russ69coupe

Well, hoping to get back into this in another month or so. Been way too hot here for me anymore during the summer. No garage or even a roof overhead. Big news is I am going to be putting a 351C into it instead of the W. It's what I have wanted to do all along. I have made the decision to scrap my 72 Ranchero, just too much rust. So it will be donating it's engine to the Pinto. The T5 will still work. The 72 2V engine doesn't make a lot of torque or hp stock, and for now that is how it will stay mostly. The W I bought turned out to be pretty bad. I do have some stuff for it that I will have to sell now, which is typical. I seem to be best at paying full price for stuff, not using it, and then taking a bath when it is time to sell. Going to look at a 73 Ranchero later today. We need a second vehicle, and it needs to have a bed, so a Ranchero is perfect. Assuming I do a better job inspecting it before buying than I did the 72. Worst case, we get a Ranger. Thanks, Russ

Has anyone seen a serpentine setup for the 351W that eliminates the power steering pump? The 89 engine I have has the pump, but I don't need it (unless I decide to go with a hydroboost brake setup, unlikely at this point). I'm thinking of mounting some sort of pulley where the pump goes, but I'd rather be able to eliminate it all together. Thanks, Russ

Here's the link. http://www.fordpinto.com/index.php?topic=28493.0 Pictures are in post 14, 15, and 16 (I think these are the ones I had posted here), and then there are "progress" pictures scattered through the topic after that. And here are some pictures the seller had online on a sale site. He also details what he had done to the car. http://topclassiccarsforsale.com/ford/331828-79-ford-pinto-ess-drag-car-roller.html Thanks, Russ

Yeah, Bswor had to remove the pictures that were actually hosted on this site to save server space. I don't have any on a hosting site, might have to do that. Not sure if it would be ok to put a link to the Pinto site here. Russ

Something similar on the Pinto site I am on. Been down for almost 2 weeks, just came back up today. This is a partial quote of what is going on there. "Site was down due to overuse of server resources again. We are close to having to upgrade to a full virtual private host. Our database is now 20 years old (very large) and contains much knowledge that is still relevant to all our cars. I cannot pair down the database so we must move. " Don't know if this site is already on a vph or not. If not, maybe something to look into? But while losing the pictures sucks, losing this site would suck way worse. IMHO. Russ

Been accumulating more stuff, but not getting much done. Tried to get the front suspension on this week, found out I didn't have the upper ball joint castle nuts. Bought the arms used a few years ago, never noticed they didn't have the nuts. Won't be able to install the coils since there is no engine. But I would really like to have the front rolling at least. It took almost 2 hours to get the lower ball joints screwed in. Driver's side did not want to go. Passenger side went in with my fingers. Finally got them though. Got the nuts today. Going to get the front stuff done tomorrow. I hope. Depression sucks. Got the hatch lift supports on finally. Been wanting to do this so I can work in the hatch area. That glass hatch is really heavy. Figured out where to cut the dash to mount it. Going to cut the ends off so it fits in between the cage. Then I will work on fitting the ends around the cage. This way the vin area will be untouched. Oh, the biggie. I bought an aftermarket Tremec T5 used, $600. Seems ok from the tests I could do. Seller putting a bigger engine in his car and going with a stronger trans. Good gears to go with the 4.10 rear. 1352-251 A/M 79-93 330 2.95 1.94 1.34 1.1 0.63 - 2.76 Thanks, Russ

Do you have a website or how do we buy these? I'm not in the market right this minute, as I am still head over heals into my Pinto, but I would like this for my 351C soon. Thanks, Russ

Oh, yeah. I lived in Mansfield, then Akron, then Warren for a total of 8 years. Worked mostly in Solon. I really don't miss that white stuff too much. At least not having to drive 40 miles or more in it twice a day to and from work. Russ

Boy, things have changed. I've pretty much gone into the "I'm going to do this the best I can" mode. This could be the last major project car I can do, I am not getting any younger or in better health. I really wanted to do this with a 69 Mustang Coupe, but odds are that will never happen. I ended up scrapping the 89 Mustang. Decided that since ultimately I want a big V8 I might as well just do it now. So I bought an 89 5.8/351W from a Ford Van. Seller had already stripped the van, was going to use the engine in a project but is moving and can't store it right now. Came with a C6 that I was going to use, but after hearing about how bad it would fit and again realizing it wasn't what I wanted, I am going to sell it, along with the EFI (including the computer and harness) and am looking at a T5. I figure that an 89 shouldn't be too hard on a T5. Eventually I will need to go with a TKO of some sort, but I'll wait until I really get into the engine. I have bought a Quicktime Mustang II bellhousing that will fit the T5 and a TKO down the road. For now I am just going to use a used 4bbl Edelbrock carb I have for the Ranchero. Bought an Weiand Stealth intake already. Also a Summit HEI distributor for it. I wanted to avoid having to use a box with the ignition, hence the HEI for now, but here I had to compromise on cost. We'll see if that comes back to bite me later. Got the largest aluminum radiator that Speedway makes. Might have overdone that, bought it without measuring, but since I don't have to worry about fitting it into the radiator support it won't be a big deal. Oh, I bought rear 5x4.5 rear axles from a place called Dutchman Axles. These are made for the Mustang II rear end. Speedway still has the front brake kit on back order. But I went ahead and got a new master cylinder for 4 wheel disk brakes, and two proportioning valves. One that has the distribution block, brake light switch, etc, and one that is just a valve that can be turned to zero if needed, as I have heard that sometimes the other prop valves don't have enough adjustment. Going to be using 2002 Crown Vic rear disk brakes. Was for the Ranchero, but I can always get another set later. Oh, I did something I thought I would never do. I bought a 21 ckt Painless universal wiring kit. Decided that it would be easier to start with that than to try to piece together something, especially at the price of just the fuse boxes. I will be heavily modifying it though. The fuse box is NOT going under the dash! But it is a good starting point. And I won't have to worry about 40 year old wiring. And it was on sale. Summit and Speedway must be loving me right now. I've spent like $3500 in the last month and a half. Need to get a trans so I can get the engine mounted properly. Need to get the rear axles bushings pressed on, but I need to dig out the instructions for the CV brakes to see what else needs to be done at a machine shop. Taking today (thursday) and tomorrow off from work, was hoping to work on the Pinto, but I have to work on our Subaru instead. So if nothing else, I am taking Jan 4 thru 11 (I think) off to concentrate on the Pinto. Still facing the March deadline. But if I get real progress made, I think we can renegotiate that a bit. Ok, probably way more than anyone here cares about. So I will stop here for now. Thanks, Russ

Bit of an update. I have been working lots of overtime lately. Spending a good bit on the Pinto. Yes, the poor Ranchero is going to have to wait. So far I've bought tubular lower control arms and 2 inch dropped spindles. I already have tubular upper arms I bought a couple years ago for the 74 which will go on here. Going to put the 79 stock front suspension on the 74 (sooner or later) since I had tossed all of it's parts thinking I would be using new. If I keep it I will eventually redo that front end as well, but I need to get it back to being a roller and this works great for that. Next major purchase is the Speedway 11inch 5 lug front disk brake kit. Probably way over kill with the 2.3l, but might as well do it while I can. If I ever put a Cleveland in it will need them. So I have to get the rear axles redrilled to 5 lug. Thought about just getting a Mustang 8 inch, but the prices on those have gotten crazy. Then I have to get some wheels and tires. Hoping Craigslist will come to my rescue there. Made a deal with my wife. I have to have this driving and licensed by the end of March, or else she gets to spend most of my overtime next summer. We already split it, but not always 50/50. That was my planned date anyway, so it should serve to keep me motivated. And it is finally cooling off here in lovely downtown Hell. Hopefully taking the last 3 days of this month off from work to get a jump start on this. I should be able to strip the 89 Mustang in one day. I hope. The engine should drop right in since that is what the car had before. I had really wanted to get a T5, but for now I am going to have to live with the auto. I'd rather do the rest of the car the way I want now, and be able to drive it, then to get a trans and not be able to do much else. Thanks, Russ

So sorry to hear this. I've had to go through this way more times than I want to think about. Most recent was last fall. This may help a little. https://www.rainbowsbridge.com/Poem.htm ETA, I haven''t visited that site for quite a while. Now I am crying again. Russ

Couple of other things. No, the cage is not certified. Not an issue, I am not racing this. Just always wanted a full caged street car. I'm not a welder, although I need to at least learn enough to do the floor pans in the Ranchero. But welding a cage likely will be beyond my skills, so finding a car with it done is great. Missing the windshield. That may be a pain, but will worry about it later. I am on a Pinto site, so I have connections for parts. Got about 8 storage bins of the parts he took off the car. Overall got pretty much everything but the engine/trans, seats, carpet, radiator support, and inner fenders. Probably won't be using most anyway. I do need to figure out how to piece the stock dash around the cage. Only doing it since the vin is part of it. Otherwise I would just use a racing dash. I would like to put a V8 in, in fact a 351C. Just not sure at this point. Goal for now is to get the car running and on the road as inexpensively as I can. I have a good paying job, but not THAT good. And I really do need to get the Ranchero going first. But I also need to strip the 89 Mustang and get rid of the shell before I get in more trouble with the zoning people. The 89 has EFI, which should be a good thing. With the 4.10 rear gears, even a blah 2.3L should be fun. At least stoplight to stoplight. Got most of the extra stuff in a storage place already. Still a little bit in the interior. Front bumper, dash. First goal is to sand off the surface rust and paint the front frame/cage. Then the interior. Thinking of using the VHT chassis epoxy. I used some on the front suspension parts of the Ranchero, and really like it. Not the cheapest paint, but seems to cover well and should last. I'm not really set up to spray, so spray cans are good for me. Brush on wouldn't be bad, but I don't want to see brush marks. POR15 would be a possibility, but I don't think it is needed here. Can't decide on the front sheet metal. I really like the small bumper Pintos, and I have the sheet metal from my 74 wagon, but I would need to get a small bumper and front valence for it as it came with the big bumper/no valence. I do have the entire front end for this, and I don't have to make a decision anytime soon. So something to think about. Thanks, Russ

Now, I did NOT need another project. Really did not need in fact. Don't have the room if nothing else. Really don't have the money for more than one. But I came across this on Craigslist and foolishly decided to talk to the seller. He is in Tucson, and I am in the Phoenix area with no way to get the car here, so I thought I was safe. But no, he is willing to deliver it for a small price. And this car punched a number of things on the "I always want to do this with a car" list. And I could afford it, even with the delivery, thanks to finally getting the hiring bonus for my current job. Cost me $700 total. Some may think I got taken. I think that sometimes. But main issue is getting physically able to do this. Health hasn't been great the last few years. But I see a car and forget about that until after I get it. I should have spent the money on my 72 Ranchero. Now I need to just cover this new one with a tarp until I get the Ranchero back on the road. Like that is really going to happen. OH, what is it? 1979 Pinto. Glass hatch. Fully caged. Setup for a 2.3L rear sump pan(modified crossmember) with T5 from a fox Mustang. Seller had a turbo in it before he parked it 20 years ago. He had the cage installed and then life got in the way I guess. Recently inherited his brother's Mustang II and decided it was finally time to let this one go. I have a 89 Mustang with a plain 2.3 and A4ld that will be the new powertrain, for now. Eventually need to get a T5. I like shifting gears. Car has an 8inch Pinto/Mustang rear with 4.10 gears. Seller's parents are the original owners, he was given the car at about 17 years old. Not my first Pinto. Drove one for about 2 years in Ohio before making it a project car. Currently have a 74 wagon in the back yard that at this rate will never see the road again as it keeps getting pushed back on the to-do list. Oh, the pictures are at the seller's place. I wish I had that cover.

Thanks again. Yes, lots of 69 coupes around. Just can't afford them. Maybe someday. Russ

I've always been a Coupe person, but maybe because a 69 Coupe was my high school car. Took my road test for my first driver's license in it. I don't think the fastbacks are ugly. I'd even take one if given to me. But I would be looking to trade it for a coupe asap. Russ

Thanks, all. As far as the job being Prescott, nope. UTAS (formerly Hamilton Sundstrand). My love of 72 Rancheros began when my dad bought one in 1977 while I was in Navy boot camp. That was the car I drove when I would be home on leave. Always wanted one, finally found one within my budget 3 years ago. Unfortunately I found out the reason it was so cheap compared to others, but I couldn't replace it now even if I wanted to, so learning how to weld is now a must. I have had a 60 and a 69, but the 72's are by far my favorite. I still want another 69 Coupe, but the prices have gotten so high on those I doubt I will be able to buy one without winning the lottery. I cringe whenever I remember how cheaply I got rid of my project 69 because of a title issue. Oh, well. Maybe someday. If I get decent at welding I can consider buying more of a rust bucket. Although here in Phoenix there aren't that many of those around. Russ

Not sure how many years. I don't expect anyone to remember me. Brief life update, we've been back in the Phoenix area for almost 4 years after living in Ohio for the previous 8. Got laid off there, couldn't find a decent electronic tech job so we moved back. Only took about 3.5 years here to find a decent job. But I can say it is a really good job paying stupid good money. Working on avionics at a very large company, doing customer returns/repairs. No 69 Mustang. Still hoping I can get another one some day before I get too old. Already 58. I do have a 72 Ranchero GT with a 351C (2V) and auto. It's down, needing me to get off my rear and finish the front suspension rebuild and also needs floors. I had some health issues that took me out for about a year, just getting physically and financially able to get back into it. Got some floors lined up as soon as I get some cash I am expecting. Then I get to learn to weld. Scary thought. But at least the Ranchero is a full frame car, not a unibody like a Mustang. I didn't want to learn on a Mustang. Long story short, the Ranchero ate the front tires. While digging into the front end I needed to pull the column. Had to pull the driver's seat and that is when I found the floors were shot. Got most of the front end parts, was getting ready to install them and found out I needed triple bypass surgery. Trying to get this done this year. I really miss driving it. A 72 Ranchero is one of the top 3 cars for me, the others being a 69 Mustang Coupe and a 70 GTO. Starting to think those two are out of my price range. Also have a 72 Pinto wagon project (this is the only one that was SUPPOSED to be a project) that is on hold, and an 89 Mustang LX hatchback with a 2.3 and auto that is close to running. It's the one that I should get on the road the soonest, but it's the least liked of the ones I have. Bought it cheap for my wife to drive, but it needed a little more work than I had hoped, and of course the health stuff interfered again. Was hoping it would scratch my Mustang itch, but nope. Not even close. I wasn't even sure if this site was still around, but someone posted a link today on the vmf site. Russ

Been a long time since I have been around here. Looks like I may not find one since prices seem to have gone sky high lately, but I am looking for one around the Ohio area for under $3000 that is complete and could be driven to my new place in Warren Ohio(above Youngstown). Not totally sure what I really want to get into, but it has to be complete and driveable. A 6 banger would work. No more cars that have to be trailered home, because I seem unable to get them back together. Plus my wife is letting my use some of her money for this, and those are her conditions. Which I agree with completely. I would also be interested in some other cars. Two door only except for the wagons. 1970 Pontiac Lemans(or GTO haha), 65 Olds Dynamic 88, 63 Pontiac Bonneville, 72 Ranchero, late 50's to late 60's station wagons (full framed cars only, except for another Mustang I don't want any more unibodied cars). If you have something else let me know, all I can say is no thanks. Although nothing with computer controls or electronics. I want 1960's simplicity. :smile: I know that $3000 isn't much money for what I am interested in, but that is my max. Thanks, Russ