[tomfoolery76]

Hello, I'm Adam and I bought a 1966 coupe this morning.

It's a LOT rougher around the edges than I wanted, but I get impulsive when I'm excited. Plus, it was in my budget... although, after all the work it needs, a nicer specimen might have been a better route to go.

I was initially pretty proud of myself for spotting some of the issues with the car. For instance, the driver side door had been replaced. The current door wasn't flush with the rear quarter panel, but it also had a door plate from a different car. It showed a VIN with the 'T' engine code, but this car has a V-8 and is registered with a different 'C' code VIN.

Still, having absolutely NO mechanical training or experience, this probably wasn't the right car to buy. The seller said she hadn't driven it in a year, and that she thought it needed new brakes and "something" for the steering. Well, on the way home the car stalled about 1.5 miles into the 2 mile drive. It would start up, and then almost immediately stall again.

A good Samaritan helped me push the car out of the road, and then he adjusted the timing so that the car didn't immediately stall. He thought it might only be stalling at low RPMs. From what he could see, hear and smell, he also thought that 1) the water pump needed to be replaced (from a metal on metal, loose bearing noise), 2) a cylinder wasn't firing, and 3) the car was running way too rich.

I went on my way and got another block and a half down... and then the car died again. This time it wouldn't start or turnover at all. Turn the key, and nothing.

From past problems with other cars, maybe that's the alternator, a dead battery, or a loose connection (hopefully). After having roadside assistance tow the car home the final half mile, the turn signal light on the dash was still flashing... so maybe not the alternator. I'm sure this is just the first of many mysteries that will come up.

So I'll be searching the forum a lot in the near future, and I'm looking forward to it! I'm hoping I can fix some of the smaller, easier issues myself so that I can minimize the repair costs at a shop. I'm keeping my fingers crossed anyway!

 

[midlife-stanger]

You made a mistake. I'd sell it. You are going to put more money into it then it's worth . Thats ok if you enjoy fixing things. But when it's all said and done you could buy a much better car for less money then your going to put into this car. Cut your losses now. I made the same mistake on my first Muscle car.

 

[heavy metal]

Welcome to the site!! I moved your post for a better response.

 

[K4JOE Joe]

Welcome to the site, You gonna love it. Lot of knowledge here.

Joe

 

[Ivy66GT]

It showed a VIN with the 'T' engine code, but this car has a V-8 and is registered with a different 'C' code VIN.

That would concern me more than any of the other things you mentioned. The other things can all be fixed - eventually. I am surprised that CA would register a car with an incorrect VIN. Just making up a VIN is highly discouraged not to mention illegal in every state. That is, except for the states themselves. They have a process for making up VINs for cars that otherwise don't have one. But they don't use anything similar to the VINs that Ford used so as not to confuse anyone about what was done.

If you can always crank the engine and get it started then the battery and alternator are not your problems. Anything else you mentioned, plus more, could well be.

 

[tomfoolery76]

Midlife-Stanger: You may be right! But, you also don't know what I paid for it. I'm trying to stay optimistic... there's still a chance this will be a good deal.

heavy metal: Thanks! I wondered if I should move to a tech forum as I was typing, but I wasn't really necessarily looking for solutions yet so i stayed in the Intro section.

Ivy66GT - sorry, to clarify, the VIN on the fendor apron (under the hood) matches the registration. It shows the correct 6R07C coding.

 

[67cpe]

hi, ok maybe look at the battery. there is a date code melted into it. if it is a non name battery and is more than a year old it is likely junk. either way, take the battery to kragen and they will test it for free. they can also test your alternator if you remove it. clean the ground terminal on the block as well as all the others, easy fix. The stalling is likely a bad carb and/or rust in the gas tank. the rust gets sucked up around the tank filter while driving then chokes off the gas supply. when the engine stops, at least some of the rust falls off the filter and the car will typically restart. sometimes you need to push sideways on the back of the car to get the gas to slosh the rust off the filter.

put a cheap small plastic filter in line just before the fuel pump. use small narrow hose clamps or fuel injection clamps on it. look at the filter if it dies again, if it is completely enpty then it is a fuel related prob. either a plugged tank filter or bad fuel pump. remove the filter in the carb if there is one and tap the inlet side on a white paper towel to clean it. if it is dirty then spray carb or brake cleaner in the exit end then the inlet end and tap it again.

check your points, if they are pitted replace them, the gap should be .014" - .016"

set both fuel mix screws in front of the carb until the highest idle ids acheived then turn them in just 1/8 turn.

if it has a miss it might be a crudded up plug or a plug wire grounding out against the engine. look at plugs then look at the wires in the dark with the engine on and move them around while looking for sparks.

suck on the vacuum hose that goes to the distributor to see if the dist vac can is bad. they usually are. it connects to the base of the carb on the side on the passenger side.

if you need parts or service go see mustangs and fast fords in santa ana.

 

[Retired Boomer]

...having absolutely NO mechanical training or experience, this probably wasn't the right car to buy. The seller said she hadn't driven it in a year, and that she thought it needed new brakes and "something" for the steering. Well, on the way home the car stalled about 1.5 miles into the 2 mile drive. It would start up, and then almost immediately stall again...

Hopefully this isn't your only car and a daily driver.

If structural rust isn't an issue, then even a rough '66 can be a great project/weekend/hobby car. Do your homework and you should be able to handle minor repairs. Any decent mechanic can fix whatever you can't handle.

Lots of good advice from 67cpe above. Rest assured, it's all fixable.

Before you try your hand at DIY repairs, get a real Shop Manual (not a CD). Amazon, ebay... shop for best price.

Here's a great website for the '66: The Care and Feeding of Ponies: Mustang Alternator and charging system 1965 and 1966

Plus, there are videos for many common repairs. And some sites have detailed instructions, like these for a DIY carb rebuild:
Autolite 2100 Carburetor Rebuild
Motorcraft 2100 Carburetor Rebuild Series Identification Part 1 - YouTube

Lots more tips & advice from experienced folks on this forum. Just ask before you screw-up! :gringreen

 

[tomfoolery76]

Well it only took a new positive battery wire and starter solenoid to get the Mustang started again!

And I was out at the Long Beach HiPo Swap Meet today. Saw a nothing special 1966 C code that was beat to hell (i.e. rust, multiple dents, bad paint, terrible interior). The guy was asking $8500 for it, which is well above what I paid for my new 'stang. Needless to say, I'm feeling much better about the purchase!!!

So now I'm gonna get started on a new water pump, maybe the radiator, fan, and...

But, does anyone know if if it's possible to purchase a new "Air Pump Air Cleaner" that was part of the thermactor emission system on the V8? (the top left component shown in Figure 2 here.

I've been googling all over the place, but can't seem to find any info on that part, aside from that hyperlink. My car has it, and it's just kind of unsightly (cracked). Do most people just get rid of the CA emissions equipment?

 

[rex1965]

The thermactor air pump was used for several years, so finding one should not be impossible, plus a lot of parts are available at the mustang suppliers like NPD, etc, plus some parts are on ebay, etc, the internet is a good place to start looking, and some parts are available from your local auto parts store. Being in cal you may have to comply with the emission standards, I don't know on a classic, some places an antique is exempt from these, but mileage may be limited. I've been working on my 65 Fb for almost 40 years and I still don't have it done, yet, and I saved it from being crushed for scrap then. So enjoy your new ride, they are a lot of fun, and watch out as they can be a money pit, especially if you start replacing parts you think are bad or worn out, instead of checking it out and getting what it really needs. When you have your first electrical problem, and you will, get a DVM (digital volt meter) w-mart has them for about $20, it will pay for itself the first time you use it. And you might want to get a few books, there are many on restoring a mustang as well as other reference material. And don't hesitate to post a thread on a problem on the tech forum here, there are many people, who work on these as well as been there and done that. Good Luck and Welcome to the Forum.

 

[Ivy66GT]

Do most people just get rid of the CA emissions equipment?

You must be new to CA? :bounce2:

You need to have asked "Did most..." Back in the day anyone outside of CA couldn't throw that stuff away quick enough. It was perceived to devalue any car that it was still attached too. ONLY someone living in CA or someplace where it was required would intentionally keep it. Today restorers who want to make the cars 'as original' can't find most of that stuff or intentionally restore their cars is if they were never in California to begin with.

Never having seen one of those filters :yup: I went to the Ford parts manual and looked for 'air pump'. Seems it was a part number 9A492. NPD doesn't have anything with that number that I can find. They normally use the Ford-type part numbers in their catalog and also have one of the most complete offerings of whats available. If they don't have, that isn't a good sign.

So then I Googled the number and came up with a used on for sale. That tells me new ones are not available. If they were available then why would anyone pay $70 for one that likely isn't any better than yours.

Inlet Assembly - Air Pump - Used ~ 1967 Mercury Cougar / 1967 Ford Mustang (24004) at West Coast Classic Cougar, inc. :: Specializing in 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, and 1973 Mercury Cougars

That one is a '67 but at least it gives you an idea what to look for and that they aren't all that easy to find. They also don't mention anything before 1967 since that is when Cougars started being sold. The Ford manual says all cars of any model for 66/67 used the same part number and they listed it as: C6AZ-9A496-A

I will add the Ford picture for your reference. The little triangle by the 9A492 part number refers to a note that says "Includes 9A496 element". NPD does sell the 9A496 filter element for $8 (page 135 in their catalog).

 

[hockman5]

You can just scrap all the smog stuff, you don't need it anymore. You will not have to have your car smogged due to its age. Your car will probably run better and have less things to go wrong if you just get rid of the smog pump.
Are you planning on keeping the car? fixing and selling it? Restoring it to original? Or keeping it for yourself as a fun vehicle. These all determine what type of repairs you should do and how much money you should dump into it.

 

[Samuel]

hey Tomfoolery, Good job on the battery cable replacement. That happened to me. Never thought one day the car wouldnt start after starting every day prior, that it would be the battery cable. when i found the problem i split the insulation and the cable was caroded half way down the cable.. If you replace the radiator be careful. I learned a good lesson. I purchased a new one and installed it when i got my car running. Every piece of loose rust crud and junk eventually worked its way loose in the cooling system and went into my new radiator. :/ every fin was clogged with in a week.

 

[jsh13]

Are you trying to make the car original?
Most people in CA also removed all the smog equipment from the older cars too! Anything from 1975 or older is not required to have a smog inspection here.

 

[tomfoolery76]

Wow, thanks guys!

Ivy66GT -- lol no, I'm not new to Cali... I just knew that the car doesn't have to past smog tests because of it's age, so I figured a lot of people would "opt out" of keeping smog control parts on the car. But, your research was awesome! I looked over and over again, and couldn't come up with the part number. That probably means it's time to buy a book (or 2).

Hockman5 and Jsh13 -- I'd like to stay as original as possible, but with my budget, I know it's not realistic to stay totally original. The goal right now is to make it reliable and safe to drive. It won't be a daily driver, but maybe weekly!

Samuel - so I pulled the radiator yesterday, but ran out of time and didn't get any further. How do you keep all of the old crud from getting into the new radiator??

 

[RED65COUPE302]

flush

Welcome, and good luck with the new stang.
Before you put in a new radiator flush the block with a garden hose running at full blast for 20 minutes or so, back flush it too that sometimes will help loosen up the crud.
Glad to see another cali stang owner on the forum
Remove the thermostat also, and warm up the engine before you flush it

 

[rex1965]

You also need to remember, the passages inside the heater core are smaller than the radiator, so if the radiator is getting plugged, so is the heater core, and if you flush the heater core with a garden hose, have it barely turned on to begin with as some water companies provide about 100psi water pressure, which is more than enough to rupture the heater core. Good Luck.

 

[RED65COUPE302]

flush

Good point Rex,By pass the heater core and flush it separate so you don't push that rust and crud into the heater core.

 

[6T6Coupe]

I was told by a Napa guy that you can put some kitchen vinegar in heater core then fill with water and let sit awhile. That helps to loosen the crud. I tried it. There was alot of crud that came out too.

This was after rinsing it with just hot water.

Ken :shigrin

 

[Ivy66GT]

Vinegar is a very weak acid so it will help some but not a lot. Lemon juice is also sometimes used. If you want to REALLY clean out the system put in a pound or two of citric acid crystals, fill with water and drive for half an hour. That is the Mercedes factory cleaning method but its good for any make.