1973 Grande Build

[Steve McMahan]

It was none of the above. I only know the 2006 because I found the registration under the front seat. I’m hoping to get the ball rolling next week at my DMV appointment.

 

[mrgmhale]

Well, 2 months have gone by and I’m getting close to presenting the car to the CA DMV for its VIN inspection. Car was last registered in Ca in 2006, so since it’s been out of the system for that long period, you gotta pay for the privilege to put it back.

I’ve been busy, but it seems like the first 6 months was a sprint, next 3 months a walk, and last 5 months a crawl. Progress seems to be slow, but I’m happy to be almost done with Phase 1 of my 3 phase plan. And if progress is what happens, here’s what happened.

View attachment 76377View attachment 76378View attachment 76379
Some of you sharp eyed folks will see the camera finish dash panels look weird; that’s what you get from cleaning them too vigorously. It’s ok, I was going for 1 degree better than salvage yard chic.

Anyway, I thank all of you who have offered gentle nudges along the way and those who asked me the right question to fix my issues (PoFoMoCo, Sheriff41, 71fast, Hemikiller, et all). This product is part yours, but only in that way, like, “I love you man“, but you can’t have my beer.

I’ll post either the easy or troubled DMV process as I complete Phase 1. Steve

You are an inspiration. I sometimes fancy myself a great caretaker of our pony cars, where they will end up being passed down to our kids. But, the fact is I never had to do ll that much work to ours to get them into the condition they are in. Well, for the 73 Mach 1 I can only say that because I had a specialty shop do ll the deep restoration and repair work for the deeply inlaid rust out of sight until we began to take things off for other repairs, I implore you, please do not ask me how much that cost us to do! heh heh... For love of the breed, eh?

Anyway, other than diversion the most I have done is swap the original radiators on both 73 Mustangs for three row aluminum radiators with dual electric fans mounted on aluminum fan shrouds, AOD swap into the Mach 1, Dakota VHX analog gauge instrument panels, Classic Air A/C, APC full length center consoles, Garmin GPS/Backup Camera, WebCam, higher out alternators, some minor repair work in the Mach 1 when a Right outer wheel bearing failed, and some other small things. In your case, you are taking your Mustang from a place far hairier than I was ever at.

Anyway, my hat is off to you for bringing your Mustang back from the edge. I look forward to more progress photos as you keep picking away at the project. Nothing great happens overnight, eh? And, thank you for bring this one back!

 

[Steve McMahan]

Back to my sending unit question. On the oil pressure switch, after I removed it, I tested it for continuity and it failed. Since it is the ground path for the gauge, you would think it would have continuity at zero pressure. That’s why I believe it’s a defective sender, while being a new sender. I asked the brand and part number question because before I replace it, I wanted to make sure I was starting with the right one.

 

[Steve McMahan]

CA DMV visit was a breeze and cost me less than I thought (Not something you hear every day). But, all I was able to come away with was a 2 day temporary permit to allow me to get my VIN verified. Since my car is in Az, not Ca, I’ve got to take it the closest place that can accomplish that. That happens to be the Needles, Ca CHP office. I can’t call to make an appointment until May 22, as the officer is on vacation.

But, another step closer. Once the VIN form is completed, I’ll bring that back to the DMV, and they will issue new license plates and registration stickers. Hopefully, no more than a month away.

I guess I’ll be able to use the original blue/yellow plates, after this process. They wouldn’t let me since the car was out of the Ca DMV system for so long. I’ll be able to request a change after the standard registration is complete. Something I didn’t know.

 

[PoFoMoCo]

Keep grinding! Congrats on being able to use your blue&yellow plates that is super cool!

 

[Steve McMahan]

Does anyone have an answer on my oil pressure sending unit Question?

 

[Hemikiller]

Ok, so I noticed yesterday, my temp light came on (It wasn’t even hot, much less, overheating). The 302 engine came out of a 87 TBird and had the sensor for the digital display on it. I removed that and replaced it with a MTE-Thomson 3288 Engine Coolant Temp Sensor/Sender. Is that the right sensor for my ***** light setup?

That appears to cross to Standard TS24, which is for the gauge setup. Easy way to tell is to check it with a multimeter. ***** light should have infinite resistance until it's activation temp, gauge sender will have resistance in the 80-100 Ohm range cold, then drop as the engine warms up.

https://www.finditparts.com/products/2503900/standard-ignition-ts-24

 

[Steve McMahan]

Rats. Well, that’s why I asked. What is the Standard sending unit for the ***** light? Thank you.

 

[Hemikiller]

TS36

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=44931&cc=1132670&pt=4748&jsn=1036

 

[secluff]

Hey Steve.
As Hemikiller posted, the MTE-Thomson 3288 is for a temp gauge application which is a Standard TS-24, and the Standard sending unit for a temp light application is TS-36.
As others will tell you, I hawk Motorcraft service parts quite often. I like to use the manufactures service parts when available; there, again, just my preference.

The part number for the Ford sender is C8GY-10884-A (Motorcraft SW-663), with a white insulator for ID purposes. The C8GY sender is no longer available from Ford but is still available at several NOS sources. Any of your favorite parts stores or online sources should be able to cross the Ford /Motorcraft part number to their product line. Rock Auto is an online source I like, and they do show the Standard TS-36, but they are on closeout and indicate they have one left in their inventory.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...oling+system,temperature+sender+/+sensor,4748

If you want a Ford sender, there are several NOS parts sources. The two I use the most are Green Sales which shows an inventory of 20. If you check their site, leave the hyphens out of the part number, their system will not recognize the part number if not.. http://www.greensalescompany.com/
The second is NOS Parts LTD. https://nospartsltd.com/?s=c8gy-10884-a&post_type=product

Both have contact info if you decide to go in that direction.

Now you have a lot more numbers to add to your number salad. Good luck with your project!

 

[Steve McMahan]

Thank you sirs for the help on the water temp sending unit.

I want to do that two gauge plumbing on the oil pressure, so I can have both my mechanical gauge and the ***** light. Not today, but sometime this year. I’m still on my new, first oil in the car, so I want to run it a bit more before I change it, and my removing the filter, give me the room to install the plumbing.

I‘m having the same problem with my oil pressure, have a dim and then bright oil ***** light, but the mechanical gauge says 40+ psi. I suspect I have the wrong sending unit for the oil as well. So, two out of two; that sounds about right.

 

[secluff]

Lol, such is the world of classic cars we live with! There will always be the "While I'm here, I might as well" and "What Now?!" issues that we have all encountered at one time (or more).
I definitely recommend replacing the oil pressure sender with a known correct one since you have already encountered a problem with the incorrect water temp sender. The Ford part number is D4AZ-9278-A (Motorcraft SW-1311) and is still available from Ford at $21.82. You could check with your local Ford dealer for availability, or since it has a Motorcraft number, it can be found at various parts stores or online sources where you can do some price shopping. With shipping charges like they are now, I would sure watch the shipping on the online stores; they can add up quickly.
RockAuto does show inventory on the Motorcraft oil pressure sender.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...tch+&+relay,oil+pressure+sender+/+switch,4588
Once again, good luck with your project, and remember, we are always around waiting to assist with the next "What Now" call for help!

 

[Steve McMahan]

Ok, this is incredible: my car is registered, in Ca, and it was no hassle, and it’s DONE!

Ok, I’m taking a few deep breaths, because I cannot believe my good news. When I posted my DMV trip, in truth, I went to a private DMV service. Not AAA, a private party who does the hard part (meeting with the DMV folks) for you.

She just called me to tell me the following:

Unbeknownst to me, the previous owner, had filed, in 2020, PNO (Planned Non Operation) on the car.
I knew was it was last registered for the Ca road in 2006 and after that, there were no other DMV activities, so I thought.
Since the last thing the DMC knew was it was in PNO status, but unpaid in 2021, and 2022, a quick payment to get that up to date made it still an official PNO vehicle.
Since it was PNO, the current license plates were good to go.
Since it was now a current PNO vehicle, it could be transitioned to an actively registered car with a few title change document fees.

Tomorrow, I go and pickup my month and year registration stickers, I don’t need a VIN verification appointment and I am now in the possession of a street legal, registered 1973 Mustang, currently garaged in Az.

Bartender, a round for my friends. . .

 

[Steve McMahan]

Ok, I now understand what went wrong on my purchasing new water temp and oil pressure sending units. For the oil pressure, I purchased the sending unit for a gauge, not a light. For the water temp sender, since I had a 87 TBird swap motor, it came with one of two sending units, depending on the dash setup. They even used two different harness connectors. I knew I wasn’t going to transplant the digital dash from the 87 into the 73, so I opted for the standard sender for that engine. NOT the one for a 73, the one for the 87. That was a mistake. The 87 and 73’s senders look very much the same, but they’re not. So, I have the right one on the way. Non very costly lesson learned, again!

 

[Steve McMahan]

Well, today is the end of Phase 1 of my 3 phase “restoration”. It was the, “Make it a driver” phase. The end was the completion of the Ca registration and receipt of the new Pink Slip. It arrived in the mail yesterday.

Thanks again for those of you who helped me out of the goodness of your hearts. With all of the disagreements all around us, it’s nice coming to a place where we can set aside where you’re wrong and I’m right, and just be car guys (I guess and gals). I couldn’t have done it without you.

Now, I’ve got my 257 tasks Excel plan for Phase 2 refined and ready to go. But, the first task says, take it easy, enjoy your driver, think about starting this phase in the 4th quarter or later. I’ve got lots of parts to buy (NPD says about $5k worth), so I may be bugging some of you to sell me what you‘ve hoarded long enough.

Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Steve

 

[Sheriff41]

Congrats on Phase 1! You've done an amazing job bringing your Grande back to life.

 

[PoFoMoCo]

Congrats on getting her whipped into driver shape! Time to enjoy the car for a while before the next step... or 257 steps.

 

[Steve McMahan]

Ok, 4 months later and I need help.

Some back story, I got Phase 1 complete, drove the car around our HOA in Az, lots of thumb’s up from nice neighbors. But, car was running rough, had it at 12 degrees BTDC on the 87 TBird 5l, and no codes.

So, I suspected a vacuum leak and testing confirmed it: these engines had more vacuum lines than you could imagine. So, I build a smoke machine, and lots of time later, I finally tested the smoker on the engine. Had quite a bit at the EGR valve. I knew it was good, so I removed it to find, no gasket. Weird, I did buy one, and I no longer own one, so, who knows. So, two days later, new gasketted EGR valve and no smoke leaks, none.

So, I start it up to recheck the base timing, got it at 14; I bumped it up from 12. I‘m still seeing very low vacuum at 750-800 idle, 10-11 inches. A higher idle, like 100-1200, yields 13-14 inches.

A few other observations

1. It’s running very rich
2. Weirdly, the 1-4 bank exhaust temp, at the rear exit, produces a hot to the touch pipe, the 5-8 side is cold; you can put your hand on it (Dual exhaust with no cross or H pipe).
3. It has a lope at idle, but the PO says no engine work.

My thinking is, next steps:

1. Compression test
2. Cylinder leak down test.

I wanted to ask, if both of those tests come out clean, what would you do/test next. I have replaced the MAP sensor. I was wondering, since I don’t know, if this sounds like a Ox sensor failure. I’m starting to also suspect my EEC-IV tester (I have the INNOVA 3145 Ford Digital OBD1 Code Reader) is not working because it shows no codes when I run it. That rich hydrocarbon odor should show me something.

Ideas, advice, solutions?

For fun, here are two videos I made of today’s testing. First one is the engine running at idle with low vacuum, and second is temperature testing with my hands the exhaust tips:

View attachment IMG_2645.mov



View attachment IMG_2646.mov

 

[73MustangCoupe]

I would wonder about the O2 sensor or an exhaust leak at, or near, the bung that is screws into. Do you have an oxygen sensor on both sides, or just one? When you say it runs rich, have you checked plugs, and checked from both sides? Since it's multiport fuel injection, could it be a problem with a fuel rail or injectors along one bank? I'm just throwing out ideas, here, as I am not all that knowledgeable about EFI, but I did finally get my Sniper system running (with help from a friend who does Holley tech support). I'm sure others will also chime in with better ideas, but that's all I've got off the top of my head. Good luck.

 

[Steve McMahan]

Great questions:
1. The O2 sensors are the ones I got when I bought the car. So, I checked Rockauto, and it just so happens they had one of those reducing stock sales and they had two Bosch exact replacements for it at $15/each. I couldn’t pass that up, but I don’t know the condition of the current ones. I’ll be replacing them next week when the new ones arrive.
2. I have no leaks and yes two o2 sensors.
3. I haven’t checked plugs yet, since they were new 4 months ago, they have about 2 hours of run time on them. I removed and rebuilt all the injectors with a rebuild kit; new o rings and filters. I haven’t ruled them out, but I did check each exhaust pipe exit with the squirt test; all were hot (I need to get a thermal sensor gun).
4. I also checked the fuel pressure, have consistent 38 pounds.

Today I’m going to pull the plugs, post photos of that, and first do the cyl crank test. Thank you for the ideas.