I have never seen a 90 degree fitting like that either, it came up while I was googling for ideas to make a 90 turn there. There's only maybe an inch between the block and the shock tower, at first I thought maybe a banjo fitting but was not able to come up with any kind of banjo that connects to a female flare.

Sounds like the mower is doing great. The way I level my deck is on flat surface like driveway, using a 2x4 under the deck. Lower it until one spot touches then adjust the other to match. Naturally at least one of them adjusters will be rusted and break when he tries, so that's just another joy of home ownership

I did not get anything done on the car yesterday. By the time I got up and had my coffee, it was lunch time, and by the time I had lunch it was time for me to run my errands. When I got back it was already close to 3pm and I had some things to do around the house. By the time I finished that it was time to start working on dinner, then after dinner is when I go lay down. Even though it's my off night my body is used to the same schedule.

So here is now 2:30am and I have been doing a little tinkering. I crawled under and re-snugged the lines between master and proportion valve. The bottom of the prop valve was wet so something was still leaking. The undercarriage of the car is wet all around that area so what I'd really like to do is get under there with the pressure washer and clean it all off. But I am not doing that in the middle of the night. I put the brake light switch and pushrod all back into place. Only 1 brake light works now, I know before they were both on. I'm afraid either me or Bailey might have messed up a wire somewhere while working under the dash. Oh the joys of working on an old car!

 

I'm still fighting leaks. All I know is that the underside of the proportioning valve is wet. It could be coming from any fitting really. I remembered that I had removed the brake pressure switch and replaced it with a plug. The plus was pipe threaded and tapered, wrapped it in thread tape and installed it. It's a possibility that the leak is from that. I put a allen head socket in and gave it a couple more twists. Then I got to thinking, am I sure it was pipe thread, not straight pipe thread? This is the brake light pressure switch I removed, as I removed it (ie there was no copper washer or anything else). Can you tell from looking if it is straight or tapered?


Next option, I am thinking, is to put my camera on video & record as I lower it down to the prop block, because you cannot see from the top (the bracket it bolts to blocks your view), while someone inside presses the brake pedal. Maybe I will be able to see what fitting is leaking. Other than that I will have to start a google search for "brake fluid stop-leak"

 

Howdy guys. Been a while. Thought I would check in on ya'll since I had to log in for another reason. Hope everyone is doing well. Saw some of the work you've been doing John, on the 83. Looks like a fun project. Dave, Congratulations to your son on the home purchase! Hope your beautiful two tone is still going strong. I look for it at every car show I go to. James, glad to see your back and are Chapter Leader again! When my youngest was born, I had to take a step back, and couldn't find anyone that wanted to responsibility, so glad you took it up, and that was over 5 years ago!

Sounds like you moved a little further east then you used to be.

 

Why spend money on brake fluid stop leak just let it run dry problem fixed
Can you plate a rag that will show a leak and place it out under there for a bit to see if it will show were it is dripping from?
I have to get some things at TSC and then going to do food shopping sometime in the morning but after that if you need a hand let me know or a time you want me to come by.

I was shocked my son cut the wood and replaced the stairs for the deck and cut the grass as they were not when I left.
He has a little OCD that kills time where if he just left it i would be good like mounting the mower deck, he wanted to replace the parts he had and then would need to drop it when the rest came in.

In the laundry room there is an outlet higher on the wall next to the drier and because of the vent hose in the rear the drier blocks it some.
Now the washer next to it is where the vent exits the room in the floor so the washer cant go back too far so it sticks out farther than the drier because he dose not want the outlet blocked.
There is no need for this outlet in that small room and I think pulling the drier out to be even with the washer looks better.
Thing is you cant come out even because the door on the drier hits the hot water heater but it is not farther by much and "I" think it looks better so that is the way I left it.
Well he showed me a picture along with the steps and cut yard he pushed the drier back so he can maybe use the outlet. I say "may be" because the drier still blocks the outlet and may not be able to get a plug into it.

I wanted to do weed whacking but the whacker head did not look right and was in a different holder than were I left it?
Mine you can change attachments to the power unit and I have 2 units, the other has a blower on it and was where I normally have the whacker.
Well I start using it and the head blows apart Well I bought 2 new heads a year ago, I got 2 whacker parts.
You know I could not find them, so I had to clean some of my garage, most was my sons stuff and started making a pile.

Wouldn't you know the 2 new heads will not fit my attachment So had to dig up the 2nd attachment head and put new string in it.
I dont like how it works so going to have to find 2 heads that fit ASAP.
Oh my son browed them but did not have time to use them. They were transported in a trailer so who knows where the part for the head is
I did get the weeds whacked.

The owner of my sons house left a gas power blower and weed whacker but who knows if they run or not when I grabbed them to see if could get them going.
The blower popped off with starting fluid so I put a little 2 stroke mix in the tank and got her running. Thing did not want to got much higher in RPM than idle?
On 2 strokes they like to carbon up the exhaust spark arrester and choke off the air flow. Had to take the thing apart to remove the muffler to check it out.
It was not carbon but mud Dobers that plugged it up! Unplugged got it all back together and she runs great just have to replace the fuel lines but he has a blower now.

The weed whacker I could not get it to pop off with spray but it dose have spark from what I found so far.
I know 2 strokes if the fuel systems are not 100% dont run but I would think it would have popped off with spray.
It needs a primer bulb and fuel lines and maybe the carb rebuilt?
It could be the spark plug as all I had was a used one to put in it so more work needed to get it running.
It was a busy day
Dave ----

 

Hey Josh good to hear from you! Hoping everything is great with you and your family!

So the latest news in my drum-to-disc-upgrade saga on my Mustang. I found a way to check for leaks; technology!

But the underside would still get wet, and Andre came over to help me bleed the brakes and check for leaks, he found it was coming from the very ugly 90 degree bend which is for the rear brakes. So I switched places and had him press the brakes while I looked, and it was coming around the threads, not through the line or the bend. So I said it must not be tight enough. I tightened so hard against it, pulled the wrench up so the whole front of the Mustang came off the ground 2 inches.After that; no more leaks (there).


Next, found the brake line for the passenger side front was leaking, seeping around the threads. I magila-gorilla'd that one too and afterwards, stayed dry. So we bled the brakes, I got no air out of the passenger rear, a tiny bit out of drivers rear, quite a bit out of passenger front, and barely any out of drivers front. We did each one three 3 times after seeing clean fluid.

But the pedal was still crap. You got 4 inches of slop and then suddenly; brakes! But your foot is near the floor. Andre and I went for a test drive to the end of my road and back, the stopping power is "ok" but was not enough to lock up the wheels. My foot is basically on the floor. So we came back and bled the brakes again; both rear sides were just clean fluid, passenger front had some air again, drivers front still clean. Pedal felt a little better but still you got 4 inches of slop. Test drove again, this time all the way to Wayne's. Had a cup of coffee, let him offer his thoughts. He pressed the brake pedal with his fingers and saw the slop and said "your booster is not engaging your master til it's halfway down". I was kinda thinking that but didn't want to say it! But I think it's apparent that I need to pull the master and adjust that rod out some.

I figure I will wait until Wednesday, that is when my 90 degree thingy is due to arrive. I figured as tight as space is I will have to undo the bolts for master & bracket in order to get that piece in, so I might as well do it one time and knock everything out at once.

 

Dave I think we were replying to the thread at the same time, your response wasn't there when I started but showed up after. I remember my dad back in the 70's using a quart of tranny fluid, topping off the trans, the power steering, and the brake reservoir from the same bottle. He said "hydraulic fluid is hydraulic fluid!". He thought it was a scam to pay more for brake fluid! Maybe some of that "power steering fluid; contains stop leak!" is just what I need for my brake system! lol

I'm with you on the laundry room, I'd want the washer and dryer even and would not worry about the outlet. The only outlets I've ever needed in our laundry room was the 110 for the washer and 220 for the dryer. We have one on the wall also but have never plugged anything into it in the 31 years we've lived here.

That was great you got a running leaf blower for nothing more than some elbow-grease time! Maybe you'll be able to get the weed whacker going too. Would be nice if it was just a spark plug needed.

 

Welcome back Josh I did not see your post till this morning.
Hope you and family are doing well.

John I think you are right on the same time posting, I did that with Josh's post till now.
I had a heck of a time with my booster and that rod and it still might not be right as the pedal is a little lower than I like it but not to the floor like before.
I know when Mary helped bleed the system I did get air out and the brakes feel better but the pedal never pumped up like you would think if it had air.
I know with clutch systems they say drive it as the vibration works the air up and out and maybe if safe you can do the same and bleed again down the road.

Do you have enough rood to pull the master & valve as 1 unit or do you need to break them apart to get to the rod?
Before you pull them I would make sure that 90* will fit between the block and the shock up right. Right now the line bends to kind of fit but that 90* will not.
Hate to have you pull it all apart and then find the 90* will not fit.
It sound like you are getting the leaks taken care of even if it is slow going.
Did your dad's car stop after the ATF brake fluid top off

Going out to move the club trailer up to my garage and pull stuff out so I can measure for what is needed to fix the shelf so when at TSC I will get supplies for that and my son's weed whacker.
On the way home from TSC I will hit the food store, dogs need more green beans. We use it as a filler and they need veggies too
Dave -----

 

Yes the brakes still worked. I don't know what percentage of ATF would be in their with the brake fluid. For sure today I would consider it contaminated. My dad was not all that mechanically adept, I remember his parking our family car (AMC Hornet) in the grass off to the side saying the motor was bad and it wouldn't run, then we got another car to replace it. I was 14 and asked if I could get it running, could I have it. He said yes, so I put new points & plugs in it and it fired up. Then he still made me pay $100 for it! lol

My rod on the brake pedal side is adjusted out as far as it can go, so regardless of what happens on the master cylinder side my pedal is not going to be high. But I had this thought. Something like this to screw into place, would give me longer & more adjustment. But I think that might raise it too much.


I should be able to remove master & bracket & prop valve as a single unit and pull it forward & upwards enough to reach the adjusting rod. I figure while it is out and up I will put the 90 fitting in, and I'm sure it will be in contact with the shock tower once I start to push it back down into place, but I figure if I can get the nuts started then I'll tighten it and let it be what it be - wedged up in there if necessary!

Also I had this thought, a few days late I know.. It was such a bear getting the brake lines between the master and proportioning valve into place, I cursed Force 10 and thought why would they not make them to fit; if you're bending them and putting the correct lines on anyway? Then I realized... I paid for the upgrade lightweight aluminum low profile master cylinder which is 3/4" lower. Those lines would probably be a good fit for the regular cast iron master!

 

Only $100 for the car.
Dad bought a 68 Cougar for front body parts that was parked on leaves and burned up the rear of the car.
The car was the wrong year so we found used parts, I had to pull them at the junk yard and install them.
Did all the body work and got it ready for paint while the family went on vacation. Went they got home we sent it out for paint as we did not have the room at the house to paint full cars.
We had some slotted mags, skinny & fats, car looked great. I was going to take it to the first day of school as up to that point everything I drove looked like crap.
2 days before school dad sold the car man was I pissed I never did drive anything nice looking.
Wait there was a ****ty running Fiat 128 that looked brand new I took to graduation. It was the only time I drove it as I hated it.

Dad was always saying buy something fix it up and flip it and buy another, I wanted to drive something nice for a while before flipping, it never worked out between us.

As for room between brake line and shock tower I hate to say this but maybe a BFH when the master is off like you do to headers to clear something.
It would have ot be BIG as that metal is pretty hard.
Dave ----

 

I was going to say the same thing, would have to really be BFH! But I'd do something to the proportioning valve setup before modifying the shock tower. Like if I took one mounting bolt out it would be less rigidly mounted but still be strong enough to stay in place but allow it to move (swivel) a little without a bind.

We had some terrible vehicles when I was growing up, but the worst (most embarrassing) was a 3/4 ton GMC van that had been a school bus. I still remember daddy bought it for $400 from a school that was upgrading, we left the front 2 seats in place and removed all the rest, then made shelves / storage for all his tools. No pickup truck needed! School bus became a work van. The real problem was when hard times hit and we didn't have a family car, now the short bus became our family car! We piled in it to go to the grocery store, to go to church, to go visit the relatives, etc.


Daddy knew I was embarrassed by it so he played it as far as he could. One time I was meeting some friends at McDonalds to start our Friday night activities, so I asked him to drop me off but I lied and said I wanted to be dropped off at the grocery store which was right across the road. So he made a big scene about pulling up in front of the door, putting out the stop signs and red blinkers. A cop happened to see him and swooped in behind him and got out. Found out it was a work van now, and told daddy he was not allowed to have working lights and stop signs on a vehicle that is not actually used as a school bus. He made him access the panel right then and disconnect the wiring! My hero

 

That is funny about the van / school bus.
My drive to school was a 68 Dodge long wheel base van, windows on in the rear doors and side doors and had a fiber glass camper top installed by dad so you could stand up inside.
The van was a light green and the top blue & white. It should of had windows in the sides of he top but the inner layer was not cut for the opening and no glass installed in the outer.
It stuck out like a sore thumb in the high school parking lot with only cars in it but was the only thing we had I could move my tool box to school and work in.

I dont remember anything dad had that I would not get caught in like your buss everything was pretty normal.
I think the strangest thing I drove to school was my Fiat 850 sedan got it as payment for painting a buddies brothers van. 817 cc motor Webber v2 carb, header and glass pack it sounded like a little airplane running across the parking lot.
Dad & I had a hopped up 65 VW bug I took to school a few times but it was winter and no heat was no fun.
Normal cars were a 69 Mustang 302 / auto that was a rusted mess (shop car) and I had a 66 Chey full size wagon 9 pass, 250 six / 3 on the tree that was given to me by a buddies family as no one wanted it, fun car to drive.

The shop I had with dad just before I got out of school, where the Mustang came from, I could drive any car we had for sale on the lot but most were not something I wanted to drive.
I had my own dealer plate so it was nothing to put it on something to drive. That was when I got my dune buggy. Dad drove it more than I did, he was a kid again when driving it LOL.

Tony just missed you yesterday. He was coming back from NY, took his gal up and when he was heading home saw your truck here but when he came back you were gone.
He looked over the trailer what I did and the old chain & hooks. This new setup should not do the same if anything will pull the screws out of the wall

I did get that weed whacker back together and it runs. Has a little issue think it is the carb or the old spark plug but did run better the longer it ran.
Going to test both the whacker and blower more before I give them back to my son.
Dave ----

 

Thanks guys. Yep the family is doing good. Catherine's up teaching in Wake County this year. I'm still teaching automotive over in Pittsboro. Gotta say, having access to a lift has been awesome. But I decided to do a transmission in the F250 I got on trade on my back. It's not nearly as bad as I remember. But i'm also feeling the years of sitting at a desk for too long.

John, if you continue to have trouble with the bleeding, I have a vacuum pump system you can try. It sucks it through the bleeder screw. I also have a hand pressure system that doesn't need a second person pumping the brakes. Either one should work on the car and you'll know for sure that you have fluid through out the whole system.

Oh, We're hosting a car show coming up soon if you would like to come out and join. Everything outside is free. Inside stuff is 5$ to see. They'll have Yanko's and a Cobra GT inside for sure. The school will have our 1940 Ford that we haul around and show off, that students built. I'll be there for some of it as well. Triple Crown Car Charity Car show I believe it's called. October 4th. Here in Sanford.

 

Hey Josh, Glad to hear you are doing well. I moved to the coast. And yes, got thrown back in the fire as CL.

Dave, Hope Mills is a good area. It's growing but still small enough. I have a few friends that live around there.

John, Eventually you'll have the best drum to disc conversion after all the work and effort. Still need to get you some proper dust caps.
As far as that bus, That thing would be worth a fortune now with the tiny camper craze. Someone would convert that thing in a heartbeat. It's actually a cool looking van/bus conversion.

 

Josh, thanks for the offer, but I think I got the air out. Plus I do have one of the hand-operated squeeze bleeders that works from the bleeder side to push fluid back to the master. As for the car show I actually have the flyer for that one, as it's been shared around in some car show groups. But we have a show the same day in Selma as part of their annual Railroad Days celebration.

Selma Railroad Days


Sanford Triple Crown

James I bet you are right, people would go crazy for it today. It was still running and roadworthy when my dad traded it in, he got a brand new 1983 Toyota pickup and used the short bus as his down payment.

Dave, I do remember you telling me before how the van was taller than anything else in the parking lot, so stood out like a sore thumb making it impossible to sneak off campus without getting noticed! And BTW good to hear that you got the weed whacker to run. Too bad I missed Tony, would have been nice to visit a little.

I finally reached the point on Sunday where I could install the drivers side step (oops sorry, some people will lynch you for using the word step to describe a Ford step-side, since the correct term is "flareside"). So this is the drivers side flare, where your foot would go


None of the original hardware was in good shape so I got 7/16 carriage bolts from Tractor Supply. The original bolt size was 10mm.

These 7/16 are just a hair larger (approx 11mm) which made for a better fit in the sorta rounded out square holes.

Just to clarify, these following pics of the drivers side step repair are not recent, so don't think I did all this in one day!.


Step would not unbolt from underneath so I removed the entire bracket so I could work on it on the bench.


The bracket and everything else was rusted away.


The second half of the bracket was a total loss.


img 7530 after cleaning all the rust off you can see how bad it was
img 7531 cut out the bad end then used a piece of a bracket that was originally for the spare tire
img 7536 welded it in place and cut out my holes


img 7528
rusted through on the step
img 7529 pounded a thin piece of sheet metal to match the contours
img 7537 bonded it into place with JB weld, then cut out my square hole
img 7528 a little sanding and primer made it look ok

 

Josh like John said we have a show that day and being I am the keeper and hauler of the club trailer I am committed to going.



The truck is coming along nicely. I was wondering about the step bracket if you had one or not? I guess you had half of one
What more is needed on the 66 to get it on the road? I know you got to be itching.

Yea Hope Mills from what I looked up seams like a good place. My son I know has done more looking than me but he had to if he was going to live there.
So far he & family are doing good in the new to them home.
Dave ----