October 16 '25 - UPDATE

 Well been a couple weeks since I last posted, but I did make some progress the past few weekends.

Got the AC condenser line straightened out…

and marked the core support opening to trim a bit for the transmission auxiliary cooler hard lines to pass thru cleanly.

Next up was to slot the mounting holes on the latch brace to mount the transmission auxiliary cooler…

and then remounted the cooler level between the latch brace and headlight bucket brace.

 

Now that the cooler was positioned correctly, I turned my attention to designing the transmission auxiliary cooler hard lines. I straightened a coat hanger to use as my bending pattern and started forming the hanger to mimic the centerline of the hard line runs.

I was able to use one template to layout the two lines.

The cooler supply line (red) will be hard mounted to the radiator cooler outlet port…

and the cooler return line (blue) will hard mount to the transmission return line.

I need to find a couple dual 5/16” R clips to keep the two lines together as they run from the cooler up the core support to the opening to the engine side of the support.

Once the 5/16 stainless tubes are formed, I’ll add the fittings and flares to the lines for attaching to the other components.

Next on the agenda is to start breaking the core support back down and doing another final cleaning/painting of the various pieces involved with the core support assembly.

DON'T TOUCH THAT DIAL….

ZEBRA 3 OUT

September 21, '25 - UPDATE

Another somewhat productive day on the Tomato front Saturday. Got all the core support brackets squared up and level and then started looking at areas that need attention.

Noticed the transmission cooler is still not sitting level so I'll slot the mounting holes in the hood latch brace to allow me some adjustment to get it aligned properly.

Also did some rough measurements and I think I might be able to mount the Dynamax sirens below the headlight bucket lower supports. Waiting on a couple buddies to send me dimensions between the frame rail and the underside of the headlight support to make sure they'll fit before starting down that rabbit hole!!

Next area needing attention is the transmission cooler hard line run up the side of the radiator. Now that I have the air conditioner condenser mounted, I see I'll need to rebend them to get them to fit tighter together and secure to the core support to clear the condenser and I'll also need to modify the opening in the core support for the hard lines to go thru to insure nothing is rubbing together that could cause an issue down the road.

I also found that the upper line of the ac condenser was bent slightly causing it to rub against the radiator. Must have gotten bent in shipping so I'll straighten that out like it's supposed to be.

And before I left, I put the first coat of Ford Dark Corporate Blue on the water pump. I'll second coat it next weekend and maybe shoot some other engine parts that need the blue reapplied.

Slowly learning how to do things with my current disabilities but still a bit frustrating trying to stand still to take a picture or spray paint a component, but I'm determined to finish this bitch before I die!!

Stay tuned....

ZEBRA 3 OUT

September 14, '25 - UPDATE

Well had a somewhat productive day on Saturday. Got the Pertronix ignition coil relay kit about 90% installed on the Wagon. I need to find a male bullet connector that will plug into the female coil wire connector so I don't have to cut into the factory harness. After all she has survived this long without any major modifications so why start now??

I then jumped over onto the Tomato a bit. The new hardware arrived last week so I set about reinstalling the headlight bucket support bracketry onto the core support. I believe the headlight buckets have already been painted but if they haven't, I may rehang them as well to insure everything is where they need to be. With the core support up off the ground, at eye level it's a bit easier to see how things line up.

One thing I did notice is the transmission cooler isn't setting level so I'll remedy that another weekend.

Felt good to work on the 'Mater a bit and see some progress, even though it may be tiny in comparison to all that still remains to get done!!

BABY STEPS ARE BETTER THAN NO STEPS 👍

ZEBRA 3 OUT

September 7, '25 - UPDATE

Hey all..... yeah I'm still kicking but just not as high as I once did! 😖

I've not made as much progress on the Tomato this summer as I had hoped to due to physical limitations, extreme temperatures at the dealership, other pressing commitments and trying to locate the hardware I once had to mount parts that have now gone missing after being in two unrelated shops! 😡

A fellow Torinoite sent me a set of AC condenser mounting brackets (I have since found mine!) to use in mocking up the core support assembly and that's when I discovered the missing hardware to mount the headlight bucket support pieces. Guess I'll spend a few hours going thru the MPC to cull the hardware component numbers and then see what AMK has to offer that's close to what Ford used during her assembly.

Sh*t like this is what really infuriates me about turning my project over to others to perform the work I'm unable to perform because they aren't as anal as I am about using the correct bits during reassembly!

Anyway, with cooler temps at hand, I hope I can get in there and kick ass on getting her cleaned up and ready for another round of BODYSHOP ROULETTE!

Fingers crossed!

ZEBRA 3 OUT

May 2025 UPDATE

Well there was some actual progress made on the Torino in May. I got my chassis stand modified to allow my core support to be mounted to it so I can work on it setting on my roll around shop stool and got it positioned so I can easily access both sides...

then started breaking it down so I can install the AC condenser to verify everything fits together like it should and there's no interferences or vibration contact points.

Got the condenser assembly set out but then couldn't find the mounting brackets! Have run across them countless times over the course of the past several weeks but now that I'm ready for them, they've become the needle in the haystack... 😡 Always something!!!

I got the sandblast cabinet operational again so I blasted the valve covers for the 460...

So next weekend I'll have another look for the condenser brackets as well as blasting a bunch of pieces I have setting on the blast cabinet that need shot.

HANG IN THERE

ZEBRA 3 OUT

April 27, '25 UPDATE.... kinda

Well I think the cosmos is trying my patience because I made NO progress on the Torino...AGAIN!

First went to remove the sandblasting cabinet lens protector only to discover I had made a bone headed mistake and laid down two strips of double sided tape that had glued the lens to the cabinet too!While the protectors may have been junk, the tape adhered VERY WELL, so I postponed changing out the protector to the new style I received last week until I can find a windshield knife or some other tool to get the new lens out without busting it!

So next task on the agenda was to fill/burp my engine hoist jack to see if that would fix the rapid leak down of the cylinder when I was trying to use it. Filled it up with fresh oil (man I was surprised how much oil it took!), burped it and it seemed to be holding pressure like it should, so I pumped it up to about 3/4 of the travel and going to see if it leaks off any this week.

Final task planned was to modify my chassis stand to also accept the core support so I can assemble everything to verify they all fit together nicely and come apart easily for any future repairs that may arise. Well there was supposed to be 2x4s in the old parts cage that I could utilize for the modification but the material was actually part of the old shelves/racks parts were once stored on. I wasn't in the mood to try and disassemble lumber that had been put together decades ago, so I put away my stuff and called it a day.

Fingers crossed that next weekend will be a bit more productive!!!

April 3, '25 Update... and it's not an April Fool's Day joke!!

Kinda been jumping around working on as much as I can in my current physical condition but I am making a little progress getting her ready for another attempt to get her into a new bodyshop for final bodywork and paint.

Towards the end of February, I removed the remaining hoses from the water pump and masked it off for blasting again. The Dupli-Color engine enamel didn't adhere correctly to the aluminum and is flaking off in spots, so I'll blast it and try again... 

Originally I had wiped it down with lacquer thinner, mounted it to the engine, shot the assembled engine with Dupli-Color engine primer before applying the Dupli-Color Ford Dark Blue. Evidently I missed a step someplace during the initial painting of the engine so hopefully blasting the pump will give it some tooth for the paint to stick to!

I also started working on the door template for an LE style stripe. Looking at a photo of my original LE, it appears the upper edge of the stripe changes angle just past the middle of the door.

A friend has two untouched LE's that he's working on that are still original paint so he sent me dimensions of those stripes to help me nail down the correct door shape of the factory stripe...

I also recently picked up a remote oil cooler adapter for my 460 so I broke it down so I could blast it as well once I get the blast cabinet back on line....

I also got several of the engine brackets repainted satin black and ready to be rehung on the engine....

I also got a replacement mini shop vac for the sandblasting cabinet and got it hung and hopefully the replacement blast window will arrive this week so I can get the cabinet back up and running and get several parts shot so they can get refinished and ready to put back onto the 460!

So I'm finally getting back at it and pray the next outing to a bodyshop will find her coming home with her final colors, glasswork and trim installed and ready for final assembly...

FINGERS CROSSED

ZEBRA 3 OUT