Lavron's '64 Build Thread

The Era of The Square Body Racing Comets
lavron
Site Admin
Posts: 4710
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2003 9:17 am
Location: Missouri, Ozarks
Contact:

Re: Lavron's '64 Build Thread

Post by lavron »

Santa's Comet wrote:If I remember right the early Bronco had a oil pan with a hump in the middle!
You are doing great!
NP Dave
Thanks and you remember correctly Dave, they are a rarity as well, nothing comes easy on the 6 :P

Not much to show today but will give you two unexciting pictures, I pulled the motor and transmission out today (air ride is great to lower the front of the car down so it is easier to get everything up over the grill) I welded the motor mounts permanent, fixed my ugly welds and got some primer on it, so those are done, I also finished up the hole in the hump by trimming it a bit more on the right side evening it up.
Image

Tested the trans mount and really could not get the speedo cable in and then it sat right up against the mount so I modded the mount by adding a notch in the left front, now everything fits good, still a little hard to get in there but it goes. While I was messing with it I welded some more on it and smoothed it up with my favorite tool, the angle grinder, and then shot a coat of primer on it.
Image

Probably spent too much time making it pretty for such a utilitarian part that no one will ever see :roll:

One question if anyone knows, should I get poly bushings for the motor mounts or will the rubber ones be ok?

See Ya,
Mike
Mike's build thread
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13058
Image

lavron
Site Admin
Posts: 4710
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2003 9:17 am
Location: Missouri, Ozarks
Contact:

Re: Lavron's '64 Build Thread

Post by lavron »

Got the calipers on today, I would have liked to say they went on easy but that would not be true, they were not real hard either, but the Chinese made cast brackets are not drilled exactly to the spindles.
Image

These are Speedway spindles and they came with a set of brackets but the calipers would not slip on them without some grinding so I tried the brackets I had already (they look like the same part) the calipers went on them just fine but the lower bolt hole was drilled just off on them, I finally just ground the slides a little on the Speedway brackets and used those.

See Ya,
Mike
Mike's build thread
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13058
Image

lavron
Site Admin
Posts: 4710
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2003 9:17 am
Location: Missouri, Ozarks
Contact:

Re: Lavron's '64 Build Thread

Post by lavron »

Got out and got the firewall cleaned up and painted, took longer than I wanted because I took the steering shaft plate out so I could put sealer on it, while it was out I decided to weld and grind some more on it, it is a chilly rainy day on the hill today and my welding mask kept fogging up, really sucks that I already can't weld but to not be able to see while attempting to weld really makes for bad looking welds, it all worked out in the end because I am an expert grinder :roll: .
Image

I removed all the stuff off the firewall as well and while at it I redid the way the pivot bolt hooks to the clutch pedal lever, I think that stuff is all done now so maybe next time I can start actually running lines :roll:

Month is winding down for me so I will have to take Jim's advice and re-organize my "list", I actually did accomplish a bunch of different things that I won't have to do later so I guess it all comes out in the wash.

See Ya,
Mike
Mike's build thread
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13058
Image

lavron
Site Admin
Posts: 4710
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2003 9:17 am
Location: Missouri, Ozarks
Contact:

Re: Lavron's '64 Build Thread

Post by lavron »

Went out for a few minutes today and was going to hook up my front brake hoses to see how I would run the lines and found out I bought the wrong set, I think the ones I bought are metric but my calipers are designed after the early style and need 7/16" - 20 banjo bolts, so I will be ordering a new set :roll: (it was a cheap set anyway)

I also found out while I was up in there that the tie rod ends are hitting the sway bar mount in it's current configuration when the wheel is turned all the way (actually it would not turn all the way because or the interference) so I took some time to figure out how I was going to weld on brackets that came with the bar which moves the bracket below the lower A-arm so it should be out of the way of everything. I think I will cut the mount off that came on the A-arms because I don't like how close it get to the air bags (it is just a piece of tube welded to the A-arm).

Keeping on.

See Ya,
Mike
Mike's build thread
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13058
Image

lavron
Site Admin
Posts: 4710
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2003 9:17 am
Location: Missouri, Ozarks
Contact:

Re: Lavron's '64 Build Thread

Post by lavron »

Today is the close of month 4, I did a couple of things because I got a part I have been waiting for that came on the slow boat from China, I actually have been waiting on several things to do my brake/clutch job and this is the first to arrive.

They were some 10mm banjo bolts, I only needed one but it was cheaper to buy 5 so now I have 4 extra, I guess it is a good thing because I immediately dropped one of the crush washers and couldn't find it (actually they are not crush washers they have a rubber seal on them, I think they are a motorcycle brake bolt) Anyhow I guess I ran one line from the clutch master to nothing, the master couldn't have been any closer to the inner fender or I would not have gotten the bolt in, as it is it fits near perfect like I planned it that way.
Image

I also made a bracket and moved the brake proportioning valve, as you can see in that picture, I have been doing some reading and had come to the conclusion that it wasn't good to be above the master cylinder, it would make for a place to trap air, so I moved it, I am going to make my master at the top of the system so I will be running the front lines lower than I intended. Moving the proportioning valve actually works in my favor, the outlet is on the bottom pointing right where it needs to go under the car and back to the rear.
Image

I think I am pretty safe with it there, it clears the header and valve cover by a long way :roll: :P :lol:

So here is my summary for the 4th month and what I have gotten done so far;
lavron wrote:June 15th - July 15th; Pushed into the shed, removed all the drivetrain (front and rear suspension, engine, transmission, exhaust) started installing rear 4-link.

July 15th - August 15th; Finished the rear 4-link install (98%) and started on front M2 install.

August 15th - Sept 15th; All suspension components installed, steering installed, airbags installed at least to test.
September 15 - October 15; Got both the master cylinders mounted and hooked up to the pedals, the pedals and firewall mount was cleaned up and painted, wiring harness completely stripped out of engine bay and under the dash, cleaned up the firewall and painted it after welding up the electrical bulkhead holes, mocked up the engine and transmission and built the mounts for both, mocked up my front seats (and drove the car for a 100 miles in my mind, shifting gears and steering), started planning the oil pan mods, front brake calipers installed and final mount of the lower steering panel, finally I got the proportioning valve moved after making a bracket for it and hooked up my clutch line to the master. I am sure there was a bunch of odds and ends I did (like painting the valve cover) but that covers the majority of how I spent my 4th month on the Comet project, it was kinda a funky month for me doing a bunch of little but necessary things.

The 5th month starts tomorrow, I think everyone pretty much knows that brake lines are on the agenda, the rest, I don't know we will see :P at some point in the near future the motor needs to take a trip to the machine shop.

See Ya,
Mike
Mike's build thread
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13058
Image

comethead
Posts: 5692
Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2003 7:44 pm
Location: Palmdale, CA

Re: Lavron's '64 Build Thread

Post by comethead »

Wow! Look at them shiny new parts!!
Looks great and I’m jealous of your progress!!
Keep on truckin!

Joe
1965 Caliente HT- 289/4 speed
1964 Falcon HT- track car- 302/4 speed
Image

User avatar
Jims65cyclone
Posts: 2754
Joined: Sun Nov 23, 2014 10:29 pm
Location: Lexington, SC

Re: Lavron's '64 Build Thread

Post by Jims65cyclone »

Great progress, Mike! :D
Jim
Image

tomb22
Posts: 683
Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2016 8:11 pm

Re: Lavron's '64 Build Thread

Post by tomb22 »

Looking good Mike
Tom
Image
tomb's 65

lavron
Site Admin
Posts: 4710
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2003 9:17 am
Location: Missouri, Ozarks
Contact:

Re: Lavron's '64 Build Thread

Post by lavron »

tomb22 wrote:Looking good Mike
Tom
Jims65cyclone wrote:Great progress, Mike! :D
Jim
comethead wrote:Wow! Look at them shiny new parts!!
Looks great and I’m jealous of your progress!!
Keep on truckin!

Joe
Thanks guys, hopefully I can keep up the pace. Once I started compiling the list of everything I did last month I guess it was quite a bit, as most know fabricating parts and sometimes re-doing things takes a lot of time, it would have been easier just buying bolt on parts but sometimes there is none and (mostly) they cost a lot.

I wish it was done.

Every time I see this designation(?) on the 250 engine block I want to call this "Project X12" the only problem is it is 12X on the right side :roll:
Image

I have no idea what that signifies but people would probably say what does X12 stand for :P

See Ya,
Mike
Mike's build thread
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13058
Image

lavron
Site Admin
Posts: 4710
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2003 9:17 am
Location: Missouri, Ozarks
Contact:

Re: Lavron's '64 Build Thread

Post by lavron »

I actually flared a brake line today, didn't get it on and it was just one end but I wanted to see how hard it was to do the double flair, it looked pretty good and was easy to do.

The thing I don't have is a tubing bender the right size, the smallest size is 1/4" and I can't do any tight bends, I may look into getting some or the plier type benders for 3/16", the 1/4" one still works just a bit too big.

I also got one of those copper cone gaskets today for brake lines, it was supposed to be a bag of 10 but I had it in my saved item list and just clicked the button to add to cart I did not realize that there was a lesser number. You might wonder why I speak of such a thing, well one cost almost $7, 10 were like $15, now I am so disgusted I am not ordering any more until I see if I end up with any leaks, I think my flairs are going to be so perfect I won't need them :P

Maybe tomorrow I can actually make a brake line :roll:

See Ya,
Mike
Mike's build thread
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13058
Image

lavron
Site Admin
Posts: 4710
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2003 9:17 am
Location: Missouri, Ozarks
Contact:

Re: Lavron's '64 Build Thread

Post by lavron »

I got a little done today, I keep fiddling with my clutch master connection rod, I think I finally got it how I want it :roll: I bought a 2.5" stainless carriage bolt because it is all I could find that had full threads, I keep running into a problem with grade 8 bolts because the threads are not long enough and I can't find a fully threaded one anywhere. I did not want the locking (square) part of the bolt so I clamped the bolt in the hand drill and spun it while I held it against the bench grinder wheel, then I used a flat file to square up under head, again while spinning the bolt in the drill.

Got it all in there, it is being held on the pedal by two locking nuts, one turned backwards on the outside of the pedal shaft, I was able to tighten the nuts really tight but leave the rest free to spin on the bolt, I might add a couple of drops of oil to it later.
Image

I also got the rear brake soft lines attached to the rear diff, they are just a stock replacement set and I had to make some tabs to hold them and weld them to the diff. I also made a bracket to hold the line running up to the body, I decided to cut it off in the picture for some reason :roll:
Image

It actually took a little while to add the rear brackets because I went ahead and took the shocks loose at top and swung them down out of the way and removed the air bags just to be safe. When I put the airbags back in I replaced the adapter on the air inlet with one made for air, it screwed in there a lot farther, left the rear aired up slightly so I can see if it still leaks down.

All that I need to do on the rear brakes now is run the line between the soft lines and then the line to the front of the car, I am kinda idling on running the front lines because I ordered me a pair of brake line bending pliers from HF and want to wait until I get those.

See Ya,
Mike
Mike's build thread
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13058
Image

bigdan
Posts: 555
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2013 5:47 am
Location: Eastern TN

Re: Lavron's '64 Build Thread

Post by bigdan »

Looking good and making progress!

My original clutch master cyl configuration had that much offset also - probably around 2" - from the pedal. After studying on it a bit, I didn't like the bolt flex and ended up moving my master cylinder towards the center to get a straight push on the pedal. Just something you might want to look at while you still have room to tweak a little.

Keep it up!

Dan
Long time search complete, 65 Cyclone project in progress!

Image

lavron
Site Admin
Posts: 4710
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2003 9:17 am
Location: Missouri, Ozarks
Contact:

Re: Lavron's '64 Build Thread

Post by lavron »

bigdan wrote:I didn't like the bolt flex and ended up moving my master cylinder towards the center to get a straight push on the pedal. Just something you might want to look at while you still have room to tweak a little.
I can't imagine that bolt would flex at all but I haven't experienced it yet with any fluid or a slave cylinder as far as that goes. Really don't have room to move it over any further to right, I am up against the brake master right now as it is.

I got my rear hard line run across the diff today, I wish I had done a prettier job but it is my first one, I guess I will find out if it leaks someday :roll: . I talked about my body bracket I made yesterday and didn't show accidentally, well it is just as well because when I was looking for a bolt to go in top of the pumpkin to hold the brake line I dug out the original brake line, I had forgotten the guy at the JY had cut the brake line body mount off of the Mountaineer when I got it, so I cleaned it up and drilled a couple of mounting holes in it and replaced my homemade one with it. If this picture looks kinda funny it is because I put two pictures together :roll:
Image

I welded a couple of the little tin mounts on the axle housings to hold the line as well, if I was doing it again I would have cut the hole in the bracket in half because I burned the top of the bracket off anyway :P So rear axle hydraulic brakes are done, I still need to do the emergency brake. I may wait to run the line from the front until after I do some of the work to the floor of the car.

I also got the front brake hoses today so I got them installed with the brackets, the brackets actually came from wrong kit I bought earlier, the one I just got had everything but the brackets, the only problem I had is the hole was not big enough for the line to go through, I thought they were all standard, but I just reamed the hole out, I checked the lines from the earlier (wrong) kit and they were too big for the brackets as well, I guess that is one of risks of buying a cheap kit :roll:
Image

I know that line looks tight but it is not really and I moved the arm as low and as high as it would go, lock to lock, and it never got pulled taught and it never touched anything. I thought it was weird that line points forward on the caliper (can't install it any other way) but it look like it should be ok.

I did one other thing just for fun (wild hair, change of pace) but will show later, I mean I am just not done yet, not hiding it :P (you may have already seen it in the past)

See Ya,
Mike
Mike's build thread
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13058
Image

lavron
Site Admin
Posts: 4710
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2003 9:17 am
Location: Missouri, Ozarks
Contact:

Re: Lavron's '64 Build Thread

Post by lavron »

lavron wrote:I did one other thing just for fun (wild hair, change of pace) but will show later, I mean I am just not done yet, not hiding it (you may have already seen it in the past)
You guys may or may not remember back in probably February (wintertime) I started working on my replacement steering wheel, it has been sitting in the basement for a while, I did fill the cracks etc and my wife decided the basement needed tidied up and I saw it sitting there neglected so I decided to get it sanded and painted.

Image

It looked pretty good until I decided to move it back further in the shed because I was afraid the rain was going to blow in and it flipped off the top of that pipe I have it sitting on and skinned up the top of the rim :roll: (the picture is before I threw it on the floor) I let it dry (some) and lightly sanded the scuffs and repainted them, it is not perfect but I may (or not) sand it after it is good and dry and shoot another coat on it. Here it is right now.
Image

You can maybe see a few of the chips on the rim, I sprayed the grippy part of the wheel with some bed liner to give some texture back. The hub looks pretty good, not perfect, but no cracks.
Image

I think I want leather wrap my wheel anyway that is why I might not sand it and repaint it.

I don't think I ever posted these before but here is a couple of pictures in the process (I think you can find some pictures somewhere on the forum before I started, I ground the cracks out and I drilled those holes in the rim where is was scraped and gouged so bad to maybe help secure the epoxy.
Image

Then of course I mixed up the PC7 and slathered it on there, it is at this point your pretty sure you messed the wheel up for good.
Image

It worked out in the end, if you look at my finished wheel you can see I filled some of the indent with bars right against the hub, I figured it wouldn't make any difference once the horn ring went back on.

I did cut one of my sway bar end links down shorter today as well and will do the other one soon, it fit ok and I want to tuck the sway bar up as tight as I can up under the front end, will go ahead and pull the air bags out, grind the paint off the lower control arm in the proper place and tack the mounts on, then I will pull my lower arm off and finish weld the mounts and cut the old ones off, smooth everything up and repaint the arms before I put them back on with the grade 8 bolt.

See Ya,
Mike
Mike's build thread
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13058
Image

lavron
Site Admin
Posts: 4710
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2003 9:17 am
Location: Missouri, Ozarks
Contact:

Re: Lavron's '64 Build Thread

Post by lavron »

Here is the starting point from back on page 37 of the build, there are more picts there of the cracks, etc.
Image

See Ya,
Mike
Mike's build thread
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13058
Image

Post Reply