1973 Torino Tribute Restoration

Well after a lil research I found out that the Mustang 71-73 Dome light bezel is the same as the Torino dome light so I went on down to Dallas Mustangs and bought one. I installed it yesterday and now I can check that off the list of things to do.

Let there be light

 

I sure admire the job you have done on that wagon, GPD. I ALSO admire your tenacity to make things right!

 

New Brake System

I just back from picking up the Wagon from the mechanic shop getting the Brakes looked at. What started out being a simple Brake job, turned into: New Master Cylinder, New Brake hoses, New front Rotors, New front Calipers, complete Brake fluid flush and of course the New Pads and Rear Shoes.

I kinda figured ALL this needed to be replaced since I hadn’t really touched the Brake system other than inspection and cleaning during the restoration. Previously, the mechanic said for the amount of initial driving I was gonna do that I would be fine till Spring and he was right. The pedal is now FIRM and the Wagon stop’s on a dime. LOL! Well maybe 20 Cents….After all it is a Wagon, let’s not get crazy!

I also had the Heater Core bypassed and will worry about replacing that a lil later after the Summer. I had the Power Steering Pump replaced. I used the Dupli-Color Blue recommended (On another thread) for the Pump and it came out looking pretty nice. I will clean everything up tomorrow and take a few photos to share.

There goes a few less things to scratch off the list!

 

Yes, more pictures are good! Every time I see more perfection on your wagon it motivates me to get more done on my sedan!

I spent 2hrs this morning doing the brakes on my wife's Durango. Now it was Wagner pads and rotors and stops like a new one. The old pads were actually fine. The ROTORS were worn down so much you could almost see through them. The grinding sounds we were hearing had nothing to do with worn pads or rivets hitting the rotor surface. The backing plate of the brake pads was contacting the edge of the rotor because the grooves the pads were cutting into the rotors were THAT deep!

During the repairs, I discovered my 4 inch C-clamp wasn't big enough to go around the calipers. Imagine that, 4 inches was not enough to do the job! Bought a 6 inch C-clamp to get it done and the pistons got compressed and the caliper got stuffed and that was that! I would have bought an 8 inch C-clamp but I didn't want to impress her THAT much.

Sorry for the hijack, it's a true story, and I couldn't help myself.

 

Photos:

Hey Alan that was some story!

Here are the photos of the New Power Steering Pump and under the hood:

http://pix.kg/p/528124100508%3A364280603/sct

 

Tailgate window

Hey Guys I finally tracked down the back tailgate culprit. I started running speaker wire to the back cargo area where I am going to install 6 x 9 speakers and figured that since I had to remove panels again that maybe I could kill two birds with one stone and figure out what was causing the fuses to pop.

Well I tracked down the tailgate switch wires and what happened was that the connection under the toe board had gotten "melted" together.

Apparently the connection was positioned too close to the floor board and the exhaust heat from under the car caused it to melt togther shorting it out. I'm not sure why I didn't notice it before when everything was apart, but now I'm gonna double up on the Dynamat type stuff there and cover the wiriing with conduct for double protection.

I cut out the connection and soldered the wires together and heat shrinked it to prevent corrrosion.

I also removed the tailgate window motor and cleaned out all that nasty grease that was packed in there and replaced the window gear plugs. There were several little chunks of broken plugs in the case. I put it all back together and now the window goes up and down effortlessly using either the dash switch or the key switch on the tailgate itself.

Everything was cleaned and lubed up and now the tailgate opens both ways and the window works just fine.

Today I'll tackle installing the front door speakers and finish running the wiring. I'm getting closer to having tunes. :2_thumbs_up_-_anima

 

Glad you found the problem, GPD! I knew you would!

 

Awesomesauce, that's another electrical gremlin captured and beheaded!

 

Nice find!

 

That's great, I know it feels good to finally have a mysterious problem like that solved.

 

Update

Thanks for the kind words.

Here is the connection that just melted together under the toe board. I made sure all the wiring under there was protected with both added Dynamat and conduct.

I got all the wiring done and front speakers installed. I went with Custom Autosound's USA 230. I know it doesn't have enough power so I'm adding an Amplifier and going with all new Kenwood components.

It's supposed to be finished hopefully this week.

Photo of melted connection under toe board:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery...-_-Share-_-Photos-_-legacy&localeid=en_US&h=1

 

Change of plans...

A quick update on the wagon. I finally got the stereo installed today. I ended up doing it myself because of a mishap I had at a local stereo shop a couple weeks ago. Too make a long story short, I was pulling out of my garage that day when I accidentally swiped the passenger side wheel lip molding.


Thank goodness it was just the wheel lip molding, but now I'm looking for a replacement. That bad experience should have been a sign!!!


I get to the stereo shop and they don't want to install the back speakers where I want them and they try and sell me stuff I don't want. I end up leaving and installing the 6 x 9's myself along with the 5 1/4's in the front doors. I went with the Custom Autosound head unit and Kenwood speakers.


I plan on adding an amplifier later down the road to give it some punch. The door speakers were no hassle, but the 6 x 9's were a lil more difficult. I ended up getting an inch and a half spacer to kick the speakers out into the cargo area because there was no room for the speaker behind the plastic panels where I wanted them. Apparently, back in the 70's the speakers were thinner because I remember my Dad installing 6 x 9's in the same spot I have them now. (Again trying to keep it as close to the original as possible).


Anyway it sounds pretty good. Looking forward to taking her out this weekend if this rain goes away.


I'll post a photo link when my wife gets back from out of town with the camera. One more thing checked off the list! WoooWhoo!

 

6x9's are great, lots of sound, no sub needed for good power when done right. What kind did you get? 2-way or 3-way, brand, model?

I'm thinking 3-ways for my sedan, there are tons of them on Amazon for decent prices ($24 to $35 shipped) with decent ratings (Pyramid, Boss, SoundStorm Labs, other off-brands) and then the name brand Pioneers and Kenwoods (not rated much better than the off-brands) are about $47-$52 shipped per pair and then the DS Kickers (pretty much 5 stars from every rater) are $75 shipped and the KS series come to $90 shipped.

The ones in my Amazon cart now are the SoundStorm Labs GS369's. 400 watt handling, 60 ounce magnet (most 3-ways are 28 to 50 ounce), 6 reviews, 5 of them 5 star, 1 is 4 star, all in the last 12 months, all verified purchases, so I trust those ratings. $38 shipped and that's $10 from Kenwood/Pioneer territory but honestly these are rated better.

Once I pick a set I'll assess how good they sound on the stock radio and then decide if I want to add an amp or an EQ or something.

 

Speaker info

I went with Kenwood 3 ways all the way around and the Custom Autosound USA-230. I can still plug in my IPod into this unit, but it doesn't have the Ipod controls built in like the USA-630. (Even then you still need a special adaptor that costs a lil over $100 ) I figure as often as I change the music I can easily reach into the ash tray and get the Ipod itself. I wired the Auxilary jack cable into the ash tray. It fits as if it belongs there.

Goin to my mom's tonight to visit with my Momma! She loves it when I take the wagon. It brings back ALOT of good memories of our family growing up and that's what it's all about!

Happy Mother's Day to ALL the Mom's out there!

 

Stereo Update

Sorry Guys this week has been a lil hectic at work, but here is the link for the new stereo and speakers....I got TUNES!!!!!!!!

Photos:

http://pix.kg/p/752967770508:1616079084/scl