'70 F100

[Maverick]

It seems a shame to cover up those snazzy rockers with a valve cover. Pretty work, Maverick.
Merry Christmas to all.

Yeah, I know. They do make them pretty, don't they.

Funny thing about the header gaskets -- I remember shaving the gaskets on the 347 headers because they stuck out 1/4" into the exhaust port. I must have bought the right gaskets for the Dart heads and then used the wrong ones. Oh, well. It worked out OK since now I have the Dart-specific gaskets for the F100.

[Maverick]

Set a 600 Holley on the intake and a drop base 14" air cleaner (off the Maverick) on top. Everything fits nicely.

Got the header flanges flattened by the machine shop that prepared the block.

Got a air pump delete bracket and pulley off ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/251150135337?it ... m=&vxp=mtr



There won't be a power steering pump on the engine for a while -- not until the CV steering/suspension/brakes transplant is done. Here's the planned routing of the belt. The hole for the PS pump is on the lower right.



That's a 91.5" belt with a 1 1/4" socket between the belt and (nasty) alternator (upper left). It looks like an 87.5" belt will fit. Hope so -- one is on order from Rock Auto.

[Basement Paul]

Last time I needed a specific size belt, I just went to the local auto store and that way, if I had the belt size wrong (and I did), it was easy to take it back and get another size. Usually the help is pretty willing to get you what you need too. Definitely speeds up the sizing process.

Looks like you're pretty close though. Did you try the old piece of rope trick to measure, or just guess at the smaller size?

Good luck,

-BP

[Maverick]

No, no!! I measured the belt displacement by the socket, multiplied by 2, added 1/4" for additional tensioner rotation, another 1/4" for belt stretch and subtracted the total (4") from the 91.5" test fit belt. OK, I guessed.

The belt was several bucks (maybe $10?) less at Rock Auto than the parts stores (or Summit or Amazon) so decided to take a chance. Think Rock Auto will take it back if I pay return postage. Will let you know if I guessed right.

With the price of gas and 20 mile round trip to a parts store I'm getting most of my stuff shipped.

[Maverick]

BP, I said I'd let you know. The 87.5" belt fits just right. Can just slip it on with the tensioner rotated fully. On to the next puzzle ...

[Basement Paul]

Looks great!

-BP

[Maverick]

There has been an MSD distributor and 6AL-2 ignition box in my Summit shopping cart for a while now as I was trying to decide if ignition or a transmission controller was my next big purchase. A 10% discount for today and tomorrow, plus free shipping and handling on the ignition parts, pushed me over the edge and the ignition is on order.

Picked up WXO's "transmission stand" today and got the '00 F150 4R70W transmission up on it. The exterior has been cleaned multiple times with a 3500 PSI power washer, detergent, engine degreaser, a good wheel cleaner, wire brush, power washer again, and there's STILL mud on it. Maybe the truck went thru some wet concrete. Whatever is on it is TOUGH!!



Pulled the pan and found what to me seems like a lot of clutch material but no metal. Looking for opinions on whether I should try to use the trans as is given that amount of clutch material.



I've read about plugs that are found loose in the bottom of Ford transmissions the first time they are opened up. The plugs are in the filler tube hole and during assembly are pushed down into the pan to roll around until someone pulls the pan. I believe this is one.



Looking at a transmission controller with programmable up and down shift points and paddle shift capability. http://www.usshift.com/ Two leads coming out of the controller provide that function. Ground one and the transmission upshifts; ground the other and it downshifts. Downloaded the manual for it http://www.usshift.com/downloads/4R70Wmanual.pdf. WXO and I have both read it and are eager to get it. I'll work on getting the transmission ready to go in and getting it mounted in the F100. But the time that's done, maybe the charge card will be able to stand another hit.

[Fred32v]

You know me, I'd just bolt that tranny in your truck. It's perfectly natural for clutch dust to be in the pan.
No metal is a good thing. Worst case, if your not happy with it after you run it,
It should be easy to remove since everything will be fresh. Best case is it will work just fine and you'll be ahead.
I think it's only a small gamble to use it as is, but that's just me. Grins.

[wxo]

Maverick, how did the fluid look? If it was nice and pink and clear rather than brownish with a burned smell, I would be inclined to give the tranny a favorable vote.

[Maverick]

You know me, I'd just bolt that tranny in your truck. It's perfectly natural for clutch dust to be in the pan.
No metal is a good thing. Worst case, if your not happy with it after you run it,
It should be easy to remove since everything will be fresh. Best case is it will work just fine and you'll be ahead.
I think it's only a small gamble to use it as is, but that's just me. Grins.

That's kinda what I was thinking. It will get some new seals at least.

[Maverick]

Maverick, how did the fluid look? If it was nice and pink and clear rather than brownish with a burned smell, I would be inclined to give the tranny a favorable vote.

You can see the color of the fluid in the picture of the plug. Wasn't new but not real bad either. I'll keep the fluid around for a few days in case you drop by.

Last evening and this morning I've been looking for a Ford truck with 4R70W transmission and floor or console shifter. Since it needs a new seat anyway, would be nice to find a front seat, maybe a console, and either a floor or console auto shifter to transplant into the F100.

2004 F150 Lariat had captain chairs, console, and console shifter as an option.



Probably as scarce as hen's teeth but who knows? WXO, do you have the name and number of the guy you bought the seat for the '69 from? If anyone could find (the seat at least) he's probably the one that could do it.

In 2004 Ford upgraded the F150 4R70W transmission and gave it a new name but I suspect the 2004 shifter would still operate the older 4R70W trans correctly.

Alternatively, Lokar makes a floor shifter with a variety of shifter lengths that would fit nicely. http://lokar.com/product-pgs/shifters/s ... ifter.html

Kinda pricy though. Might be able to buy the 2004 (and up?)seat/console/shifter combo for about the same money if one could be found.

[Maverick]

MSD distributor and 6AL box arrived. Sure hope they're good because it'll be a while before they get tested.

The transmission controller I'm looking at has connections for up shift and down shift, e.g., paddle shifters. Thought was to use the buttons on a cruise control steering wheel to enable torque converter lockup, turn paddle shift capability on and off, and do the up shifts and down shifts.

Picked up a nice tilt and cruise steering column and wheel out of a mid-80s F150 yesterday for $50. Unfortunately, its not going to work. There's only one wire from the steering wheel pad that signals all the various (on, off, resume, accel, coast) cruise control functions. Rather than having separate leads for each of the switches, various resistors in the steering wheel pad allow the speed control controller to know which button is being pushed. Dang it!!! Gotta come up with plan B.

Maybe mount a power window rocker switch in a console to do up and down shifts? Oh, well. Have to give it some thought. I'm really bummed that the steering wheel switches aren't going to work.

Consensus is that's not an unreasonable amount of clutch material in the bottom of the transmission pan. Trans will go in as is. New filter, gasket, front and rear seals should be available at NAPA today. Gotta pick up WXO's seal puller too.

[TireSmoker]

The MSD 6AL is fairly simple to test out of the car. Heavy Red & Heavy Black wires are main power/main ground. Thin orange & thin black wires go to the coil +/- respectively. Thin red wire is a power turn-on. For testing, just hook it up to same source as Heavy Red. Hook up a spark plug to the coil and ground the plug. Tap the white wire from the MSD to ground. Every time you tap it to ground, the plug should fire.

If you have a digital unit, I would double-check the instructions, but this is how you test the analog boxes.

-Dave

[Maverick]

Picked up WXO's seal puller (brand new, never used, he gets it back only slightly used) and it worked great. Popped both front and rear seals out.

Stopped at Home Depot and picked up a 2" PVC cap and coupling to use as seal drivers on the rear seal. Worked OK. Seals are in, pan is on and the trans is ready to be mated to the engine. Time to pull the engine back out but I need to spend some time straightening up the garage first.

Need to pick up some big (12MM metric, I think) nuts for the trans mount. LKQ, my least favorite junk yard, probably has a bunch of them.

TS, I assume the 6AL is digital. I'll check it out.

[Maverick]

MSD distributor and 6AL box arrived. Sure hope they're good because it'll be a while before they get tested.

The transmission controller I'm looking at has connections for up shift and down shift, e.g., paddle shifters. Thought was to use the buttons on a cruise control steering wheel to enable torque converter lockup, turn paddle shift capability on and off, and do the up shifts and down shifts.

Picked up a nice tilt and cruise steering column and wheel out of a mid-80s F150 yesterday for $50. Unfortunately, its not going to work. There's only one wire from the steering wheel pad that signals all the various (on, off, resume, accel, coast) cruise control functions. Rather than having separate leads for each of the switches, various resistors in the steering wheel pad allow the speed control controller to know which button is being pushed. Dang it!!! Gotta come up with plan B.

Maybe mount a power window rocker switch in a console to do up and down shifts? Oh, well. Have to give it some thought. I'm really bummed that the steering wheel switches aren't going to work.

Consensus is that's not an unreasonable amount of clutch material in the bottom of the transmission pan. Trans will go in as is. New filter, gasket, front and rear seals should be available at NAPA today. Gotta pick up WXO's seal puller too.

Sometimes you step in crap and come out smelling like a rose. The transmission controller I intend to buy is already prepared to connect the single wire that normally goes to the Ford cruise control module and can distinguish the various button pushes by the different voltages on that one wire. It's ready to use the Ford cruise buttons to do manual shifts. That problem is SOLVED!!

I have a tilt and cruise column and wheel out of an '85 or so truck. Unfortunately, something is broken in the tilt mechanism (won't say how that happened). It also had a different attachment to the steering box and ignition and flasher switches in the column where the '70 F100 had the ignition switch in the dash and I haven't looked for the '70 flasher switch yet. Anyway, there will be some substantial rewiring to do.

Also bought another cruise column and wheel out of a van. Will find out if its tilt when it arrives. Its now in the Raleigh Post Office so I'd expect it to be delivered tomorrow. We'll see what parts can be assembled from the three columns/wheels to get a (tilt?) cruise column and wheel to fit in the '70 F100.

The '00 trans has a new filter, front and rear seals and pan gasket and is ready to be attached to the engine. Engine is out of the chassis so when its not TOO cold those parts will go together and we'll see how the transmission mount works out.

I still have to install the new one-piece rear oil seal in the engine. Its about 4" in diameter and I read that a 4" PVC cap would work well as a seal installation tool. Not so!! Unfortunately, the 4" cap is too big. 4" PVC pipe will probably work well. Gotta go back to Home Depot and find something that will work before the transmission can be attached to the engine.