2015 CTCC Tech Session
April 18, 2015
29 CTCC members gathered at the home and garage of Joe
Esdale in Highland Park. As we gathered
and enjoyed coffee and rolls we admired four of Joes collector vehicles.
Parked outside was a 60 Willys forward control V-6 pickup and a 48 Diamond T
pickup, of which only 2,500 were made from 1041-49, with many of them going to
the military for WWII. Inside the garage our host had a 57 Lincoln Mark II as
well as his red 57 Thunderbird.
Ken began the Tech part of the session. Fifty cases of Accel
Motor Oil with lead additive are in and ready to be picked up. Ken discussed the headlight switch. The dashboard lights work with a rheostat
which becomes oxidized causing them not to work. A fix for this involves using a thermal
connector, available at NAPA, which makes the dash lights bright all the
time. There is a button on the bottom of
the light switch; press down, pull the
shaft out, and remove the bezel, to hook up the connector.
Kens next topic was the bellcrank linkage which is crucial
on cars with automatic transmissions.
The linkage is on the driver side of the engine toward the rear. The bellcrank wears out and the transmission
will not shift or shifts at the wrong RPM.
Later cars rely on vacuum pressure but with the early Birds it is all
mechanical linkage. There is a spring
that wears out and causes the shaft to go up, which does not pull the linkage
to the carburetor. The spring is
available from T-Bird parts suppliers, 9736 Throttle Spring F/M Kickdown
55/57. Replacing this spring solves 90%
of shifting problems with the bellcrank.
If the spring breaks, a temporary fix is a 3/8 bolt which can be used
to keep the shaft from moving. Wear
causes play in the slot on the linkage. The bellcrank needs resistance to
operate. The 55 bellcrank is available
from parts suppliers, but the 56 and 57 is not. This is the most important part of the
shifting mechanism.
Proper adjustment of the gas pedal was the next topic. The
clearance on a 55 or 56 should be 4 1/4 inch height while a 57 is 4 7/8 This is the proper travel for the pedal to move. The kickdown rod is another adjustment, there is a locking nut that can be turned out
or in. The automatic choke should be
open, with the car at operating temperature.
Pull out the cotter pin and extend one revolution out or in. The
transmission should shift at 26-28 mph.
There are metering screws to affect the idle in gear. The car should idle at least 800 rpm. or the
generator will not charge. With a 6 volt
electrical system, especially, idling
the car at 550-600 rpm. will discharge the battery. The harmonic balancer can slide back from age
and rub the motor mounts. There is a
specialized tool to remove the harmonic balancer.
Ken opined that aftermarket carburetors are not worth
rebuilding and Holley will charge $600-800 to rebuild. At the conclusion of Kens presentation we
went outside for group photos and saw Joes 62 Jeep Wagoneer engine running in
the bed of the Willys pickup
.
Heading down the basement we viewed Joes radio
collection. We heard Victor Borge on a
professional reel to reel recorder and Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in The
Caddy on a vintage Bell and Howell recorder.
Joe played a recording of the San Fillipo pipe organ on speakers from
the late 50s weighing 300 lbs. He had a 46 Wurlitzer juke box that bubbled
when warmed up. Telefunken U-47
microphones and a McIntosh
amplifier were from the late 50s.
We next drove to Bacchus Nibbles in Lake Zurich for a lunch
of Italian specialties and sandwiches.
Lunch was followed by a visit to Phil Derrigs sign and car collection in Barrington. Phil reproduces vintage looking gas station
signs in his work barn. He had a 40
Ford Woody station wagon, a 1990 Allard, two recent vintage Morgans, a 62 Jaguar Mark V, 94 and 95 V-12 Jaguars, a retro looking MG on a Pontiac
2000 chassis, a one-off 1903 Baker powered by a Briggs and Stratton engine,
and a 90 Chrysler TC by Maserati of which only 1,500 were made from 1989-91.
Jim Wilson
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