73MustangCoupe

I had taken the engine to the machine shop back in early December. They had said it would take about 2 weeks, which turned into closer to 6 weeks. The owner, I found out, was winding down, moving into retirement, and the shop seemed a bit disorganized, but they had gotten decent reviews. Once I got the motor home, I got it on the engine stand, sprayed it with a generous coating of WD-40, and bagged it. Every couple weeks, I would pull the bag off, spray it with more WD-40, and recover it. After the Rickster went off to paint, it was time to get to work on the motor. I cleaned it, checked it, and then cleaned it again. I checked the crankshaft main bearing clearances with plastigage and all were in spec. I checked the rod bearing clearances with plastigage, as well, and all were right on the money. Great!!! Pistons and rings were installed and everything seemed normal enough. Cam installation was straightforward. I installed a Lunati roller cam and lifters. I got the head gaskets and Trickflow cylinder heads bolted on and torqued. The intake manifold was next and that is where things started going sideways. The intake bolts on the Cleveland, of course, are angled, and the intake must be matched to the head quite precisely. I was having no luck getting them to line up. I determined that the manifold was sitting to high. The block had been decked, but only enough to square it. The machinist couldn't remember exactly how much he had taken off, which I found a little concering. Hmmm. I took the intake manifold to the shop, and they informed me that the Edelbrock Performer 2V intake manifold had been previously milled. We decided that they should take .020 to .030 off each side and see where it sat. In the end, they took off .027 off each side, which was needed to true up one side that was out of square. Great. The intake manifold now sits where it need so the gaskets will seal it properly. Before buttoning it all up, though, I measured for new pushrods, which turned out to be 8.100. Got them ordered figuring it would take the normal 2 days to get here. Eight days later, they arrived, having traveled across much of the USA. Pushrods installed, roller rockers installed and lash set, and finally, the valve cover gaskets can go on. But wait, the rollers are keeping the stock valve covers that I had thoroughly cleaned, removed dents, and painted. The right side actually fit, but the driver side was definitely interfering. New valve covers were ordered and arrived a few days later. I got them intalled, and they fit fine, but seem kind of tall. I am going to use the FAST EZ EFI system, because I have it from an older project that stalled out a few years back. I put the throttle body on the intake and set the ram air cleaner box on it, only to find that it fouled on the valve covers. Soooo, I ordered a 1/2" spacer and now have a maybe 1/4" clearance. With all that sorted, I got the distributor which had a busted vacuum advance nipple, so I got a new vacuum advance for it, I got the tiny clip removed and then the first screw. Both screws were rusty, but the first one came out okay, taking my time and using penetrating oil and heat. The second screw decided to just wring off about halfway down the hole. I tried to drill it out, but the drill bit broke off, so I have been fighting the thing fixed for 6 or 7 weeks now. I took it to a local machine shop, but they were too backed up to help me out. They did tell me, though, that the machine shop had done the machine work on the block had had a lot of problems with quality control lately, and had ruined a few blocks and cylinder heads. I felt okay about the crank and rod bearing clearances, but hadn't checked the bores. Soooo, off comes the intake, valve cover, rockers and pushrods, cylinder heads, etc. I got out the dial bore gauge and micrometer, and measured each bore at the bottom, just above the piston, middle of the run and at the top of the bore, front to back, and side to side. Six measurements on each cylinder. Each cylinder was pretty uniform, with the 48 measurements ranging from 4.03035 to 4.03102. Most of the cylinders were within about .00030 to .00040, although some of that can be just variation inherent in measuring the diameter of a cylinder. I am satisfied, though, that they didn't screw it up, so I got new intake manifold gaskets, and got the motor put back together, once again. Back to the distributor, I finally found a machine shop that said they might be about to repair it, so I'm hoping that in the next few days, I'll get good news from them. Then I can get the distributor rebuilt, and installed. I did look into a new Pertronix billet distributor, but it didn't fit under the air box. I just found that they do make shorter Pertronix distributors, but at this point, I'm waiting for the machine shop. So that is my engine building saga. Thanks to Don at Ohio Mustang for helping me out with AC and power steering brackets. It's coming together, slowly, but surely. Hopefully, the Rickster will be back soon, and we can get that motor filling the engine bay.

Well, it's been close to 3 months since I've posted an update, but that doesn't mean I haven't been doing anything. I've gotten the instrument cluster back together with LED bulbs installed. I got the steering column painted and reassembled, but the turn signal switch is binding, so I'll have to go back through it, one more time. I got the front and rear seats reupholstered with new foam and seat covers from TMI. Most of the wrinkles seen in the picture were worked out, and overall, the seats look pretty good. I also cut open the top of the new fuel tank and installed the new Tanks, Inc. electric fuel pump. I pretty much did what Autoedit did in the YouTube video, except I used a body saw instead of a hole saw, and oriented the fuel reservoir away from the sending unit to keep it from interfering, but otherwise did pretty much the same. A little work with the hammer and dolly got the lip flattened out and lining up with the sealing ring pretty well. Once the steel retaining ring is placed on the inside edge of the hole and the screws tightened down, it straightens the edge up even better. The retaining ring is installed and the screws inserted to secure it. The Viton washers were removed so that they would not get damaged when the retaining ring was tacked into the opening. After tack welding between each of the screw hole locations, the welds were ground down to make the top flush. Then the tank was cleaned with WD-40 and a magnet, plus wiping it out with some paper towels, and then more WD-40. It was a new tank, but I had gotten from a guy on Facebook marketplace, and there was a little but of crud inside it. It wasn't rust, but I'm not sure what it was. It took a little bit, but I was able to get the tank cleaned out really well. Then, it was time for the gasket sealer, top, and all those screws. Overall, the tank came out really well, and I'm pleased with it. Also, I've kept busy, building a motor for the Rickster. With all the Covid stuff going on, it took a while to get the cylinder heads shipped, but I finally got everything I needed. I had to hit up Don at Ohio Mustang Supply a few times for brackets, etc. since some were missing. I got the Power steering pump and brackets from him. It's a 50 year old pump of unknown history, so I went ahead and rebuilt it. Twice. When they say try not to let the spider come apart, there is a reason for that. My first attempt at reassembly, I got it wrong, and after reinstalling the pump discovered it wouldn't turn very easily. I pulled it all apart, went back through it, and found I had the slippers upside down. DOH!!! After the second or third time putting the spider together, I did develop a feel for it, and it's not difficult, but the first time or two, it can be pretty frustrating. Once reassembled, I double checked and it turned easily, and after installation on the motor, it only required 4 in-lbs of force to turn the pulley, well, within the factory spec of 2-15 in-lbs. Tomorrow, I'll post about the engine build but that's enough for now. Except to say, that the paint shop says the Rickster is very close to done, and should be back in my garage in the next week or so. WooHoo!!! Then the real fun begins - reassembly.

OMG!! That hurts just to read about it. I can't imagine how bad it was for you. I'm glad to hear you are on the mend, and hope you recover quickly.

Here is a picture of the cowl and you can see the drain on the lower outside corner. There is one drain on each side. I hope that helps.

I think you're asking a fair price. If it wasn't so expensive to ship it, I'd jump on it. I did some quick checking, though, and the shipping cost was just outrageous.

It appears that that distributor shaft is toast. Those holes should be perfectly round. With those edges, I would worry that any new pin would be more easily broken. If it were me, I'd replace the high volume oil pump with a standard oil pump, and also check the oil and oil filter for any metal bits that might suggest a complete rebuild is needed. If the oil comes out clean, with a new pump and new distributor shaft (or distributor) you should be good. Of course, that is just me, and I'm probably over cautious. I hope there's nothing else wrong in that mill that a new dizzy can't fix. Good luck.

I'd stick with the 73 heads. You've already got work done on them, and they will flow plenty of air for the cam you're using. Unless you are going with a much larger than stock cam, the 73 heads will flow plenty of air to max out the power your cam will allow.

Tuesday afternoon I got my care package from Don at Ohio Mustang. It had the instrument cluster bezel, center bezel, glove box bezel as well as the new instrument cluster lens and some other parts. Wednesday morning I had a little surgery on my right hand, and being right handed I've been a bit hobbled, but I'm still getting things done. I got the instrument cluster housing cleaned up and painted with satin white and silver on the inside of the gauge housings. I got the speedometer and fuel gauge mounted, and went ahead and put in the lens and laid the new bezel over it, It looks so much better. The idiot lights were sent out to Rocketman for the tach conversion. It came back today, so I'll get it installed tomorrow. I also took the AC vents apart, cleaned them and hit them with some paint (adhesion promoter and SEM Trim black), and they now look like new. I purchased the center bezel with the gauge pod. I purchased VDO gauges which are round and kind of a fit, but not really. I got out the Dremel and opened up the sides just a little so that the gauges slip in from the front and the screw ring secures them from the front. I think they came out pretty good, but if I had to do it over again, I would make a bracket and secure them from the back and not Dremel out the openings. I still need to do a tiny bit of touch, but overall, I'm happy with how it turned out. I've got dual sensor oil pressure and water temp sending units on order so I can have both the warning lights and gauges operational without trying to find a second port or adding a Tee and worry about interference with other stuff nearby. I'm hoping that it works as slick as it sounds like it should. I did talk to the paint shop on Thursday. They haven't started yet. I'm pretty disappointed, but trying to be patient. Well, until Monday, anyway. Sooo, that is the update for this week. More to come, soon.

Thanks, Cowman. I used the dark charcoal metallic from NPD, National Parts Depot. Part number is VP-4464.

I am deeply saddened to hear about your loss, but can't begin to imagine how you feel. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and you family.

Wow, Chris! That pump looks new - No - better than new. It looks awesome. You did a great job on it.

With the Rickster off to the paint shop, I turned my attention to the interior and the motor. I had posted a question on the interior forum because I discovered the dash had 3 odd holes down to the left of the headlight switch. From my query, I learned that switches in that panel would have been for a convertible top, or associated with the factory convenience group. This car being a Mach 1, and without the factory convenience group, it's unlikely that those holes are factory. Also, they are kind of irregularly spaced, not lined up well, and off level, so I decided to eliminate them. Because they were small, I just used a copper backing plate and closed them with weld, taking my time and cooling them with some air to keep the heat down. A quick clean up with the sanding disc on the angle grinder, followed by a quick pass with the small flap disc left me with this. A skim coat of body filler and a little sanding ... And she was ready for some primer and a few light coats of paint. I used the Dark Charcoal Metallic that I am told was the original color used by Ford. I think it turned out okay. I Now, as soon as my box of goodies from Don at Ohio Mustang Supply arrive, I'll be putting the dash together and setting it aside to await the Rickster's homecoming. I've got a motor to build, seats to cover, trim to polish, parts to media blast and paint, so plenty of work to do, still. But we're making progress - slowly, but surely.

Thanks, David and Trig. This car didn't have a rear window defroster, wasn't a convertible, has seatbelt light above the dash, and this car didn't have the factory convenience group with the parking brake warning light. The holes were not lined up very well, had rough edges, and were off size, so after cleaning up, I welded them closed. A little grinding cleaned them up, and then a skim coat of body filler and a little sanding... And then some primer and the dark charcoal metallic paint and Voila!! So that is done, and while it's not perfect, I think it came out pretty good. Thanks again, to all who replied. I wanted to make sure I didn't delete something that I would wind up needing and then have to redrill a hole there, or something. I was tempted to leave one for a button and label it "Passenger Ejection Seat" but the wife was not to keen on that, so all three were deleted. Again, thanks,guys for all the help.

Welcome from NE Tennessee. Nice project you've got there. Keep at it - you'll get it done.

Thanks, Bentworker, Mike, jscott. Since this is a 73 Mach 1, I think I'll weld them up. The car has the fasten seat belt light on the passenger dash, and not be a convertible, the top up/down switch isn't needed. Looking at them more, they are not lined up, not round, and not needed, so away they will go. Thanks again for your help.