EmDee
Club Retro Rides Member
Committer of Autrocities.
Posts: 5,934
Club RR Member Number: 108
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1957 Ford Fairlane EmDee
@emdee
Club Retro Rides Member 108
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May 26, 2022 12:43:36 GMT
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Came here to post that ^ video up there, but you've stolen my thunder.
Thanks again for the lift round the track, a truly epic experience and much less scary the 2nd or 3rd time round! I am a really terrible passenger!
You've also managed to take the only picture of my fiat that wasn't taken by me 🤣 so thanks for that 👍🏻
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mylittletony
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,420
Club RR Member Number: 84
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1957 Ford Fairlane mylittletony
@mylittletony
Club Retro Rides Member 84
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May 26, 2022 18:13:55 GMT
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Mate it wouldn't have been the same doing it solo... The Abarthipla was looking strong! sooo.... Would anyone care for a gearbox update?? Went out to it this afternoon, fired up, nervously selected reverse: gentle pick up of load - good. Through Neutral into Drive, another gentle drop of revs, let off the brake and it rolled out of the garage. So far so good. I let it warm up a bit, cycled through the gears a few times and pulled out onto the road, and round the corner to a quiet cul-de-sac. I did plenty of stop/start and it seemed ok every time so I pulled back onto the drive and checked the fluid. It was reading on the "low" mark so I topped it up, which required fashioning a funnel adaptor from an old yoghurt pot. Seems I might have a put a bit too much in as after that it was reading over. One observation, the dipstick is f***ing hopeless, and I think it's snagging on it's lining and picking up some small pieces of plastic which is no good at all. I'll give it a deburr but it's days are numbered and I'll drop the pan and do a filter and fluid change. I then took it on a longer drive, gave it some stick to get it warm and again did some stop & pull away attempts. On none of those did it slip... It even picked up hard enough to chirp the tyres a few times  So I'm a bit puzzled, but (touch wood) it seems to be ok? My ever trusty colleague is visiting our US office in a week, so I'll ask/get him to bring back a proper dipstick and do a fluid change as above. Fingers crossed!!!!! |
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May 26, 2022 20:27:11 GMT
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If the wipers won't wipe the screen dry, first check the wipers are actually free to move. Mine were hard to turn, the grease in the arm spindles having turned to something resembling cheese.
If they're free to move then I would strongly recommend looking into an electric conversion- there's enough room in these- the cost of rebuilding the vacuum unit will be high, particularly with shipping as the only guy doing them is in the States.
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mylittletony
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,420
Club RR Member Number: 84
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1957 Ford Fairlane mylittletony
@mylittletony
Club Retro Rides Member 84
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May 26, 2022 21:20:53 GMT
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If the wipers won't wipe the screen dry, first check the wipers are actually free to move. Mine were hard to turn, the grease in the arm spindles having turned to something resembling cheese. If they're free to move then I would strongly recommend looking into an electric conversion- there's enough room in these- the cost of rebuilding the vacuum unit will be high, particularly with shipping as the only guy doing them is in the States. I'll try and clean out the grease, they do rotate but not that easily. I've got my eyes on a Newport conversion, but I'm not exactly flush with cash and it's £250 pretty much. I'm not too clued up on wipers, this has a motor with a rectangular block that then turns a pulley. I'd happily try and find a locally sourced motor if possible. Then again 250 for a bolt in solution is good value... |
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Does it have a transmission cooler?
What's the oil like?
You may have cooked it going around the track and it just started having issues after?
After you got it up to temp did you let it sit for a while and then try again similar to circumstances the first time?
I'm certainly no transmission expert but would be my first port of call.
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I'll try and clean out the grease, they do rotate but not that easily. I've got my eyes on a Newport conversion, but I'm not exactly flush with cash and it's £250 pretty much. I'm not too cluttered up on wipers, this has a motor with a rectangular block that then turns a pulley. I'd happily try and find a locally sourced motor if possible. Then again 250 for a bolt in solution is good value... Huh, it might be cheaper to get the vacuum unit rebuilt. Mine cost $120. |
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Yet another great thread I'd not seen previously. Wonderful; bookmarked. Good fortune with the gearbox.
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mylittletony
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,420
Club RR Member Number: 84
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1957 Ford Fairlane mylittletony
@mylittletony
Club Retro Rides Member 84
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Thanks etypephilPhilA - yeah, it's an annoying amount for the leccy one tbh, but I suspect I'll do it. By the time I've done anything else I'll be ~150 in, plus lots of faff. Unless the new grease works... varelse - it does have a cooler built in to the rad, but it may not be enough. I didn't have the chance to go for a suitably long drive yesterday, or take it out after the second test drive. Fluid is red and doesn't smell. I'll be checking it very frequently from now on. Current theories: 1. It got hot driving over the South Downs and the fluid got thin. 2. The fluid level was a bit low, my second stop and refill made enough difference, but gave the 'low' reading yesterday. 3. Ragging it on track dislodged some schmutz from a circuit somewhere which got lodged. Possibly some of the plastic dipstick lining which I think I saw yesterday. 4. Combination of some or all of the above I think 350lb-ft is pretty close to the limit for these boxes, so working it hard on a fairly hot day could cause it problems Plan of action: 1. New dipstick to better read the level and remove risk of scraping off the lining 2. Fluid and filter change 3. New cooler I'm hoping this will be enough, but I better start saving for a rebuild/upgrade... |
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May 27, 2022 10:10:47 GMT
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Depending on your skill levels it would be an easy conversion to fit Mini/morris minor wiper motor & drive assembly for a lot less money.
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mylittletony
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,420
Club RR Member Number: 84
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1957 Ford Fairlane mylittletony
@mylittletony
Club Retro Rides Member 84
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May 27, 2022 10:34:08 GMT
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Depending on your skill levels it would be an easy conversion to fit Mini/morris minor wiper motor & drive assembly for a lot less money. I'd really like to swap out the original system, it's complicated with cables and pulleys running under the cowl. Does a classic mini system accommodate opposite sweep wipers? Mine both sweep outwards if that makes sense, rather than both left to right |
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May 27, 2022 10:37:03 GMT
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the old girl certainly hitched her skirt up at goodwood (well, out of the pits, and down the pit straight anyway, completely unrelated to the crowd and performance anxiety, obviously  ) |
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Last Edit: May 27, 2022 10:37:17 GMT by darrenh
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,353
Club RR Member Number: 64
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1957 Ford Fairlane glenanderson
@glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member 64
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May 27, 2022 10:51:28 GMT
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Depending on your skill levels it would be an easy conversion to fit Mini/morris minor wiper motor & drive assembly for a lot less money. I'd really like to swap out the original system, it's complicated with cables and pulleys running under the cowl. Does a classic mini system accommodate opposite sweep wipers? Mine both sweep outwards if that makes sense, rather than both left to right It’s unlikely that a Lucas 14W setup off any other cars would go straight on, but with careful matching of crank wheel stroke, wheelbox pinions and orientation they can be made to work on pretty much anything. It’s a very versatile system, provided you’re prepared to do some mucking about to make it work. Two speeds and variable intermittent can be easily added. If you want something that you can bolt up in an afternoon and not muck about though, then you’re maybe better off buying the retrofit kit. |
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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May 27, 2022 13:11:48 GMT
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As Glen says, it's easy to order the right length cables & tube to make it fit yours - probably a few evenings work to sort out. No problem to do 'clap hands' wiping, you just flip one wheelbox upside down. Not the cheapest place, but good info and parts here; wiper kitsHe also has the wiring diagrams and instructions on how to measure the tubes etc in the wipers section. |
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Another vote for the Lucas wipers. So easy to adapt to almost anything.
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Proton Jumbuck-deceased :-(
2005 Kia Sorento the parts hauling heap
V8 Humber Hawk
1948 Standard12 pickup SOLD
1953 Pop build (wifey's BIVA build).
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EmDee
Club Retro Rides Member
Committer of Autrocities.
Posts: 5,934
Club RR Member Number: 108
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1957 Ford Fairlane EmDee
@emdee
Club Retro Rides Member 108
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May 30, 2022 21:10:09 GMT
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May 31, 2022 10:10:23 GMT
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Late to the party, and not read all the posts, but old American automatic boxes are notoriously picky on fluid level. Especially later in life. GM TH350 / TH400 are really noted for this.
Also, at risk of teaching grandma to suck eggs, but Ford tranmissions use Type F ATF and everyone else uses Dexron II or III. Some Ford boxes use Dexron just to confuse matters....
But incorrect fluid or fluid level causes a surprising amount of slipping issues.
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1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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mylittletony
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,420
Club RR Member Number: 84
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1957 Ford Fairlane mylittletony
@mylittletony
Club Retro Rides Member 84
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I've just asked this on the technical section: Cooler plumbingAny advice greatly appreciated!! akku - I'm 95% certain the AOD takes Dexron III, I've got some more of that to use. EmDee - cheers for sharing the pic, it's really cool to get included in the report  |
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mylittletony
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,420
Club RR Member Number: 84
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1957 Ford Fairlane mylittletony
@mylittletony
Club Retro Rides Member 84
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Jun 18, 2022 20:40:40 GMT
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Status update on the gearbox cooler: I had a poke around in front of the radiator and the space is much smaller than I first thought. I removed the grill, which is much easier if you remove the headlights.  Then I chose a spot for the cooler  The hoses are going to run through the side mounting panel for the radiator  I decided to use some angle brackets I already had, they lined up well with the cooler and with a tweak to the angle will attach to the front apron piece nicely. Next job was to get it up in the air, not as easy as it sounds given how tight it is in the garage...  The back is up on some home made wooden ramps. Then I got the front higher on axle stands under the frame rails  This gives me access to this chunky sump pan  I read a tip to undo the sump from one end which allows the fluid to dribble out without the whole thing falling on you/the floor, this actually worked quite well  Double drip tray for safety. After a lot of faff trying to remove the sump, I realised I had to lower the cross member, so unbolted most of it while the back of the box was supported on a jack. This is what greeted me  Not great, but not terrible. There's obviously a fair bit of residue, but no bits. It doesn't smell burnt really, maybe a little worse than fresh oil? It's still pretty red. It's probably done about 500 miles since the last fluid change, but that could have flushed all manner of curse word out of the circuits. I've got everything crossed a fluid and filter change will be ok. Speaking of which, I removed the filter and fitted the new one. Current sitrep: the sump is refitted but only with a few bolts to hold it in place, I had to come in for tea... New dipstick still to be fitted. New pipes still to be made. Also, I whipped the speedo cable out and ran it with the drill. This resulted in no reading at the speedo itself, so I think I've messed something up at the back of the cluster - great. I removed a very home made looking extension to the internal of the cable when fitting the new one and threw it in the bin. I now think I might need it, so have the unenviable task of going through my garage bin to find this extension... I hope I don't sound too negative as it was a pretty productive week squeezing in around a wife recovering from COVID, school runs, housework, normal work, school fair today and nieces coming to stay  |
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Jun 18, 2022 23:29:17 GMT
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Seen worse. Clean that to brain surgery levels of cleanliness. Make sure the filter is clean and clear, also make sure the top of the pickup pipe is sealing right else it'll draw air and do what you describe.
Yes, that transmission takes Dexron III.
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