Marcs 56 F100 project

[m67gl]

been some progress of late (temporarily unemployed). Got a package from MidFifty. Put the 2" wider guards that I got from the Goldy on and adjusted the rear coil-overs, ie; lowered them. The way the PO had it set up was downright embarrasing, with a couple of rough cut 2" square sections bolted between the diff/coil over to raise the tubs over the wheels.

Put in the temp and fuel gauges. thought I'd have a go at hooking them up. Made all the connections but damn things wouldnt work, then the tacho that was working stopped ??? Started to cuss so I walked away. Then had a thought and got out my dodgy test light, no power to the gauge maybe ? fuse ? blown ! Replaced. All working now.

A problem with the battery. I'm getting 14 volts at the altenator but the battery is not holding a charge. I need to recharge it after the car sits a few days. I have a battery cutoff switch as well, so there shouldnt be a drain from the system. Any ideas?

[m67gl]

Also in my goodies from MidFifty was a speedo cable. But with not many 56 F100's around here I have no idea how to rout it. I presume somewhere through the fire wall and not in the gap in the trans cover (in the floor), then straight down under the floor, turning to the C4. ??

Do you have to lube the new cable ? what about inside the speedo itself.

[donoauto]

Don't bother with speedo internals - looking for trouble. New cable should be prelubed if it's quality. What I do with the old ones is slip the inner out , fill one hand with grease , resist the temptation for a pull at this stage , then feed the inner cable back into the outer running it through the grease as you go.

As for battery (providing isolator switch is wired correctly - hard to get wrong), it's either flat & needs a good recharging or it's faulty.

[m67gl]

Hey Dono, the battery is getting 13 plus volts at the battery, tester reads to 'charge and re-test'. Absolutely no drain when isolator switch is 'off'. Looks like a drive to Casino on Sunday then.
Moved the wire that gave power to indicators and radio from light switch to ignition switch, seems to be working fine, radio holding station memory etc. Was causing a small battery drain before moving. With the indicators flashing fast I tested a load resistor and it seemed to fix it. I will add them to the front harness. Lots of metal to fix them to.

Speedo cable next week. Looks like it has a bit of white grease on the inner cable.

Old cars keep me busy. Saw a 57 VW split window bus today, lowered, putting a hot engine in it. Was good. I think I need help !

[donoauto]

Can't make Casino tomorrow. No skids for Dono.

[m67gl]

Had a couple of wins with the truck. Got the indicators sorted. Must have been reading the instructions upside down or the circuit board was printed ass about. Was friggin round with the emergency flasher, finally got the electro-mechanical can in the indicator spot and all good now.

As for the speedo, hooked up all good, cable was pre-lubed (I emailed mid fifty to check) worked for about 10 kms then a funny thing happened. Needle jumped to infront of the numbers and stuck. Cable stopped spinning (I can tell because it went quiet). Looks like the Speedo head seized. The cable snapped just inside the plastic gear (gearbox end) Now I need a new inner cable. Where do I get one of those, needs to be 71" or 1.8m. Think I need a new gear as well, this one has some teeth damage. I had an extra guage and the speedo head in that moves freely so should work - I made a square key and could wind the milage up/down by hand. From what I've read the MPH is set by springs and magnets from the spinning cable.

[nassi]

Yes the MPH as you call it is driven by the spinning flex cable which is connected to a magnet which spins inside an aluminium drag cup. The cup is then dragged along by eddy currents from the magnet, It dosnt spin though as its nailed down by a hairspring and as such has to fight this tension. The faster you go, the faster the magnet spins, the more eddy current formed so the harder the drag cup fights the hairspring. The pointer or needle is directly attached to the drag cup.
cheers

[hybrid]

I found a universal inner cable years ago that I used on my escort. They probably still make them somewere. You basically cut it to length, then put the square on the end using an adapter thingy.

[nassi]

You an get cables custom made also.
http://www.fdrive.com.au/products/02/speedometer.php

[m67gl]

You an get cables custom made also.
http://www.fdrive.com.au/products/02/speedometer.php

Thanks Nassi, that's the best option. I did manage to get a second hand cable from the local wreckers and some gears for a fix for now. Swapped out my old speedo head into the cleaner bezel and all working good for now. The 17 tooth gear is reading far more accurate than the 16 tooth gear. Unfortunately due to the stresses of the past 24 mths I'm going to sell this truck. I cannot commit the time and energy to complete or enjoy it.
http://www.justauto.com.au/justcars/buy ... osition=43

Going to offload the Mustang as well (although I'll probably regret that decision)

[m67gl]

Time to close the book on this project Drove up to the GC today and handed over the keys. I didn't get to finish what I started but it needed to be done. New owner very happy.

[ozbilt]

Time to close the book on this project Drove up to the GC today and handed over the keys. I didn't get to finish what I started but it needed to be done. New owner very happy.

Tough call, but does that mean sunshine for another project?

[scott66stang]

That is a nice truck , its a shame but, ya have to do what you have to do for what ever reason.
Keep the Mustang for a while and see how you cope, you obviously have a passion for old cars and you may regret loosing both.
Then again most are still readily available and you can get back into them when you are ready or able.

[mwizz]

Shame you had to sell it but it didn't take long to sell. You did a great job on it.

[m67gl]

Thanks guys. There will be something else down the track, I cant stay away from the hobby to long. Without much carpentry work I needed this distraction but was getting bogged down, reminiscent of when I did a 66 vert with Oz' favourite Mac Strut designer 12 years back.
I had to simplify life for a while. Been dealing with something for the past 2 years and at a point now where it can be resolved or it will go for another 1-2 years. Finances were not a problem, so I will be back. I couldn't believe how easy that F100 cruised up the highway, better ride than my Holden Rodeo for sure. With those wider guards it can still go another 1-2 " lower, ran out of time. New owner intends to do a full show job on her.

Thinking I should spell the mustang down at 'The Ranch' for a while rather than sell it. See if it comes back refreshed and RHD it would be out of sight out of mind while I need it. Or maybe next time I'll give Ozbilt the chance to do a 53-55 pickup.
Hopefully get the Mustang down to yamba next weekend, just need to sort kids. Prep the back room Dono