though i am sorry to say it, but them new monte carlos are real snazzy looking. i think there must be two dozen models by now doing what you said about remodeling old designs. like the thunderchicken and the stangs.
i been laying down the dough and bought some stuff for the effie, i got a new/secondhand 3 inch drop axle coming, probaly saved a few bucks on it, i got a used 4bbl aluminum intake coming, i got the motor in and bolted. i noticed that the front shocks on my 93 are the length i need for the effie or at least close so i got four of them in load carriers with the coils on them to go all the way around on ebay. 4 shocks for $70, cant beat that. i need to make brackets for the tops though b/c they have the stud at the top instead of a round top. should be no sweat. i want to get the brackets for the disc brakes ordered also, and get a p/s setup. then hit the boneyard for the discs and a box.
i might hit that swap meet at the fairgrounds this sunday, then head over to grand ol days up the street.
bad influence?... me naw...lol i figure i was keeping u out of trouble by b/s'n ya about all the stuff you need to go tear apart n fix on doug.
i figure when my effie is up n running i am going to want to try n be in or organize some sort of club for old cruzers. was fun when we used to go cruzing and had a line of guys and mercs talkin on c/b's razzin, then hitting a show or drive in for chow. mostly i just want a t-shirt...lol

 

I went to Winstock this weekend, drank beer and listened to country music and looked at purdy cowgirls. Yeehaw. Buffalo had a classic car show Sunday but I was too sick to go because of drinking beer and listening to country music and looking at purdy girls. Looked like it was packed in the Civic Center when I went past.

Sounds like you'll be up and running soon with all your new equipment. I should go work on Doug but it's gotta be nearing 100 degrees outside. Besides, I'm still sick from drinking beer....

 

yea, i went to grand ol days, had a few and looked at the purty eye candy also, gotta love mn in the summertime...lol. didnt do much celebrating, just tried to give the wife and nephew a good time. i went to the car show n swap at the fairgrounds in the morning, it was a gm show so i didnt stick around long, like looking but i like more variety. it was a ok swap but nothing real exciting. looking forward to back to the 50's this weekend. i am hoping, or doing wishful thinking, that i will be crusin there next year. i thought i would make it there this year but there was a lot of this n that.
i tightened up the steering box in the 55 so i might just run that for now. a few of the teeth on the worm gears were chipped a little bit so it was a little bit rough, i heard that the f600 or big truck boxs are nicer, but i want to do p/s eventually.
i had enough hot weather working outside for one day, i came home wussed out and stuffed the ac in the window. you know they say the cure from a self inflicted headache is more beer, but all that ever got me was buzzed and a postponement for the inevitable. ...lol

 

Do the steering boxes on F-600's fit on the F-100's? I would think they're a bit more heavy-duty.

 

i heard they r supposed to. but never really checked myself. the slower ratio makes em steer easier/better i guess.

 

I see, that would make sense.

Have you ever looked into electronic ignition replacement? I guess there's distributors one can just bolt on that replace the points and condenser setup, and look completely original. It would make a lot of sense in a daily driver. For me, I think I may stay original, but could maybe be persuaded to switch to something like this for more reliability or care-free service.

Someone adapted the ignition on Doug. They put on one of those white ceramic pieces about 3-4 inches long that are wired to the coil I believe and then to the distributor. I've seen these adaptations before on a lot of older engines. Someone told me they are supposed to boost the spark I believe. Do you know what I'm talking about? Any idea what they do and is it really necessary? They look so Rube Goldberg-like, and I wouldn't mind trying to rewire back to original if I could.

 

its a ceramic ballast resistor, it keeps the voltage to going through it at a constant twelve instead of 13 14 volts etc which can blow a coil, i got one with my msd coil, but you ask me msd coils are junk. i blew two already on different trucks. i put in a msd ignition box though, they can be used with points, gives you a wicked spark...lol i have heard of the conversions but only for gm's. i would look into a dual points distributor. too bad you dont have windsor, i saw a dual point mallory on ebay for $40, its like a $150 dist easy. but i already have a mallory unilite i got off ebay for a 351w i am going to use in the cleveland by swapping the gear. the mallory has a old style cap that looks real retro. i have a few of them rubber dist dust boots like you see on mustangs out in the garage so you wont see much of the dist anyways.
points are ok if you know how to mess with them, me i never really got it, i like my electronic ignition. its hassle free, on my 71 linc i had it seemed like i could have gone through a couple sets at 20-35$ a pop. you could wire in a box from a 79 pickup pretty easily, if you got a way to get a dist with the pickup for the old y-block. i know you can use my msd 6a box with ponts distributors also. you can get em on ebay for around $100. i think they have a manufacturers warranty also. i saw a demo setup at MAS racing on university, and the spark was fierce. i think on some trucks the ballast resistor was unecessary b/c of the voltage regulator, but it dont hurt to have it. me i am going to hot wire my whole truck. i ripped out all that old wire that was rotted. i know enough to start from scratch, i ripped out and hotwired a 73 yamaha i had. i will just use a 78 f150 diagram for the rest like the column and brake lights. i was going to use a wiring harness from a 79 f series, but that is still a 25 year old part. i am going to wire it like i did a few of my buddies racecars, only the essentials.

 

Well, I suppose I'll have to leave the ceramic ballast resistor on then. I wish I knew more about wiring but it's never been my strong suit. It's one of those things that I look at and get intimidated by easily. A lot of guys say those replacement wiring harnesses are easy to understand and install. That would be the way to go, IMO. Whoever worked on Doug before me sure liked those twist-on electrical connectors, you know, the different colored ones. Me, I don't trust those things. They may be okay inside a union box inside your home, but when it comes to bouncing down the gravel roads, I think something better is needed.

My dock was underwater last week, so I moved it back. Now it's under water again. We've had enough rain. Rainwater got inside my gas tank on the pontoon due to a really poor design on the tank's vent, so my new Yamaha 4 stroke outboard quit on me out on the lake. I was able to limp home, but had to work on it for quite some time. I got rid of the contaminated gas, got some fresh gas, pumped the lines but no luck. I finally realized water was stuck in the carb, so after I drained it it started to sputter to life. I took it out and got it nice and worked up, some good old Sea Foam (that's the only additive I'll buy) in the tank, and I bumped up the idle a bit, now she's running like a top again. Now I'm going to wake up my pretty wife and we're going to go out and float and read the Sunday paper. Life is good.

 

seems you cant hardly get a old truck where the wires havent been hacked one way or another. wiring the points ignition has to be the simplest to figure out though, all a guy really needs is the basics on these old ones. i am even going to try a one wire alternator.

back in in the day we used to like that seafoam after school, we would rev it up then dump half the can down the carb til it died, get a few vehicles doing it you can fog up a city block, leaving a smoke trail for a good mile....lol.. the best emission cleaner on the market is the 3 can jb pack. its like $30, but its the best.

 

I saw a beauty of a car yesterday...'65 Galaxie convertible. It's a local car, I've seen it out on sunny days before. That was my second car, I always liked those long, straight lines on the vehicle. Others didn't, they thought it looked too square, but not me. I had the big V-8 in there with an automatic, then put Thrush glasspacks on. It sounded great. I owned that car for a long time, virtually problem-free. The only problem I remember having was with the headlights. I'd be driving at night on high beam and they would go out until the breaker would reset. I would just switch to my low beams then with no problems. One night I was driving on a lonely country road and the lights went out, so I switched them to low. Somebody was parked in a field off the road and then flashed their lights on and off and took off driving the opposite way. I always wondered what kind of a signal I gave there. Maybe some big drug running outfit got all out of whack that night. haha

 

i am kinda impartial to the 65, i wasnt too crazy about them, but i like the hard tops and 4 doors when they are shackled up and thumping, they are kinda the start of the muscle cars era in my opinion, they say 64 1/2 on were muscle cars, but i have a hard time believing a 390 or the early hemi's or some of that stuff in the late 50's early sixties to not be anything but "muscle"...lol.. i think my effie had a 390 in it at one time, it had the after market member for it. i actually reused it with the small block by adding 4 inch square tubing between the mounts and the member. it worked slick. thing to keep in mind in the forums if you know anyone converting from a 352-390 to a small block, all they need is square tubing and the truck stud type mounts. well anyways what i was getting at is, can you imagine a little ol f100 with a 390? that must have been insane.

usually when i went out to the country road we parked far enough off the road not to get caught, maybe you just stopped some highschool kids or made them dump out their beers, so they had nothing better to do. they were probaly checking you out got scared and thought you were smokey....lol

 

Not to mention unsafe. Could you ever punch it without losing it, not to mention the inadequate braking?

Have you ever installed glass before? I bought a rear window slider for Doug, now I think I'll get some fresh moulding. It sounds like you put a piece of string in there and pull it out or something...hope it isn't too hard.

 

like i said....INSANE!!!.......lol.. but in a teenagers innocent reality.....too much fun.


even though, i never had any problems with drum brakes and they were used to stop heavier more powerful cars for way too many years. that 64 drove like it was a new lincoln and my 71 3/4 ton was ok too.. they dont always stop on the dime but driving em too hard is probaly asking for trouble anyways. besides all driving crazy ever got me was in trouble or banged up and nowhere anytime fast. this is funny....for my mother in-law to ride with me comefortably and not say one word about this or that or act scared, to me is a heck of a accomplishment. she dont drive and always is kinda a skiddish passenger seat driver.
i drive a heavy cube van for a national bakery outfit all day long, i have learned to appreciate the fine art of driving correctly....lol.. otherwise i would be picking my load up off the floor most of the day. which i have had to do on occasion, it is no fun having all them smushed cupcakes and doughnuts. but i am ohhh so guilty of being a hot rodding dumb teenager back in the day...lol., and occasionally on summer nights......dont tell the wife.

i have removed the rear windows before, but never put them in, you will need a guy helping to push or hold pressure from the outside while you pull the rubber lip into the truck with the rope. its tricky because u need to try and keep it going as u go and will need a screwdriver or popsickle stick plastic or something to help pull the seal in if the rope slips past. best to have them ready for if this happens so one guy isnt holding the window while you try n dig for the right tool....lol..
i need to e-mail ya and get directions to your place so i can come check out that fine piece of american machinery and give you a hand doing that or drinking all your beverages . i been too much of a putz lately, i want to try n get the front drop axle in ol bessie, but i have to order the new kingpins and get the machine shop to ream it and put it all back together. i couldnt get the old kingpins out, but i dont have anything bigger than a propane torch either.

 

Our grandkids are over for the weekend. They just got here and one of them sat on the dishwasher door. HAHA. Why did she sit on the diswasher door? Because she was tired. HAHA. But that's okay, grampa can fix that twisted unhinged door. Know why? Because gramma says I can fix it. HAHA. If I don't respond to any more of these posts you better call the local sheriff because I have gone missing.

I've got an idea. Why don't you bring your cupcake van out here and park it for the weekend. When their parents see they weigh considerably more than when they dropped them off they won't bring them back. HAHA.

But seriously, I love the little crumbcrunchers. I don't know what I'd do without them. Right now, I'd probably be fishing and sipping on a beer, but NOOOOOOOO. Instead, I'll work on the dishwasher. HAHA

BTW, I've got one of those Thrush mufflers from my '65 in the shop. What do you think it would sound like if I put it on Doug?

 

yea everywhere i go people are trying to get some cupcakes...lol.. i thought all kids naturally weighed more after they left grandma's, i always did. what should i tell the sheriff, you jumped in the pontoon grabbed some worms and made a run for it as far as it would get you to regain any sanity you had left, or tell em the wife did it. lol.....

i had a thrush on a 78 i had, it was ok, you should run a tailpipe with it out the side. otherwise it is too obnoxious sometimes. but the thing to do would be to cut a hole and weld a pipe into the drivers side of the crossover, or better yet to get true duals, that way you run 2 1/4 back into the thrush's or set of smithys, then 2 inch tail pipes over the axle. it will be kinda mellow til you tromp on it and let them raaaapppp...... i still have some out in the garage i was thinking of running with the 351c. i have a flowmaster type muffler also that might sound good on that, it has 3 inch dual outs though so you would have to make some tailpipes. it was a generic that made my 93 way too loud when i swapped the 351w into it. it has a deeper mellow tone.