What Next? 1973 Ford Contry Sedan

No, you'll have a rebuildable unit. It's what I did with the gearbox from a '75 Torino Elite--I refreshed the seals and made sure the internals were in good condition, then reassembled it and put it in Babe, as her old one and the pump were just about shot.

 

Oh,for the old days and the '56 Ford box,which,if with power assist,it was of the linkage assist type! I had four of them from 1966-1985,two Squires with PS,a Ranch Wagon and a Customline Victoria without. The manual steering was never that heavy,but the understeer was relentless.
Anyway,if I buy the expensive unit,the rebuildable core isn't required. It is Thursday night,and I'll be out of town tomorrow,and still no ignition switch today.

 

I've got a seal kit in my toolbox for those, if anyone is interested in it. I think I bought it for a 59 Ford that I had at the time.

 

Sunday--I just got back from out of town with enough daylight to install the ignition switch,which came in Friday as I was leaving. The car seems to like it--no stalling or cutting out so far. I put some paper underneath where I was parking it,weighted down because boy is it windy! Anyway,I'll be able to see any drip from the PS system. When I drove it,no evidence of leakage wherever I parked. Maybe later in the week,I can have the tech look at it while it is on the lift,and confirm what I suspect:new box plus labor. Anyway,what a smooth ride this car gives,and with effortless torque and passing power (SAE Gross lbs./feet would be about 400! (300 Net).

 

Alright! You're now starting to enjoy it! The fruits of your labor are oh so sweet, are they not? You just have a pit or two....

 

Today I started on the air shock job. I got the uppers attached. I guess I need to get some air in them so they'll extend so as to be able to attach the lower end of each shock. The idea of the kit that Summit sent me is to have a Schrader valve in a convenient location and add air to the shocks. But the '73 Ford system is a vacuum-driven air pump, lines and a reserve tank and a gizmo to make the whole thing load-sensitive.
And the sticky wicket is that the fittings on the hoses in the system are 'way different from the ones on the shocks. Maybe there is an adapter somewhere that will fix this. Also,the old and the new shocks get air from a 90-degree fitting. Trouble is,on the old,it is on the hose,and on the new,it's on the shock,so kinda hard to adapt there. So I could just use the new hoses (very skinny plastic tubes,actually),but I would have to adapt at the junction above the axle. IF that is even possible! Warm today,but they say we got storms coming,so I don't know when I'll finish.

 

What you need is the modern air compressor setup that attaches to the Schrader valve. Did you verify all the other components of the air shock control system are working?

 

Well,the vacuum powered air pump was filling the shocks,but they were leaky--you could hear them leak down at night. Anyway,today I managed to get the shocks' lower end installed by attaching the tubing & Schrader valve given,and utilizing a bicycle pump to get them to extend such that I could attach the lower ends of the shocks to the frame. I could just go with this system and disconnect the pump in the engine compartment,but today I wasted lots of time looking at brass fittings at the hardware store. I found one that would mate to the female end of the factory tubing,but struck out at finding an adapter to go to the 7/16" x 20 male fitting on the shock. So close! I suppose I can call Summit and ask if the GM adapter kit they sell has any relevance to the Ford system I have.

 

If you can find a tee that will fit the new shock tubing that has the "Acme" (I can't make that up!) type male fitting, then you can attach a female "Acme" fitting to the air system.

 

Well,I did my time under this car this week! I managed to make some brass adapter combos at the shocks that worked with the factory system,only to find that the right side shock wasn't getting any air under pressure. I ended up disconnecting the left front fenderwell mounted vacuum-powered pump at the tee on the firewall (and capping the tee fitting) and securing the axle ends of the tubes with zip ties. Then I mounted the tee that fills the shocks so it is under the "Magic Doorgate" in the plastic filler panel for the late'73 extended bumper,and ran the tubes with more zip ties to the shocks. I put in 75 psi to start,and even though I can't have the load sensing feature/automatic operation, at least I've got the bumper so it is not dragging on the ground! And the ride/handling,in partnership with the coil-spring-assisted front shocks,is resulting in a different car. The acid test locally is the elementary school in our neighborhood featuring two "Speed Humps",the first of which drove this car crazy (meaning uncontrolled pitch motion),but which now is recoverable at 25 mph.
Oh and BTW,the car still cuts out occasionally with the new ignition switch,so it is maybe something else. It has always idled less than smoothly,while being very smooth on acceleration,so,but now it seems to gargle more heavily just before shutting off,while the two idiot lights remain on. Carburetor? At least it is not as mad rich as it was. I mean,it hasn't set off the neighbor's CO detector since I set the richness. Sometimes the shutoff occurs while on the range as a sag,and then comes back on. Usually,though,it is while idling at the light, and it stops dead as the light goes green,to the chagrin of those behind me.

 

Oh,and I forgot to mention,the steering box has not pissed away its contents--it just seems to be seeping. That is to say,fluid still visible on dipstick,and a stain visible underneath when you move the car. So I'm keeping an eye on that. And don't forget,Baby wants her 2.75 Trac-Lok rear axle rebuilt!

 

It's likely coming to the point of undoing each connector between the ignition switch and the coil, and tightening each of the female connectors to make and keep better contact, then if it still does it, replacing each hank of wire in that circuit. After that, I literally am out of ideas. This has to be one of the most frustrating things for you. Can't even blame the transmission, because it doesn't have a torque converter clutch or an aftermarket overdrive unit.

 

Well,I appreciate the thoughts. Today I had an hour drive out & back and what a wobble at 65-70 mph! Shakes the whole car. Then I went to the tire place who sold me the 5 new tires and they said LF tire has feathering caused by vertical bouncing. Then the organic computer between my ears suggested that since I didn't do the upper control arm bushings yet,and the left side is the side that's loose,that is why this wobble is happening. I had planned to go to my mechanic and ask if the bushings alone could fix the front end without the inner shaft or control arm. Mac's catalog lists the bushings, so I could get them. I don't see the shaft part anywhere. The control arm bushings and tire rotation and probably a new steering box would seem to be the rather pricey path out of the woods.

 

I think the shafts are not necessarily replaceable like on some other Fords; you just replace the bushings.

 

My mechanic suggests that they won't come out easily,and that if there is no shaft kit or control arm kit available,and he has to do that,it could be costly.