'79 Zephyr ES Build

[ZephyrEFI]

Yeah... it's kind of funny to be able to say that's the only thing though. haha

Got the car aligned, and re-installed the strut tower brace. I had to grind some notches in the bottom to clear the tall QA1 caster/camber plates. The negative camber adjustment is bottomed out. I had kind of hoped that wouldn't need to be the case, but it is, I guess, so I'm just moving on.

I took it on a pretty decent hike up to Waconia Ford for a show today. The car performed flawlessly! No surprise noises or smells. Maybe before too long I'll be able to get in and drive it without being totally paranoid about something breaking the entire time I'm driving it...

[ZephyrEFI]

Well, I got to Car Craft Summer Nationals the first day of 3, (Friday) and it overheated. Ended up being the fan motor had gone out on me. I had bought it used, but I certainly had not been expecting this. So, anyway, I bought a new 14" 2-speed fan and slapped it in with zip ties for the weekend. The past few days I've been working on a more permanent setup. I made some crude brackets from decent thickness sheet metal to hold up the fan and overflow bottle. It makes for a nice, roomy stock look up top!



Also, I finally solved my brake cable problem! I wanted to find some 1/2" fuel line or something like that that I could slide onto the cable without cutting off the end. Well, it doesn't exist as far as I've found. So, I started looking for a more creative solution. I was just wandering in the plumbing department at Menards after rejecting everything I found in the pipe aisle. I found this tube I think if for hooking up a ball & socket faucet or something. I tried fitting the cable end into it, and it fits! I think it cost me like $6. I slid it into the hole in the frame, and voila!

[ZephyrEFI]

Well, my fuel smell problem SHOULD be fixed now. New gas tank, and many seals replaced. Last I heard, they'll start shipping Tokico at the end of July... so it should be any time now, I'll be able to put my new rear shocks in. The car rides so nice with the new stuff in though. The thought occurred to me the other day "this is actually fun!" haha. That's kind of the point, isn't it?

Still working on a highway speed vibration, but I'm pretty sure the source is the exhaust. Next, I have to deal with a problem with the brakes. It seems my rear Mark VII rotors don't sit flush on the axle flange. They are rounded around the edges. This causes a loud ringing when braking that is NOT okay. I figure I'll put some wheels spacers the right thickness in between there, and that should fix it.

I took a new pic the other day, and thought it was worth sharing!

[danco86]

Nice.
Those wheels are super mint!

[TopGear85]

That's a great pic. Have you given any thought to tinting the windows? I think your car would look pretty mean with the windows blacked out.

[ZephyrEFI]

Oh, I've wanted to tint the windows since I first got it! Minnesota doesn't allow blacking them out (I like them to match all the way around), but they are definitely way too clear right now.

I'm treading on thin ice suggesting spending too much more money on it this year though. Next year, maybe.

[nelzfoxes]

I know someone who tints all his windows and gives the windshield a light tint as well. Car looks terrific by the way.

[ZephyrEFI]

Thanks for the compliments, all! The wheels could actually use a thorough polishing, and my windshield has the old school blue stripe across the top, which I like. While more tinting on it would look good, I don't think Minnesota law allows that. My loud exhaust is about as much attention as I'd like from our friends in blue.

[ZephyrEFI]

Well, I finally got around to putting in the new driver's seat foam. What a difference! It's like a new seat! I'd post a pic, but it looks pretty much the same. That reminds me of how when people who don't really know anything about cars ask me what I've been doing on it, i'll tell them, and then they'll say something like "Oh yeah? I'll have to check it out!" And then I'll say "well, it doesn't really look any different then... well, then it ever has". To the untrained eye, at least.

Anyway, you know how people tell you to get a good set of hog ring pliers? That's good advice! I got some good ones from Summit this time around and it made all the difference. SO much easier.

I also discovered why my rear rotors don't ever fit right. I thought maybe the axle flange didn't fit inside the rotors. Mark VII rotors have a weird rounded shape around the outside of the hub area. But I investigated that further, and that's not the case. The pads were worn at opposing angles, pulling the rotor away from flange once the caliper was installed. So, it's getting new pads and the rotors were about due too, so that should solve the issue. Parts coming tomorrow.

Speaking of parts coming... still waiting on those Tokico shocks. The rumor changed form the end of July to the end of August. Here's hoping.

[ZephyrEFI]

I noted that my Lincoln calipers are supposed to have plastic liners for the slides and anti-rattle clips (they didn't). That's probably why the calipers were able to be installed crooked. Bought the hardware kit, and it came with all that.

In a stroke of genius, I put it to the wife whether or not to get new seat foam for the passenger seat, a.k.a. her seat. It was going to bug me that it had not been done to that seat, but she said yes, definitely do it. So, I'm happy.

[Bryan Knebworth]

That car is so damned sweet, its probably one of the nicest F/Z's out there. Do non-car people always come up to you and go "Is that a Mustang?" lol

[ZephyrEFI]

Thanks! Haha, well I don't have that much non-car show experience with it. At shows though, most people walk around back to see the name on it, but I took those off.

[ZephyrEFI]

Finally got around to the rear brake job, and I still have a dragging caliper. I think the parking brake cables are tugging too hard on it pulling it crooked. Soooooo, it's still sitting.

While putting the brakes in, I noticed the brackets I invented to hold the connection between the hard brake line and hoses to the calipers were now rubbing on the shocks over bumps since I lowered the car.

And, after having my car at a show Sunday the alternator crapped out. I went out Monday to start it, and it was deader than dead. So, I put a new alternator in it yesterday too. We'll see if the battery's junk when I go out and check it today.

So, frustrating day yesterday. Is this how it's always going to be? One of my main goals for this car is for it to be reliable, and it just keeps throwing these surprises at me. It's really getting old.

[Travis T]

I had a problem with my Mark VII and a dragging rear rotor when I did the brakes the first time. I had to replace the pads again and put new rotors on and it worked perfect that time. Never did figure out what I did wrong the first time.

[ZephyrEFI]

Yeah, i'll bet I fried the rotor on that side. SSSSIIIIGGGHHHHHHHHH. I wanted to take it for a long enough ride to give the alternator the chance to do its job, and didn't notice the burning brake smell until about the halfway point.

[Travis T]

How much gap did you have in the pad and rotor when you put it together? My shop manual said it was supposed to be somewhere close to 1/16" which seemed incredibly huge, but it worked well.

[ZephyrEFI]

Well, it sure wasn't 1/16", but the caliper slid onto the pads easily. I read in this PDF from the Mark VII club they like closer to 1/32". It's great that there's conflicting information out there. I tried to get it pretty close though. Oh well. I won't have the chance to pull it apart until this weekend to investigate.

[Travis T]

I looked it up in the cheapo manual I bought at the parts store. Seems to work just fine at a 1/16", but I thought that was huge. I'll check that stupid manual again this weekend, now you have me worried I read something wrong!

[ZephyrEFI]

Haha, well, post up what it says when you find out.

Me, I've been drooling over LED conversion to make up for the frustration with the brakes. Like I said though, spending too much more money on the car this year puts me on thin ice. I've also got the passenger seat foam to do this weekend. So, that'll be cool.

[ZephyrEFI]

Got the passenger seat foam done!

I wonder how many times the old foam was farted into...



Have to make some kind of new bracket for the Mark VII parking brake cables. I haven't figured out how exactly I'm going to solve that one yet. Maybe I'll look into SVO rear cables.

[Snakebite8]

nice and really different.

[ZephyrEFI]

Thanks! That's nice to hear when I'm in the middle of trying to get mismatched parts to play together. Think I might have a solution to my rear brake problem...

[Travis T]

SVO cables are probably a good starting point. The Mark VII had a foot operated parking brake so those cables are all wrong. At least the SVO had a hand lever and the same rear calipers.

[84StangSVT]

Got the passenger seat foam done!

I wonder how many times the old foam was farted into...

LMAO! You don't want to know the answer to that one!

[ZephyrEFI]

Well, I managed to get my brakes working well. I just needed to reposition my front brackets for the rear cables. It took all the pressure off the calipers. I didn't even need to replace anything. Except the fried rotor...

I also fixed my door chime by replacing it with one I got for free. For some reason when I got my car back from the shop when they put in the thru floor subframe connectors, it had gotten way quieter.

And I put some rust neutralizer on the spots where the paint cracked and fell off when I rolled the fenders. They tell you to use a lot of heat gun and patience... which I did not do.

Also made good progress on my Explorer intake! Got the lower and thermostat housing painted, and the upper is about ready for paint too! I found a good deal on some 24# injectors, so I grabbed those too!

AND, my other Tokico shock should show up any day now!