1962 Mercury Monterey Project

I started with the idea that I would remove the speedometer cable. I rolled under the car with a flat screwdriver. Once I found some purchase under the flange on the cable end, it came out about a 1/4 inch and then I was easily able to pull it by hand from there. I was glad it did not sling oil in my face. I rolled a little forward to get rid of the shift+clutch interlock. This bracket came off easy enough. So - feeling confident - I went to delete the master cylinder. And, as we know, pride always cometh before the fall. I mean technically fall was a few day ago - but it certainly came before fall 2022. I layed under the dash and managed to smash some locking pliers on the square nut inside against the fire wall. That did not work - the nut holding the master cylinder in the engine bay still spun. I went back and retightened it. And still nothing. So again I crawled under the dash. and so on. and so on. Some where in there I kicked off a piece of trim that I will never be able to repl

Believe it or not, I made that. I know it looks store bought. You can probably make one too. If you send me $18 and a SASE and I will send you a complete set of plans for the [Pistonator]. For every person you meet, there are at least 2 ideas about the best way to unstuck an engine. They all have some secret recipe for some magic liquid that makes everything move. ATF, brake cleaner, diesel fuel, goats milk yogurt, the liquid esssence from an adolescent squid. Then, their neighbor's uncle's friend would come over and perform a ritual and viola' - the engine would just start to run. Even before you got the heads back on. For me - I have taken the path of: a) give it all the penetrating oil I can b) wait a bit then c) beat it mercilessly with a stick. The trick is to beat it alternating left to right and front to back (1 > 5 > 2 > 6 > 3 > 7 > 4 > 8). I went around twice giving each bore 2 solid whacks and got several very satisfying *grunchangs*. I rested

It stated with the question - then some guys yelled my head off - then I took my own heads off. The question started when my friend Dave dropped off a pair of fan-shaped LED lamps that screw into my garage bulb sockets. It was an act of generosity - and it makes the work space so much better. But as I was talking to him, we talked about how I could use some more height under the car for rust remediation. I dedcided to ask the internet foum what they thought of using concrete blocks as booster chairs for the jack stands. In my mind I was thinking about dobie-block or deck blocks like you would use for house foundation - not cement bricks (i.e. cinderblocks). I would use something to then cement the stand to the block so I didn't slip off. I think I use both terms interchangeably, and I didn't explain my design nor couch my question with an apology for being born. So that was my fault. I did #doesnotwanttobecrushedbyhishubris -- but this is not a place of mirth. A mob of angry pe

 It was more like neatening than cleaning. Like what your kids do when they say they "cleaned their room" - stuff is no longer strewn around, but it is not really clean. The filth has just been hidden from view. When I started I pulled the drop cloth from under the car and found the penetrating oil I had sprayed into the cylinder heads. I believe when I loosened the head bolts it came out onto the floor. For those that wonder what kind of coverage 8oz of fine oil gives across a concrete floor - about 14 square feet. I need a better drop cloth than a used moving bag for a queen matress. I gave it a good dose of Zep, filled the mop bucket, and did my best to clean it up. While the floor dried, I pulled the last eletrical connection fron the block. There is hardly anything to this wiring harness. I will pull the starter solenoid too but I don't need to yank it to pull the engine and it is still tied to the spam-can sized voltage regulator on the front clip. I will get to it

Today I started to pull the cylinder heads - I am interested to see if I can unstick the engine after I motivate the pistons with a 2x4. I want to turn it through its rotations and see how good or bad the cylinders are. To get that done, I needed to pull the rocker arm assembly. Before I can do that, I had to loosen up the adjustment screws on the push rods. I think the point is to remove all tension in the rods so you don't accidentally bend one when you pull the assembly. Some of those adjustment screws hardly needed any turns to be out of the way such that the rocker was tipping back and forth. Others seemed to take forever. I would say the valve lash was not great when it was last parked. I then pulled the bolts off the assembly and the two nuts off the posts used to hold the valve cover. On one end of each assembly there is a "rocker arm shaft drain tube" which I think is supposed to redirect excess oil back to the crank case. The picture in the manual is kind of dif

Or should I break the master cylinder?! The directions say [a) pull the boot back from the push rod under the dash, b) remove the brake line, and c) remove the 2 nuts holding the master cylinder to the firewall]. Simple enough. I managed to complete step_a. For part_b, that brake line is going no where without a hack saw. I can turn the coupling, but the line is rusted to it so it just twists as the nut goes around. I will saw it off. As for step_c and the nuts holding the cylinder to the firewall - they were hard to turn, then they squeaked, then they got easier. But not. They just went around. So I crawled back under the dash and see that the square head bolts are meant to be held by some bracket that holds the dash in place. And that was no longer holding them. I need my E to come home and either turn the wrench or hold a pair of vice grips on them. Probably will give her the wrench (I hate to make her lie in the bio hazard interior). I am guessing they are rusted solid and that I r

Not that long ago I thought I was going to have motor runnning in 2 weeks. That of course was contingent on being able to turn the motor with a wrench on the crank-bolt. That did not happen (not even a wiggle). So I am just working my way through taking the engine down and out. So today turned into remove the starter day. The car came with a both an "extra" starter and an "extra" generator. Considering the service manual describes in very clear detail how to rebuild both these things, and the cost of a core charge for either, I am surprised to have spares. Gosh this thing is oily. And the gear is carbon-y. I bet the clutch plate is smoked, but I hope the flywheel is solid. I also wanted to look at the front of the flywheel and the ring gear. More oil and more carbon but I was really glad I didn't find a dead mouse or more housing material. So, then I crawled under to try and prep everything to pull the transmission. I was not going to pull the transmission witho

  I gave up my right index finger to the deity of car restoration. Turns out there are 7 bolts holding the exhaust manifold in place. I didn't bother to look at the manual or feel around - and so one was hiding in the middle of the header. Unfortunately, I foung it after I assumed it was just stuck - and so with that assumption in hand - I took a rubber mallet and whacked on the top of the header pretty good. What caused me to look for the extra bolt was that during the spirited beating, I flattened out my stroke a little and brought my index finger straight down on the electrical sender connections on the brake master cylinder. I was wearing gloves, but that finger & nail got a good Mortal Kombat punch right on those 2 spikey pins. Since I took a moment to think of all the latin phrases I knew, I went looking for another bolt. Sure enough - 1 more under the center where I could not see it. When I loosened that, the header fell right off. #1 seem to need a ring job - it was cer

  I pulled the fan so I would have some more between the front of the engine and the hood support. Now I can come straight out to get the bell housing to clear the tunnel before I life the engine up I looked at the air runners and the water jacket tunnels -- YUCK I half halfheartedly tried to remove the bolts connecting the exhaust pipe to the manifold - no surprise those are stuck. So I just hack sawed the exhaust off. It was smashed and holey anyway, so I decided I would deal with those bolts after the fact. I pulled the valve covers to look Geasey evidence of gasket failure, and the valves needed to be lashed (the push rods are wiggly) - but otherwise everything looks to be decent shape. If it takes me too much longer to get the u-bolts off the drive shaft rear u-joint, I will buy an angle grinder and show them who is boss.

  So, the amount of force needed to remove thermostat housing bolt on the left, vs the bolt on the right ... not that much different. Left one is out. Right one is missing its head.

Jake lost his hood and his carburetor and heater hoses. He will lose his intake manifold soon enough. Jake also got a bath yesterday, so he is slightly less disgusting to lean against. He can't get a real bath because none of the doors & windows actually seal and there is no back glass - so the water from the roof just rolls into the backseat. When I deleted the heater hoses, I discovered that the heater core is probably still good. I discovered this by dumping a quart of coolant onto the floor as soon as I cut the hose off the firewall pipe. Since the radiator is totally missing, I assumed there was no more water in the machine - but it seems like there was a good amount behind the firewall. Aside from the mess, I am happy about it. Also - I discovered we own a mop. Need to pull the rest of the electrical components (and label them) and the intake manifold. Then I will crawl under the remove the drive shaft & transmission ... and then I will hoist the engine out.

well - empty of anything I might want to keep ... still plenty of rotted trunk floor covering and rust and spider webs. Once the new filter for my shop vac shows up, I will suck the rust out. I got a toilet plunger out of the deal and some rusty tools.  Oh, and road flares. I can not wait to light those. I am making progress getting the engine disconnected so it can be pulled. First I want to drop the crazy heavy drive shaft and the transmission. I found a friend who I did not realize what a car nut he was. He happens to collect Fords and might just happen to have a spare of the same tranny except with an overdrive - and for that I am thrilled to make a deal. I am thinking about 3D printing the trim pieces I don't have and just letting MY Mercury be a Customer Plastic Trimmed version. I saw The Graduate - the future is plastics.

  With the help of much grunting, sweating and a flat prybar - I got the rear seat out. Of course that left me with 4 cubic feet of mouse house / birdseed / and unspeakable things everywhere. Now that I contracted hunta-sypho-titus, I believe I can see in infrared. In the hole behind the seat through to the trunk I found: a bald spare tire a wonky bumper jack and tire iron a starter motor some kind of galvanized chain a spool of string like a surveyor might use old beer can roll of aluminum foil AND ... THE 4th chrome hubcap !!! HOORAY !! There is more detritus back there which I can't see with a flashlight. I have not gotten the nerve to squirm across that expanse of biohazard to unbolt the latch yet. Need to vacuum out some spiders first - fortunately in the PacNW, we don't have any nasty bug life.

  You may wonder why the hood is sticking straight up - well the front is bent and so that is the only position it is stuck in. So far, I used a ratchet strap to get the tires back on the bead so I could push it around + I pulled the plugs and filled the cylinder heads with liquid wrench. Still have not figured out how to remove the rear seat so I can get in the trunk - it is a pretty green color under all the dirt. I will pull the engine soon enough ... it has to come out one way or another since I can not turn the crank bolt with a cheater bar.