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This site is a record of the changes that we made to our 1966 Mustang Convertible. Some of it is related to general automotive repair and some is related to car restoration.
Sometimes we may pose questions if we are stuck, and anyone may post a question or write to us if you need help with your project.
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| | Thu Sep 11, 2008 9:42 am |
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Where we live, we tend to not drive our Mustang in the winter, and we don't have access to a garage, so it sits in the rain for months at a time. So by the time we were ready to use the Mustang again it would not start. Eventually we discovered we had a leak in our gas tank and it was flooded with water after sitting for the winter. Our entire fuel system was flooded with water. There was a long road to get the car moving again. At first we did not realize there was water in the system. After trying to start it, we quickly noticed it did not start. So we tried a new battery. Nothing. So then we changed out the solenoid (starter relay), starter, starter cable, battery cables, points, plugs, coil, rotor and distributor cap, and it still would not start. We were making progress though since most of those components needed replacing anyway. We then were thinking it was a fuel problem so we put in a new fuel filter and fuel pump. That went pretty quick so we tried starting it. Nothing. So we poured an ounce or so of gas down the carburetor. It was trying to start. So we then figured it was no longer an ignition problem but a carburetor problem. But then we noticed liquid coming from underneath the car - it was gas. It looks like it was definitely a fuel pump problem. So now the gas was moving and there was a hole in the fuel line somewhere. We looked underneath the car and could see basically where the fuel was coming from. In the center, underneath the car placed over the exhaust pipes is a small 12-14 inch square steel plate and the leak was coming from somewhere under there. We tried to get the plate off, it is held in place by six 1/2 inch bolts. Two of them were stripped so we could not get it off and we don't have a lift to we finally had it towed to a garage. After the line was fixed we tried to start it again and basically realized the gas tank had water in it. So we drained the tank and further realized that the carburetor was shot. Then we ordered a new Edelbrock 1406 and were finally able to start the car. Summary: What was done before we could start the car: - new battery
- solenoid (starter relay)
- starter
- starter cable
- battery cables
- points
- plugs
- coil
- rotor
- distributor cap
- fuel line repair
- new carburetor
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| | Thu Sep 11, 2008 9:40 am |
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Installing a new carburetor is not a very difficult project. You don't need many tools and aside from some adjustments it does not take very long. The Edelbrock carburetor we bought comes pretty much ready to go. A few things you may want to consider ahead of time may be the fuel lines and pcv lines. If you are installing a new type or brand of carburetor the location of the lines may be different. So it is always a good idea to get a few feet of 3/8 or 5/16 inch fuel lines just incase. Having a new fuel filter is also something you may want to pick up. The other thing to consider is that if you need different length lines coming off the fuel pump then you do not want them coming in contact with any heat sources (valve covers, headers...etc), so grab some plastic ties if you need to keep the fuel lines out of the way. (click to enlarge image)
Removing the old carburetor is pretty simple, there should not be many things to disconnect. Typically you have the vacuum advance, fuel line, pcv line and the hot lead to the electric choke (if present). Once you have removed the lines simply loosen the bolts (½ inch in this case) and remove the old carburetor. Be careful not to get any debris into the intake. If the old gasket is stuck to the base then plug up the intake with some clean shop rags and gently scrap the gasket off with a screwdriver and clean it up. Now you just put the new gasket on and mount the new carburetor. Reconnect the lines and you should be ready to try it out. (click to enlarge image) TroubleShooting We did have a few problems that we eventually tracked down. The car started right up but raced (idled) very high. After adjusting the idle screw and idle mixture screws there was no improvement. We figured there must be a vacuum leak so while it was running we sprayed some starting fluid near the carburetor to see if there was any higher idle spots. There were none so we checked for leaks in the other lines. Nothing. Eventually we pulled off the power to the electric choke, started it, there was no racing, then we reconnected the line and started it. The choke must have reset because the idle was much lower and there were no problems after that.
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| | Wed Sep 10, 2008 1:00 pm |
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We recently repaired the driver side window on our 1966 Mustang, at first it seemed that the plastic window bushing was broken, or it had come off the track. It turned out that the problem was that on the window regulator (part number 23234) the triangle part broke off from the scissor arms. Apparently this is not a typical window problem but we were able to get ourselves a used window scissor regulator for $20, along with three new window bushings. A new window regulator goes for about $30 on the web. Installation is really pretty easy, as long as you do not bolt up the triangle part (three ½ inch bolts) before you place the three tracks in place with the bushings on them. Take off the interior door cover. Position the part inside the door and orient it properly. Place each bushing arm in the proper track and then move the triangle to the correct position and bolt it up. It is also easier to have someone hold the window while you are doing this. Or you can jam the window with a screw driver wrapped with a cloth. (click to enlarge) (click to enlarge)
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| | Tue Sep 09, 2008 5:07 pm |
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Occasionally you may need to replace a window bushing. If your quarter window does not work it is usually the bushing. They are made of plastic and are not designed to last forever. It is rather easy to replace the bushing (part number 23240), they cost around $1, or less if you are at a car show and pick up a bag of them. The rear quarter window uses two bushings and the front windows use three bushings. The easiest way we have found to replace a broken bushing is to loosen part number 303A30. It attaches to the car body and by loosening it you can pretty easily reattach the window arms with the bushings to the window frame assembly. Using this method it should take no longer than 15 minutes or less to replace the bushing. (click to enlarge)
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| | Tue Sep 09, 2008 1:34 pm |
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The structure of the headlight system for the 1965 - 1966 Mustang leaves much to be desired about how much thought really went into the functional design of this car. There are four main connections to the body (part numbers 13100 & 13A045, figure 1), these connections are denoted with an "x" in the diagram. These tend to break quite easily and are difficult to fix. Replacing this part may be necessary depending upon how damaged yours is. The price is anywhere from $50 (used, make sure there is no damage to the four connection points) to about $90 for each side. The entire headlight bucket system is around $115 - $135 for each side, this includes all you need for a complete restoration. The main lense cover (part number 13064) was also broken at one of the four connections. The way these attach together is with clips (part numbers 357033-S) that you use with screws (part numbers 378852-S). Since we did not want to try to find these parts I went to Home Depot and used clips with screws (10-24, course threads) and super glue to mount them on all four corners. This worked very well and avoided the cost of replacing parts that are quite expensive, unless you are doing a complete restoration. (click to enarge)
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