I agree.. Right now I didnt want to commit myself drilling out the pop rivets, then the trouble of finding a used (probably) solenoid. That job has to be done with smoke and mirrors. Its buried alright, with a window harness and rear door courtesy light to boot. Its almost a job where you need to cut the corner of the door out, repair it, and re-weld the corner back in. Maybe in the next lifetime. At least the door key works now and the switch opens the passenger side (usually) . Had that switch apart for dirty contacts. Need a magnifying glass to get it back together about 10 times! Found a used one for $45.00 "untested" and didnt want to take the chance on that one. NEW? Impossible to find. Installing the tank today, on a cold wet driveway. Its about 45F and raining and we are having central air installed today. How ironic. ws
Well I spent about 8 hours on a 2 hour shop rate charge... Got the new gas tank installed from rockhead auto. Its a Spectra tank and just an FYI, it was a shatty fit. Got the new pump and proven sending unit (original) back in the tank with the plastic skid panel (bottom half of tank) and theres no way with double hockey sticks that thing was gonna bolt up. Pulled it all back out today and ditched the skid cover, and the straps (new) that were identical to the old ones still fell an inch short of being able to get the bolts in. Wrassled that SOG and finally had to buy 2 longer bolts (metric of course) and pulled it up as far as it would go. I mite ad that they did an excellent job of stamping the steel to Wilkinson Sword Blades specifications. You could shave with every edge and corner. I actually wasted two pairs of brown gloves PLUS innumerable cuts and scrapes. Ford on the other hand with those stoopid plastic clips on the hose; what the heck were they thinking???? I cant even describe the chaos they caused, and I thought I was almost finished. Added a new clipped fuel filter buried in the rear frame with a hose clamp to secure it and I was done. Whew. Went up and got 7 gallons of E-Free 91 gas for a test run-up. After the pre start checklist with the ground crew standing by with extinguishers, it was time for a test fire. Throttle rich, fuel and oil pumps on prime and MAG off, I rolled it over a few turns. MAG ON, clear prop and hit the Kaufman starter and she lit right off. I only had three starting cartridges. Had to feather the throttle to keep it running until all the injectors cleared. It LIVES ! Dared the D.A.R.E. car to pinch me and took it around the block a few times with no plates. One street is a 2 block straight away, and after roll out in first gear opened it to WOT. What a pooch until the turbo spooled up and the waste gate went full open. Probably hit 45 in 1st and dropped it into second for a non valve sucking deceleration. That little dooshbag actually runs pretty well. Gotta go wash the dorf grease off now. Dawn and a scrub brush works for me. ws Alright Mr. Dorfman; start pulling!
Bill: There is absolutely no on the board that can tell a story like you. Your descriptions are hilarious!! Continued good luck with your flipper. UticaGeoff
Bill...wash the Dorf grease off??? That's never going to happen, that's just the first coat, ask Luke, he'll tell you all about it!
Thanks Geoff! I think I inherited that from my old man. He could drink a 5th of gin and start a story that would last a half hour, all the while youd be thinking this guy is smashed and rambling on and then the punch line would hit and the whole story made sense. His dry marinis were a glass of gin OTR, and wave the bottle of vermouth in a circle above the glass 3 times.... Ahhh, perfect! Had to resort to lava soap and a scrub brush in the shower tonight! My go-jo dispenser in the shower is empty! Pats leaving for Boiling Green Ky. in the morning to visit her uncle. He's right between the track and the vette museum. Too bad the party aint going on this weekend. She'd really dig it Im sure. ME? Ill watch the dogs LOL... ws
I hope Pat has safe passage to BG, KY. At least you'll have somethings to keep you out of mischief whilst she vacates. Get that T-bird reliable and you and the pups can go cruisin' to the burger joints. Maybe even stop for ice cream. I'm dealing with '99 Sebring we call the Pervertible. Only paid $300, but tires were $250 and a friend is repairing the powerless steering and exhaust. Hopefully, that'll be all it needs. (I gotta admit its great exercise with no power steering) So, I feel your pain with all the little 'surprises' you are dealing with.
Thank you guys. The agenda is Bowling Green until the 10th and then Louisville until the 14th. Visiting 89 y.o. Aunt and Uncle and then my 87 y.o. Uncle. And of course cousins. Today I am swinging through Chicago to pick up my brother and then out to Southern IL. to have lunch with my daughter-in-law. Dinner and bed with a niece in Indianapolis. She told us they bought this house from a basketball player (not sure of name) for a steal and it is suppose to be amazing. I will see if I can get pictures and send them back to Bill to post.
Aint she the "bomb"? Gotta list of projects for her to stop and check out too. She's the apple of my eye and my eyes on the world around us. Maybe I'll treat the pups to a Starbucks , with a half and half squirt, half decaffe, and some fake sugar. Theyre getting fat like their old man LOL. Hold the lemon... So the dorf is still pretty quiet even with 2 deteriorated mufflers (from sitting and one tailpipe). A major exhaust system for a 4 banger; a down pipe to a CAT, to a muffler, then a a second one then on to a "Y" pipe with fake dual exhaust. I hope I can flip it before it gets into that one! ws
Well Luke, this is a fine mess youve gotten us in to LOL ! I got a response from a gent on the http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com and the guy sent me the Electric AND vacuum controls section of the shop manual. Just that one book took 4 hours to down load. This old '88 dorf is as complicated as a 2018 Beemer. It was 0300 hrs before I could even open it and am now blurry eyed. Nothing but modules with relays opening vacuum controlled valves to send signal back to other valves that control more relays. Where do I look for parts on this thing? The book doesnt call out any numbers (of course!) and I'd hate to make a $300.00 mistake! I went to auto mechanics school in 1972 and am sure glad I changed careers and went into the power generation business. HOLY COW BATMAN. Why cant that fan be run off a fuse with a temp switch? WAY, WAY, overcomplicated. Is yer muskrat that complicated? Another guy just sent me this pic with the cover off. Thanks for the link though; at leastI have a vague understanding of whats going on! Today I am sticking with a Model T valve job for a pal. Pics to follow... ws
Hahaha.....well, Goodmorning Bill! I'd check and find out what temp the fan is supposed to kick on for sure before I went chasing. It might not come on until it gets really hot like 210 degrees. Might be trying to fix something that isnt broken. Some of those 80s cars they liked to get them hot for emissions b.s......Sounds like you've joined the right forum for info over there. The mustang has about 4 wires and a toggle switch running everything .
If it doesn't kick on at a higher temp, you could always bypass everything and run it off a toggle on key on power....unless you're planning on entering a concours.... Before you go any further, let it idle till the gauge gets to the actual hot side of it, and see if the fan kicks on. I don't believe it's overheated yet, has it?
Hahha... I suppose I should pull out the IR gun and check. The gage has never really gone past halfway but the hose is almost too hot to hold and has a full head of pressure. I always thought they went on at about 160.F. This felt well beyond that but not "smokin' hot" LOL. After a shut down yesterday, I thought the fan would kick on, but I had a VOM stabbed into the socket and 0 volts. If I did hot wire it, I think I have a one minute egg timer style switch to mount. Getting braver. Maybe I need to tag it and do better than a spin around the block. I do know he brakes loosened up from the 2 spins I made. It was pretty hard to move at first but now rolls effortlessly. So its raining and 45 outside right now. I hope my Model T pal shows up; in a roadster with no side curtains. I always kid him about snow-blowing in shorts, now we'll see if the "man" comes out to play!... ws
A few thoughts: If it’s like a mid ‘80s tuned port F body, the fans aren’t programmed to come on until 230-240. Commanding A/C should override that. Also, that car was built about the time Dorf started using fake guages for temp and oil pressure-they’re not rheostats, they’re on-off. They go from ‘cold’ to ‘normal’ and thats all they really show. (Not sure if yours is that, but might he). In addition, Dorf was really bad to abandon their non mainstream products. I worked for a Motorcraft FAD and it was crazy. Alternators for Taurus SHOs, suspension components for Tbird Supercoupes, any of the mid ‘80s ABS components, all sorts of stuff for the SVO stangs and turbo birds. Anything unique to a low production car. It seemed like anything ‘special’ that wasn’t adapted from the more common cars’ parts bin was dumped quickly. Patrick
Thats what this one is beginning to look like Pat! The AC is a bit low on R-12, so the compressor cycles. When it does the AC fan comes on just fine. I'd think the service fan would also be in a primary mode as well, but nada. That means nada damn Buick for sure. I havent fessed up on that 'bird house forum yet... still pumping the exspurts there for info LOL... ws
Ahhh... life used to be sooo simple! Three hours and the things apart, all bolt holes chased, checked and decked, and new valve seats cut. The pedals are the pre-cursor to the ford-o-magic; a two speed planetary trans, high dome pistons and a flat fanbelt with a gear driven generator. Oh, and a walloping 20 horses. This is a 1926 motor on a 1919 frame, with a 1918 body and a 1923 windshield; a mass of interchangeability ws
So my pal Jeff ordered his parts Friday at 1430 hrs and by 1000hrs Monday they were here; Who said Model T's were slow?? Pats been down with her family in Boiling Green KY. of all places. Her uncles house is about halfway between the dragstrip and the 'vette museum. Both the Labs and the deer know theres an electric fence in the yard! Everyone there is looking forward to the Nats. Maybe next year we'll put the BAD LAD on the trailer and go spend a few free days there, and terrorize the town LOL... ws
So Pats in Boiling Green KY. with the 409, with a slow leaker on the right rear. BUMMER. She's at the Chevy dealer and no warranty on the tires for a road hazard. There was a nail right at the edge of the tread/sidewall. NOT REPAIRABLE. Another reason to toss the NEV-R-BITES (fryerstones). Her cousin knows the owner of the dealer, but he's out and the cousin is in a meeting. BAD TIMING. $300 for a new skin installed etc. KRIPES... ws
YUP! Thats one (of many!) of the things I admire about the old gal; she'll actually "monitor" the gauges! Even on the boat Ill see here looking around the dash every couple of minutes. She called with some pics and was pissed about how rusty the car was underneath... 2018 Impala. I did have to tell her thats the exhaust system she's looking at! ws
