Wipers Work.

I tried a couple times to buy a NOS or new made wiper motor and spoiler alert, none are available. I was able to buy a replacement from an eBay seller and adapt to the the van. It was simple, really and it might be even easier with another (61-67 ford pickup?) motor assembly. I had to stack some flat washers between the mount and the motor to make it work, but it works just fine.

Passenger Side Floor Pan

I’m making good progress. You saw in a previous post that the engine was in – it’s now running well.

I’ve ordered a new RH floor pan from an eBay seller to replace the old one as it resembles Swiss cheese more than a floor.

New Project

A little over a year ago, a friend died and his sister gave me his 1963 Ford Falcon Club Wagon van:

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It’s in nice shape, bodywise…but it needed a LOT of love mechanically.

I had it hauled over to my sisters back yard for storage while I figured out what to do next. First thing I did was replace the fuel tank and sending unit – the old tank had a couple quarts of fuel that had oxidized and turned into a black, stinky, lumpy liquid. Fortunately, the tank was easy to find (expensive, though) on eBay and arrived fast.

I tried to start the (170 six cylinder) engine, and while it turned over, it wouldn’t start. I pulled the cylinder head and discovered a stuck intake valve caused by water in the intake, so I took the van to work and removed the engine and transmission. I pondered rebuilding the engine, but it was bored -0.040″ and I decided against it.

After much searching, I found a replacement engine in a local wrecking yard. I’ts a 200 CID engine out of a 1978 Ford Fairmont. I washed it off (it was FILTHY) and installed a new clutch, carb kit, water pump, and a Ford 3G alternator in place of the generator.

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I’ve since got it running pretty well, and I’ve driven it a couple tanks of fuel to shake it down. I still need to connect the heater and get the windshield wipers to work, and install king pins and brakes all the way around.

More soon.

New instrument cluster lights and more

Last Monday I took the dash apart on the Buick (1998 LeSabre) to remove the radio and to replace the instrument panel bulb for the seat belt light. I tried (and failed, so far) to figure out where the amplifier input solder pads were so I can install and auxillary input for the phone.

Today I removed the rest of the dash including the instrument cluster, drove over to the parts store, and bought 8 new bulbs – I figured that since I was in there, I’d replace them all. Naturally, when I got home, I counted 10 bulbs to change. Bother.

I explain the removal and reinstallation in the shaky phone video below.

The next step was to reinstall the instrument cluster and the transmission indicator cable. It was easier than I originally thought, and I posted the next video to serve as a guide for those who haven’t done it before – I couldn’t find a video on YouTube, so I made one. Again, with a cell phone, and shaky, but you can get the idea.

It’s really a pretty easy job.

Playing Radio, Portable

I left the house around ten yesterday morning and drove out to a camping spot off Trapper’s Route Road.

In about a half hour, I had my Chameleon MPAS installed on the front bumper and was making contacts with people all over – Ontario, Alberta, Illinois, Texas, and others. I used my Yaesu 897D and an autotuner on 100 watts.

The MPAS is excellent – it breaks down into a small package and deploys quickly. Please check out the link, if you’d like – I’m a happy customer, I’m not paid to promote it.

The wind was HOWLING, so I spooled everything up and drove over to Bessamer Bend Interpretive site and spent the night there. I woke to snow as expected, but not enough to stick to the ground. I stopped at G-Ma’s cafe for breakfast and had the best corned beef hash I’ve ever had.

I guess that’s all I have to report