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

larjohnson · « **Reply #60 on:** January 04, 2010, 03:32:33 PM »

Yay!!!! What a rush to get her running under her own power....Great start for the New Year. Larry :police:

dave1987 · « **Reply #61 on:** January 04, 2010, 10:55:52 PM »

I didn't really do anything... lol

Turns out the fuel pump actually doesn't need to be replaced!

I guess it just needed to be cranked, and to curse at me a few times! lol It backfired out the carb a dozen times before it would actually start!

To get it to even ATTEMPT to run, I had to pour gas down the carb, that primed it enough to make it pop and kick until it turned over enough to start a combustion cycle. It would run a bit, then die. It did this more times than I cared to count.

I ran a hose from the fuel pump to a gas can, just to give it a taste of fresh gas, instead of the stuff that is in the tank from 20 years ago, then held the pedal all the way down to the floor while cranking it (holding the carb at wide open throttle). It was the only way to get the darn thing to start!

After a few times of doing this, it finally would idle when I slowly let my foot off the accelerator. Normally it would die about 10-20 seconds after it started, but after about two minutes of idling I revved the motor and it came back down to idle without any hesitating or kicking!

I shut the car off and let it sit for a few minutes, then started it again. It would kick then backfire but die again. So I pumped the gas pedal five or six times to prime it with the accelerator pump and it would fire up just fine!

Only problem with it, was that it smoked REALLY badly, I had neighbors giving me funny looks thinking I had started a fire on the side of the house or something! lol Not to mention it's extremely loud sound coming from both the manifold and the mangled muffler! lol

After about 10 minutes of letting it run, I decided to be adventurous and connect the fuel pump to the tank, just to see if it could run off the ancient gas that is in the tank. Sure enough, it does! When starting it with the tank connected to the fuel pump, it had a really ruff time idling, but it could keep going without any help from revving the motor. After revving it a few times to see if it would hesitate, it came back down to a smooth idle. It now starts, idles, revs, and even DRIVES with the 20 year old gas!

Now there are a few NEW problems I have found....

1) Exhaust leak at the manifold (down pipe flange I think)
2) Mangled Muffler
3) Transmission doesn't grab until high RPM
4) Transmission has no fluid in it
5) I REALLY need to get the brakes going, stopping with the e-brake isn't fun!

dave1987 · « **Reply #62 on:** January 04, 2010, 11:05:47 PM »

Yesterday after getting it to run and drive on its own, I decided to rebuild the carburetor. I bought a kit at Schucks, but it was for some other single barrel carburetor, not even close to the Holley 5200-C!! Frustrated, I dove into the container of extra 5200 parts that I had collected for my 78 Sedan. I replaced the accelerator pump diaphragm, choke diaphragm, and the float. Also cleaned off the entire body of the carb, blew compressed air through all of the passages and got a lot of the varnish out of the throttle body. Here are some pictures of it.

D3P3-AA is what the tag reads.

Certain parts of the motor have been cleaned as they were removed.

Last pic is of Brownie on the drive way. She made it up there all on her own!

dave1987 · « **Reply #63 on:** January 05, 2010, 01:17:31 AM »

Forgot to add....

The transmission won't grab until it's revved high, then let to decrease in RPM. It grabs momentarily, then slips, then grabs, then slips, then engages. Can't go to fast, but it does go.

blupinto · « **Reply #64 on:** January 06, 2010, 03:53:57 PM »

Hi Dave! Congratulation s on getting her running after all that down-time! I wish I could be there to help out. You really should remove the gas tank and get all that stuff out. Even if she's running on that old gas there's probably rust flakes and varnish in the tank and it could get stuck in the carb jets (the varnish).

dave1987 · « **Reply #65 on:** January 06, 2010, 03:55:55 PM »

Not to worried about the carb jets, I'll replace teh carb in the near future. As long as it can get up and down the drive-way on it's own for now. Makes things a lot easier when I go over to get other things done on her.

larjohnson · « **Reply #66 on:** January 07, 2010, 06:21:22 AM »

Dave: Don't know if you've ever used the stuff, but I run a product called sea foam through every tank of gasoline on my 1971. I've used this stuff for years on other cars, and I think it's a great product. The 1971 runs fantastic!!!!!! I use it every couple of tanks in my 1972. Anyway, thought you may want to try it. Have a great day...glad you've got her started and running...Larr y :police:

blupinto · « **Reply #67 on:** January 07, 2010, 03:26:15 PM »

I've heard a lot of good feedback about Sea Foam and did use a can in Wildfire before we went to Fabulous Fords Forever last year. Too bad it's a tad pricey... maybe Meanie would run better with a can in every fill-up. Lead substitute is getting pricier and scarcer (more scarce?). Damn the economy! Full speed ahead! (Sorry CB... I did just quote a DamnYankee named Adm. Farragut. )

blupinto · « **Reply #68 on:** January 07, 2010, 03:26:51 PM »

Well... somewhat quoted...

dga57 · « **Reply #69 on:** January 08, 2010, 12:54:56 AM »

I'll put my two cents worth in here... I think Seafoam is the greatest fuel additive ever! I use it in all my older stuff regularly, and even run a can through the newer vehicles from time to time. Unfortunately, as Becky pointed out, it isn't exactly cheap! Good stuff though!

Dwayne :smile:

dave1987 · « **Reply #70 on:** February 02, 2010, 12:19:10 PM »

Went to the DMV today to transfer the title and register the car. Found out there is more paperwork needed on the seller's part.

Will keep you updated.

dave1987 · « **Reply #71 on:** February 04, 2010, 03:13:29 AM »

Put a new alternator and voltage regulator in Brownie, got it all hooked up and the battery charges now!

Changed the filter and fluid in the transmission and it's got more get up and go now. Was fun to drive it down the street.

Once I get some fresh gas in the tank, it should be much better!

Installed a new exhaust pipe clamp on the pipe in the middle of the car where the front pipe slides into the rear pipe. It's a little quieter now and doesn't smoke as much!

Got the new exhaust manifold gaskets and flasher in the mail from Rock Auto today, the rest should be here tomorrow, long list though.

Also got a user's manual, a "attention to owners of 73 Pinto" paper, and the battery warranty papers from ebay today to, gonna be fun to have all of this at car shows!

Still no word on registering the car, going to call Darrel (The one who sold it to me) about the progress on contacting the previous owner's wife.

dave1987 · « **Reply #72 on:** February 08, 2010, 11:28:03 PM »

Got a lot of work done on the wagon today!!!

My friend Chris showed up today to help out with the Wagon. We went to AutoZone today to pick up the muffler I had ordered, then out to the junkyard to get a season pass and see if there were any Pintos out yet. No Pintos, but I Found some "Built Ford Tough" floor mats for the 78 Sedan, and we got him an e-brake handle for his Jeep. After that we headed over to my parent's house to work on the Wagon.

Started off by unbolting the exhaust down pipe from the manifold, a big task in itself. Once that was off, we unbolted the muffler and worked it out past the drive shaft. Got it about half way out before we got stuck on the gas tank. Once we dropped the tank, the rest of the exhaust came out fairly easy, while still maneuvering it past the drive shaft.

Once we dropped the tank we dumped the old gas out (about five gallons worth), which was bright ORANGE! :hypno: However, there is absolutely NO rust in the tank at all, from the areas I can see, at least. Surprised the heck out of me, considering my 78's tank is rough and pitted inside, and the Wagon's is spotless, pretty much new!

After emptying the tank we pulled the vent valve and the fuel sender, and replaced the seals on both, and the filter screen on the end of the fuel pickup.

Once the tank was done, we took the back half of the exhaust (pipe with the muffler attached) down to Boise Muffler and had them weld the new muffler onto the pipe, weld the old rear mounting bracket onto the new muffler, and cut off the old pipe clamp were the two halves of the exhaust join (since the bolts were mangled, I couldn't do it myself).

Took the new exhaust back home, dropped the drive shaft, put a new filler neck seal on the tank, then installed the muffler half of the exhaust back on the car, which took a third of the time since we didn't have to maneuver it around the gas tank and the drive shaft. Once the exhaust was hung back up, we put the tank back on, then replaced the universal joints on the drive shaft and put that back up.

After all of that work, we took a break, got some dinner at McDonalds, and filled up a gas can with five gallons of gas and headed back to the house to start the wagon on it's fresh exhaust system!

Brownie runs so much better on fresh gas, doesn't stink nearly as bad, and is SOOOO much quieter now! There is still a leak where the two pipes join, but I will have to play around with that a little. Might just weld it all up myself, we shall see.

I was hoping to install the new thermostat and replace the output shaft seal on the transmission while I was down there, but I ran out of time. Perhaps next week I can get down there to pull that seal, then replace the thermostat and do the front breaks.

She's getting close people. I'm trying to get her ready to go for this year's car shows!

discolives78 · « **Reply #73 on:** February 09, 2010, 06:19:58 PM »

Congrats on getting your wagon and getting to drive her, Dave!

I miss my wagons (all four of them). I'm still sad the 79 slipped away from me last summer.

Kudos for all the effort you're putting into that wagon!

Chuck :afro:

dave1987 · « **Reply #74 on:** February 10, 2010, 03:19:04 AM »

Thanks Chuck! Was wondering where you were!

Haven't heard from you in a little while.

Brownie still needs some toying with recovering the dash pad, think I might play around with it.

Need to find another Registered Ride sticker to....

dave1987 · « **Reply #75 on:** February 16, 2010, 02:58:30 AM »

List of completed tasks today:

1) Rebuilt rear brakes, reusing the shoes (still good)
2) Replaced master brake cylinder
3) Replaced brake stop lamp switch
4) Replaced turn signal flasher relay

First question, how come my front turn signals don't work? They were working fine before the stock flasher went out, but now only the rear ones work with the new flasher installed. The lamps are good, they come on when I turn the head lamps or interior lighting on. The hazards also do not work.

Second question, are the ball joints supposed to have nipples on them for a grease gun? I was looking at them while I had the driver's side disassembled and it appears there are bolts screwed into place where there would normally be a grease fitting.

I only got half of the front brakes done today. It was getting late and taking to long to clean the rotors, so I will get the passenger side done later this week. WOW there is a lot of rust on them! :hypno:

Now some pictures!

1) Original master brake cylinder - Will be restoring with new seals and a cleanup/paint to have as a backup unit
2) New master brake cylinder - Should be stopping great after I'm done with everything!

3) Dirty drum brake assembly on driver's side before replacing hardware. - Took forever to clean up!
4) New wheel cylinders! - Originals were no leaking, but better to be safe than sorry!

dave1987 · « **Reply #76 on:** February 16, 2010, 03:12:26 AM »

I didn't realize that the 73 disc brake assembly was SO much different from 74 and later models! I pulled the wheels off and looked at it in sheer amazement of how complex it is compared to what I'm used to working on. I'm still trying to figure out how all the springs come into play...

While I had the rotor on the driver's side off for cleaning, I put new grease on the wheel bearings, tightened them up and replaced the cotter pins. Should be nice and solid now!

5) Clean brake drum backing plate! - Original paint on them is still very nice!
6) Bendix brake drum component. - The oval logo is the "FoMoCo" stamped logo on the part!
7) Reassembled brake drum with new hardware, reused shoes. - Will replace shoes when I can afford newer ones. These should be good for a little while longer though!

How badly rusted the front brake discs are. They clean up very nicely, it just takes a lot of time, even with the pneumatic die grinder with the wire brush attatchment! - Will have a photo of it cleaned up later.

r4pinto · « **Reply #77 on:** February 16, 2010, 09:33:11 AM »

Lookin good dave!

as for your question about the ball joints, sometimes there is no grease fittings installed but all you have to do to install one is remove the bolt and screw in a grease fitting of the approprate size. Had to do that on one of the U joints on my car.

dave1987 · « **Reply #78 on:** February 18, 2010, 02:29:51 AM »

Thanks Matt, I will see if I can find some that will fit, tomorrow, while I'm at the store picking up the front shocks I ordered for her!

Tuesday I finished up the passenger's side of the brakes. Just cleaned it up enough to get her GOING. Detail work will happen later.

1) The Porter Cable pneumatic grinder with wire wheel attachment that I used to remove the rust from the Rotors.
2) Another wire wheel type attachment that I used to clean up around the edges.
3) The inside of the rotor after cleaning
4) The outside of the rotor after cleaning

dave1987 · « **Reply #79 on:** February 18, 2010, 02:34:49 AM »

I was able to bleed the rear brakes on my own with some hose and pliers, but I didn't have enough hose to do the front brakes and everyone at my parents was sleeping, so tomorrow (Thursday) I will be finishing the brakes, replacing the transmission output shaft seal, and installing new shocks on her. Maybe the grill from Larry will be there and I can complete her outside appearance! After that it's just a matter of getting the title sorted out with the auction company the guy I bought it from is dealing with right now.

5) New brake pads on the left, old pads on the right
6) Brake pad wear comparison - wow, they really wore the old ones down!
7) Reassembled brakes - Clean rotor, new pads, lubricated pad ends and caliper contact surfaces. Newly greased wheel bearings to!

r4pinto · « **Reply #80 on:** February 24, 2010, 10:20:52 PM »

Lookin good Dave!

dave1987 · « **Reply #81 on:** February 25, 2010, 02:19:46 AM »

Update from last Friday, the 19th. Finally got some time to post some pictures while Tia sleeps.

Pictures showing my 78 Sedan's old rear shocks (still good) mounted to the 73 Wagon's leafs/body. As Wittsend (Tom) discussed in another post that they do fit with a bit of modification, I decided to try it out myself.

I noticed that the wagon does sit lower in the back than it does in the front. I do not know if this is due to the shorter sedan shocks, worn leaf springs, or just the fact that I have the back of the car loaded up with a bunch of parts. One of those suspicions will be eliminated once the car is cleaned out!

Also, Larry sent me the old grill from his restored 71! The wagon has a face again, just need to paint the grill silver again and it should look attractive from the front again!

1) Upper mount on driver's side.
2) Lower mount on driver's side. - You can see all the metal bushing washers I stacked together to serve as a spacer.
3) Entire shock mounted in car. - With the car on jack stands, it still doesn't extend completely. Still about 1.5" of extension left!
4) Motor after I replaced the valve cover gasket and cleaned the valve cover. - Original Paint!

75bobcatv6 · « **Reply #82 on:** February 25, 2010, 02:27:35 AM »

no pics showed up man? where are they ? lol working hard on that car. Wish i could do the same. I will get to just gunna be a while

dave1987 · « **Reply #83 on:** February 25, 2010, 02:41:12 AM »

got it fixed sorry man!

75bobcatv6 · « **Reply #84 on:** February 25, 2010, 12:26:22 PM »

looks good bro.

dave1987 · « **Reply #85 on:** February 26, 2010, 12:27:51 AM »

Tomorrow I will try to get a picture of Brownie and the blue 78 together. Probably some nicer pictures of Brownie by herself to.

Might be able to get some pictures of the wasp nests, butterfly cocoons, spider nests and termite mounds that are ALL OVER the underside of the car! :rolleye: :mad: The only things from that bunch that give me trouble are the termite mounds that seem to be stuck darn well to the body and cross member. Not big ones, just about 2 inches in size, but still annoying.

larjohnson · « **Reply #86 on:** March 16, 2010, 07:32:21 AM »

Dave: So how's the car coming along. I'm missing your updates. Is she running pretty well now?

Are you taking her out cruising?

? LOL I'm ready to get my Pintos out, if it's nice this weekend, I'm taking the 71 out to get some Ice Cream!!!!!! Have a great day.

Larry :police:

dave1987 · « **Reply #87 on:** March 16, 2010, 01:31:47 PM »

I'm still waiting for the title and registration stuff to clear so I can begin driving her.

r4pinto · « **Reply #88 on:** March 22, 2010, 10:27:12 AM »

Lookin good Dave. Did you ever get the group pick of your two? Hope you got the title issue straightened out.

dave1987 · « **Reply #89 on:** March 26, 2010, 02:10:32 PM »

I haven't yet. I will be trying to get one this Sunday before I do the axle swap on the 78. I'll see if Sarah (my wife) would like to drive it into the culdesac so I can park the 78 next to it and get a good shot.

Title is getting closer every week. All that is left is for a revised version of the power of attorney papers on the car to be notarized, and then to get into the DMV with Darrell so we can get her transferred over!

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