1969_Mach1

Yes, you can check the resistance in the magnetic pickup using an ohm meter. If MSD doesn't list values for the correct range you can search for that information for a Ford magnetic pickup used in Duraspark ignitions during the 1970's. I think the MSD magnetic pickup is a Ford style. At least that's what it looks like.

I have the same motor and JBA 1653S headers. There is about 1/4" clearance between the header tube and the larger Borgeson power steering box. With the stock steering box there was a lot of clearance, at least 1/2". Maybe it's just the picture, but, something looks out of sort with the steering box and column relationship. They don't seem to be aligned very well. I'd look a little closer at the issue before installing adjustable motor mounts and putting a band aid on top of a band aid. Something could be slightly off with the header causing your issue. It wouldn't take much error at the cylinder head flange area of the header to cause your clearance issue. Does you car have factory power steering? If so, you'll notice the drivers side header collector directly above and pointing down at the power steering ram.

I think Mach1 Driver is right. Your options will probably come down to try another pick up coil, if that doesn't fix it, then another ignition box. If when there is no spark and you immediately do the paperclip test and that triggers the MSD box, I'd suspect the magnetic pick up again. I've been using the MSD 6ALN with good luck. It's basically a more robust version of the 6AL. Performance is the same as a 6A or 6AL, just built more robust for dirt circle track racing. They're more expensive so wait for a sale if you can. I recently purchased another one for another project. At least the 6ALN doesn't have a label anywhere that indicates made in China.

I've heard of synthetic elastomer bushings. I believe that is what's installed in the Scott Drake spring perches that have free rotation. They seem to work fine for me. If you find strut rod bushings made from that material, it might be a nice compromise.

I hate to throw this out now, but hard shifts on older type transmissions, Ford, GM, or Mopar, are many times simply caused by the kick down linkage (TV cable in GM's case) being out of adjustment.

I can say back in 1980 I watched my oldest brother install a 351W in a 1969 Mach 1 with the torque converter attached to the flex plate. It was an FMX trans as well. I guess he was careful enough aligning everything and just rotated the crank at the balancer a little to engage the splines. To answer your question, I don't think that's what happened, but, I since the motor and trans can lean downward when removing the trans, it can be removed with the torque converter attached to the flex plate. Maybe the shop should try a torque converter from another manufacturer? Most of us work on our own classic cars. These day's I think reputable repair shops that can work on older cars are far and few between.

This is a tough one. Starting to seem likes it's the torque converter. But they've tried two with the same results. Were they both from the same rebuilder? Has anybody tried a new harmonic balancer? I know it doesn't seem like that's the source.

With the original Bendix booster on my 69 Mach 1 the master cylinder can be removed without having to remove the brake booster. I guess I got lucky. From what I understand, the clutch rod from the Z-bar to the pedal might interfere with a 9" diameter booster. I don't know how true that is. If that rod clears a 9" diameter booster, that would solve some issues with stock clutch linkage and a Borgeson power steering box.

My 69 Mach 1 with a 351W has the original Bendix booster, 4sp trans, and a Borgeson power steering box. The original Z-bar swings a little bit under the brake booster when the pedal is up. Once you modify the Z-bar to fit over the Borgeson power steering box it will usually hit the Bendix brake booster. I had to also modify (lengthen) the rod from the Z-bar to the pedal a little so the modified Z-bar would not need to swing under the Bendix booster. I was a little concerned about altering the range the Z-bar would rotate in, but the clutch works fine and pedal feels the same as before. I see now that Opentracker Racing sells modified Z-bars for the Borgeson conversion on 4sp cars. Whether it interferes with the Bendix brake booster I don't know. All-in-all, if I had to do this conversion again on a 4sp car with power brakes, I would leave the stock steering box in it and live with no power steering.

I like the MSD Pro Clamps. They have an upper and lower half that snap together and have a screw hole in the bottom half to anchor it to a bracket. I just run mine over the top of the valve covers like Ford originally did. Plus that keeps the majority of the plug wires further away from heat from the headers. Your motor should have the firing order 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8, so it's a good idea to keep wires #6 and #5 apart from each other to eliminate the possibility of crossfire. They won't look as tidy, but at some point function is more important.

Are your Koni shocks old and worn out? If not, it seems like a downgrade to KYB Gas-A-Just shocks. If you have stronger than stock springs, the KYB shocks will make the ride more harsh.

Welcome to the forum. I honestly cannot imagine how somebody glued the rear window in place on a 69 Mach 1. Without seeing it, my initial guess would be start cutting through the glue with a razer blade. Be prepared, the glass might fall through to the inside of the car. When reinstalling with a new weather strip, I think Ridge Runner here has a good method to get it to seal. Hopefully he'll chime in with some information. Simply installing the glass with a new weather strip alone is not enough for it to seal. I too have had good luck with National Parts Depot (NPD) for reproduction parts. When I want good used original or NOS stuff, one source is Perogie Enterprises.

The throttle plates are at an angle when fully closed, never flat. After you get the base plate cleaned, before assembling anything, one check to do is make certain the throttle plates are evenly centered. With both the primary and secondary idle speed screws backed out and the throttle plates closed as much as possible, shine a flashlight under the bottom side of the throttle plates and look at the light seeping around the edges from the top side. You most often won't see a nice even light seeping through the cracks. An that's okay. But it should be relatively equal for each primary plate and equal for each secondary plate. They are not off too often unless somebody replaced throttle plates or throttle shafts and didn't take the time to center the throttle plates. Also, make certain the throttle shafts move nice and free before assembling the carb. I zoomed in closer on one of your pictures, the list number I saw was 3310-6 which is a 750 CFM vacuum secondary carb. You might want to replace the floats as well during the rebuild. It looks like somebody added a metering block to the secondary side, which is fine. So you can use brass floats on both the primary and secondary side if you prefer.

I don't see anything odd in your pictures. The most common cause of the idle mixture screws not being effective is the primary throttle plates are open too far at idle. This exposes too much of the transfer slot which is not controlled by the idle mixture screws. Thus, there is enough fuel passing through the exposed portion of the transfer slots to keep the motor idling. With the carb upside down you want about 0.020" to 0.040" of the transfer slot exposed at idle. That is just enough so they're initiated at idle eliminating any delays as the throttle is opened but not so much that idle mixture screws will not work. If you cannot obtain the correct idle speed with the primary throttle plates adjusted to that position, you then need to open or close the secondaries a little either let more or less air into the motor. Thus, increasing or decreasing the idle speed. I found the above diagram. Hope it helps. After you have the carb upside down and get the primary throttle plates adjusted correctly. You can get an idea of how much you can turn the idle speed screw and still maintain correct transfer slot exposure. Here is a picture I found showing the location of the adjustment screw for the secondaries. The preliminary adjustment is 1/4 turn past when the screw just starts to open the secondaries. I usually end up closer to 1/2 turn on my Holley carbs. I think the list number on your carb is 3310-6. Is that correct? If so, it's a 750 vacuum secondary carb. A little big for a 351W but should work okay.

The Ford Racing E303 cam will have kind of a rough idle. Although slightly smoother in a 351W than a 302. It's not a real long duration cam, but the lobe separation angle of 110 degrees is at the smaller end increasing the valve overlap for a street cam. I'd first check for vacuum leaks. If all is okay there might be a plugged or partially plugged idle restrictor in the metering block, or a vacuum leak within the carb itself. With it idling cover the air horn of the carb with your hands and listen to see if the idle quality improves. Some people will spray a small amount of carb cleaner down the throat of the carb with it idling instead and listen for improvement in the idle quality. Careful though, keep the carb cleaner away from the distributor or coil. I've seen fires start when spraying carb cleaner down the carb of a running engine. Either way, if the idle quality improves it is too lean and caused by either a vacuum leak, or something wrong inside the carb. A lean condition will also cause high and uneven exhaust temps. Ignition timing too retarded will also cause high exhaust temps, but they will be more even. It will never idle smooth with the E303 cam, but it should be fairly stable and not fluctuate up and down. When you mention only one side of the venturies sprays fuel. I'm thinking you are referring to the accelerator pump nozzles and not the booster venturies. Either way, it sounds like the carb has some plugged internal passages. Might be worth opening it up again and carefully cleaning every passage. Make certain you torque the bowl screws and base plate screws correctly. Holley has torque specs on their website.

I need the end that goes in the harness. So it has to be cut off of the main harness. I have the alternator end. It comes with that short harness that attaches to the alternator. I'm not concerned about wire colors. As long as it has the correct size wires on it. If it's an original connector the wire sizes will be correct. The three wire bullet connectors in parts stores for trailers all have wires that are too small. If you are willing to cut it off of your main harness and want to sell it, let me know.

I'll give that a try. My preference with crimp connectors is to also solder them and seal the soldered end with shrink tubing so they are sealed. In the past, I haven't been able to solder those crimp type bullet connectors.

I guess if they were available somewhere you would know about it. For now I'll do without the three wire plug, and solder and shrink tube the connections.

For a 1969 Mustang Mach 1 without a factory tachometer, does anybody make a repair connector and pigtail for the alternator? I'm talking about the three pin connector in the main harness that plugs into that short harness that goes to the alternator. It is a 351W car, but I don't think that matters.

Well, the good news is I don't plan on cruising down the freeway in this truck. Mainly just driving around town in good weather. You have to spend a lot more money than I have on the chassis to make these comfortable to cruise down the freeway. After looking at your numbers, the 3.54 rear axle gears are more appealing. Summit has a two that I have looked at. One from TCI and one from Hughes. The TCI has a stall rating of 1700 RPM and the Hughes has a stall rating of 2000 RPM. I think either would work fine. Normal drivability might be better with the TCI converter.

For rear end gear, I am going back and forth between a 3.54:1 or a 3.73:1. Those are both offered for the Dana rear axle it has. The tires are 255-60R15. That is the largest that will fit without and sheet metal modifications to the bed.

Question: Comp Cams suggests a 2000 RPM stall speed torque converter for the cam I am using. I see in my 1969 Ford service manuals that Ford offered several different torque converters for the C6 and 390 and 428 motors. Stall speeds ranged from about 1680 RPM for the 390 to 2100 RPM for the 428. Before I go aftermarket, can I get a rebuilt original torque converter from a trans shop, for example for a C6 with a 428 and expect it to have the stall speed listed in my Ford service manuals? Or are these rebuilt OEM converters widely universal fits-all and who knows what stall speed it will have? I know this is a Mustang forum, but, this is in a 1956 F100 pickup. The C6 was rebuilt and has a rebuilt torque converter. It has never been run and I have no idea what torque converter was installed. All I know is it's a light blue in color like the Pro-King brand rebuilt torque converters. I basically am looking for a torque converter that will not need to have the idle speed high just to keep the motor running when in gear. And I don't want it to lunge hard and creep hard when dropping it into gear. I've been in that situation before when I was much younger, it doesn't take long to get annoying.

What intake manifold gaskets fit correctly on the 390 Ford? I have an aluminum intake manifold (old Holley Street Dominator) so I purchased the Fel Pro Performance intake gaskets, p/n 1247S3. On the cylinder heads, these gaskets leave a small portion of the heat crossover passage exposed on the lower end. This would let exhaust gases into the crankcase. I'm thinking of using stock Fel Pro gaskets with Ultra Grey silicone end seals. Before I do, I was wondering if there is a better option.

That is a good point about the stock exhaust manifolds. Aside from merely fitting, they are terrible. I use JBA headers on my 351W.

I did my 1969 C9OE 351W heads like Ridge Runner mentioned. It took a couple of weeks for a couple hours a day after work. On the exhaust I removed the thermactor hump on the roof of the ports, port matched them to my header gaskets, smoothed and polished the ports as best I could. On the intake I merely port matched them to the intake gaskets I am using, Fel Pro 1250S-3. That took very little effort because the intake ports on the C9OE heads are fairly large to begin with. The machine shop then installed 1.94" intake, 1.60" exhaust valves, and screw in rocker arm studs. I'm happy with them. Motor seems to run good.