mark69sportsroof

Well I'm not sure what to think about where I'm at. Denver area was sunny and low 60's yesterday. Took both mustangs out for their weekly drives. Today was sunny and high 60's so I worked on the Mercury. I guess being in the middle we did OK. Mark

Everything checked out good. Put in new headlight and all is good. The old headlight had one hour of usage. Thanks Mark

Thanks for the advice and information. I will check it out and let you the cause. Mark

On my 69 Sportsroof I noticed the passenger side low beam headlight was out when I turn on the high beams. It works fine on low beam. The lights are Scott Drake's halogen lights. They are 2 years old but only 1 hour of usage since I rarely drive it at night. The other 3 headlights seem to work as they should. I have the Painless wiring kit and a relay. Any ideas? Thanks Mark

Best of luck to you and your car. It's a lot of work any way you do it. Mark

Hi John, I just installed custom headers in my 69 that has a FE 390. I installed the headers first then installed the engine. Then I installed the T-5 tranny and etc. That seem to be the most efficient way for me. I would do the same again. Here is what I learned. 1. My custom headers hit in 3 spots. The top idler arm bolt, passenger side motor mount corner and driver's side shock tower brace. So it was easier to pull the engine and fix the three areas. So much for custom fit headers. 2. When the engine was in you could not have got all the bolts in. I assume you could raise the motor and work over the fenders to install them. So much easier when out and greatly lowers the chance of exhaust leaks. 3. Less chance of damaging the engine, engine bay or vehicle. Mark

Thanks Barnett. I will keep a close eye out for that specifically. Do you know of any other solutions for the future? Thanks Mark

I just installed mine and used the same location. Mark

Thanks. I will have to check with the engine builder on the stroker kit. I don't see a brand name on my receipt. Mark

Hi Everyone, Just wanted to pass on a "School of Hard Knocks" lesson. On my 69 Sportsroof I have a FE 390 with a stroker to 445ci. I have a Quick Time bell housing, T-5 tranny and the Modern Drive Line clutch cable set up. I have 428 CJ exhaust manifolds. Everything hooks up and works excellent. I wanted to go with long tube headers to get more horsepower and torque. I had a set of custom made headers and went on just fine. Went to re install tranny and bell housing and my schooling starts. The bottom left corner of the bell housing has the opening to mount the clutch cable to it. Well its directly in the spot where the header was. Being close to the end of the header I couldn't bang the header to make room. I called MDL and they confirmed that on a big block with T-5 the clutch cable wasn't compatible. Then they checked in an external hydraulic clutch but it only works on small blocks. Stress level is starting to rise rapidly. MDL said my option was an internal hydraulic clutch. (Sounds expensive). Being my only option I pull out the wallet. I had to cut off that corner of the bell housing. Installed the internal hydraulic clutch withe the help of my friend who happens to own a automotive shop. All went well but still have to fill it and test it. Price of tuition - friend's labor to be determined and cost of materials $595.00. Mark

Thanks for the additional information. It makes it all much clearer to determine the correct location. Thursday will be the big day to cut out the hole. Thanks Mark

Many thanks to Mike, Stuart and Ridge Runner. That's exactly what I needed to know especially the punch out versus drilling it. Mark

Hi Everyone, Well the school of hard knocks came by to visit me today. We took the FE 390 out of the 69 Sportsroof to install the long tube headers. I have the T-5 tranny and Modern Driveline clutch cable set up. We went to put the clutch and bell housing back on and the headers and bottom left corner of bell housing overlap about 3/4". I talked with MDL and they said the clutch cable will not work with a big block and long tube headers. I would have thought the engine builder who ordered them or the Header shop would have said something. According to MDL my option is to use a internal slave cylinder kit. Just $600.00 more . The car was an automatic. Now that I have to use the internal slave cylinder kit. I need to locate and drill out the factory clutch cable hole for the linkage. I have read something about a dimple on the firewall for automatic cars is the correct location . Does anyone have a pic of the dimple, or factory hole. Today was a painful and expensive day at school. Thanks Mark

Thanks a lot. Just what I needed. Mark

Hi Everyone, I am looking for pics of a FE 390/428 with long tube headers in the gear box area. I'm ready to install my headers and know that I have to drop the steering an inch. I have the bracket to lower it but a picture of how it goes on would help me a lot. Thanks Mark

Thanks Dave. I haven't heard of that website. I will check them out. Mark

Barnett, thanks again for recommendations. I checked ebay and didn't see any available. Mark

Thanks Brian and Barnett. If I read the chart correctly I would need the C9WY 10884-A (SW 888). Thanks Mark

Hi Everyone, I was wondering what brand of temperature sender is everyone using. I have a FE 390-4V. The car has the factory tach and gauges. Is one brand better than another? Thanks Mark

The Painless model number is 20122, 14 circuit for 69-70 Mustang. I would have used Midlife (Randy) if I did it over again. I wasn't aware of him then. In fact my 68 Mercury Parklane I will be sending to Randy the complete wire harness later this fall. Mark

I have Painless for my 69 Sportsroof. The guy that installed it wasn't real happy with it. He had just done his 70 Mach 1 with AAW. My mechanic likes AAW and has done several cars with it. The main difference I see is Painless doesn't have a overall schematic to use when trouble shooting an electrical problem. The instruction book is fine for installing it. Mark

Thanks everyone for the advice. It appears that I need a vacuum pump to solve my problem. Barnett468 what brand and type would you recommend? Thanks Mark

Thanks Dave, makes sense. Hopefully someone will have pics of both so I can get a better idea of what I'm dealing with. Mark

I looked on mustang Steve's site but found nothing. Does anyone know the difference. Mark

Thanks guys. I'm not sure what the difference is between the canister and a pump? Could someone explain difference. Thanks Mark