68 Stang in a Wheel Chair

[MistaMadMike]

Ok, new to the board and I'm curently tinkering with a 85 hatchback and a 68 Stang. This will be my first time under the hood of a stang and instead of me searching relentlessly in google which I have done.. I thought I'd come in here and get some efficient links and resources of restoration and aftermarket vendors..maybe shops as well that do relaible rebuilds. I'm on the West Coast so closer the better. I found alot for new gen stangs but nothing really for older gen.
So first.. I'm working on a chicks new purchase of a 68 stang and this is a commuter even tho it should be parked right now.
Lets share what I found under the hood and maybe you can tell more about it.
So I guess it's a 289 with a two barrel carb sitting on a 3 speed, well it goes into second gear but not third, hmm? I popped open the hood and it was a nightmare. Engine oil everywhere so we steam cleaned it, coolant everywhere leaking all over the valve covers at the heater hose. Fuel filter running straight out into the Distributor wedged into the frikin cap. Distrib cap..exremely oily and wett so we had to air hose it dry. The plug wires were mix matched but the plugs looked ok but changed them anyways. The idle was so bad I was wondering if it was running on all cylinders. We did a cylinder test but it dont have much experince with it since I'm still learning with tinkering. Anyhow the compression seemed a lil low..around 100psi on the dial. We tried about 2 more times and then did another cylinders and left it alone after that. Me and pops adjusted the timing and carb and couldnt figure out why it wasnt responding to our adjustments. Holly smokes...on the passenger side of the carb there is a threaded end that looks like some kinda hose suppose to be to connected to it? Something that has to do with the choke? Also there was two other vacuum hoses that were plugged. It has an aftermarket air cleaner so I guess that explains that. I guess this thing has a vacum regulator on the tranny and I cant seem to find if its hooked up. If it isnt, could that explain why its not shifting into 3rd gear? Anyhow, the heater core just blew and it has no overflow tank so I cant see what the activity is with the coolant. We bypassed the core since it flooded the passenger side. lol It gets better, a windshield wiper just flew off yesterday and we noticed the choke gets stuck closed. The window is stuck open and the door handle is jammed so you have to exit out the passenger side, what a pain in the rear. This chick is driving this thing as a commuter and I insisted that she gets the oil changed and that we fix the major vacuum leak. Right now the acceleration is horrible of course and she has to push the pedal all the way to floor on the freeway. This chick just bought a $300 stereo system and driving this car like she won something. Anyways, It was crazy, the engine was so low in oil we put two bottles in, woa!
Ok, enough of me talking...heres what the stang looks like. It bugs me that someone let it go to poo since its a nice car. No worries, its in good hands.

I'm having a lil problem with the links for these these pics on my cardomain page so clicky the page and scroll down to see the striped 68 Stang.
Pictures - scroll down -

So anyways...lets see some resourceful web links so I can help this chick restore this thing..thanks..

 

[Aero]

Well it is good to see her car is in capable hands. As for the not shifting into 3rd. I don't know myself cept maybe that the trannie is low on gear oil? But don't listent o me I know squat about transmissions.

 

[302 coupe]

looks like a nice ride, just need some TLC.

1. definately plug the choke tube hole on the side of the carb, it is creating a vacuum leak.
2. for the tranny, sounds like a faulty vacuum modulator, or its not hooked up. There should be a hose running from the vacuum tree on the back of the intake to the modulator.
3. Set the initial timing(with vacuum advance disconnected and plugged)at 12 degrees. Set total timing at around 34(with vacuum connected, should have 34 by 3000 rpm).
4. Idle speed should be around 800 rpm. Be sure to adjust the mixture screws for good idle qualty. Normally 1 1/2 turns out does the trick.
5. Talk some sense into the chick, if she keeps abusing the car, its gonna cost mucho$ and leave her stranded in the worst of places.
6. We're here to help, so if you get hung up you know what to do. Might want to get a repair manual for the car too.

 

[MistaMadMike]

I was working on it late at night and my mag light was wearing down so I havent had a chance to check the fluid but it should shift even if its low. I have to test drive it again to feel how it shifts. The shifts are soft and I cant really tell if its hitting third and it has no RPM guage for me to get a visual. We took it on the freeway and I tried listening and feeling for the shift but it seemed normal to me even at 70mph, no high rev. We even checked the gear shifter to make sure we were not in 2nd and made sure the linkage was correct. I'm ganna make her buy a rpm gauge and other guages because I cant rely on guessing,lol.
After I diagnosed the problems the oil pan started leaking at the corner. Anyhow, I guess I know what I'm doing this weekend...working on the ol' pony.

 

[MistaMadMike]

just saw your post right after I shot mine through...hey any help is great. Yeah, I'll be in here often. Yea, we got a repair manuel...she got it all wett when the heater core blew so the manuel was useless, pages were so wett the pages tore and the ink ran into eachother. I was able to find the plug gap info atleast. The timing and carb tweaking we set by cautious ear as I was plugging the hole with my hand, lol. what gets me pist is that she keeps driving it after I told her that her car is not driveable. Chicks...they dont listen. Just because it rolls downhill doesnt mean it works. ha ha anyways, I'm pretty jazed about being able to work on it.

6. We're here to help, so if you get hung up you know what to do. Might want to get a repair manual for the car too.

 

[65fastback2+2]

i am assuming it is a 3 speed automatic??? It is possible someone put an early c4 in it from 65/66. This is called a green dot c4. What is normally drive on a regular transmission is only 2nd/3rd on this transmission for wet weather driving. This is all simply controlled by a servo, so you can convert any c4 to shift like this using the right servo. Thus, if you had it in drive, it would only give you one shift because it starts off in second.

 

[65fastback2+2]

also, where are you located?

 

[ssppiitt]

LOL!! See... you were destined to own a Stang. Before you know it you will ditch the POS Z and you will be trying to build a better Stang than mine.

By the way guys MistaMadMike is my cousin.

Well it looks like these guys are helping ya out but here are a couple other helpful hints.

Oil pan leak - You know how to fix that.

Compression check - Unplug the coil connector, pull the cylinder #1 sparkplug, screw the compression gauge into the spark plug hole, wedge open the butterfly valve on the carb so it is fully open. Start with cylinder 1 at TDC and make sure that it is at TDC on the compression stroke. It is best to use a remote starter for this part. You want to turn the crank using the remote starter back to TDC compression stroke (Don't go over so be careful). That should be 4 jumps on the gauge. Take that gauge reading. Check all of the cylinders the same way 1-8. If you miss or overshoot TDC on one of the cylinders do not go back just go to the next one and go back to that cylinder the next round. To tell if there is a problem you will need to compare all of the cylinders and there will be a high and low point of compression.

Out come of the compression check will determine if a leakdown test is necessary.

Spark plugs - Check the spark plugs. What do you see and on which cylinder?

Smokin' - Is there any smoke coming out the exhaust? If so what color is it? What time of day do you see the smoke and does the smoke appear when idling, accellerating, or decelerating?

Belts - Check the belts for tension and wear.

Heatercore - It leaked all over because one of two things or both. Rust/material clogged it or the hoses are no good and burst. For now ditching the heatercore is cool. It is a lot of work to replace.

Cooling system - First off is it overheating or running cold? Is the fluid clean? Are there any leaks?

Tranny - Vacuum is probably the problem but definitely check the tranny fluid level as well.

 

[DukeGnarley]

that's what i was thinking, and it would make sense if he says he's hitting 70 mph without hitting the high RPMs

 

[MistaMadMike]

Wassup fool, so your hating on my Z...again? Remind me to never pick you up in..."my pos Z"..So what are you comparing my pos Z to? Your Stang thats sitting on blocks in the driveway or your soccer mom truck? ha Its ok, no hard feelings...
Anyhow, yes we took off the coil plug...the first reading it jumped but it barely moved as it jumped again. Since I didnt have the manual handy and it was my first time messing with that dial, I didnt bother doing all cylinders since I was pressed for time at 11pm at night...so I have to do it again the right way in daylight. Maybe you can do it baby cakes since you got that Mechanic bible over there, I might need to borrow it or make copies. You know, I wouldnt mind owning a stang. As you know, I got first dibs on that 85 hatchback so maybe oneday when I get it..you can school me on the Stang side of things and you never know...I might have that 85 hatch whip that 68 of yours..As a reminder...my Z is a grocery getter and will be a cammed grocery getter, you never know I might even juice it so I can get to the grocery store faster......and it runs for a pos. Doh!
btw, were going out for beers tonight..wanna go so we can talk trash about eachothers cars?

LOL!! See... you were destined to own a Stang. Before you know it you will ditch the POS Z and you will be trying to build a better Stang than mine.

By the way guys MistaMadMike is my cousin.

Well it looks like these guys are helping ya out but here are a couple other helpful hints.

Oil pan leak - You know how to fix that.

Compression check - Unplug the coil connector, pull the cylinder #1 sparkplug, screw the compression gauge into the spark plug hole, wedge open the butterfly valve on the carb so it is fully open. Start with cylinder 1 at TDC and make sure that it is at TDC on the compression stroke. It is best to use a remote starter for this part. You want to turn the crank using the remote starter back to TDC compression stroke (Don't go over so be careful). That should be 4 jumps on the gauge. Take that gauge reading. Check all of the cylinders the same way 1-8. If you miss or overshoot TDC on one of the cylinders do not go back just go to the next one and go back to that cylinder the next round. To tell if there is a problem you will need to compare all of the cylinders and there will be a high and low point of compression.

Out come of the compression check will determine if a leakdown test is necessary.

Spark plugs - Check the spark plugs. What do you see and on which cylinder?

Smokin' - Is there any smoke coming out the exhaust? If so what color is it? What time of day do you see the smoke and does the smoke appear when idling, accellerating, or decelerating?

Belts - Check the belts for tension and wear.

Heatercore - It leaked all over because one of two things or both. Rust/material clogged it or the hoses are no good and burst. For now ditching the heatercore is cool. It is a lot of work to replace.

Cooling system - First off is it overheating or running cold? Is the fluid clean? Are there any leaks?

Tranny - Vacuum is probably the problem but definitely check the tranny fluid level as well.

 

[MistaMadMike]

Thats interesting info...I'll have to look into that..maybe look up the casting numbers on it or whatever. Thanks for the reply..that would make sense then...
(edit) yep, auto...

i am assuming it is a 3 speed automatic??? It is possible someone put an early c4 in it from 65/66. This is called a green dot c4. What is normally drive on a regular transmission is only 2nd/3rd on this transmission for wet weather driving. This is all simply controlled by a servo, so you can convert any c4 to shift like this using the right servo. Thus, if you had it in drive, it would only give you one shift because it starts off in second.

 

[ssppiitt]

LOL!! Hey my stang is not on blocks!!

I'll hit you up later.