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I didn’t look at it. I will definitely check it out.
Ringo, I think you’re right…swine flu…
.There is something else that I forgot to mention because I was so shocked when the crankshaft did rotate. There is the normal resistance when turning the crankshaft with pistons attached and the plugs out, except at one point. The resistance is probably doubled, but still do-able to turn past. The point is at the same spot that the engine locked up. I failed to take note of the positions of everything such as the pistons and the crankshaft. It may be at the point where two pistons are reversing directions and heading back upward toward the head, but I am assuming here. I will get under the car this evening if it is not raining and be more observant this time. If I can, I will take a picture of the position with notes and post it. I will also check on the distributor gear, thanks Rob. Ringo, I’ll check the temp for the flu, right now….it’s way below normal.
. Rob, I can turn the drive sprocket for the distributor easily. I have the timing belt off and can turn that easily, and the distributor rotor does fine. Smooth operation, but I have not looked at the gear. Thanks guys.James
Pretty funny Ringo….Swine Flu
Maybe James’ Engine Block is made of “Pig” Iron
James, you’re running out of “stuff” to check. I guess it could be a badly scored cylinder wall causing friction (let’s hope not). Possibly something intermittently jammed between the flywheel and housing?
Maybe if you loosen the nut on the rear shock absorber?
I’m out of material.
Good Luck!
By the way, while all this was going on, my alternator quit. I went to Napa and they had one. The guy behind the counter started laughing and said the price was $45. Said he hadn’t seen an alternator that cheap in 25 years! Then he started laughing again, and he said the “core” charge was $5. Sometimes having old engines works to your advantage! The new alternator worked fine.
Rich
Rich,
I do love the inexpensive parts for these cars. I forgot what the fuel pump was, but it was like pocket change. Speaking of swine flu….right now, in Memphis, is the International Bar B Que contest. My office is downtown, one block from the river where the contest is being held. Thousands of people, miles of booths and competitors from around the world. Today, at noon, the gates were open. My two beautiful assistants and I went down and PIGGED OUT on free food. Watch CNN or the Food Network. Judging starts at 1 PM and continues thru the weekend. Had planned on having the MGTD cruising the packed downtown district. I have a set of pig ears that clip on the front of the radiator shell and a curly tail on the rear bumper. Usually I cruise downtown and Beale Street for Memphis in May with Elvis music playing. Memphis in May is one big month long party 24/7. Hopefully, I will have the car running for the grand finale of the month. Youtube has the event.
I’ll try loosening the shock nut…..maybe too tight
.Pig Iron
. I could see the cylinder walls from below, they look fine, no scratches, just a nice hone finish to the walls. That was all I could see with the pistons up. Thanks guys,James
Update:
I have the engine back together and didn’t have any left over parts
.I cleaned everything up inside the engine, removed some corner sludge deposits before putting the pan back on. Stripped all the paint off the metal pieces (exterior), primed and repainted with factory paint. Everything went back together perfectly. It is so much easier working on an engine that is spotless without dirt or grease. Timing belt back on, everything aligned. Right now the crankcase is empty. I will pick up some good synthetic oil in the next few days. I need to replace the battery cables and one hose, so I’ll pick those up too. I do have some Slick 50 that I had planned on using, but don’t know if I should with the synthetic oil
. I am planning on starting the car this Saturday, that would have been my parents 60th anniverary. If she does well, then I’ll drive her to the cemetery with some flowers. I am glad my dad enjoyed his ride in the car before he died. My mom never got to see the car, but knew of my lifelong dream to own one.James,
Really glad to hear you’re back on the case! Sounds like you’ve got it all under contol.
Rich
UPDATE:
Ringo, you’ll probably beat me getting back on the road. My starter gave it up. Everything was good to go, but the starter kicked once, made a terrible noise, and now is dead
. Checked all the cables and they are ok. Put the starter on the bench, direct connected a battery to it, and it just hums and tries, but without any movement. It appears to be original 1974 vintage, so I’ll just get a new one next weekend. This will give me this week to change out the dash for the new one, clean up some of the wires under the dash, and get the new radio in place. Today, I removed all the instruments, heater unit, and dash panel. I am reworking the heater unit with rigid copper lines and fittings from the heater core to under the hood, then hoses from the engine to the rigid. It was crazy with twisted kinked hoses and valves that did not work.James,
Hmmm. Looking back through the notes on your car, Ringo and I had both suggested that the Starter motor could be the problem. I’m just wondering if an intermittent starter problem (like a slightly bent armature) could have been the problem all along?
Rich
Rich,
I kept having those thoughts myself. The only thing that keeps me thinking differently is that the motor was locked up even after I took the starter off. The locked motor may have damaged the starter? At least it’s an inexpensive fix. I had understood that a Ford starter is good until it suddenly isn’t
. Right now the inside of the car is totally in pieces, but the motor is all together 
. James
James,
Man, you’re going to be busy this week. Wiring, dash, starter, radio, hard lines to the heater,…..when you start to work on a car, you really work on the car!
Ringo
Ringo,
I figure while she is down, might as well go all out. Greg has done an awesome job on his wiring and I am inspired to clean up my under dash mess while the dash is out of the car. I have already started with the hard piping. The hoses under the dash were impossible to get to and were shot anyway. I’ll install a new double heater shut off valve (one that actually works to shut off both water lines at the same time) under the hood instead of the impossible area under the dash. I want to install something that looks cool and dressy as well as functional. I want to have control of the water lines into the cockpit in the event the core blows, that has happened on three of my old cars and it was a mess inside the car. I’ll post my dash thoughts under that topic area. Glad your baby is alive!
James
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