foothilltom

Howdy fellers. Been awhile since I had a dumb question, so let's get right to it: I'm finally getting around to replacing the original (dim) headlamps in the coupe and am moving onto adjustment phase. I am pretty comfortable with the process of aligning the low-beams, but I can't seem to find any reference for how the high beams should look relative to the low-beams. Can anybody describe the pattern the 4 bulbs should make on a garage door, for example? Should the high beams (inner lights) be above, in between, or below the outer lights in the high-beam setting? And while I'm here, I notice that the outer lights beam pattern moves "up and to the left" of center in the high beam setting. Should I therefore align the lights a little more "lower and to the right" of center? I hope this makes sense. I've scanned my chilton, searched the forums, and can't seem to find any good common-sense info about the pattern our beloved 4 lights should make. Thanks mucho. Tom

I was going to suggest, "turn up the stereo".

I don't know, but my guess is for the ignition box (the red aftermarket gizmo on the driver's side of the engine compartment) or perhaps an aftermarket tach? After looking at my wiring diagram (you really ought to get comfortable with one of those if you're going to undertake this project), my guess is your starting problem is due to a bad ignition switch. The ignition switch applies power to your starter solenoid, which obviously applies power to the starter itself. Since you can shunt across the solenoid (taking the switch out of the equation), I believe everything else is wired correctly. I'd suggest you comb these threads for a "how to" on ignition switch replacement. You're right, your interior is in good shape. The rust on this car looks pretty bad, unfortunately. Good luck.

It sounds a lot like an improperly wired solenoid or a bad ignition switch. Clearly you shouldn't be doing this with a pair of pliers. I would be concerned about electrocuting yourself. The box full of solenoids should serve as a reminder. If they short out during this experiment, you could be next. I would strongly encourage you to take a methodical approach to this problem: take photos of how it is currently wired, get help with the proper wiring, and further diagnose. It could be as simple as a bad ignition switch. Be careful. Tom

Agreed with Mach1, it smells like a bad ground. To verify, take some jumper cables, attach to + and - on your battery, attach + to the positive wire on the pump, and ground the other - cable to the body of the pump itself. It should turn if it's a good pump.

The first video was awesome! The last 4 seconds had me cracking up: where your wife peeks her head in the garage and says "God!" obviously because of the terrible racket you were creating sans headers. We've all been there! I remember when I first started my 351 without headers...my golden retriever just bolted down our driveway like it was the end of the world.

That's a dang fine question: to part out or to sell. I don't think there's much of a market for a 41 year old stock 302, but if your interior is pristine, I'm sure you could fetch a good price for your seats, dash pad, door panels, etc. If your title is clear (not Salvage), I think you could get more for a running car. The old-timers here know I bought a Salvage title coupe that had great interior but otherwise a rusty mess. I wound up taking the interior out, replacing it with crappy interior from my son's coupe and selling it for $2K to a local gearhead. I saw that he put it up for sale about a year later and somehow got the salvage title cleared (another story). Good luck whatever you decide. Tom

Quick question to you: how new/old is your clutch? When I replaced my clutch a few months ago during a toploader rebuild, the clutch made a noise on pedal release for a few days...kind of a "springy" sound. After conferring with PrintDad, he suggested this might just be a clutch break-in thing and quite normal. He was right; the sound went away after a short time. Since you reproduced the noise with the linkage removed, you can rule out the pedal return spring and all linkage suspects (which is good). I'd suggest you drop the tranny, remove the bell-housing, and have a closer look. You can't remove the fork/bearing in place. A clutch is a relatively inexpensive upgrade (assuming your clutch isn't already new) and not terribly hard to do. I hope it isn't your transmission as that can get involved quick. Do you have a toploader? While you have the tranny out, you could pull the cover and do a visual inspection for obvious problems. At the very least, you could drain the old fluid, clean the crap out of it, then replace with a higher-viscosity fluid to potentially eliminate any noises due to potential wear of bearings and whatnot. I'd suspect your clutch and consider a replacement. Keep us posted. Tom

I remember laughing at this line in an old "Police Squad" show (with Leslie Nielsen as the bumbling cop Frank Drebbin). A guy comes in a house, surprising Frank who is already inside. Frank asks him, "Who are you and how did you get in here?". The other guy replies, "I'm a locksmith...and I'm a locksmith".

There are lots of guys here that have documented their restorations...I think you can find them in "The Garage" or "Project Progress Forum". Think twice (or three times) before you get started "tearing this thing down" as you can get to a point of no return pretty fast. This is one expensive hobby and -- as the guys have said -- there is no return on investment other than satisfaction and knowledge (which is awesome). If it were me, I'd get the coupe running as best you can and road-worthy, then stick it on Craigs and hope some local highschooler gearhead finds it. The kind of rust you described would scare the beejeezus out of me for a first-time project. There are lots of pretty great coupes out without all the rust and would make a better basis for your first experiment. Just my $.02. Tom

You got it. The clutch fork simply slips on to that rounded clip on the inside of the bell housing. When the clutch linkage is disconnected, the clutch fork does appear to be only loosely connected, so I can understand your concern. But that's it. To your second question... I wish I could find a picture of a proper bell housing. I took a zillion pics during my rebuild, but not one of the clutch fork assembly. I'm trying to recall how the "fulcrum" looked, but it's a distant memory. I recall there were two "slots" on the fulcrum that the clutch fork attached to. Dang, I'm not helping much here. Maybe somebody here has a photo of the inside of the bell housing? I hope to never remove mine again. Good luck. Tom

Congrats! Feels good, don't it?

Congrats! Feels good, don't it?

Backfiring through the exhaust could also be traced to a rich mixture and/or exhaust leak. Are you certain the floats and fuel level are correct on the carb? Any chance your manifolds/headers are loose and/or the collectors to the exhaust are allowing in some air? Just some random thoughts.

I recall this same problem removing the boy's hood scoop. Just like Mach1Rider said, I remember putting vice grips on the nut and unscrewing the stud from the scoop (pulling down to coax it out). If memory serves, several of the studs were sort of "rotted out" of the scoop. After I got the stud/nut assembly out, I got the nut off by putting the stud in the bench-vice. Finally, I remember epoxying the studs back into the scoop when I replaced it so I could put the nuts back on without the studs turning. Hope this helps. Tom

I also would suspect your switch. The switch has a resistor built into it to control the high/low speeds (like the dimmer on the headlamp switch). My guess is that the high setting is now just an open circuit. You could pull the wires from your switch and connect the +/- to see if the motor operates at high speed. Interesting thing about the motor shutting off after 5 seconds or so. I can't imagine somebody put in some kind of relay but stranger things have happened. If it is your switch, will the guy let you return the motor? It may have been fine all along. Good luck. Tom

Nice to hear from you, Bryan. Don't give the console thing another thought. Water under the bridge, hombre. I was mostly curious if you had any luck selling your GT coupe. Based on your photo above, I see it is still in your possession. The car looks sweet! I was toying with the idea of unloading my coupe as I am realizing that I'm more enthused about working on projects than actually owning the result! Maybe I'm not alone in that sentiment. Anywho, look in on the forum every now and again. Glad you are well. Tom

Monsignor Power, some clarifying questions: Does your left brake light work correctly? Does your left-front parking lamp illuminate correctly? Just ruling out bad bulbs, broken connections, etc. I recall an Green wire (with an orange stripe?) coming out of the turn signal switch that controls the left-rear turn signal but I can't recall if that also fed the front-left turn signal. I'd have to check my wiring diagram. Anywho, I think you're wise to suspect the TS switch. I might suggest you use your meter and see if you're getting 12V coming out of that green-orange wire when the left signal is in operation. Both of my coupes had issues with turn signals and both were cured by replacing the TS switch...which is something of a hassle. I'd verify 12V at that point first but I'd bet a donut it is your TS.

Hey Jim, it sure sounds like you've found the source of your blown fuses! Great! Based on what you've described, I'd say the socket is just plain worn out and should be replaced. I'm pretty sure the map light assembly is a high dollar item but you should be able to just swap out the socket with a new one w/out compromising the period-correctness. As long as the socket fits in the housing, you're good to go. I'd like to think you could find a replacement socket easy enough (though I don't have a clue). Just use butt connectors and some shrink tubing to wire the new socket back in line if you have to make cuts. I don't think it'd be worth trying to repair the socket, IMHO, and I'm sure one of the fellas would be able to direct you to a replacement. Finally, I wouldn't ever concern yourself with the relative importance of your questions. If it's on your mind, it's important! Your pal, Tom

I have no idea how to advise you on the repairs, but I can tell you (shamelessly) that I have a brand new shock tower with frame brace for the driver's side that I'd be happy to sell you for $75 + shipping. I bought both the passenger and driver's side from Virginia Class Mustang for my boy's coupe when we discovered his passenger side was totally cracked. We wound up replacing just the passenger side and the driver's side sits in my basement waiting for either my next project or Armageddon. I think they go for $130ish + shipping, so I think this is a pretty good deal. Again, not helping here, but figured a shameless plug was worth a try. Lemme know if this is interesting for you. Tom

I took a few pictures of the driver's side door that should help you out. Obviously, the passenger side is done exactly the same way. There should be 3 sheet metal screws that attach the fatter end just below the window. This end has the cut out for the glass. You can see this from the photo I hope. The stripping just runs down along the inside edge of the door, under the door, and terminates on the other side. There should be 2 more sheet metal screws that hold this skinnier end in place. The key is the adhesive. I am including a photo of the adhesive I used and it worked great. Apply a thin layer on the rubber itself and a thin layer on the door (be sure to test fit it so you know where to apply the adhesive). Let the adhesive set up for a minute or two (follow the instructions on the tube if it disagrees with me). You can do this alone, but it's nice to have multiple hands as you press the stripping into place. Start from the rear of the door, screw the fat end into place then just press the stripping in place. The adhesive does a real nice job of holding it against gravity. Try not to stretch the stripping as you go or it may not fit right by the time you get to the end. I did this 2 years ago, but I don't recall it being too big of a hassle, and I'm not that good at this stuff. Best of luck! Tom[ATTACH]7180[/ATTACH][ATTACH]7181[/ATTACH][ATTACH]7182[/ATTACH][ATTACH]7183[/ATTACH]

Ah, ok, fair enough. Let me go take a couple of pics and get back to ye.

I think I can help you out, but it would help to know: * Is there any weatherstripping currently on your doors? (i'm guessing no) * Do you have a *complete* replacement kit? A picture of all of it would help. I replaced the stripping completely on my son's coupe, so I think I can help you out with pictures and whatnot. Tom

Hola! I'm not following your question, Ignacio. When you say it's not sealing properly, are you saying that the weatherstripping is installed but you're still getting moisture/water in the trunk? If so, I might suggest you take a picture of the underside of your trunk and post it here so we can see if the stripping is properly placed. Other than that, I wouldn't be surprised to have moisture in your trunk. These cars weren't ever watertight. Tom

I had some problems removing the shaft as well. The trick, as I recall, was to pull the switch out to the halfway position (parking lamps), then pushing the button on the back of the switch. It definitely can get hung up easily so be patient. There isn't that much play in the button as I recall so pushing harder may not do anything. I remember having to work the shaft slightly forwards and backwards with the button pushed until it finally released. In summary, try combinations of shaft locations while pushing the button. Assuming its not just completely broken, it should come out. Best of luck. Tom