Paul Masson's 71 Grabber

Great idea, Paul! Looks good.

 

I was thinking I'd mount my portioning valve in a similar manor, or maybe plumb it till just knob is in trunk... I still need to do the rebuild of my rear brakes...

 

I have to get two longer bolts and place a spacer behind the valve. The handle is touching the floor, and won't turn the way it is now. Of course, I could always just loosen the bolts, make my adjustments and then re-tighten...

I'll check when I get home, but I remember reading something in the instructions ( I know, who reads THOSE??) about NOT disassembling the valve for panel-mounting. Not sure if it was just a warranty thing, or if there was any merit to it. the trunk floor would be good and easy to get to, but with my luck, I'd break the handle off with "junk in my trunk".

 

I got my power steering control valve and assist cylinder rebuilt, detailed and new hoses installed. Bolted-up the new tie-rods and adjusters, even bolted-up a Belly Bar to make the front end a bit more rigid, although I have no idea whether or not the 200cid oil pan will clear it!! Everything looks good, and the hoses and fittings seem nice and tight, but the moment of truth will be when it goes from pneumatic power steering to hydraulic power steering...

 

Looks great. The only thing I can add is that I think you would have found the engine/tranny easier to install with the power steering off.

 

Paul,
Nice work.

2X what Craig said.

Did you replace the aluminum hose tube seats in the control valve and ram? This is what I'm told is the major source of leaks. Most rebuild kits dont have them.

Micah

 

Nice and clean!!! Looking very tidy!

 

Thanks Micah! I didn't know about them... So it's the inverted flare inside the valve and cylinder where the hoses thread into? Are the seats available in a separate kit?

Thanks Kevin!

 

AFAIK the ones in my '72 are brass, didn't replace them and no sign of leakage...

For the hoses from valve to ram, if they are hanging a bit low, a few light taps with a dead blow hammer will help position them upward...

 

Paul,
I got them from the guy who rebuilt my steering box. His rebuild kits have them. He sold them to me separately for just a couple dollars.

My system came from a '74 that I found in the junk yard. I rebuilt everything and, so far, have no leaks. They are easy to install. I inserted an alignment punch and rocked it back an forth until they fell out. The new ones just dropped in and are set when you tighten down the hose. From what I understand, they are a one time use and should be replaced anytime the hose is replaced.

http://www.stangerssite.com/CVparts.html

Micah

 

Started the tear-down of the Blue Tower of Power... I am not going to get into rings and bearings, hopefully. I am just going to check stuff out, clean it up and then replace every seal and gasket on the thing and give it a new fresh coat or two of Ford Corporate Blue...

 

Got the engine cleaned up with Marine clean. Metal Prep was done after this picture was taken. Waiting for POR-15 Ford Corporate Blue. It's hard to see in the pictures, but when I was cleaning the block, there were numbers written on this side, at each cylinder. Most were #4, but there was a #5 at the cylinder #3 location. Not sure what they were for???



I have been blasting the rest of the parts for the engine, in preparation for paint.

 

But aren't you going to miss all the dirt and oil?

Nice progress!

 

Thanks, but no I won't miss the dirt and oil. Those can be added later, once the engine is back in the car...

 

I have been working away on the engine this last week. I have everything prepped for blue paint, with the exception of the charcoal canister and its mounting bracket. I pushed the car outside and wiped down the yellow with some detailing spray. The distributor was taken apart, and reassembled with the Pertronix kit. I also got my front swaybar sand blasted and painted, but didn't take a picture of that yet. On nice days, I push the car out and then let my two kids take turns 'driving' it back into the garage while I'm at the back pushing... It was my daughter's turn yesterday. Hopefully my pushing days are coming to an end soon.