Dad's 62 Ford Galaxie

[Texas82GP]

I was over at Dad's Saturday afternoon for a Birthday party for my stepbrother. While I was there Dad had me put the new wiper blades on the Galaxie for him. He's been working on the wiper switch this past week. The switch on these cars is primarily a cable that connects to the wiper motor under the dash. You turn the knob, turning the cable, which activates the wipers. It also has a spring loaded electric switch for the washers. You push the knob in to run them.

The switch in the car is a New Old Stock unit that Dad found 10 years or so ago. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, the end of the cable, near the wiper motor got bent. I'm guessing it happened when Dad and I were wrestling the HVAC case in and out from under the dash. The result of the bent cable is th knob won't turn.

Earlier in the week, Dad got under the dash (not easy with the under dash A/C) and straightened the cable the best he could. He got the wipers working and put everything back together. The next day, the knob wouldn't turn.

Dad was fortunate and found another New Old Stock switch. He has the damaged switch out and will likely get the new one installed this week. Here is a pic of the two switches...

We got the New Old Stock Gates Green Stripe A/C belt (1/2" shorter than called for).....

We're not ready to try it as Dad has decided to change out the clutch on the A/C compressor. Right now, it has a double sheave cluch which was on it when we sent the compressor off to be overhauled. This isn't correct and the pully on the double sheave clutch wobbles a little. Dad has had a single sheave clutch for quite some time....

Right now, Dad is waiting to receive a "brush holder" for the replacement clutch. It mounts to the front of the compressor. The dual sheave clutch is a bit different.

While I was over there, I snapped a few pics to try and give you guys a feel for how that fuel pump job is when the car is equipped with A/C and power steering....

I guess that's about it for now friends.

 

[Texas82GP]

Dad has made some nice progress on the car. He got the wiper switch fixed last week. Last night he sent me some pictures of his A/C clutch project. Again, the clutch on the car is a double sheave which isn't correct and the pully wobbles a little bit. We got this compressor with a parts car back in the early 90's and don't know what it came off of. Here's a look at what Dad has been running for quite some time...

Here, Dad's pulled the clutch off.....

Next he had to add the brush holder for the single sheave clutch....

On goes the NOS single sheave clutch....

Dad said the newest belt, the one 0.5" shorter than what we originally had, was perfect. Here it is running.....

Another item off the list. Nice work Dad.

 

[Longroof79]

Nice to see continued progress, Jared.
I hope your dad's been enjoying time behind the wheel.
What type of refrigerant is he using.....R12, or 134A? Those old York compressors have got to put a drain on power. They've used them in a variety of vehicles. Some old Volvos, my old VW bus had a York unit in it, but never got it functional. It actually seized up and broke the belt.
I also have a foxbody Capri with a York compressor in it. It used R12, but has since leaked out. Never had it recharged and serviced.

 

[Texas82GP]

Nice to see continued progress, Jared.
I hope your dad's been enjoying time behind the wheel.
What type of refrigerant is he using.....R12, or 134A? Those old York compressors have got to put a drain on power. They've used them in a variety of vehicles. Some old Volvos, my old VW bus had a York unit in it, but never got it functional. It actually seized up and broke the belt.
I also have a foxbody Capri with a York compressor in it. It used R12, but has since leaked out. Never had it recharged and serviced.

Jack, it's nice to hear from you. Dad is running R-12 in the Galaxie. He's stockpiled cans over the years. I don't have any idea how R-134A would perform in this system as it is all stock (serpentine condenser, expansion valve, stock York compressor). I'm sure the compressor does rob some power but it works great (blows 38° on a hot day) and the 390 makes plenty of torque to drive it. It also has the right look, which is key on this build.

 

[Clutch]

Dad has made some nice progress on the car. He got the wiper switch fixed last week. Last night he sent me some pictures of his A/C clutch project. Again, the clutch on the car is a double sheave which isn't correct and the pully wobbles a little bit. We got this compressor with a parts car back in the early 90's and don't know what it came off of. Here's a look at what Dad has been running for quite some time...

View attachment 159967

View attachment 159968

Here, Dad's pulled the clutch off.....

View attachment 159969

Next he had to add the brush holder for the single sheave clutch....

View attachment 159970

On goes the NOS single sheave clutch....

View attachment 159971

Dad said the newest belt, the one 0.5" shorter than what we originally had, was perfect. Here it is running.....

View attachment 159972

Another item off the list. Nice work Dad.

That's exactly the same as the compressor that was on my 454 in the camper

 

[Texas82GP]

That's exactly the same as the compressor that was on my 454 in the camper

They used that compressor on tons of applications. Not withstanding Jack's story, they are said to be nearly bulletproof.

 

[Longroof79]

Jack, it's nice to hear from you. Dad is running R-12 in the Galaxie. He's stockpiled cans over the years. I don't have any idea how R-134A would perform in this system as it is all stock (serpentine condenser, expansion valve, stock York compressor). I'm sure the compressor does rob some power but it works great (blows 38° on a hot day) and the 390 makes plenty of torque to drive it. It also has the right look, which is key on this build.

Jared.
Somehow I figured he was using R12. Good for him that he was able to stockpile a significant amount over the years. I don't think 134A would be that efficient in the older systems. As for horsepower robbing, I used to use the old A3 compressor in the Malibu and as soon as I turned that thing on, it was as if I applied the brakes. The old Ford 390s were no slouch. They produced some decent power.
I hope you're gradually getting back to work on the GP. Time is slipping by. I can vouch for that.

 

[Texas82GP]

I went to Dad's last Saturday to help him with tuning the Holley on the Galaxie. He's the expert so he really didn't need me but I was glad to spend some time with him. The carb has been troublesome since sitting over at the painter's house for over a year. The original complaint was fuel spilling all over the intake and also the engine flooding when you cut it off. We started with some general cleanup and replacing the accelerator pump. No joy.

The secondary float needle was hanging up. That's an easy enough fix. Then Dad discovered the welch plug on the back float bowl was leaking. That took some time to identify. We ended up putting a new Holley bowl from Summit on it. That got it to the point where it wasn't leaking or flooding, but it still needed the final tuning. Dad's house was built in 1975 and had galvanized iron water pipes. The ticking time bomb finally caught up with him a few months ago. He's re-piped the whole house with PEX with the help of my step-brother and his friend, but Dad is still putting the master bathroom, where the leak happened and did all the damage, back together. This is where Dad is spending most of his time so the progress on the carb has been slow.

We started Saturday by getting the float levels set. The front was just a little low and the 390 was definitely mad about it. Next we adjusted the idle mixture screws. We started at the recommended 1.5 turns out on both. It wasn't really happy. We tried going leaner and that made it worse. I am ignorant and more willing to do trial and error than Dad, so if I helped Dad at all, it was with my willingness to try to go richer and richer. I ended up at 2 turns out on both (after going as far as 2.5 - changing in 1/4 turn increments) and it was really happy. The idle is really steady and there is no sound of misfire in the exhaust. Next, we tweaked the curb idle speed and made a small adjustment to the idle up solenoid. Dad used to prefer the engine to idle relatively slow, like 650 but that isn't that friendly for the clutch. It's come full circle where now he likes it idle much faster and it seems kind of fast to me. We now have it at 850 with the A/C off and 900 with the A/C running. With the small cam the car has it really sounds great. It was one of those good mornings where it pretty much all goes your way. I'm still trying to savor that since it so often doesn't go that way.

I should mention that once Dad had the flooding problem overcome, he went ahead and changed the oil. We had had the Summit 30W break-in oil in it, but that stuff is only good for 400 miles. I doubt it had more than 200 miles on it but it was also fuel contaminated. It now has the Penngrade 30W High Performance Oil in it. I noticed that the valve train (shaft rocker system) is much quieter. That stuff has a great reputation and so far, it seems well warranted to me. Dad said the oil pressure was up slightly as well.

Earlier this week I ordered a DEI heat wrap for the starter and some header wrap for the passenger exhaust pipe. We have a nagging problem where the starter heat soaks out on the road and when you make a short stop, like for gas, the starter doesn't want to turn when you go to restart. We already replaced the old coffee can factory style starter with a small gear reduction unit from Robb MC Performance (did that years and years ago). We may try enhancing the ground to the starter as well. Regardless, that's the next project. That's it for now friends.

 

[Texas82GP]

Dad picked up Sean, my nephew and I this morning for breakfast. The car got some attention at the little place where we ate and out on the road. Dad has the operation of the GearVendors overdrive mastered. It was fun. I snapped this pic after dad dropped us off. I love watching the car go around the corner and listening to it....

 

[motorheadmike]

That looks damn good.