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