Details 125...

Not a lot to report since my last post....

The following weekend I had a funeral to attend out of town so nothing was done, but I did get the exhaust flex connectors dropped off at the powdercoaters and the new master cylinder arrived that week.

The next weekend, I visited a restoration shop and then when I got to the dealership, I went on a coolant leak hunt.... one is at the thermostat housing. The gasket is wet and squishy so I'll replace the gasket with a quality FelPro one as well as maybe a slightly shorter set of bolts. The second seems to be the radiator petcock drain barrel ever so slightly hitting the lower rubber radiator cushion and perhaps deflecting a bit causing it to leak a little, so I'll get a male/female nipple to extend it a bit past the cushion and hopefully seal correctly.

Last weekend, I spent about three hours wiping down the suspension and the underside of the car to clean off the exhaust soot.

Also had another funny leak show up. After cleaning everything up under the car, I cycled the steering thru it's travel lock to lock three or four times. When I went to close the hood, I noticed a couple spots of transmission fluid has leaked from the power steering pump. It threw me for a loop because the engine was not running, so it was simply moving everything stop to stop that caused the leak. My buddy Jim happened to be at the dealership so I asked him to come give me a hand for a minute. When I had him run the steering thru it's travel several more times than I did, not a single friggen drop appeared. I laughed and told him it always happens that way when I bring a car into the dealership for diagnosis.... NOTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY HAPPENS!! The consensus seems to be it was an air bubble burp out the fill tube of the pump. Time will tell....

This weekend, I began the process of removing all the mock up assemblies to prepare the Tomato for her trip to the body spa! LOL, I removed the trans cooler and AC condenser and while I had the grill/header panel brace out, I took the opportunity to relocate the AC ambient temperature switch to clear the trans cooler hardware.

I also removed the muffler hangers from the frame and located the hanger boss locations on the Flowmasters so I can get them welded into place.

When I was under the car rehanging the muffler hangers, I snagged one of the collector V-bands and mocked together the collector/flex pipe/exhaust cutout to see how they were going to fit together...

Not a fan of the different finishes from the flex pipe back. I kinda like the polished stainless look, but the muffler isn't stainless nor polished, so I need to figure out how to make it all look good together... hmmmm.

Getting real close to turning her loose to the body shop....

Don't touch that dial!

ZEBRA 3 OUT

Details 124...

Some progress Saturday. First thing was to wrap up the little project for the dealership of putting padlock provisions on the rear door to the ramp upstairs...

then reran the transmission cooler lines to fit the location a bit cleaner.

Should have the new master cylinder from RockAuto by next weekend so I'll be getting the brake system repaired, repainted and reinstalled then trying to tie up all the coolant leaks.

Until next time....

ZEBRA 3 OUT

Details 123...

Well not a very productive Saturday, but was able to determine the final necessities for the transmission cooler lines. Got the cooler put back together and installed what I thought should work for the hose run...

but after getting it installed and seeing all the other obstacles it needed to clear...

I've ordered another preformed hose to section up to get the run I want.

Looks like the lower hose run will work fine...

but need to change the upper run to kinda match the lower route to clear the AC dryer...

and transition smoothly thru the core support, which I'll also need to tweak a bit to get the hoses thru cleanly. Amazon shorted me a few Gates PowerGrip hose clamps, so I have to wait on those to arrive as well.

While looking things over for additional leaks, I noticed brake fluid had been leaking from the master cylinder and down the booster. I think I reused my original cylinder and just blasted it (I'll check my records to be sure) and possibly blew a seal when the proportioning valve was off center. Looks like a new NAPA master cylinder and a brake booster repaint are in my future as well.

Still searching for that third body shop to have a look at the car and give me an estimate so I'll have a better feel for what the final bodywork and paint should cost. Kinda getting the feeling the original price from Far From Factory was way too low.... but hey they did excellent work and it was their inspection and number crunching. Just wish I could have gotten my end of the deal done in time to allow them to perform their magic!

If I can get all these minor tasks sorted out and the undercarriage cleaned for the final time, I'm looking forward to setting her back on the ground and perhaps taking her for a little spin around the shop!!

Until next time....

ZEBRA 3 OUT

Details 122....

Some progress Saturday... blasted and painted the transmission cooler bracket

and the cooler

installed the MSD spark plug wire terminal dies onto my Greenlee ratcheting crimper

dressed out the welds in the second collector reducer

and boxed them up to drop off at the powder coaters this week and also ran to the auto parts stores looking for a formed 3/8" rubber line. Finally ended up at NAPA who turned me on to the online Gates Rubber hose catalog that should help me to find the exact hoses to help me finish up the trans cooler install.

I still have a very minute coolant leak from the radiator. Looks like it may be coming from the drain petcock. Will check that a bit closer next weekend.

Until then...

ZEBRA 3 OUT

Details 121....

After having to work last weekend to make up time lost for serving on the Grand Jury, I made a bit of progress this weekend. After a little project for the dealership, I formed the mounting bracket for the transmission cooler and then mounted the cooler to confirm everything.

Looks like I may need to relocate the AC ambient temperature switch a bit to clear the cooler mounting hardware.

After locating all my jack stands to use in pulling the tires off my Fairlane wagon, I spent the remainder of the day dressing the welds on one of the flexible exhaust pipes.

Next weekend I'll begin wiping down the underside of the car to remove all the exhaust soot and any of the chassis lube and errant grease from the suspension components in preparation for setting the Torino back down on the ground.

Stay tuned.....

ZEBRA 3 OUT

Details 120...

Today was a mock up day. Made cardboard templates of brackets I need to get made to hang my dual Dynamax sirens (only had on at the shop)...

as well as mounting the auxiliary transmission cooler...

while I waited on another local restorer. He stopped by and had a look at the Torino and will get in touch next week with some numbers.

Still waiting for Aaron from Adkins Body Shop to stop in with his head body man for their inspection and estimate and then I can determine who will be the lucky shop to do the final paint and bodywork on the Tomato!

Getting closer.....

ZEBRA 3 OUT

Details 119...

Somewhat productive the last couple weekends...

Last weekend, John from American Classic Restorations stopped in on his way to the World Of Wheels to have a good look at the Tomato and took several pictures. I had stopped at their booth the night before and they said they would have him stop by on his way to the show the following morning. He said they would put together a proposal to do the final bodywork and paint on the car and get back with me later on in the week. Once I have the numbers and they are favorable, I'll ask to do a first hand inspection of a few of their past builds and speak with the owners to see how things went.

After John left, a couple old friends dropped by to see me. Was really great visiting with them for a bit and I got a little emotional while they were there talking about the good ole days.

Once all my company for the day had gone, I removed the spark plugs for cleaning. MAN, no wonder the engine ran so rough... those plugs were all covered in soot!

Took them downstairs, blasted them clean...

and then reinstalled them in the engine. Roared back to life as before, but I shut her down after a minute or two to prevent too much build up on the plugs until I can get the carb adjusted and the engine timing set.

 

This weekend, a tad bit more progress. Installed one of my AC condensers...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

so I could finish verifying the location of the Dynamax speakers as well as designing new brackets to mount the auxiliary transmission oil cooler. I also dropped the exhaust cutout assemblies so I could take the flex portions in and get the collector reducers welded on. While I had them on the bench, I tried out the band clamps to see how well they fit the tubing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also installed a new latch on the sandblast cabinet to replace the original clamp that broke. Used a Jeep style rubber hood latch in place of the metal clamp style.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next weekend I'll make a cardboard template of my transmission mount and see if my idea works before fabricating the bracket out if sheet metal.

 

I also have another body man stopping by to have a look at the car and get another estimate on the paint ands body work and the dealer principal at the dealership said he may know a guy who may be interested in doing the car as well. Hopefully between all these interested parties, a qualified shop with a realistic number can be found and get the next phase of this project underway!

 

Until next time....

 

ZEBRA 3 OUT