An FE Odyssey

Since the engine went south, I’ve looked at a lot of options for Thunderbird—from selling it as-is to dropping in a modern motor. As it turns out, I’m not (yet) ready to part with the car and dropping in a non-stock motor is fraught with more variables than I want to face. 

The headless block, out of the car once again.

That leaves repairing the motor I have or sourcing a replacement. My initial thought was to swallow the cost of sleeving all eight cylinders in my block to bring it back to stock displacement. What I’ve learned is that cylinder sleeves are really an extreme measure, and doing all eight degrades the structure of the block. The weakness in the block probably wouldn’t be an issue at stock power levels, but it feels wrong to move in that direction unless absolutely necessary. A better solution would be an assembled short block or a sound used block that has never been rebuilt and will clean up nicely when bored .030″ oversized. (The next step up, .060″, flirts with danger, as I have learned.)

The connecting rods are off. Once I get the balancer and timing chain off, the crank can come out as well. I’ve also learned that 65 and later FE blocks have four holes for the motor mounts, not the two you can see here.

I was able to get a short block quote from an FE rebuilder, but it was expensive and contingent on him finding a usable block to start from—he didn’t have any in stock. There was also considerable shipping to factor in as well. A second lead took me to a shop in Southern California that advertised sound, tested blocks at reasonable prices. I thought I had found the perfect solution, but a call to the owner shot it all down–blocks are too scarce and he doesn’t deal in them anymore. The final retail solution was a complete, assembled long block from JEGS, but it comes with a suspiciously low price tag and no information about the motor whatsoever.

The obligatory pile of parts on a makeshift workbench. I am trying to stay organized!

I think I’ve exhausted all the retail possibilities. The last resort is Craigslist and eBay, where bare blocks and complete FE motors occasionally appear. I’ve found quite a lot of good things in the past on both these sites, but I’ve also experienced plenty of disappointment as well. At the moment, I’m in touch with someone that has a 68 block, supposedly unmolested. If all goes well, I’ll get a chance to inspect it later this week.

The last time I had the motor out I cleaned up the engine bay, but didn’t repaint. This time, I plan to at least paint the firewall. I’ll also be replacing some of the brittle under hood wiring.

At the moment, I’ve got the old motor out of the car and partially disassembled. I hope to re-use the crank and connecting rods (and possibly the camshaft, too, since it’s relatively new). I believe I can keep the cost to a reasonable level, but history teaches that once in the midst of a project like this, extra expenses are a certainty.

Blocked

I found it impossible to make any decision about the future of my ‘Bird without knowing exactly what was wrong. So, last weekend I took a few hours and tore into the motor.

On Saturday, I did the light work, removing accessories, draining the radiator and digging as far down as the rocker shafts. Sunday, my son came down the help with the heavy work: hood, intake manifold and the head itself.

The motor with all the “easy” stuff removed.

Getting the hood off is a coordinated effort involving two people, each using both hands and a shoulder to hold things up while the bolts come off. Once it was safely stored away, we removed the bolts from the intake and chained it to a hoist. It was sealed on pretty well and took a significant amount of force (and just a little prying) before it popped off.

The head gasket looked ok.

We left the exhaust manifold bolted to the head, disconnecting it from the collector pipe instead. The head bolts were all tight. Once they were off, it only took a little persuasion from the hoist to break it free. Up to this point, we hadn’t found any issues, though the oil in the driver’s side valve cover and (to a lesser extent) in the valley was fouled with coolant. There were no obvious cracks in the block and the head gasket was still intact.

The “milkshake” in the valve cover indicating water in the oil.

The piston in the bad cylinder was at the top of its stroke, so we had to turn the motor over by hand to move it to the bottom. Once we did, we found an obvious crack about 2 inches long in the cylinder wall. The crack was deep enough to get a fingernail in.

The #1 cylinder was steam cleaned.

This engine will never run again.

The crack is clearly visible. Looks like there’s been some additional damage from the bits of metal floating around in there, too.

In order to get this car back on the road, it’ll need a new motor. A used motor seems like too much of a risk, especially after this experience. Fixing the motor I have–eight new sleeves, clean, magnaflux and install a new rotating assembly–adds up to about $4,000. Buying a pre-built motor (essentially the same thing, but with a different block) is about the same price.

Compressed

I crawled under the car late yesterday afternoon and reinstalled the starter. After pulling the rest of the plugs (on the driver’s side of the motor) and finding no other surprises, I spun the motor a few times to pump out what I could of the coolant in the #1 cylinder.

That done, I took some quick compression readings on numbers 1 through 4. The coolant-filled cylinder read very high, probably a result of some fluid still in there. The other readings were nominal, in the 70-80 range.

I hate the sound of the motor spinning with no resistance.

On the plus side, there’s no indication of water in the oil. However, in looking back over my blog, there’s some indication that I’ve been mysteriously losing coolant since at least the summer of 2013.

With the coolant mostly purged, I’m pretty sure the car will start. (Heck, I could probably even start it with one plug missing.) If so, I’ll see about moving it outside where I can tear it down. Once I know what I’m really dealing with, I can make some decisions on how to proceed.

The End of the Road?

I replaced my battery yesterday. Starting, especially hot, was a little labored and after eight years, I figured it was due.

With everything buttoned up and a few shots of starting fluid in the carb, I turned the key. After a few seconds, it sounded like she was about to grab. Instead, there was a bang and everything stopped turning.

I tried the key a couple more times, but the starter would only strain. I could see the fan move slightly, then bounce back when the key was off.

Today, I pulled the starter. It was a little worn, with a few teeth chipped, but it otherwise appeared sound. At first, I assumed something inside it had jammed; I figured I could replace it and hope for the best.

Before making a run to the auto parts store, I thought to pull the spark plugs and turn the motor over by hand–just to be sure. When I pulled the plug for the #1 cylinder, it came out wet. At first, I thought it was oil fouled, but the liquid was coolant. And the cylinder was completely full of it.

The last time I drove the car, in February, I put about a gallon and a half of coolant in it before starting. It ran fine. Apparently, though, the early warning signs were there.

An internet search didn’t turn up much for “coolant in cylinder,” but what I found suggests a cracked block, a fatal condition. I’ll have to give the future of this car some thought, but today it certainly feels like the end of a chapter.

Six Months

I pulled the Thunderbird out of storage yesterday.

I have to confess, it wasn’t a strong desire to get behind the wheel that motivated me, but a need to get at my shop hoist, trapped behind the car. As it turns out, there really wasn’t much needed to get the car back into running shape even though I’d let it sit for six months.

I never did find the horn brush that vanished, but I did pick up another one (and put it in a safe place). The steering wheel was still loose on the shaft, so it was a simple matter to pull it, install the brush and secure it back in place.  The horn still didn’t work—I suspect I’ve got the connection crossed in the harness at the base of the column. The turn signals, running lights and brake lights are are working properly, though.

Super glue for the mirror. Nice to do a job that doesn’t require crawling on the floor or stooped over the fender.

I also re-glued the rearview mirror button to the windshield, I think for the fifth time now. This time I scuffed up both the glass and the button before securing it with thick super glue and some activator.

Last, I topped off the coolant. The system took about a gallon and a half of the stuff, so I think I need to check for a small leak.

I had the battery on a trickle charge; the motor fired up on the second try. So, I got to the hoist pretty easily. Also, it was date night, so we turned a few heads cruising downtown for dinner and drinks.

The ride awaits.

Signaling

There’s trouble with summertime work on the Thunderbird. Outside, there’s room to work, but no shade from the intense California heat. In the garage, it’s nice and cool, but I can barely move around the car, let alone open a door wide enough to crawl under the dash. To get the turn signal switch swapped out, I stored the car outside, under a cover, reserving the last few (cooler) hours of the day to do what I could. The job took longer that way, but it was a lot more comfortable.

I thought I was brilliant, hanging the collar on the shift lever like that, until the wires pulled back through when I tried to slip it off.

I was able to locate the aftermarket turn signal switch I used a few years back (but not the wiring diagram that came with it). The old switch came out pretty easily, especially once I made the decision to simply cut the bullet connectors off before pulling the wires through the column. A wire in the switch had clearly failed, so I knew I was on the right track.

In the coming years, I expect more wiring failures like this.

I had to remove the collar to thread the wires for the new switch. That done and attempting to mount it in place, I was reminded of the repop switch’s shortcomings: the mounting plate has to be ground down to fit, as did the steering collar where the turn signal stalk exits (the new switch holds the stalk at the wrong angle), and the self-canceling nylon arms catch on the trigger in the wheel with even the slightest turn—click, click, click, click.

This was the worst part of the job, grinding the original collar to make up for the poor design of the replacement switch. I still have some sanding and painting to do here.

 

On the plus side, Bird Nest was able to email me a new wiring diagram. (Clearer and easier to read than the original, by far.) And, it only took me two tries to get the switch wired up correctly.

I took this photo as a way to remember how the old wires were installed, but looking at it now, it’s a grim reminder of the cracking, aging electrical system.

Last time I used this switch, the horn worked, at least sporadically. I removed the old horn brush (which was stuck), ordered a new one, and immediately misplaced it. For now, the steering wheel is loosely installed in the hopes that the new brush will materialize.

Vapor Locked

It’s spring, the weather is warm, rain has stopped and it’s time to be out driving.

I’ve put a couple hundred miles on the car in the last weeks; by and large, it’s running well. My nemesis, vapor lock, still haunts me though. After a longish drive, at speed, the motor refused to fire up until I shot a few doses of starting fluid into the carb. (I still don’t know why this worked, but now carry a can in the car in case of relapse.)

The Thunderbird is never difficult to spot in the parking lot.

I tuned up the motor a little more finely after that episode, backing the timing off a few degrees and raising the idle a bit. Since then, hot starts haven’t been an issue (though I haven’t yet tried to recreate the exact conditions of the last episode), but I am still experiencing rough running and stalling after long periods of idle (stop-and-go traffic) and after hot starts—classic vapor lock symptoms.

Researching the topic: EFI, electric pumps and recirculating fuel delivery systems appear to be the only real solution—none of them in the budget in the foreseeable future. Long time readers will know that I already run with a phenolic spacer under the carb to fight heat soak. Other, less costly, remedies to try include an electric fan (which I’m resisting as a matter of Thunderbird purity) and an insulated metal fuel line from the pump to the carb (probably my first step).

My tune up was inspired by an observation that the distributor vacuum advance line was plugged into the wrong port on the carb.

A friend following behind me last weekend noted that the right rear brake light cluster is not coming on when I stop. (The highway patrol officer who followed me for a while yesterday did not stop to mention this, thankfully!) I believe the issue is with the turn signal switch. I also believe I have a spare aftermarket switch in a box somewhere.

The current switch is original and was salvaged from another car when I did my dashboard swap. Frankly, I won’t be sad to see it go. The horn brush is stuck in it (so no horn) and recently it stopped canceling right turn signals (always embarrassing). If I get really enthusiastic, I may even tackle the back-up lamps (which have never worked) while I’m replacing the switch.

A Few More Odds and Ends

Our rainy season is finally beginning to wind down, so I’ve been out and about with the ’Bird on a regular basis—just enough for little stuff to start bothering me.

You can tell when it’s on, but it sure isn’t pretty.

At the top of that list was the right turn fender indicator. It was working intermittently, but finally stopped altogether a month or two ago. I picked up a couple of good used units from eBay, stripped them for parts and learned a great deal about how they go together.

The left lens had completely disintegrated

I made a tool from an old washer and used it to unscrew the bezel. Inside the bulb, socket, lens and gasket are all spring loaded. The spring is pretty strong, but I had to use a pick to scrape out dirt, corrosion and lens fragments to free everything up and allow the spring to work.

A bright and shiny new/old lens. Spiffy!

On the right, the bulb was still good (a surprise), but the corrosion apparently kept the unit from grounding properly. Once cleaned, functionality was restored.

The indicator bulb on the right surprised me by lighting right up on the test bench.

On the left side, I only had to replace the lens. The most difficult part of this job is getting the assembly back together against the pressure of the spring. I used a small stick to push the lens and socket into the housing, then did my best to get the threads on the bezel started by hand.

The small, fragile lenses have a small plastic tab meant to key into a slot in the housing. In a perfect world, the tab and key would keep the lens properly oriented. In my world, the tab was broken off one lens and barely registered on the other, so both lenses spun during assembly.

Still, I have bright, clean indicators now (and can stop driving around with the right indicator mindlessly blinking away).

…but the corrosion in the housing, spring and socket was severe. I replaced all these parts with good used.

 

Under the hood, I noticed a while back that I had mis-routed the pressure hose from the power steering pump to the steering box. It should run outboard of the master cylinder, but it was on the wrong side. In that position, it can’t be clamped down securely without the hose rubbing on something.

Clamped down and done.

Getting to the fitting on the steering box is not easy, and it’s one of those operations where you have to move the nut, flip the wrench over, move it slightly again, flip the wrench…etcetera. Ug. I was there for a while, and when it was done, my lower back was acutely aware that I had dropped the front end of the car an extra inch.

I lost a little fluid in the process (messing up my pristine rebuilt steering box a bit), but once it was in place, I was finally able to secure the hose to the brace and inner fender—the final, final step to the engine removal and refresh project.

Lastly, I replaced a missing snap ring on the kickdown linkage. Fun fact: if the kickdown linkage comes apart at speed, it can jam the throttle open. Go check yours right now.

So I Re-Wired It

My plug wires arrived this week, so I spent a couple of hours yesterday cutting, stripping and crimping. I did this job once back in 2012 with the same kind of Accel wires, but those only lasted a year. (The muffler shop that sealed up some exhaust leaks said they were burned and replaced them with generics.)

I worked carefully, one wire at a time, trying not to nick up the wire cores in the stripping process (and not always successfully either). At the distributor cap, these wires snap in place with a satisfying click. I wish that was the case at the spark plug end, where there’s always a little guesswork about the connection.

One wire at a time. I even labeled them all.

Some time back, I think while working through a hot start issue, I replaced the coil with one of those big, yellow, performance units that Accel sells. I mounted it where the washer bag would normally live and it’s been sitting the, all ugly-like, for over a year. I came across the old-but-still-good coil while cleaning up after the engine refresh and decided to install it (knowing full well it adds an air of uncertainty to change two things at once).

New wires and the “old” coil. I had to re-run the primary wires for the swap. Also, wow, engines get dirty fast.

I was not surprised that the motor started easily—still loving the new camshaft—and the car didn’t feel all that different as I puttered around the neighborhood. Once I got out of the residential area, I was able to hit the gas . . . and the old ‘Bird took off! Response to the throttle was smooth, silky and strong.

Frankly, I was a little shocked. I was fully prepared to check the wires off my list and move on to a new distributor—possibly even another carb. I’m pretty happy, though, that I can instead move on to driving and perhaps fixing up a few cosmetic things along the way this summer.

Replacing these lenses are first on my list. (Well, right after getting the rear view mirror reinstalled.)

Re-Aligned

I’ve been around the block with the car a number of times now, trying to diagnose the high-speed engine miss and finally decided that it’s not something that will tune out. Nonetheless, it does ok at slow speeds, so I figured I wouldn’t have any trouble getting across town for an alignment.

I took it slow, stopped for gas and brought along the center link I bought but never put on. They got the car done in about an hour. Since I replaced the shims under the lower arms exactly as they were, my “eyeball” alignment was pretty close—saving them some time and me some money.

Cost to install the center link: $25. (I would have happily paid twice that.)

Alignment specs

I chatted with the shop owner, who happened to have a few vintage cars himself, about my engine woes. The usual culprits came up: carb, plug wires, distributor. Since there’s no easy way to test any of these individually, the only recourse is to start swapping parts. Plug wires are the cheapest, so I put a set on order.

For the moment though, I can still manage a slow cruise around town, now and again, which makes me happy.