Midlife

The tank itself is ground, presuming it is not electrically isolated from the trunk floor and that is not isolated from the chassis. The sending unit to tank is key: do not use teflon tape there. If you use a wire to ground the floor of the sending unit (not the post for the sending unit wire) to a good ground on the chassis and your gauge still reads nothing, then it is either the ground, your key is not in ACC or RUN, or you are out of gas.

The advantage of the 2x4 over two pucks is the weight/load is distributed across the entire pinch weld, ensuring the pinch weld won't bend/collapse (possible with a point load and rusted metal). The only disadvantage is that it was time-consuming to place the 2x4 in place while raising the hoist arms, ensuring it was in alignment with the pinch weld.

I have a Bendix 4 2 post asymmetric lift and used it for restoring my car. I needed to replace the frame rails, so I took a 2x4, cut a slot in it to match the pinch welds and used that to support the car. Worked great and I still have the 2x4's just in case.

There are two sets of green wires with spade connectors on them. One is located near the heater control switch; another is located on the RHS near the big heater box. It doesn't matter which connector goes onto the male spade lead of each switch. My guess is that another green wire with a black spade cover is lurking nearby your single wire, and both attache to the two terminal switch in your picture.

That nut is pretty much standard across all Fords for many many years. I believe it is 33947-S, which translates 5/8-18 thread, with a 15/16" hex. Thickness is .363 to .387". Any junkyard with 60's to 70's Ford should have it. I have 2-3 that I've stashed.

Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator wants you to remove any loose rust first, then paint over it; it is not designed for fresh new metal or sand-blasted metal. If you are going to sand blast it, then go with a quality epoxy.

Nothing beats this mistake, the infamous Herculiner on a Hootus. http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18595

First thing I would do is check all of the tie rod ends, the drag link, and the upper and lower control arm to spindle ball joints for slop. Put the front end of the car on jackstands and manually turn one wheel and observe what moves right away and what doesn't. This is cheap and helps you to isolate where your problems are. The steering box is the least suspicious item.

Has anyone converted their PCB clusters to hard-wires with a multi-pin connector plug? Personally, I don't think the PCB design that Ford went to was all that reliable. They are almost impossible to repair once the copper trace breaks. I much prefer the 65-68 style dash cluster connections.

69: horn power from headlight switch; also powers brake light 70: horn power now from fuse box; brake switch still powered from headlight switch.

You are correct, Mike, about those firewall extensions and plugs. In fact, those plugs go out more often than those under the dash, but not from wire embrittlement. Molded plugs, in general, fail because the crimps become lose over time and cannot be re-tightened. When that happens on any of my harnesses, I replace the entire plug with one that passes all of my continuity and insulation checks so that it meets or exceeds the original Ford specs. And which companies offer any warranty with their electrical wiring or components? Very few indeed, let alone for 2 years. I have run across several headlight harnesses that I cannot refurbish because of insulation becoming too brittle; that's why I usually recommend reproductions for those. Some years (71 and up) they simply are unavailable as repro, and I stick to my very strict requirements for full functionality. And most wiring today is aluminum, not copper. That's not to say Mustang aftermarket or repro wiring is Al, but copper is getting to be quite expensive. New car wiring is almost all Al.

OK...time to speak up. For underdash harnesses, I've never seen one (out of 600+) that had brittle insulation. The only ones I do not refurbish are those which have had a short and the insulation is damaged beyond repair. Personally, I think that recycling existing harnesses by professional refurbishment standards back to stock OEM specifications for 15-20% of reproduction costs and providing a 2 year no questions asked guaranty/warranty with unlimited consultation is a far better value than reproductions or aftermarket wiring. The only time it doesn't make sense is if the car is intended to be highly modified beyond the amperage current capacity of the existing wires.

I have to bite my tongue on this thread...

It would mount, but it would not work at all, and probably short out quickly enough.

Wow. For 1969, the lead for the cigarette lighter (always blue/white trace) is tied into the courtesy lights (lower right tab). For 1970, it was the same. This is a 20 amp fuse. The lighter should not blow in that position.

OK. The lead to that pin is a resistor wire; if no load on a resistor wire it'll read the full 12V; with load applied, the voltage should drop. What you describe leads me to believe that the resistance is greater than the 10 ohms designed into it. When refurbishing harnesses, I've noticed that the pin containing this wire needs to be re-crimped, which lowers resistance from >100 ohms to the nominal 10 ohms.

I've spoken with a well-placed representative of NPD of this issue; he had not heard of it. This makes at least 10 instances of bad new circuit boards I've heard of.

I have had several customers in the past 1.5-2 years that have had problems with the new circuit boards on 69/70's right out of the box; I know of one who had to go through 3 boards before the dash worked correctly. The cheapest thing to do right now is to make sure the constant voltage regulator is working: they are around $20 vice $75 for a new circuit card.

MCA abandoned the reproduction approval process prior to 2000. It's a shame vendors are still trying to use MCA's name to sell their products.

Both.

NPD always follows the manufacturer's part number.

NPD states the 69 turn signal hood lamps are 1895's.

I have used fuse clips by the 100's. Tell me what color wire you are interested in, how long the wire is, and I can provide a reasonably clean clip (sand-blasted) for a couple of bucks plus $2 shipping. The repro fuse clips are nasty. They are chrome plated (not factory correct); the metal is brittle such that you cannot crimp them (even with professional tools) without the tabs breaking off. Save your money. I have not found exact reproductions, but have found solitary clips that accept rivets. I use those for the ACC accessory buss extension (diagonal fuse location) for the three prong plug.

70 did not have a horn relay, nor did 71-73's.

There's also a small screw that adjusts the diaphragm in each horn; you can fiddle with that to maximize volume. Best to do this on Sunday mornings circa 4AM.