Spring & Mustangs

[TC Chris]

We have two seasons here: Subaru and Mustang. Winter is Subaru season. We must have more Subarus per unit population than any other place, come winter time. As soon as the roads are dry and sun is out, Mustangs appear.

Since I am temporarily carless while they work on the Ranger , I decided to roll the Mustang out. This is its 40th season on the road. When I graduated from high school, a 40th season car would have been from 1926, and I can assure you that nobody was driving around in mid-20s vehicles then.

I disconnected the trickle charger and it fired up on the first key-turn Off we went for 9 miles of errands around town. No problems. Not bad for an old car.

Chris Campbell

[William]

With each day into spring I am starting to notice classic cars on the road which is always a good sign that the weather is improving.

Bill

[walyfd]

Mine won't be out for awhile. Weather is lousy and I have to replace front wheel cylinders, a rear axle bearing (I think) and rebuild a valve in the AC. Can't not have working air!

[electra225]

I use the "4-60" air conditioning system in the Buick......

We are winding down the heavy car show season around here. It will soon be too hot for an old car being on the road. The Buick is 62 years old. No need to stress it in the heat, give it the summer off....

[walyfd]

Agree that excessive heat is not good for old iron. Have to remember these were new once upon a time, when gas was different. Even then, vapor lock was a concern.

Suffered long enough with a non-air car. I want it working even if it can't be on constantly. The air in the 62 is amazing... it was so good that Rolls Royce continued using the A5 compressor into the 80s.

After 6 years, I suddenly lost all charge. There's a gasket in the throttle suction valve that probably gave out. Found a kit so doing that. Alternative is to install a cycling switch. The compressor runs full-time on the original system and blows ice cubes, actually frosting the chrome outlet vents.

[electra225]

I used to change those old VIR systems to a cycling-compressor system. I got a kit from Classis Air that took the guts out of the valve and just made it a connection. I put a switch from a Ford air conditioning system on the evaporator, then cycled the compressor clutch. This controlled refrigerant with the compressor, rather than that valve known to stick and leak. This also prevented icing the evaporator like those systems were known to do. I've done this to the Buick, but have never charged the system because I didn't want that underhood heat. It turns the engine paint brown and simply exposes 62-year-old components to heat that is unnecessary. What little I drive it when the temp is above 100 I can suffer thru the heat. Where you live with higher humidity, that might not be an option.

[walyfd]

Hayna saying (NEPA'S unofficial slanguage) "IT ain't da heat, it's da umidity"

Our humidity is oppressive sometimes. 75 with 85% is yuck... try 85 or 90 with 90%... taxes any system.

The 91 cadillac is anemic in the ac department. Sometimes that compressor will cycle off 2 or 3 seconds and run several minutes until next cycle... and it's still on R12. Takes a long time for the auto setting to regulate fan speed and maintain temp. The 2010 buick works great. Compressor is too small in the cadillac.

[electra225]

What compressor does the '91 have? It was nearly impossible to beat the Frigidaire system with the A6 compressor. 3 tons of "refrigeration" in a car of that era. Chrysler's Airtemp system was good as long as it worked. When it quit working, it could be a challenge to get it working again. Who made the first auto AC system? Kelvinator? What system did the pre-war Packards use? They had freeze or fry compressors. It ran all the time the engine ran. You had to remove the belt if you didn't want it to run.

Back on the Mustang topic.....
There was a lady parked next to me at a local show that spent over $100,000 restoring a '66 Mustang "Sprint". The Sprint models were the entry-level Mustangs. The trim was different, mainly it had no cove trim. And it was powered by a 200 cid six with factory "add on" air conditioning. It had power steering and brakes with a Fordomatic two-speed auto transmission. She had put Tru-Spoke wire wheels on it, almost 8 grand, according to her. It was white with blue interior. She was concerned that she never got a trophy with it. It was the wrong color. If she had done it in all red or red with a white interior then put chrome valve covers and air cleaner on the engine, she would have done better in shows. The wire wheels were out of character on a "cheap" Mustang. The Pony interior was a lot more attractive. This particular Mustang had too many characteristics of its Falcon ancestry that showed....

[danrclem]

Greg, did she say if the Fordomatic was original in the Mustang. I won't swear to it, but I think Ford quit making the Fordomatic and went to a C4 Cruisomatic for the 1965 Mustangs. She must have had very personal attachment for her Mustang to spend that much money on it. A good restoration is very expensive now days.

I saw a 1967 Shelby (or clone) the other day (before we started getting all this rain). It was at a traffic light and he was going the same way I was but was coming from a different direction. A friend of mine that I haven't saw for years has or had one that fit the description of the one I saw. I wanted to try and get closer and see if it was him but the traffic wouldn't let me.

Another one of my friends that I used to work with, has a 1965 convertible that looks great. I ran into him last October at a car show and took a few pictures. I'll show a couple of them if I can get them to attach. I always have trouble with that.

I sure wish I had mine on the road but I'm sure it'll be a long time before that happens.

[electra225]

I questioned the lady on the Fordomatic transmission. The engine is not original to the car. She told me that it was a 1964 engine and transmission. I thought the 200 came out in 1966. The 170 would have been the engine in a 1964 Mustang with the six. It had a GM power steering pump on it and disc brakes on the front. Methinks, somebody, sometime swapped the engine out so they could get air conditioning. The crankshaft pulley would need more grooves to run the AC. I think it probably had the right engine, at least the right year, but they used the Fordomatic transmission, quite possibly out of a 1964 model. And, it could have been a "Frankenstang". An auction whore. She bought it at a car auction needing restoration. It was rust-free and solid, but, unfortunately, she had more money than knowledge about classic Mustangs. A local shop did the restoration and it was very nice indeed. They did a nice job in it. The interior in the Mustang convertible you posted is the Pony interior. It has pleated seats and wood trim on the dash. The one I mentioned looked like a Falcon inside. No wood grain dash, no fancy trim on the door panels, plain seats. See that trim in the cove on the convertible, between the door handle and the rear tire? This is not there on the Sprint models. I don't know this for sure, but the lady told me that the Sprint models only came with the Sprint 6 engine, no V-8 option.

The lady was proud of her car and was enjoying it. She just did the wrong car if she wanted to haul home a trophy every time she had it to a show. Doing a stripped, low-level car is risky if it isn't housing a big V-8 of some kind. White with blue interior is the most "yawn" color combination there is. I have a friend who had Art restore his rare '59 Electra bubble top. They didn't build many of those cars and even less still exist. He did it white with blue interior, then stuck Skylark wires on it. He can't buy a trophy with that car. Art and I both begged him to paint it black with red and white interior. He wouldn't hear of it.

I'm not a Mustang guy, but I like that little yellow Mustang convertible. All the right equipment. As my friend Jerry would say, "that car has all kinds of eyeball".....

[William]

Your friends Mustang is beautiful, Danny, he should be very proud. I have always liked the Mustang's of that era along with the Firebird's and Camaro's. Simple styling, easy to work on, and just the right size.

Bill

[danrclem]

Your friends Mustang is beautiful, Danny, he should be very proud. I have always liked the Mustang's of that era along with the Firebird's and Camaro's. Simple styling, easy to work on, and just the right size.

Bill

It is a great looking car, Bill. I think it was in about 2003 that he bought it. We were working together and got to talk about Mustangs a lot. He put it in a National MCA Show one time and I'm not sure what class he entered it in, but the judge told him that with a few small changes it would do well in the Concours Class.

[electra225]

I was an engine compartment judge in the Buick club. Did you notice the detail under the hood of that yellow Mustang? VERY nice, dated spark plug wires, FoMoCo hoses. You don't see that very often outside of brand judging. That is a nice, well-done Mustang....

[danrclem]

He told me that the spare was an original. He may have meant an original reproduction because it sure looked to be in very good condition.

[TC Chris]

That spare, located in a dark trunk, would have had no UV exposure since new and probably precious little ozone exposure as well.

Ford really hit it out of the park with that original Mustang design. The Japanese ate our lunch in the early emissions control days. Domestic companies tried very had to make a self-fulfilling prophecy of their claims that "it can't be done." The Japanese just figured out how to do it. They set new standards for quality & efficiency. But most of their cars were UGLY!!!!!. OK, mostly still are. Now most U.S. cars are equally ugly.

Chris Campbell