Awesome! Congrats!

 

Very nice! Congrat's Mac

 

Thanks guys. I was hoping I could relax a little now but all I want to do is get back out to the shop, lol.

 

Congrats, Mac! All of your hard work (and a little OCD) is paying off. The car is looking and sounding great!

 

Sounds pretty healthy! WTH is that dent on the right fender from?

 

No OCD, just OD, lol. I only do everything three time because I mess up the first two.

Yeah, I'm a little chagrined. I didn't see that until I brought her home An odd one though, isn't it? They pulled the bumper back out after? But the bumper shows no signs. New bumper maybe but then why not fix the dent? It's a mystery. Meh, a fender I can handle. It's the rust behind the rear wheels that's getting to me.

 

I figured out my tranny problem....sort of. I jacked the rear wheels off the ground, put 'er in neutral and I can barely turn the wheels by hand. Either stuck parking brake or I adjusted the shoes too tight (but I didn't have trouble getting the drums on). Must be the parking brake, yes?
I would just pull the wheels and see but those unilugs are a PIA to do by one's self.

 

For the brake, climb under and tug on the cable. It should be kind of loose, not much, when you pull down on it by hand you should feel a spring action on both sides from the rear brakes. If the cable is really tight, then yes...it's a parking brake problem. Probably going to have to pull the drums to fix or check it out. You need two peeps to remove the Unilugs? What's up with that?

 

Sounds like the shoes are adjusted ok - if they were too tight you'd never get the drum back on. They should have just a slight amount of drag when rotating the drum (light raspy scrapy sound). I'll second the parking brake thought.

To adjust it though is relatively easy. First check all the guide hooks and lubricate them to allow the cable free movement. The CSM (page 5-9 Brakes) has a spec on the cable adjustment, but I just use 'feel'. The adjustment for tension is up at the front where the parking brake front cable joins the intermediate cable. You'll find (2) 1/2" nuts on stud through the equalizer bracket. The one closest to the equalizer is the adjusting nut, the other one is used to lock the adjusting nut.

The lug nuts on the wheels should only need about 80-85 ft/lbs of torque. If they're overtightened you could be stripping the bolt threads.

 

Huh, I wouldn't have thought of that. If the cables are sliding freely then I should be able to pull on them and actuate the brake lever inside the drum. Sound reasoning.

I've got 80 ft lbs on them now. It's not that. Holding those suckers in place and threading the nuts on is near impossible without a helper or some kind of jack. Or maybe it's just that I've trashed my shoulders and elbows doing this resto myself.

 

Sorry to hear about the trashing. That can really be an issue when you need some grunt strength. You got a son who can help?

I usually have the tire up just enough to clear the ground, then slide it over the studs. Use your foot (toes) to hold the bottom of the wheel and thread the nuts. No cross threading or effort at all.

 

X2 That's exactly what I was going to suggest. I used to have that exact rim on a 65 GTO, and they are a PITA. Learned to use my feet to guide the rim in to place and that made it much easier.

 

The daughter will be home soon. She actually likes helping. She pulled the motor with me and helped me to get it back in.
I've been having joint issues since I turned 50. They just need some time to heal. Golfer's elbow...and I don't even golf, lol.

 

Nice work getting the car running! Well done.

 

Thanks deejai35, now it's tune time

 

Way to go Mac! I've been enjoying this thread from the start, and happy to see the progress you've made. As for the Trans it most likely still has air in it, topping it off and running it through the gears will help get it out and running right.

 

Thanks rjohnson, a lot of work but well worth it.
It took a few trips down the road and a lot of running it through the gears but I finally got it full of fluid.
However, most of what I thought was a transmission woe I'm pretty sure is a dragging parking brake. going to have a look at that tomorrow.
And i feel like I have an intermittent miss on one of the cylinders. But I cut my own plug wires so i'm going to test them with a volt meter.
A lot to do yet but I'm over the hump

 

I would not test them with a volt meter, it won't stand the voltage. Make sure all your wires a firmly clipped on the end of the spark plug. Go back over your tune and carb adjustments.

 

X2 test with ohm meter and they should measure so much per inch ? I can't remember what tho.

 

I could harm the plug wires with a 9 volt battery? I wouldn't have thought that.

 

Been following this thread for ever. Loved every minute of it. Car looks and sounds great! One thing, who installed your tailpipes? They need to be about a foot longer. That can be sorted out. Nice job and well done sir!

The tailpipes should tuck nicely into the body. I think you know this, right?

 

The box states 3k-7k per foot. Not very specific but what I'd really be looking for is a bad connection.

 

Maybe I should have said I'll be testing with an ohm meter?

 

Good job Mac!!! Now get her dialed in so you can burn some rubber and cruise! :-)

 

yup.

 

I just thought I'd put a couple of red flags on them and call it a day ;-)
I'll have the muffler shop make that adjustment when I get it in. And please don't assume I know anything, lol.

 

You didn't put the brake adjusters in backwards, did ya?

 

He did but fixed that mistake earlier. Normally backwards adjusters just won't adjust.

 

Okay, so I lubes and loosened the parking brake cables but no change. Looks like I have to go into the hub. I remember the, well, the CSM just calls it a lever, that the fronts didn't have. Can I lube that?

 

Have you tried to adjust the brakes through the rear opening at the bottom of the backing plate, it can be done with the wheels on? There should be rubber plugs in access holes.

 

No, but that's a good idea. I've seen the rubber plugs but the CSM doesn't describe the procedure, only with the drums off. I do remember that to loosen the shoes I had to release the actuating lever from the screw. I can do that through the backing plate?

And I should have mentioned that I can activate the parking brake by hand, tugging on the cable, but it doesn't move much. Maybe 1/4"?

 

Nevermind. I was wrong. The rears don't seem to have the rubber plugs. Just indentations in the backing plate where the plugs would go.

 

The cable may be too tight, have you tried to disconnect it? You need a brake spoon and a small screwdriver to push the adjustment plate out a little. The tool looks like this, you can one at the auto parts store:

 

A couple of taps with a cold chisel sorts that right out.

 

Are you saying that you loosened the bolts on the equalizer and they still won't release? 1/4" is way too little movement in a properly working E brake cable. When you get the drums off, check how much travel there is in the mechanism. Is something binding up?

 

Or a punch, hit it on one side and then pry the little plate out. You can get the rubber plugs at the auto parts store.

 

Yeah, I loosened the adjusting nut until the cables are slack but it didn't provide any more movement to the mechanism inside the drum and the wheels still won't turn by hand.
I'm going in. Pulling the wheels now.

 

I'm looking at this as good news. I thought the engine I built had the power of a 1974 Mustang II

 

Let us know what you find.

 

I hope the drums come off