1969_Mach1

I guess I got lucky. I installed stainless brake lines from NPD and have never had any leaks. It's easy to over tighten and damage the flare on stainless steel tubes. I wonder if the fittings are simply not tight enough. I think I would have tried some anti seize compound on the outside of the tube where the threaded fitting bears up against it. Maybe the friction between the threaded fitting and the stainless tube was preventing the threaded fitting from tightening enough

It might work fine. Be cautious of application thickness. One reason SEM and other interior paints work well is because the thin film thickness they are applied at. It doesn't effect the texture on the surface. Also, the lower dash is not easy to repaint later on after it's installed.

Tough call to make. If it were mine I don't think I would try to reuse the 45 year old springs. It's hard to believe the Scott Drake springs are that far off for ride height. It might be partly because the original springs had sagged down a lot. Also, these cars had a fairly tall ride height when new.

That is one of the reasons I don't have power steering on mine. But every drop bracket I've seen bends a lot. A long time ago on my older brothers 69 Mach 1 the drop bracket eventually pulled the nut inserts out of the frame. The strongest looking drop bracket I've seen is by JBA, but it is pricey.

You should read on how to adjust the choke and choke pull-off before trying a make shift fix for the choke. I don't think that plate from Thomas Performance is the answer to your flat spot. If there is a flat spot something is not tuned correctly. Your carb may just need a larger accelerator pump nozzle, or different accel pump cam, or both. Or the throttle plate position at idle is open too far. If the carb cannot be easily tuned to eliminate any flat spots, it's might be the wrong carb for the application. With all problems you have had with a lean running condition, if your car has a manual trans, a 600 CFM mechanical secondary (Double Pumper) might be a better carburetor choice. Is the motor hard to crank with 12 deg. initial timing? I know on my 351W, 11 deg. initial is about my max. When hot with 12 deg. initial timing the cranking is a little more difficult even with a Permanent Magnet Starter and good AGM battery, so I leave it at 10 deg. BTDC.

Rubber bushing do not slip and rotate inside the metal shells like a Poly bushing. The rubber constantly deforms and relaxes in a twisting method without slipping as the suspension moves up and down. So the rubber bushings must be in their relaxed, non deformed state, at normal ride height. That is why Mach1Mike and others have suggested tightening the bolts with the vehicle on the ground at normal ride height. I would loosen the bolts a little, bounce on the back of the car several times, maybe even drive it easy up and down the block, then retighten the bolts with the car on the ground

Since the Borgeson power steering box conversion uses a rebuilt steering box I wonder if people having return-to-center issues simple have the sector shaft preload too tight in the steering box. That will definitely stop the steering box from freely returning to center.

Since the Borgeson power steering box conversion uses a rebuilt steering box I wonder if people having return-to-center issues simple have the sector shaft preload too tight in the steering box. That will definitely stop the steering box from freely returning to center.

Grabber70Mach, Sorry, I sold them locally to a guy with another 1969 Mach 1. I will say reverse eye springs will drop the back of the car a lot. 70769, I have Poly bushings in mine, lubed them with the grease from Energy Suspensions and have no squeaks. I used more than the little packet that comes with the bushing kits. Are your Poly bushings black? The black bushings contain graphite which helps as a self lubricant. Energy Suspensions Tech told me Anti Seize compound is also a good lubricant.

Grabber70Mach, Sorry, I sold them locally to a guy with another 1969 Mach 1. I will say reverse eye springs will drop the back of the car a lot. 70769, I have Poly bushings in mine, lubed them with the grease from Energy Suspensions and have no squeaks. I used more than the little packet that comes with the bushing kits. Are your Poly bushings black? The black bushings contain graphite which helps as a self lubricant. Energy Suspensions Tech told me Anti Seize compound is also a good lubricant.

Did you tighten the spring eye bolts with the car on the ground? If not, and the bushings are rubber type, it's possible the bushings are bound up preventing the spring from compressing. Otherwise, I would return the springs. I have Grab-A-Trak 5 leaf mid-eye springs from Mustangs Plus and didn't have any issues. I started with their reverse eye spring and they dropped the car much more than advertised. I had them too long so was forced to buy new springs. I then bought the 5 leaf standard eye springs and the car was much too high so Mustangs Plus exchanged them for mid-eye 5 leaf springs which worked out well. If you cannot return the mid-eye springs, your local spring shop should be able to re-arch them to lower the car the amount you want. Don't forget, your original front springs were most likely sagging a lot so it's you really cannot use that as the stock ride height.

Did you tighten the spring eye bolts with the car on the ground? If not, and the bushings are rubber type, it's possible the bushings are bound up preventing the spring from compressing. Otherwise, I would return the springs. I have Grab-A-Trak 5 leaf mid-eye springs from Mustangs Plus and didn't have any issues. I started with their reverse eye spring and they dropped the car much more than advertised. I had them too long so was forced to buy new springs. I then bought the 5 leaf standard eye springs and the car was much too high so Mustangs Plus exchanged them for mid-eye 5 leaf springs which worked out well. If you cannot return the mid-eye springs, your local spring shop should be able to re-arch them to lower the car the amount you want. Don't forget, your original front springs were most likely sagging a lot so it's you really cannot use that as the stock ride height.

As far as I know the Ready-To-Run distributors do not need an external ignition box. The Ready-To-Run distributors are an inductive type of ignition as opposed to a capacitive discharge type of ignition. The inductive type is more reliable but doesn't produce the multiple spark as the CD type does. OEM ignitions are inductive type. The Ready-To-Run distributors are taller, you can compare with MSD's online catalog. So be certain you wont have clearance issues. For example, if your air cleaner currently goes over the top of you distributor, or you have a Monte Carlo Bar that passes over the distributor. These things may not be critical on a 302 but I have found them to be critical on 351W motors.

As far as I know the Ready-To-Run distributors do not need an external ignition box. The Ready-To-Run distributors are an inductive type of ignition as opposed to a capacitive discharge type of ignition. The inductive type is more reliable but doesn't produce the multiple spark as the CD type does. OEM ignitions are inductive type. The Ready-To-Run distributors are taller, you can compare with MSD's online catalog. So be certain you wont have clearance issues. For example, if your air cleaner currently goes over the top of you distributor, or you have a Monte Carlo Bar that passes over the distributor. These things may not be critical on a 302 but I have found them to be critical on 351W motors.

Glad to hear the coolant leaks were fixed. If you retorque head gaskets I believe in addition to following the pattern at the final torque spec you are supposed to, one at a time, break each bolt loose 1/4 turn (per Fel Pro Tech) then tighten it back to full torque. Again, one at a time, DO NOT loosen all bolts before retorqueing. If you retorque without loosing first it may or may not work correctly. The reason is because you must overcome static friction at both the thread to block interface and the interface below the head of the bolt (or washer) that contacts the cylinder head before the bolt will rotate. This static friction can easily be twice that of sliding friction. So even though the bolt may need retorqueing because the gasket has relaxed, if you do not loosen it first you may not overcome the static friction to rotate it.

Glad to hear the coolant leaks were fixed. If you retorque head gaskets I believe in addition to following the pattern at the final torque spec you are supposed to, one at a time, break each bolt loose 1/4 turn (per Fel Pro Tech) then tighten it back to full torque. Again, one at a time, DO NOT loosen all bolts before retorqueing. If you retorque without loosing first it may or may not work correctly. The reason is because you must overcome static friction at both the thread to block interface and the interface below the head of the bolt (or washer) that contacts the cylinder head before the bolt will rotate. This static friction can easily be twice that of sliding friction. So even though the bolt may need retorqueing because the gasket has relaxed, if you do not loosen it first you may not overcome the static friction to rotate it.

I believe there are some MSD devises designed specifically to retard the ignition timing while starting. I run a MSD Small Base Pro Billet distributor on a 351W with the MSD 6ALN ignition box and I don't have any timing retard during start up.

I believe there are some MSD devises designed specifically to retard the ignition timing while starting. I run a MSD Small Base Pro Billet distributor on a 351W with the MSD 6ALN ignition box and I don't have any timing retard during start up.

I'm sure Barnett can help you setup a stock distributor. In my opinion, if you are going to invest in a new distributor, do not replace with a stock unit, or install a Pertronix igniter in a stock distributor. Mainly because the advance curves are not as adjustable and more difficult to adjust on stock distributors. If you are partial to MSD their Small Base Pro Billet distributors have the least issues with clearance to air cleaners etc. I believe they are available with and without vacuum advance units. Plus if you want a large dist cap you can add a Cap-Adapt to the Small Base Pro Billet distributor. An MSD should trigger your Duraspark, although I would verify this with MSD to be certain. Also, make sure the distributor gear is compatible with your cam. The gears can be changed, but not as easily without a hydraulic press, and the location of the gear on the shaft is very critical.

I'm sure Barnett can help you setup a stock distributor. In my opinion, if you are going to invest in a new distributor, do not replace with a stock unit, or install a Pertronix igniter in a stock distributor. Mainly because the advance curves are not as adjustable and more difficult to adjust on stock distributors. If you are partial to MSD their Small Base Pro Billet distributors have the least issues with clearance to air cleaners etc. I believe they are available with and without vacuum advance units. Plus if you want a large dist cap you can add a Cap-Adapt to the Small Base Pro Billet distributor. An MSD should trigger your Duraspark, although I would verify this with MSD to be certain. Also, make sure the distributor gear is compatible with your cam. The gears can be changed, but not as easily without a hydraulic press, and the location of the gear on the shaft is very critical.

MikeStang, Thanks, but not interested in the Lokar E-Brake.

MikeStang, Thanks, but not interested in the Lokar E-Brake.

Fortunately my harness was untampered and still in good shape. I did rebuild most of the harness that goes from the firewall to the front of the car and to the alternator. With that said, I looked at harnesses from Painless and AAW. My opinion is they are overpriced for what you get. A lot of unwrapped wire with crimped connectors that sometimes corrode and fail with time because they are not sealed. I solder and shrink tube seal all my wire connectors and splices. I will admit the modern fuse box in the Painless and AAW harnesses are an improvement. If the OEM harness will fit your needs look at Midlife or an OEM style replacement. In my opinion, overall the OEM harness is better quality.

Fortunately my harness was untampered and still in good shape. I did rebuild most of the harness that goes from the firewall to the front of the car and to the alternator. With that said, I looked at harnesses from Painless and AAW. My opinion is they are overpriced for what you get. A lot of unwrapped wire with crimped connectors that sometimes corrode and fail with time because they are not sealed. I solder and shrink tube seal all my wire connectors and splices. I will admit the modern fuse box in the Painless and AAW harnesses are an improvement. If the OEM harness will fit your needs look at Midlife or an OEM style replacement. In my opinion, overall the OEM harness is better quality.

According to Fel Pro tech support, I was told the 1011-1 head gaskets require retorquing after the first heat cycle. They had a specific procedure and I don't know if I recall it exactly because I didn't want to do it. I would definitely check with Fel Pro but I think it was something like this, doing one bolt bolt at a time in the torque pattern break the bolt loose then retorque to the full amount. Sounds easy until you realize you have to drain the coolant and remove both the rocker arms and exhaust manifolds. As far as the torque on the rocker arm studs, I don't know if this matters but my studs are ARP and 60 ft. lbs. sounded high to me for that size of thread but it worked for me. **** I just checked ARP's web site, for their rocker arm studs for the 351w with cast iron cylinder heads they specify a torque of 55 ft. lbs. with a thread sealant on the threads, 45 ft. lbs. on aluminum heads and still using thread sealant. Good Luck