1972 Mustang Coupe 302

[cv_72mustang]

How did you tackle the holes below the door/fender ?

 

[Paul Schmidt]

It is always good to start with a clean fuel tank and lines and fresh gas, I have always found it to be money well spent.

Agreed. Anxious to get back and finish it next weekend to see if it solves my running issues. Can't imagine it won't. If not, the only other thing I can think of would be a vacuum issue. But we'll see.

 

[tpj71mach]

Agreed. Anxious to get back and finish it next weekend to see if it solves my running issues. Can't imagine it won't. If not, the only other thing I can think of would be a vacuum issue. But we'll see.

It probably will, but the carb may need to be cleaned if any debris from the tank and old fuel got that far, hopefully it didn't get that far. The fact that it was running, even poorly, is a good sign for the carb, I think.

 

[Paul Schmidt]

Sunday update 11/17. Did all the new fuel lines, did all new hoses, got the new gas tank in, filled her about half a tank with new gas, sending unit seemed to be fine....but no major change in terms of running. You can see for yourself she is still speening up slowing down....seems to be struggling. Granted I did't run her for very long and I am going to take her out for a spin...maybe she just needs some run time.

I'm kinda at a quandary at this point. Not sure what else to check seeming everything is practically new on the car. Only thing I can think of is vaccum. And I'm not overly familiar with how these vaccum systems are set up. I'm not sure if I have a hose off somewhere or what. Not sure if I need to redo the plugs...any recs are appreciated.

Litte frustrated considering the amount of work it took to redo that whole fuel system.

 

[cv_72mustang]

I'd take it for a drive and see what it drives like. Sounds like it's missing a bit. Under driving load will add more insight. You're getting there!

 

[Paul Schmidt]

Update 11/18.

Most likely am going to call in my mechanic at this point to see what's up. Took her for a drive for about 45 minutes..no change....ran rough...again choking to almost a stall when you come to a light, runs and has power when you're on the gas...but otherwise struggles when coasting, slowing down and coming to a stop...and I am out of ideas. The only thing I just thought of is maybe there is a hose disconnected or some kind of vaccum issue that's not correct, so I took the following video for suggestions. I may not be seeing something blatantly obvious in my set up or connections that I either have missed, or just not familiar with. In fact this may be one of those moments where someone goes "dude has no idea what he's doing"



As you'll see in the video, this is my setup. I've got your standard oil breather running to the manifold, I have the carb vaccum running to the pump.I have the fuel line and fuel filter running to the carb from the pump. I have a PCV breather on the other valve, which is where the old elbow ran a hose to the cleaner before I swapped it out for an aftermarket...but in the back where the vaccum tree is, I have one hose that's capped and another just unattached. And that unattached hose was never attached to the old carb when I started either. Am I missing a crucial connection or airflow/vaccum issue? I am out of ideas at this point.

- PBR

 

[Sheriff41]

Update 11/18.

Most likely am going to call in my mechanic at this point to see what's up. Took her for a drive for about 45 minutes..no change....ran rough...again choking to almost a stall when you come to a light, runs and has power when you're on the gas...but otherwise struggles when coasting, slowing down and coming to a stop...and I am out of ideas. The only thing I just thought of is maybe there is a hose disconnected or some kind of vaccum issue that's not correct, so I took the following video for suggestions. I may not be seeing something blatantly obvious in my set up or connections that I either have missed, or just not familiar with. In fact this may be one of those moments where someone goes "dude has no idea what he's doing"



As you'll see in the video, this is my setup. I've got your standard oil breather running to the manifold, I have the carb vaccum running to the pump.I have the fuel line and fuel filter running to the carb from the pump. I have a PCV breather on the other valve, which is where the old elbow ran a hose to the cleaner before I swapped it out for an aftermarket...but in the back where the vaccum tree is, I have one hose that's capped and another just unattached. And that unattached hose was never attached to the old carb when I started either. Am I missing a crucial connection or airflow/vaccum issue? I am out of ideas at this point.

- PBR

If that open vacuum hose is pulling vacuum it needs to be plugged off. Also, is the engine warm in this video? If so, the choke is closed tight and that will cause problems. Even if the engine is cold you may want to back that choke off a bit so it's not shut tight.

 

[Paul Schmidt]

If that open vacuum hose is pulling vacuum it needs to be plugged off. Also, is the engine warm in this video? If so, the choke is closed tight and that will cause problems. Even if the engine is cold you may want to back that choke off a bit so it's not shut tight.

The engine was not warm, as I didn't run it today or prior to taking the video. I'll back it off and see if that makes a difference. I will also check if that open hose is pulling vacuum.

 

[Paul Schmidt]

On a separate note, trying to make space for all the refurbished pieces...now my patio looks like Pauls Hot Part Lot. lol.

 

[Paul Schmidt]

Latest update...

Happy with the body work progress, which is what I turned to tackling after the "grill incident that shall not be named"...and fairly happy where I came out on this. It needs some sanding and some clean up, but at least now I don't have gaping holes in the car for the first time, which is a plus.

Running issue is still present. Took her out for a stroll this morning...she starts great...runs great while gassing her...slow down to a stop light and have to switch her into neutral or she chokes out. She's also still doing that inconsistent idle with "blurts" coming out of the exhaust...and when it does that, I'm getting puffs of white smoke. (head gasket issue?). As long as you're cruising, she's still a beast. Gotta figure it out...and as I said before, I might have to take her in at this point, as my troubleshooting over the past couple weeks, and additional work on the fuel system seems to have made no/little difference.

Anyway, just thought I'd update you on how she's looking this morning. Certainly nice to see it starting to not look like it was in a gun battle. A little "before and current" attached.

- PBR

 

[cv_72mustang]

If you think it's a head gasket issue check for minor water leaks. Also take peek into the radiator. You may see some oil film. Check for a milky looking oil also. I'd also check the plugs. Just some ideas.

 

[Cleveland Crush]

PBR: run a compression and leakdown test. You will better zero in on what's going on with your engine. Both tests are simple and provide valuable insight.

 

[Paul Schmidt]

Morning all -

Side note and not directly progress related, but thought a review of this may help some others. As many of you know I have been tackling the bodywork on the coupe and the process of sanding her down to clean metal has been a work in progress. With about 3/4 of the car done, I saw the Eastwood Contour SCT tool on their site, watched the videos, called Eastwood to ask about whether or not this thing operated as efficiently as shown and decided to purchase to finish off the rest of the car. So that being said, here's a little review if any of you are considering it.

Overall - I guess it's ok for some moderate work. It was about $115 with shipping and came with one barrel. I had asked them on the phone whether or not one barrel would last that long, or if additional barrels would be a good idea. He mentioned that most people can do an entire car with one barrel, so I opted to not get more than what came with the unit. Not the case. My barrel lasted long enough to do one rear quarter panel of the car, which was a little disappointing. Took me about an hour and half to get down to bare metal with it. Upon reflection, I got the whole driver side of the car done in two hours with a DA and 120 grit pads. Additionally, I ended up going back on the areas done with my sander to clean up what I was left with from the SCT.

When not using it, the barrel tends to cool down and "melt" sort of...into whatever shape you last ran it across. For intance when sanding the contour edges of the back tail end, I came out the next morning to find that the barrel material has deformed into that same contour shape. Also disappointing.

On a flat surface and in small sections, it does easily take off the paint and any remaining filler down to bare metal and conditions its nicely (no etching or circular markings) but it my no means does it as easily or as quickly as they present it to do. I think this is a great tool to have in the garage for some small area panel work, or some flat panel surfaces, but not for use on an entire car. I found it to be pretty tedious once I was into the work and the barrel was being used, as the more usage it got, letting the barrel do the work as they suggest, was not doing the job without adding quite a bit of pressure.

Long story short, the DA sander was faster, more effective and easier to manage contours than this tool. Overall I'm ok with having it in the garage, but in hindsight, I would not ig given the chance, spend the money over sticking with my sander again.

Just passing along some info for you that might be considering it.

- PBR

 

[Paul Schmidt]

PBR: run a compression and leakdown test. You will better zero in on what's going on with your engine. Both tests are simple and provide valuable insight.

Going to do this asap. Been digging into the research on this over the past couple days...specifically because I now am thinking I have a head gasket issue. There are no visible leaks of any coolant or fluids...however I am finding that I am checking off the boxes on many of the symptoms. I ran through an initial check list below:

Overheating: No
Rough / inconsistent idle: Yes.
Bubbling coolant: Checking that today. Going to do the old trick of taking off the radiator cap, then starting her to see if there is any bubbling.
Coolant loss: None visible.
Loss of Power: Not while driving. Only when stopping and slowing.
Blue exhaust: No.
Sweet smell: no, but there is an odor...slightly remenicent of burning rubber.
White smoke from exhaust: Yes. Although not consistent..only when it "blurts" out of tailpipe when misfiring.
Milky Oil: TBD
Cylinder Misfire: Small but yes.
Startup misfire with white exhaust smoke: Yes.
When I shut the car off, I have noticed a sound coming from the radiator, coolant reservoir...almost like a "blurb, blurb" sound similar to something refilling and air bubbles are escaping. Not sure how else to describe it. But thats a new sound over the past week or two since the issue started.

Going to check the coolant bubbling issue and oil condition today. More to come, but this is the new "area of focus" on the current running issue since these checked boxes seem to all fit. Can't imagine what else it could be. More to come.

- PBR

 

[Spaceman]

On a separate note, trying to make space for all the refurbished pieces...now my patio looks like Pauls Hot Part Lot. lol

Pile of parts yearning to be installed in my office. Will eventually have a spread of interior pieces with some fresh paint like this myself soon enough.