Page 9
Clutching at Straws!!
Well the oil plug saga is all but behind me now. I will be honest it did feel like the final straw that would make me admit defeat and throw the towel in..
I was giving up and I mean giving up the whole scene, I had just
about had it! But the e-mail group I belong to. that consists of many Uk
Rodders, got me through it. Which sounds real soft now I have the job sorted.
But thing was, this fukin plug had popped out and it was suggested the whole
build could be suspect. The only 100% way of being sure was a complete strip
down and double check every thing *groan* That was just not going to
happen, not in my life time anyway ;o)
Well Steve "Langy" Lang and Adam Sayers said to help me, they would be willing
to come up here to Cumbria and undertake the rebuild, and Tony "Cabby" Shailer
said he would stump the fuel and transport... Now how amazing is that... Or
course I could never let that happen, as it really would be asking to much...
Then others on the group offered to start a fund to help me get the motor
sorted... again No Way would I let them do that.. not out of pride far from it,
more out of the love I have for the group and not wishing to take advantage...
it did give me the kick up the arse I needed to stop being such a wimp and just
get on with it... You can either piss arse and moan about such stuff or you can
just get on and sort it either way it has to be done or you do give up!! I chose
to just get on with it! And Boy am I glad I did!!
Then before I could say no again, Pez from the group had ordered up a full gasket set for me
and refused to let me pay for it... And Steve Hale had got me some new oil plugs
and a new timing cog bolt and washer (that looked suspect) again he wouldn't
take any payment from me.. I owe em all big time...WoW I was overwhelmed
with it all.... So to cut a long story short, I have replaced all the front
plugs, using a tool I made from an old 3/8ths socket bar. The old plugs had
marks on them that suggested they had been knocked in from their front edge, not
with a tool that sits inside as they should "apparently" ;o)
It was now dilemma time, do I take the whole motor to bits and check all, as
recommended by all who know far better than me about these things, or put it
back together and take a chance?.. So I sat and thought about it ???? *hum?* I remember, I did check the torque on the mains and the con rods.. and I
have now just done the timing chain, I had lubed the cam with Crane cam lube,
the heads & inlet I had fitted, the rear plugs are screwed in so they should
be ok! so not much else really to check... is there? so
I took it on my self to just reuse the old gaskets with some silicone. For now!
My intention is to run the motor up, and run the cam in, with an oil
pressure gauge a temp gauge and a rev counter wired in... then I shall take the motor out and
maybe take to Adam to strip and check all is right... or maybe do it myself
using the new gasket set good old Pez gave me... does that sound like a plan to
you ;o)
Well the motor is back in one piece, the Rad is re-fitted and full of water &
antifreeze. the motor has oil in to. So getting close to the big fire up ;o)
I sold my Blue Top Holley fuel pump on e-bay as I thought it overkill for a
street motor and I have read they are very loud if you regulate the pressure
down on them as would be needed for my street application. I got this Carter one,
after putting an ad on the wanted section of
the NSRA message board. I have fitted a filter between it and the tank.
"Don't worry that aint it finished" I will be clipping the tube and filter
away from the gearbox crossmember ;o) I had the coil mounted right behind the
motor, but that soon became apparent it was the wrong place, the fuel filter to
the carb needed to be there... derrrr or very near, to near to be safe in case
of a leak anyway. so that was moved..
Very close to fire up time.
The motor is looking real beefy now with the LPG mixer and filter fitted. The
headers also go a long way toward the engine filling the large F100 engine bay.
Fuel Filter from Geordie Paul looks cool and is now all plumbed in,
then it was
throttle cable time, which I just happened to have laying round... All was looking
promising for a Christmas fire up... just needed to Banger wire it now, with a
couple of gauges.. I had it sorted in my head as the next job.... I am getting
all excited Tommy!
Ahhhh I thought, check the clutch is disengaging first eh.....
as don't want to put it into gear and it frigg off out the garage, across the
lawn and out onto
the main road, now do I.... it is all new and all for a
Mustang, so no reason it shouldn't work is there eh! The clutch pedal was moving a good
few inches, so I thought it will be just a matter of a quick confirmation, that it was
disengaging and on with the Banger wiring job... I was getting that
excited I had that wobbly feeling in my gut ;o)
I dropped the truck down off the ramps that had been it's home
for past few months... slipped it into gear, pushed back and the truck was
definitely in gear Ok! I pushed in the clutch, all the way home, and still the
truck wouldn't move *huh?* So I dipped the clutch again, same effect, so
again, and again, and again.... why arghhhhh * now on another downer* The Clutch
was not disengaging?? So back up onto the ramps, I found the clutch fork would
pulled out about an inch? So thought that was it sorted... off the ramps, try
again ... nooooo same thing, not disengaging. *Westwood*... So up on the ramps,
I jammed the clutch fork so it was fully in... off the ramps again same
thing.... was I pissed off.... ....er yes I was!!
So I fixed the broken (new) hinge instead, I had to have a success to keep me
motivated... On the photo, you can see at the bottom the snapped spring locator
in two pieces. I fitted a pair of new hinges a while back trying to set the
bonnet and one of the new hinges snapped, ooohhh was I happy. So I left that job
for another day when I was feeling more like tackling it... that day was today. I managed to grind and remove another
clip from one from my old hinges and
welded that in place of the broken one.... sorted... some success, but that still didn't fix me clutch
though...
Just thought I would add this photo of the exhaust, I am real chuffed with this
bit ;o)
Well as I write this December 27th at 5 pm.... I am aching all
over, I twatted my hand, my finger and elbow messing with the clutch fork.. I
had to laugh a bit, as I lay underneath, on my mechanics creeper, pushing on the
clutch fork (man are they strong) it went twang and it sent me flying backwards, swearing and
hollering blue murder, as I shot out the back of the truck on the creeeper,
the clutch fork pressure was stronger than the friction of the creeper wheels Terrrrr...
In the end I had to lay on the concrete floor, so I
had better traction..... The whole exhaust system is now off, the gearbox is out
and I still cant find out why the clutch aint disengaging??
So I have come in.... almost ready to give up again ;o) What else can I do, it is all new and bought as a clutch kit,
pressure plate, disc and thrust bearing etc.. I did shorten the fork.. but that
shouldn't matter should it? I am not 100% convinced the fork was located
properly in the locator in the bell housing in the first place.... But still
with the gear box out, I have levered the clutch fork in fully and I cant move
the clutch disc... er should I be able to.. it should be loose right?
Well that's were I am at... 1 step forward 2 back Eh!!
*groan......... Freaking cars I hate em!! I think they hate me too! I am sure
they are out to get me!
It's Alive!!!!
Well I have been working as much as I could over the Hols on
my Truck, talked to a few about the clutch. Even had one real great Rodder phone
me and offer advise on my clutch problem, which is really so cool, and nice to
know people care
enough to do that ;o) Anyway I wont embarrass Nige from Blackpool by mentioning
it was he who rang me ;o) Using Nige's scientific approach to the problem, I set
about the clutch in just the way he suggested.... and twatted it with a hammer
;o) Yep it worked. Box back on prop on etc and a minor bit of fiddling and I had
a clutch, that worked which helps..
I then set about the task of getting the motor running, a
quick banger style wire job, a few necessary gauges, like Revs, Oil Pressure and
temp were wired up in a temporary dash. The ignition etc was wire through a
key.... loads of earths and a lot of praying, 3 cups of coffee and my mate Pudzz
as moral support... I could put it off no longer.. the car was sat on axle
stands (no fluid in the brakes) and to stop me just case I did get the urge to
go for a drive with no brakes...
I turned on the ignition very warely... and whirrrrr the fuel
pump purred into life, I chucked some petrol down the carb "like ya do" and it
barely turned over and Brummmmmm Brummmmm it burst into life Yeeehhaaaa but it
wouldn't rev and the fan belt screamed like there was a pig stuck in there. So
after some belt tightening and a coat of advancing.. it was try 2... Yep it ran
like a real beauty, real real sweet, the exhaust is just how I wanted it to
sound.. the motor runs so sweet you could balance a 50p on it I am sure and no
leaks anywhere ;o) It Lives!!
I wanted to run the cam in so 20 -30mins was the time I was
looking at varying the revs from 1500 - 2000rpm.. and oh boy did it feel like it
wanted to rev.... it really feels revvy. like it will run like a scalded cat
once I get it on the road...
Then the temp gauge rose to 240F and I thought *hum?* when it kept creeping up
more I
turned the motor off.. I don't have a fan on it but hoped probably rather
foolishly that it would run cool enough as it is a very cold night.. or maybe I
had an air lock.. So after a tad of cooling down I topped up the rad .. ran
it up again same thing. So I have left it now until I can find a Fan to fit,
then I can
run it up again... I pray I aint cooked it, as that is normally my luck... !
It did chuck some water out the rad overflow when I switched it off whooo ;-o
Well went round an old Banger Mates and got a double electric
fan from him swapped for a favour (Cheers Trev). Did a quick fitting and wiring job and started the
beast again... Started first crack and the Fans whooshed away and could power a hovercraft
I am sure. Once
the engine reached temp 180F ish the thermostat opened and the rad and fans did
their job. The motor sat at a fairly steady 175F and I managed to run the cam in
with no sign of overheating. once I had run it for 30mins, I could drop the revs
and try for some gears ;o) er with no brakes I was a bit concerned, it may drop
into gear, shoot off across my drive, over the rockery and through the hedge out
onto the main road as predicted before so should I or should I not ?? Ha Ha go
on get it into gear ya puff!....... with a bit of chattering going on, it went
into gear... and it moves... Great.
A bit of fettling resulted in a nice quiet gear selection and I am
real chuffed all 6 gears yeehaa.. er just not sure what my next plan of attack
is?? It was easy when I was aiming at getting the motor running... it is done
now, so where do I go from here??? I think I will try and get the twin fans to
fit and look nice, er not sure how I will do that. Then maybe get it running on
LPG, er.... then?? er I need a plan don't I ;o) I will go and try and make one
Byeeeeeeeee
Well started on the fan shroud and this is now doing my head
in ;o) spent 12 hours on it so far, and I still hate it looks crap.. I have just
come in from the garage before I mess it up beyond repair. I think I have been
watching to many biker build off programs and think I can do what they can and I
cant I just make a mess... I will try again Sunday. Just having a beer now and
listening to some music..
I got some channel section and some angle from B & Q and set about making a
frame to sit the fans in and mount to the Rad so it wont damage it. I then
welded the angle so the fans and shroud would slide into it.
I now have to try and find a way to make it look neat and nice and not look like
I made it ;o)
I should of taken my time when I first chopped the shroud it don't fit nice
now...
Still trying to make it look nice some bits are OK others are real naff... then
I have to find a way to mount it to the rad and wire it nice... Nice, nice,
nice, nice, nice, I hate trying to do nice!!!!
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