'73 Q code 'vert build thread

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Joined
Jun 14, 2019
Messages
551
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Location
Coachella Valley (Palm Springs)
My Car
1973 Convertible, 351 4v CJ, C6, Mach 1 Decor options, power: steering, brakes and windows, a/c, Rally Pac gauges, Deluxe interior.
[url=https://ibb.co/ZVjjKXW][img]https://i.ibb.co/zrMMbxG/s-l1600-2.jpg[/img][/url]
(In a big "d'oh!" moment, I finally realized the benefit of keeping project related questions and answers in a single thread, rather than post each question.  This starts that thread.)

Brief backstory:  purchased in June '19, '73 351C Q code (3F03Q).  I live in the desert; it gets really hot here and my workshop is the carport so the summer work was minimal, mostly making my "when I can work on it..." plans.  Sent the p/s pump out for rebuild (old one leaked), ordered new radiator (old one leaked), alternator (upgrade from 55a to 70a) and water pump (when I had a '71 in '76, it went out at about 77k; this car seems to have 134k and the original pump so I'm trying to get ahead of/before the problem).

Had a major stumble with some bolts that broke during removal; ended up sending the engine to a machine shop (done in a week).  4 months later, I got my p/s pump back so it's time to start rebuilding under the hood.



 
Several other hiccups along the way are in previous posts, so I'll pick this up with the current issue:  the #$*%#$ power steering pump.  And hoses.

Yes, four months to rebuild was a long time, but I wasn't working during hot hot hot summer so it wasn't an issue.  When I got it back in October, it looked spectacular.  He even powder-coated the dipstick and build tag.  $65, I think, including shipping.

When I went to install, I saw the p/s pressure hose on the car did not fit the pump pressure side outlet.  The hose for *this* pump needed the nut securing the hose to go inside the pump fitting whereas the original on my car the nut is (much larger) and goes over the fitting.  I posted all this earlier; at another member's suggestion I followed up with the rebuilder and he assured me the pump I got back was the standard Ford setup and there is just no explaining why the hose in the car does not fit the pump.  And the fitting it integral to the core; you can not just change the fitting.

So I tried to find the correct hose to fit the pump.  I know -- convoluted -- but I was not getting anywhere with the rebuilder.  Ordered from NPD; it arrived yesterday.  Tried to fit it this morning -- this time, while it's correct in that the hose nut is threaded on the outside so it goes inside the pump outlet, the hose nut is too large by about 1/16th".  No bueno.

I did not check all that closely when it arrived, but now, I see the pump I sent was not the pump I got back.  It took awhile because I didn't think I had it, but I found the "before" photo.  Should have taken more photos.  But, you can see from the side by side photo below, there are two notable differences: the return hose nipple is in a different place on the casing and the filler tube seems to have some sort of holder/guide attached to it.

Then for grins I went looking for new and/or reman pumps and lo and behold, the correct fitment pump shows the same return hose config as my original, but def not the rebuilt returned pump.  Now trying again to get ahold of the rebuilder.  The fun just never stops.



 
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One thing I can vouch for is that the PS pump on a 73 is different from a 71 & 72. The pulley is actually a smaller diameter so the pump runs faster on a 73?? Could this be part of the quicker steering package you got with I believe with competition suspension? 

How I found this I was cleaning up my 73 Mach 1 and was going to put a seal kit in the pump. I could not get the pulley off broke a puller and not even heat from torch broke it loose. So I thought I will just use one off my other cars and got one off a 72 C and saw the difference in pulley diameter then. 

So I ended up putting the original pump back on the car without a seal kit.

When I send something off I stamp my initials somewhere you cannot see so I know I got the same one back. I did it with the brake booster when I sent to Booster Dewey.

You would think I would have a pic of the two side by side but I do not. 

I was just a kid and took my flathead crankshaft in to be ground. I had stamped my initials on the crank on one of the throw counter weights. When I went to get they brought out a crank and when he sat it down I told him that was not my crank. After we argued a while I told him mine was stamped and we went out in the shop and there my crank was sitting by the grinder. I got it and took somewhere else and never went back to that shop.

 
Good news update. Talked to rebuilder -- he found my pump. Understands the issue. I need to send him the rebuilt pump to pull the bracket and pulley, but he will reimburse the shipping. It's yet another delay... but hey, at least the only deadline is my own.

 
Just because I'm still waiting on the re-rebuild of my p/s pump doesn't mean I don't think in advance of what needs to be done right now. Once the pump is back the front engine components all get reinstalled, then we'll tackle run-time issues.

Before I started disassembling, the car was running -- sorta. Started *real* good; within one or two cranks. Roared like a beast when given the gas. But then... and here comes the question: when you let up on the accelerator, it dies. Restarts, yes, and at a low rpm and you let up, no problem. But at more than, say, half throttle, when you let off the gas, it just dies.

I'll need to fix that situation for sure, but thought I'd just toss the question out there: what to analyze/diagnose/look for first?

 
I would start with vacuum leaks and timing.

Some cars from this era had dash pots on the carburetor to keep the throttle from closing too quickly, it was a common problem. I don't have a '73 manual, so don't know if any of the '73 Q codes had one, or not.

 
Thanks to the above. Way back in the beginning, vacuum leaks/hoses were the first advice I got.

It’s going to be a shot in the dark getting it back together; I labeled all the hoses and where they came from/went to but all that had vanished when I got the engine back. And I have yet to find the correct diagram to match what’s under the hood — but I will try.

 
I would bypass all emissions items, vacuum valves, temperature valves, etc. You don't even have to connect the distributor vacuum. Just make sure the vacuum ports in the manifold and carburetor are capped.

Get it running, and then worry about getting all of the vacuum lines connected.

 
I would bypass all emissions items, vacuum valves, temperature valves, etc. You don't even have to connect the distributor vacuum. Just make sure the vacuum ports in the manifold and carburetor are capped.

Get it running, and then worry about getting all of the vacuum lines connected.
V-e-r-r-r-r-y helpful - thank you.  You've been in on my vacuum hoses situation for awhile and I figured sooner or later I'd be asking "what's the implication of bypassing vacuum hoses altogether?"

 


FINALLY! I’ve been waiting since July ‘19 to get my p/s pump back after rebuild so I can get going on putting everything back together (pump rebuild, alternator upgrade, water pump, radiator and shroud all being replaced). A pump was returned in October — but it wasn’t mine and didn’t fit. The correct one arrived this week. Reinstalling was a piece of cake compared to the waiting...

Now moving on to the radiator and I’m puzzled how to proceed; the transmission cooler line fittings on old vs new radiators is different. Top in the photo is the old with the flare fitting removed. Notice the brass fitting, about 1/8” high on the old radiator. The new one doesn’t have the same. When I try to put the old flare fitting in the new radiator, the fitting doesn’t “comfortably” go more than halfway in. (Comfortably means I turn until difficult, and don’t want to force something that isn’t supposed to go that deep).

And I could not get the small brass fitting on the old radiator out, so I’m not sure it’s removable. Eyeballing the fitting, if it did go all the way in the new radiator, it would very nearly reach the far side of the trans cooler tank and that doesn’t seem right.

Whaddya think? Should I find a shorter flare fitting? Or is this “guaranteed to fit” radiator just wrong? Any/all suggestions appreciated.

 
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