Show and Go 2014

It's that time of year again when all of the muscle cars from all around southern California come out to play in downtown Riverside for the annual car show for charity put on by the local Rotary Club. This was my second year participating in the event and it was a scorcher with temperatures soaring into the mid 90's! Friday night was nice because it was later in the day and my buddy John and I got a spot on the corner of 12th and Market in front of the Salted Pig which also happened to be in the shade. I stayed until around 8:30 and then drove through the cruise route to take my dad back home where I then helped my sister-in-laws boyfriend change the spark plugs on his 2000 VW Jetta. Unfortunately it requires pulling off the upper intake manifold and throttle body to change the spark plugs so it wasn't a 5 minute project.

On Saturday I rolled up around 7:20am since the event started at 8am, but the spots we had the night before were taken. Most of the good spots were taken. I ended up parking on Market at Ninth street in front of White Park. 

It was a good thing that John brought an ez-up because I would have likely melted in that heat all day without shade. Lauren brought our son down for breakfast around 9am on her way to celebrate her dad's birthday with the rest of the family. They walked down to see the car and hang out for a little bit before they left.

My dad took over 900 pictures between Friday and Saturday, and although I haven't seen them I'm sure they turned out good since he was standing in the middle of the street taking pictures of the cars as the cruised by. I'm sure he took some of mine and some of my friend John's El Camino and I'll post them once he sends me some of them.

On Saturday afternoon I ran into my old co-worker James P as he was walking down the sidewalk with some of his friends. The last time we hung out was 2 years ago in April. It was nice to see him and catch up. I took him and his girl for a ride along the cruise route and we said that we'd try to catch an Angels game together this summer.

I'm happy to report that nothing broke on the Mustang during this year's car show. The new clutch and clutch cable that I installed worked perfectly this year. Last year's snapped clutch cable on the cruise route was stressful so I'm glad that I didn't have to experience that again this year. Here's to many more smooth cruises!

Color Sanded, New PS Pump & Fog Light Switch Mounted

It seems like since my son was born I haven't had much time to do anything "extra curricular" although that has due to choice rather than due to duty. I've found that I want to spend time with my son and my wife more than I want to tinker with the Mustang. Lauren, my son, and my mom flew up to Idaho on Thursday night to surprise my aunt for her 60th birthday so that left me home alone for 5 days. I figured that if I was going to accomplish the things that I wanted to with the Mustang, this would be the time! I dropped off the Mustang at my parents house on Monday afternoon since my dad took the week off. He wanted to troubleshoot the timing/startup issues that I've been having as well as the power steering issues.

He started with the timing issue and found that there was far too much vacuum advance so it dialed it down and was able to adjust the timing from the distributor. I think it was set at a total of over 20 degrees and it was pinging up a storm. By the time he was done it was back down between 8-10 degrees. He had also found that the Holly fuel pump that i bought used on Craigslist had a crack in it which could have been contributing to my upstart issues. He replaced the fuel pump along with the lines feeding the carburetor.

Now since the power steering system was rebuilt I haven't had any power steering. It was most noticeable when at a dead stop and you're trying to turn the wheel to maneuver the car into a tight spot. As it turned out, the pump wasn't pumping! He replaced the pump with one from Mustang Village (here in the Inland Empire) although it is for an A/C car, it works great.

He wrapped things up with the car on Thursday and he came to drop it off at the house on Friday afternoon. I drove him back home in the Mustang and boy was there a difference with the power steering--it actually worked! When I got back home I backed it into the garage and didn't waste any time starting to color sand it. I started with the roof since that is one area that I always noticed was foggy looking.

Once I finished there I moved to the trunk deck because that was always a spot that I noticed to be very dull looking as well.

After I finished the trunk I moved to the hood which was definitely something that I noticed all the time since I have to look at it while driving it. I was certainly glad to have it sanded and polished!

Once i had everything polished, I pulled off the masking tape from the trim and pulled the car out of the garage for it's very first car wash. It's hard to believe that I have had the car finished for 2 years and have never washed it. It's always been parked inside the garage under a cover or driven during perfect weather conditions so I haven't had cause to wash it. I figured that it was time. 

Once I finished washing it I pulled it back into the garage and drilled the dash to install the fog light switch. I watched a fog light installation video by CJ Pony Parts and discovered that the switch was often mounted on the far left side of the dash to the left of the wiper switch. It was 1 5/16" from the furthest part of the dash and 3 3/4" up from the bottom of the dash.

I'm going to drive it to work tomorrow (35 miles one way) and see how she does. Most of my co-workers have been asking for for the past year when I'm going to drive it to work again and now that all of my issues have been sorted out it's time. It'll be parked in the basement along with my other co-workers so I'm not worried about someone dinging the car or stealing it. It'll be safe. And if by chance it's stolen, that's what insurance is for. It'll just give me the chance to build one with my son's help.

Replacement Emergency Flasher Switch

If you recall from my last post, the emergency flasher switch that was provided in the Mr. Mustang kit was the wrong switch; it only powered the front passenger side blinker. I emailed the fellows at Mr. Mustang and explained the situation in great detail. Their response was, "We can replace that for you. What is your name and address?"

I responded with my name and address and they mailed me an entire kit including a new switch. I received the package in about a week (today as a matter of fact.) I went over to where my Mustang is being garaged so that I could install the new switch to make sure that it functioned as a single pole triple throw. I hooked up all four wires and as it turns out, they shipped the same exact switch that was wrong the first time they sent it. I couldn't believe it! I explained to them exactly what the problem was with the first switch and they sent me the same switch again! I ended up using a separate wire (red below) to connect the one working connector to the other non-working two.

Fog Lights, Emergency Flashers, Sound Deadener

Since I had off most of this week I decided to bring the Mustang to my house and start on my laundry list of projects since it will be the last time in a while that I have such a big block of time to do anything. I started off with the emergency flasher kit that I purchased last year from Mr. Mustang. 

Emergency Flashers

As it turns out the switch that was provided in the kit only powered the front passenger side blinker rather than all four corners. I emailed him about this problem and he said that he would be mailing me a new switch which is a good thing because when I was tightening the switch after everything was together, the switch broke.

Veronica's blog "The Care and Feeding of Ponies" was helpful in determining that the switch was wrong. Someone else left a comment that detailed the same issue as me. The kit was pretty simple to install once I found the constant hot wire that powers the "cigar lighter". Other than that wire the kit simply clips into the turn signal switch.

Glove Box Light

I had to pull out the glove box in order to install the emergency flasher switch so I decided to figure out how to install the glove box light switch. I had to pull it apart and push the metal part through the front of the dash and then reconnect the backside plastic body from the backside of the dash. The switch just plugged into the main wiring harness. It doesn't look like much, but it lights up the glove box enough to see all of the random junk I keep in there (zip ties, fuses, spare wires, etc.)

Fog Lights

I had to drive over to Larry's Mustang here in Corona to pick up the wiring harness for the fog lights since I didn't yet have it. The kit was about $46. I spent a lot of time looking over the FoMoCo wiring schematic to make sure that I wired it up correctly.

66 Mustang Fog Light Diagram

It seems simple enough, but when I tried to find the brake running light wire which was supposed to be a separate black wire with a white connector I couldn't find it. I had the gauges out of the dash so that I could properly see all of the wires. I ended up splicing into the three-prong harness wires that all ran to the back of the car. I imagine the powered the brake lights, running lights and reverse lights. The middle black wire was the one for the running lights.

I connected the fuse breaker to the wiper motor just like was done from the factory.

When it came time to connect the old fog light switch and harness that I had from a previous kit to the new harness, the two plugs didn't match. It was a three-prong connector and they both had two female and one male connection. I ended up using a hacksaw to trim the rubber around the middle female connector and then used a pair of needle-nose pliers to make the female connector a male connector. The two harnesses then fit together perfectly.

Once the wiring was complete I tested the lights and the lit up great while turning on the rear running lights.

1966 Mustang with Fog Lights

Hurst Shift Boot

My Hurst shift boot has taken a beating since the bolts I used to install the Hurst shift lever were slightly too long. The ended up rubbing on the shift boot and creating a tear. Lauren was kind enough to buy me a new one and I replaced it while I had the console out to install the wiring kits. I made sure to trim down the bolts with my trusty hacksaw before installing it in hopes that this new one wouldn't tear.

Sound Deadener

I figured that while I had the car I would install some sound deadener (which was left over from when I did the interior) under the hood and under the trunk lid. I used Second Skin's Damplifier with black foil. In order to get a fairly accurate size/shape for each open area I used left over tissue paper (like that used for gifts) and some painters masking tape. I folder the tape over itself so that it was double-sided and then stuck it to the hood and then put the tissue paper against it. I was then able to run my fingernail along the hood openings and tear the thin paper. I then pulled off the paper and then stuck it on the front of the sound deadener. I just used a pair of scissors to cut out the shape.

Once it was cut I would test fit it and usually had to make a few more cuts so that it fit better. I think it turned out pretty good for what it was.

Here are some pictures I took the next day when I was returning the car to it's home:

With Fog Lights On

Rear View Behind my Daily Driver

1966 Mustang TMI Pony Sport Seat Interior (White)

1966 Mustang TMI Pony Sport Seat Interior (White)

Fog Lights Mounted

Once upon a time I had a 1964 1/2 Mustang that I installed a set of '66 GT fog lights on. I removed those lights some time before I sold the car and those lights have been used on my older brothers '66 ever since. Recently they were taken off of his car and I decided to put them back on my "new" '66. I haven't purchased the fog light wiring kit yet, but I did spend about an hour or so mounting the lights on the Mustang.

'66 Mustang Fog Lights

I've got a little bit of work to do on the Mustang sometime in 2014 (as time permits) and that includes wiring in the fog lights. This is the list I've got going:

1. Fix power steering
2. Fix startup/timing issue
3. Replace oil pan with new pan (have)
4. Install emergency flasher kit (Done)
5. Replace upper shift boot (Done)
6. Replace driver sear rear panel (need)
7. Install fog light wiring kit (Done)

New 10.5" Ford Racing Clutch Installed

I jumped the gun a bit on the install since I wasn't planning on doing the project until as early as this coming weekend. With Lauren working and me having nothing else pressing to do I decided to install the clutch. I picked up the car from Darrell's garage and headed over to my parents house to get started. I pulled it onto the ramps and used a jack to raise up the rear of the car; ultimately using jack stands to hold up the rear of the car while my dad and I worked.

This sums up the order of the work we did:

1. Removed the Hurst shift lever inside the car.

2. Disconnected the (+) battery cable.

3. Removed the starter from the bell housing.

4. Disconnected the parking brake hardware and speedometer cable from under the car.

5. Disconnected the clutch cable from the throwout lever and bell housing.

6. Unbolted the exhaust from the headers. 

7. Drained the transmission from the lower fill plug

8. Removed the driveline.

9. Unbolted the bell housing from the motor (6 bolts)

10. Put a jack underneath the transmission.

11. Unbolted the transmission crossmember from the frame of the car (2 Bolts)

12. Removed the Reverse light wires (2)

13. Lowered the transmission while pulling it back off of the motor.

14. Unbolted the clutch pressure plate (6 bolts)

15. Removed the pressure plate and clutch (set aside)

16. Unbolted and removed the original 4-speed flywheel (6 bolts) and removed the pilot bearing from motor.

I had always had a problem with the clutch cables not reaching the throwout fork, and today I figured out what the problem was. I was using the wrong throwout bearing for the setup that I had. I was using a T5 with a 4-speed flywheel, clutch and pressure plate (10") while using a throwout bearing for a T5. The pressure plate for the 4-speed transmissions is about an inch taller than its newer T5 10.5" counterpart:

10.5" Left       --       10" Right

This explains why the throwout fork always sat at the very back of the bell housing rather than at some point in the middle.  Once we had everything out we started putting all of the new parts back in the car.

17. Bolted new Flywheel to the motor (6 bolts)

18. Installed guide pins for pressure plate with brass mallet (3) and installed new pilot bearing

19. Put new 10.5" clutch up to the flywheel and used the guide tool to hold it in place

20. Set new 10.5" pressure plate on the guide pins and threaded the bolts

21. Installed the new Ford Racing throwout bearing on the throwout fork and attached it to the bell housing.

22. Jacked up the transmission into place and slid the input shaft into the pilot bearing
23. Started all bell housing bolts  into the motor (6)
24. Jacked up the transmission and installed the crossmember onto the frame
25. Installed the driveline
26. Installed the parking brake, and reverse light wires (2)
27. Installed the speedometer cable
28. Installed high torque mini-starter

At this point it was time to remove the old clutch cable (from a fox body Mustang '88-'93) and re-install a longer clutch cable from a 96+ Mustang. When I had to do this during the Show and Go this spring it took hours to accomplish because it is inconveniently located under the dash. This time I wasn't going to spend that much time.

29. Removed driver's seat by removing 4 bolts from underneath car

30. Removed steering wheel (it hasn't been fully tightened down so I didn't need a steering wheel remover)

31. Removed gauges from dash and took off speedometer cable

32. Used alan wrench to remove clutch cable from Mustang Steve quadrant. 

33. used alan wrench to install/tighten new clutch cable from 96+ Mustang after feeding it through the firewall.

34. Routed the clutch cable all the way to the front of the car

96+ Mustang Clutch cable on '66 Mustang

 35. Installed the adjustable cable end on the throwout fork using two nuts supplied

36. Installed a C-clip on the backside of the clutch cable (backside of the bell housing)

37. Re-filled transmission with drained fluid

38. Re-connected the positive battery cable.

39. Installed the driver's seat

40. Re-connected the speedometer cable and installed the gauges

41. Re-installed the steering wheel.

42. Re-installed the Hurst shift lever (2 bolts)

The car drove great with the new clutch. The pedal was a little lighter to push in and I could even do it with my thumb (not quite two fingers like I've seen on YouTube videos.) While we had the car apart I tightened the bolts on the third-member since it has had an oil leak since we put it together. Hopefully that takes care of the leak. 

I've been having another issue with the car not wanting to start right up when it's hot. it has a new distributor (electronic), coil, carburetor, spark plug wires, and spark plugs. It is getting fuel and spark so I'm not sure what the problem is...maybe the timing? That is going to be my next research project since it sucks to have a car not start when you stall on the highway in traffic or at a light. For now it's driving great with the new clutch and clutch cable. I'm happy with the investment. The job took from about 9am-3:30pm with two experienced people (my dad and me) and no significant breaks.

Prepping to Install New Clutch

I haven't had the greatest experience with my T5 transmission to date and I believe the primary reason for that is due to the clutch. I bought a used flywheel, clutch and pressure plate from a 4-speed toploader off of Craigslist for $50 and I don't think it sat properly when it was installed. This caused the clutch fork to sit too far back and therefore caused the clutch cable to always have too much tension on it in addition to causing the clutch to always be slightly engaged. I know that there should always be a little pressure on these types of diaphragm clutches, but in my case something just isn't right if the clutch cable is 3" from reaching the fork.

I have decided to pull the transmission and install a newer 10.5" clutch and flywheel from a newer Mustang. Yesterday I ordered a handful of parts from Summit Racing's website including

1. 157 tooth, 10.5", 28.2oz Ford Racing flywheel
2. 10.5" Ford Racing clutch kit
3. Throwout bearing
4. Pilot bearing
5. Bolt and dowel kit
6. '96+ Mustang clutch cable

I have read that the clutch cables from the '96+ Mustangs are a bit longer and allow for better routing which in turn allow for less required pressure when pushing in the clutch. I'm planning to do this install on either September 7th or 14th. It shouldn't take more than a day if I have some help, but we'll see!