Yikes, I been away too long that I need to reply to several of your postings and do some updating! I'll tackle them all right now!
1.)Wow! What a nice surprise to hear from you, Scott Hamilton! I have heard so many positive comments about you as the website founder and Pinto Guru!!! I hope to meet you one day...will you be attending the Pinto Stampede this summer (provided that pandemic is under control)? I have registered for it, and it is a strong incentive for me to get my car done! Chuckling...so, rest assured that I will keep plugging in my pictures and postings as I advance forward.
2.) As for the steering rack, I will give Cardone a try, but instead of sending it in and wait three months for it to be overhauled, I will purchase their remanufactured unit and send my old one in as a core. I will make sure that it is an actual OEM rack that is remanufactured rather than just any rack as I wish to keep my Pinto as original as possible, not to mention making the installation easier! I will let you guys know once I speak with Cardone to determine where they obtained the racks to begin with. I have to assess what parts, hoses, lines, gaskets, etc that I will need to order to complete the install. Should I consider doing the auxiliaries such as upper and lower control arms, ball joints, etc. while they seems to be okay?
3.) I appreciated the response to my oil question, but I am still confused as sludge! Chuckling...Le t me rephrase it differently... Should I be worried about the zinc and phosphorus levels? Does the Pinto's 2.3 engine need it? If yes, What about the Catalyst? I was under the impression that these chemical compounds would be harmful? I was told SE oils are no longer made as they are obsolete due to high zinc and phosphorus content. Every oil manufacturer website were uninformative in this regard. I could not find a good chart or search feature that would recommend the best matching Oil as for the engines needs.
4.) Update on my pandemic project is that a number of things have been accomplished! 😀I got the carpet replaced, the side plastic panel and pieces redyed to match. The carpet was an easy install, with my breaking only one seat bolt. All the rest came out easily as they were not corroaded. The color is not as exact as I had hoped, but that's probably because I know it's replaced and the color's name keeps bugging me...SMS contracted ACC for the carpets, which the cut, backing, and foot- rest mat were exact replica...howe ver, they do not use the Ford color names. The Ford color for mine is Vaquero, which is like a reddish brown and not a common color for Pinto interior. ACC calls it Ruby Red, and at first, I told them that cannot be right...sure enough, it was a nearly exact match when you compare it to the old carpet under the seat.
As for the color dye that I used to redo the faded side panels, lower door kick panels, and steering wheel column was pricey as $275 a gallon! I was expecting the cost to be similar to car paints. I took a deep breath and paid the piper, as I wanted to get rid of the interior's faded whitish appearance. Prior to dying, I prepped the plastics by light blasting the material using soft/fine course media, as sandpaper would leave scratches into the plastic that would show through the dye, even when smoothed.
My biggest problem area of the dye job was regarding the wheel well top, where they line up under the windows. That's where the water had pooled atop the wheel arch whenever it rained with the quarter windows were left open. As you recall, this was a car from Florida where it spent its entire life...yup, Florida is famous for sudden monsoon-like rain showers and the next minute, the sun breaks and boils the pooled water. Over 40 years of this phenomenon, It left a depression on the plastic where it had puddled. Regardless of repeated efforts, I was unable to rid of the depression marks. The outlines of the depression shows through the new dye, but the color and general evenness was very good otherwise. Again, I know of the existence, but maybe a layperson would not notice. However, Knowing my fellow Pinto connoisseurs, they will notice! 😉Any suggestions?
The sun visors have not been returned from SMS, where I sent my old one to be redone. They say it'll be here in about a week. I will report on this once it arrives. It was an easy removal, and I bagged the screws for its re installation. SMS has the Vaquero Tier Vinyl materials so it will be an exact match. See earlier pictures of samples I posted.
5.) The tires from Coker is finally installed, and it is hard to tell that it is 3/4 of an inch taller than the original tires. The equivalent to the A78-13 was 165-80R-13 was on back order until February, and I had already experienced a tire blowout due to dry-rot. I couldn't put it off any further so I accepted 175-80R-13 instead. It is WSW Maxxis brand, a brand that I am not familiar with, but seems to ride nicely. I ordered the 5th one along with a rim to use as a spare. The Pinto still has the space saver spare that's never been down. I will store that in a safe place.
6.) Due to the aforementioned tire blowout, the rear wheel well and lower fender was damaged by the steel belt cords. It was painful to me, as the paint of the car is all original and now I had to have that part repaired. A local shop that specializes in older cars did the job, and it came out nicely...but for one thing, he had some overspray on the leaf spring. Arrgghh! I will use some matte black paint to cover it. The nickel-sized rust spot on the corner of one window was also repaired while he was at it. Looks great! The rest of the car sports it's original paint, as it is in very good condition. I hope to preserve it as long as I can!
7.) I just dropped the car off at a high-end body wrap specialist that does logo and wraps for commercial vans, police cars, and custom tuners to have the wood grain appliqués redone. I decided to replace it as the top half is faded and chalky with some cracking and peeling. I know some people feel I could have done it myself, but after viewing videos, testing samples, and the enormity of the task, I felt overwhelmed and decided it was above my skill set. They agreed that I can come and watch or do pictures, so I will be doing that. Be on the lookout for the pictures in the near future! The same as for photos of interior work, paint, and tires.
Happy Motoring!!
Dan