the points on and it still didn't help the misfire. Advanced and retarted the timing, no effect. Adjusted the fuel/air ratio, nothing.

What else might it be? I don't seem to have any vacuum leaks.

pintosopher · « **Reply #358 on:** March 20, 2012, 02:18:08 PM »

Quote from: dave1987 on March 20, 2012, 01:15:59 PM

Started her up for the first time last night, drove her home. I did notice there is a misfire at idle though. Not to noticeable while driving but deffinitely there during idle. Not sure if it is the plugs or the wires.

I removed the pertronix and put the points on and it still didn't help the misfire. Advanced and retarted the timing, no effect. Adjusted the fuel/air ratio, nothing.

What else might it be? I don't seem to have any vacuum leaks.

Dave ,
First, check plug wires while running in the dark, cross fire leaks between wires will be self evident.Change plugs , Put vacuum gauge on Intake maifold port , should be a steady 11-17 Hg of vacuum. wild swings indicate tight intake valves or possibly intakes not seating.( Not Good) Any carb adjustment that has no effect is either Mechanical, Leaks in critical areas of combustion cycle, or electrical in nature. Finally.. Leakdown tests & Compression tests.
Good hunting.. Hope the block surface was square and true, or this was a big effort yet to be repeated.
Pintosopher

dave1987 · « **Reply #359 on:** March 20, 2012, 03:00:04 PM »

We shall see. The project was fun, and kept me busy and thinking. If all else fails, I'll be getting ahold of Walt to see what he can do to help out with the spare 2.0 he's got. Hopefully it wasn't all waste.

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Author Topic: 73 Wagon Project - Brownie (Read 30066 times)