Greetings!

Having an '86 I usually hang out in the '80 - '86 section but...

One of the gals at work has this 1964 4 door Ford Fairlane V8. It's been sitting in the garage and hasn't run for over a year. It was running when she parked it and now the battery is dead. She left the battery on a charger for an extended period and "boiled" it dry...

I went over there this afternoon to look it over, pump up the tires and pull the battery in anticipation of getting a replacement.

What a sweet looking little V8! She said 283??? The emblem on the front fender says 260...and it's got a 3 speed automatic.

The oil and tranny fluids look good, but the heater hoses and rubber fuel lines are soft, weather checked, and long overdue for replacement.

The plan is to remove the battery tray, clean-up the battery area corrosion, and give the area a shot of Rustolium.

Next, start it to verify it runs.

Then flush the cooling system, change all the hoses, change the oil, wipe down the tranny pan (it's pretty "wet" with tranny fluid), re-torque the pan gasket and top off the fluid. The tranny fluid looked nice and pink but she did mention a delayed shift out of 1st when it's cold...don't know if that means anything to anybody.

If anyone has any suggestions concerning motor oils (weight and grade) and tranny fluids (type) for a '64 ford I'd love to hear it, along with any other advice you might have.

I've heard that modern motor oil lacks zinc (?) that older valve trains need. Would you recommend any special additives?

Man, I haven't seen a set of points in ages...

Anyway, here she is. Ain't she a beaut? Looking forward to getting it up and running.

 

It's a 260, smaller version of the 289, 283 was a chevy engine. I put 10w-40 in all my oldies, and the tranny fluid used to be type F but now they refer to it as FA

 

1964 Fairlane 260/289 would have come w/a C4. 1964/76 C4: Type F ATF

The OP has also typed this Fairlane jazz in the 1980/86 forum.

 

MY E39 has a loose door panel. where can i find the little plastic retainer clips?

( if the above by post by EricJ is now legit on this forum please let all of us know as i don't see a singe thing in it involved with 61 to 66 ford trucks and need some clips)

Garbz

 

Thank you all for the replies! Much appreciated.

I suppose a Fairlaine is a little off topic on a truck forum but I imagine there isn't too much difference between between a car and a truck when it comes to a 1964 V8, ignition system, fuel system, and drivetrain. If there is, I'm certainly open to enlightenment.

Good to know the tranny is most likely a C4 and takes Type F.

Surprised to find little opinion on motor oils down here in the older vehicle section. Appreciate the 10/40 advice but I've also heard straight 30w is an option and I've also been told using diesel motor oil (rotella?) is a good idea because it has more zinc in it that these older motors need.

Sincerely sorry if I offended anyone by posting this here in the '61 - '66 section. I just like old rigs and want to do the best I can getting this one up and rolling, and also want to do a good job helping out a co-worker...But I see little point in seeking out a car site (when I already belong to the best Ford forum on the inter webs!) just to get some basic info.

As for door panel clips, I don't know what yours look like but I was surprised to find plastic replacement clips for my '86 at the local auto parts store. However, with yours being so much older perhaps they are completely different. Hopefully one of the kind members of this section who is more familiar with these vintages will be able to help.

 

Do yourself a favor and run 10w40.

That's what I have always run in my old Fords and have never had a problem.