The Pony Car Project-Current And Future Projects

WARNING! CAR TALK!

So where am, I at in the Pony Car Project? I have been chipping away a many items, some with great success and some with not so good of success.

First, sometimes the Mustang does just not want to fire up, at all. This has always happened in my yard and usually in the morning. And strangely it is on Sunday mornings. Like this morning, I was going to drive it to church. It would not fire, so I drove the Bronco. After I came home, the Mustang started up. Maybe it just wants a day of rest! Since it has spark, my suspicion is leaning toward low fuel pressure. I bought a fuel pressure tester from Harbor Freight. Before the tester failed, I did get an indication that the pressure while the engine was running was at the minimum pressure. Another issue of the non-start could be with the Electronic Engine Control(EEC). After a previous owner modified the motor with more modern components, some of the EEC controls were left off. I know of two in particular that were common issues for the type of mods the Mustang has. One transmitter measures intake temperature. This was easily found locally. Another item "fakes" a signal to the computer for a valve position transmitter that is not there and not really needed. After it arrives and I get the car to run, a friend loaned me a "reader" to test the computer and read the error codes. I am not too worried.

Last week, I spent nearly a day working under the Mustang trying to cure a vibration problem. I found the differential pinion loose and the nut that holds the flange onto the pinion was finger tight. I torqued the nut and set the preload on the pinion bearings. That did not cure the vibration problem. More time under the car is necessary.

I did have one great success. When I bought the Mustang, I noticed immediately that the heater temperature control was stuck and I could not turn the temperature down. Since the weather has been getting warmer I decided I needed to fix that! Also, someone someday may actually want to ride in the Mustang and I would not want to cook them! So I took apart the heater control and after lubing the cable, it now works smoothly. What a joy to now have cool air come out of the dash vents!

Along the same idea that someone might want to ride in the Mustang, I am in process of fixing the power window in the passenger door. I was told that the right window and the power locks on both sides did not work. But when I took the door apart, I found that the window motor and the power lock solenoid were GONE! That explains why they don't work. So I ordered and received the parts I need along with a heavy duty rivet tool from Harbor Freight. The rivet tool is needed to pull the large blind rivets that holds the power lock solenoids. It should not take long to install them. Then if I have a passenger some day, they could open the window on a warm, sunny day and have the wind blow into the car!

A small success was to fix the engine temperature gage. The previous owner had installed a mechanical gage that set loose on top of the dash. He said the electrical gage did not work. I did an electrical check of the in dash temperature gage and it seemed to respond, so I bought a new sending unit and installed it. And success! The gage works! I pulled out the capillary tubing of the mechanical gage through the firewall and remove the gage. It has a lot cleaner look and I can still monitor engine temperature.

I also found some good buys on Ebay. Some of the ground effect fairings on the Mustang are not the correct ones for a Mustang GT. These are the fairings that run from just ahead, behind and under the doors. I found the correct ones on Ebay and am looking forward to receiving them next week. I think it will enhance the appearance when I get them installed. I already have a replacement bumper strip for the drivers door and sixty feet of double back tape for installation of all the replacement parts and the ones already installed that are loose.

I am still happy with the Mustang and it is fun to drive. So, much has been accomplished and there is much more to do. I just need to proceed a a steady pace. This is a marathon, not a sprint!

Many parts waiting for installation: Double back tape, pinion seal, paint, gear oil, drivers side molding, window motor, power lock solenoids and tools.