Project Elroy

[MooseStang]

I'm starting a new thread to document all of the stuff for my 72 250ci 3sp toploader vert.
Being an "L" code, he's been named "Elroy".

Bought the car this past summer.
New 14" Cooper Cobras, installed valve stem seals, Pertronix I

Pretty solid overall, I'm currently in process of stripping down to bare metal to see what lies below.

Still need steering wheel, fan guard, rear seat boot retainer.
Plan to add header & dual exhaust & carb, ***** light tach upgrade. Needs center console radio bezel, clock cleaning.

 

[MooseStang]

Pics

 

[MooseStang]

Stripping begins.

 

[MooseStang]

Gonna get a new hood

 

[MooseStang]

Made a little progress cleaning up the engine bay

 

[Sheriff41]

It's cleaning up nicely!

RockAuto has the molded upper hoses in stock now.

 

[MooseStang]

It's cleaning up nicely!

RockAuto has the molded upper hoses in stock now.

I ordered one off of Amazon. Should be in tomorrow. I will never, ever use one of those non-molded hoses again.

 

[Sheriff41]

Well, that's a mess! Is that the spring wire that's all rusted/rotted? I knew you were looking for a molded hose a while back. Glad you were able to find one.

 

[MooseStang]

Yep, spring wire. I flushed out the radiator pretty good, still need to do the rest of the system.

 

[MooseStang]

Some updates: steering wheel, pwr steering pump, radiator hoses, new hood, more paint removed

 

[Sheriff41]

That's really looking good! The engine compartment really cleaned up nice.

 

[MooseStang]

Thanks. Still got a few things to do. I think my next task, beside paint removal, is to locate a suitable header that will work with my A/C, and locate a 2 barrel carb in the 300 to 350 cfm range.

 

[MooseStang]

Amazon leather steering wheel cover

 

[Hemikiller]

Amazon leather steering wheel cover

Wow, that looks great. Can you post a link?

 

[MooseStang]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJPX9MV9?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

[1973_Mustang_Conv]

Stripping begins.

The stripping looks great . What steps did you use to get the paint removed ?

 

[MooseStang]

The stripping looks great . What steps did you use to get the paint removed ?

To this point, I've only used the Bauer metal conditioner tool from Harbor Freight, with the 40 grit drum. I'll need to use another means for some of the more recessed areas.

 

[PoFoMoCo]

Getting allot done and looking good!

 

[mrgmhale]

I ordered one off of Amazon. Should be in tomorrow. I will never, ever use one of those non-molded hoses again.

Hi!

Re: the corroded inner spring, something I have found over the years re: why rust, scale, and corrosion occur in cooling systems is on account of the water used to mix with coolant concentrate.5+ years or so, as the mix of water to concentrate is correct, and the water does not contain hardness compounds. In many/most places tap water contains dissolved compounds, (Manganese, rock, Calcium, etc.). When hard water is used to mix into coolant concentrate, in time you will see scale begin to form inside the cooling system, and corrosion begins to take hold.

In order to prevent scaling and other water other issues I have been buying premixed coolant for the past few years. We do have a water softener for our entire house, and Reverse Osmosis water purification for drinking and cooking water. Thus, I could use our treated tap water at our home to mix with coolant concertrate. But, I prefer to use the premixed product, just because there is no guess work re: the mix, especially in the event I need to top off the coolant level (although that has been resolved via the use of overflow tanks. See the following YouTube videos if interested:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYzThkQ8qgQ

https://youtu.be/D7TvjP1FknE


Ciao!

Gil

 

[mrgmhale]

Pics

Okay, another reply in this thread. I am glad you took photos of the 250 engine. My first car was a 69 Mustang, which came with a 250 engine, and no A/C/ My parents added an aftermarket ARA A/C system, which did a fine job. The axle ration was steep, likely 2.79:1 or so. Thus, acceleration off the line was not as exciting as a similar Mustang with a v-8 and/or lower rear axle gears. But, I never had an issue getting up to freeway speeds in L.A. traffic (or elsewhere), and on the open highway I was able to easily enough attain 90+ MPH (I rarely did that, usually kept the higher speeds to 70 MPH when conditions were good).

Despite wishing I had a v-8, the reality is the 250 was plenty powerful enough to get around, and it was very durable and reliable. More than once I ran the RPM in first gear (C4 automative tranny) past redline, to where the valves began to float, in an effort to see how far I could push things. Back then I did not have the same kind of appreciation for things like I have had in later years. Yet, not once did I have a problem with that engine.

I noticed an external ballast resister, (a la Mopar) is mounted to the valve cover retaining bolt. Did you do that to bypass the resistance wire? Just curious.