My '73 Comet GT Restoration Thread

It looks just like mine. You will find that it is made by Dixco.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NOS-...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1c17748b76

 

It appears to not necessarily be stuck. The needle in the middle is the larger red line needle which you can see in the one on ebay which has two needles as well, a small white one and a large red one in the middle. The actual rpm needle is hanging down in the left corner. Maybe it's just not working or has a bad connection.

EDIT: I'll bet if you turn that silver button it moves the large needle to set the red line RPM which is currently set around 5800RPM.

 

Thanks Rusty and dbt47. I see what u mean abt the needle not being stuck; acutally, I noticed it today when I was taking the pix. It's the first time I really paid a lot of attention since I got the car in July 09. I just put another tack on the steering column and the rest is history. Had no idea the thing was worth the kind of money they are going for.

 

Today I took a break from cutting out rust and worked on the Shelby drop process.
After about 30 minutes of measuring, drilling, squaring and re-measuring I got my template made:


Used template to mark new holes and carefully drilled them out:


Fits like a champ! Once I get the bushings pressed in the control arm I can trim the tower support brace. It should only need a little bit of trimming, wont have to remove or relocate the whole thing.


Oh, and I needed to space out the engine side of the holes. Half of the new holes miss the engine mount support sheet metal. Custom washers and some welding will do the trick:

 

So drilling the holes lower lowers the car? I'm lost..

 

A tiny amount. This is more about steering geometry.

 

I don't see it doing much if anything to steering geometry. I also see that the body goes up by drilling the holes lower. I did alignments for alot of years so sorry if I don't agree. I would like to understand if I'm wrong tho.

 

Yes, it gives the wheels more negative camber as the suspension travels upward (in relation to the body).

It does not significantly "drop" the ride height, it drops the mounting location of the upper control arm. So, when the suspension rises, it pulls the upper control arm in, closer to the body. It makes the arc that the upper ball joint follows lower and closer to the body. This can probably do a better job of explaining it:

http://dazed.home.bresnan.net/drop

 

The raising of or potentially lowering of the car after this modification is minor. Your are considering the lowering of the mounting points in relation to the car, but not the spring. The body must lower more to compress the spring as the distance from the top to the bottom of the spring is lengthened. When I performed this modification it slightly reduced my ride height, but results may vary. This is one of the most common, cheap steering modifications for Fords of this era due to its use by Shelby for his modified Mustangs. There are plenty of places to read about it.

 

Think of it this way. If you picture the UCA as a beam supported by two saw horses. One side's height is fixed by the wheel and spindle assembly. If you lower the other saw horse (mounting point on the frame), the center of the beam will also lower. While you are lowering the point in relation to the body, this also increases the uncompressed spring height and results in lowering due to more spring travel to reach it's compressed height.

 

Another fun day of rust removal...

The only bad spot in the trunk... even though its kinda large.



Also worked on the inner fenders at the tops, but it was too dark for pics. I will post those tomorrow after I snap some photos. Now that Im feeling pretty confident with the cutting wheel, its on to cowls!

Maybe someday I will get to start putting metal back instead of cutting it out.

 

Spent the day tearing down and inspecting the original 8" today. I also had a noise developing during the last year I was driving, so I was hoping to find the cause.


Even though I did not check tooth pattern, the ring gear looks pretty good.


Found my noise! Inner pinion bearing and race had some bad spots.


Old races removed, cleaned and painted up, waiting for new posi unit and gears.

 

Holy Cow! Is the housing just balancing there??

 

Sure! It seemed content there... I reduced the gravity in the shop so that it would be safe.

 

thats funny...lol