BobW70Mach1

Best to use the dip stick and tube that came with the transmission or an aftermarket AOD dipstick and tube. You might have to use a tube bender to get it in the right spot. Prior owner had a C-6 dipstick in it and I had all kinds of trouble with getting my fluid level correct before buying the aftermarket one. This is the one I ordered. I had to bend it a little and modify the bolt flange to make it fit my 69 428 Mach 1. You might try one of those that are flexible and mount to the firewall if you do not want to go to all that trouble. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009Q7A6VQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

I just got the engine back from the engine builder. #1 cylinder had to be re-sleeved. The rest of the components were still good. Luckily the re-sleeving did not affect the other cylinders. They cleaned up the heads and intake and put it back together. I even had them break in the engine for me. So a few thousand dollars later I am ready to put it back into the car and get it running for the very first time. If I put some effort into it, I could get it on the road by summer. I need to polish those valve covers, too.

My original 69 trunk lid did not have the cut out. My aftermarket lid did.

I assume you have already removed the shifter handle?

It is hard to tell from the picture. Is the driver side rocker molding there? I really need one. There is one screw in the rear and a nut to remove inside the wheel well in the front of the molding. The rest pops off.

Not sure we are talking about the same thing. But, when I installed vintage air in my Torino I had to calibrate the levers. For the blower, first in the off position, then the full on position. I fount the blower would turn on when I turned my car on. I solved this by positioning the lever to slightly on, or low at the beginning of the calibration instead of all the way off. That way, after calibration, when I positioned the lever in the complete off position it was theoretically in the negative off position. This solved it.

Pertronix points needs 12 volts. They sell this simple kit to bypass the resistor wire without having to cut the wire. I would also make sure you have the Robert Shaw 180-333 thermostat. 99% of Cleveland problems are because people are using a Windsor thermostat. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OXT3X4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

So sorry that happened to you. You must have wanted to cry when that happened. I also recently started my car from the solenoid while working on a non start issue. Same thing happened. Luckily, I did not get hurt and was able to stop the car before it crashed. I dove into the passenger side and threw the gear shifter in park (luckily, passenger door was open at the time). Just some bruises, but I could have killed my self and maybe killed someone else also. A lesson to all of us to use blocks and put the parking brake on when starting the car from solenoid. I’m not sure it was in reverse at the time. I think it was in park and popped into reverse once it started.

I just skimmed through the web page. What a great resource! Thank you for posting it. I have save it for future reference.

Yes. The engine is definitely coming out. I used an endoscope to look in the spark plug holes and I see rust particles so I am not hopeful. I am going to take it to my engine guy and see what he says. I'm hoping some of it can be saved or at least not a full blown rebuild.

I bought a 69 428 Cobra Jet project from Bruce who advertised it on this site. He was a frequent contributor and was completely truthful about the car. I pretty much bought it sight unseen. You can see the ad in the “cars for sale” thread. Anyway, he told me that the engine was rebuilt, but was never broken in. The engine was rebuilt 10 years ago. I have had rebuilt engines sit around for a couple of years and didn’t have an issue with mine so I took a chance with this car and hoped for the best. You can read about what happened in the thread, but it ended up that there was some serious corrosion in the top end. At this point I am hoping the bottom end is not affected and I only have to have the heads rebuilt. I have to admit I am still happy I bought the car because of all the other good work on the build. I just posting as a reference to all the people who buy cars without really checking them out. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Always expect the worst.

Well, guys. You win some and you lose some. I don’t feel like I lost, but I don’t feel like a winner right now. I have had a busy year and am now just getting into the car. It has been in my garage all this time. Bruce did some fine work on the car before I got it, and he was completely truthful about the car. But, it was outside for many years after he did his work. It was covered by a bunch of heavy duty tarps. The engine was rebuilt with roller cam/lifters and even had roller tipped rockers. It was a sweet build, but Mother Nature will win every time. The first clue was when I took the carb to be rebuilt and found out it was totally ruined. The carb rebuilder who is very experienced said it was the worst corrosion he has ever seen. I had to trash the carb and buy a new one. The second clue was finding the same corrosion in the aluminum police interceptor intake. At the same time, I realized I could only turn the crank 90 degrees before it got stuck. I pulled the intake and almost cried. As I was lifting it out a bunch of debris fell out of the intake onto the engine. This is what I found. I still need to pull the heads. I am praying that the cylinders are ok, but I doubt it. I hope the damage is only in the heads and the engine block can be saved.

A Chevy guy who does Ford Carbs? Would you happen to be talking about Henry Franklin in Portland? I just got back my carb from him. I took my “U” carb to him to get it rebuilt. Unfortunately, the inside was trashed. It was not salvageable. He has thousands of carbs and found a better “U” core and rebuilt that for me. I haven’t put it on the car yet, but I am very impressed. I asked that he try to keep costs down so a few of the outside hardware pieces are painted instead of restoring the finish. Unlike some people I have no problem saying what I paid. I paid $900 and am very happy.

What a great response on this thread. I chased overheating issues with my Cleveland for a long time after my rebuild. After switching fans and radiators multiple times I finally figured out it was the thermostat. Duh! Such an easy fix. I remember going to the parts store during my rebuild and specifically asking for a Cleveland thermostat because I knew they were different. I was too inexperienced to realize they gave me a Windsor thermostat. They insisted repeatedly it was the right one. I asked “Are you sure?” “Yes. We are sure.” Also there is so much misinformation out there. A lot of “know it all” people even say to remove the brass ring to solve overheating issues.