A New Blog - Your Help is Requested !!

This is the link to my new blog. This new blog has a very simple purpose...to direct users to businesses that have parts and services that are useful to owners of 1961-67 Ford Econoline Trucks.

You can make contributions too! Follow the directions in the column on the right side of the new blog for all of the details.

Hopefully, the response will be large enough to make the list grow large and helpful.

Regards,

Ron B. aka "YahooRon"

"Enjoy The Ride!"

Vent Window Disassembly

This is the vent window assembly from the left door. The rubber is petrified and as hard as a rock. I consulted the shop manual and studied the assembly for a while and could not determine how it was to be disassembled.


The following photos are of the right door vent window assembly.

There is a cam-shaped washer, a retainer, on the pivot shaft that had me baffled for quite some time. I had the upper pivot socket removed and I could not determine how the bottom pivot shaft was removed from the frame.

The yellow arrows on the photos above and below point to the retainer that had me baffled.


The washer in the photo below shows the solution. Notice the hole in the retainer. There is a smooth section that is in line with the point. The rest of the hole has splines. The retainer must be aligned in a certain direction....simple yet elegant.

The photo below shows the design of the pivot shaft. Notice there are two splines that are wider than the adjacent splines. The groove is where the retainer is located when the window is assembled for use. The stop prevents the retainer from moving out of position on the shaft.


By simply turning the retainer in the direction of the wide splines and tapping the pivot shaft with a small hammer the retainer will slip off and the window can be removed from the mounting frame.


I removed the glass from the frames and sent the frames to Tri-City Plating for chrome plating. While not original, I prefer the look of chrome instead of black paint in this application.

Also, today, I wrapped the front bumper to ship to Tri-City Plating for repair and chrome plating. The bumper is original and rust free but it is dented and twisted slightly.

As always, you can see larger versions of these photos by visiting my Flickr page. Please return to this page by clicking the "Back" button of your browser. Thanks for visiting!

Gas Pedal Linkage Grommet

Because the truck is at the shop I cannot take photos of this project. This one be a stand-in.

Necessity is the mother of invention!

This is my method to fabricate a "grommet" to seal the floor opening where the gas pedal linkage passes through it.

Remove the pedal and pedal bracket and clean, polish and paint the shaft where it goes through the floor.

Start with a 2' long piece of 5/8" heater hose. Slit the hose lengthwise and slip it over the shaft that goes through the floor. You will need a utility knife and a pair of snips to cut and trim the hose for this project.

Keep the hose as long as possible to help seal the opening. Trim, trim, trim! Trial fit. Keep trimming and fitting. There will finally be a point where the hose no longer interferes with the operation of the shaft and the hose fits into the hole in the floor. Stop at that point. As my late dad would say, "Anything better than that and you'll ruin it!"

Clean the floor on both sides with a rotary wheel, brush or sandpaper to remove all crud. Install the assembly with the hose attached. Make sure it still works! Buy a NEW tube of Goop at the local hardware or big box store. It doesn't matter which formulation you buy....they're all the same!

Apply the Goop on both sides of the floor where the hose makes contact. Flood it in to the point where it is about to drip or sag. Warning, do not allow the Goop to enter into the hose or your pedal won't work!

Use a heat gun or hairdryer to speed the skin-over. After that point, you will no longer need to force cure it. Allow the Goop to harden for at least 24 hours before rotating the shaft. That will prevent the assembly from possibly ruining the seal.

Look at the seal and add more Goop if necessary to build it up. It should not be necessary to lube the shaft unless it it binding.

Filling the Master Cylinder

Because of miscommunication between management of the body shop and the workers, the floor of the cab was covered with sheetmetal and no access nor mounting holes were drilled.

I assure you that there are holes now! An aluminum foil "funnel" was used to fill the master cylinder with brake fluid to prevent spillage.

Also notice that other holes were made for the parking brake assembly and mounting bolt. As other holes are discovered to be needed, they will also be provided.

An Empty Feeling!

For the first time since April 23, 2007 the truck is not occupying space in the garage. It has been sent via AAA flatbed truck to the Maaco shop in Albany, NY. There are a few issues with the paint that need to be corrected.....issues that were discovered after being up close and personal with for the past 9 months!


The motor is on the stand and waiting to be installed as soon as the truck returns. The only remaining original parts of the motor are the 1966 Ford Falcon 200 C.I.D. block, connecting rods and crank. The head is a replacement from a 1967.


The block was boiled, decked and bored. The crank was ground and polished. The head was given a three angle valve job with all new components except for the rocker shaft and rockers.