65 Futura in East TN . . .

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Jims65cyclone
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Re: 65 Futura in East TN . . .

Post by Jims65cyclone »

I could put a set of those in my top light holes on my 65 and go coon huntin', right Pop? :lol: :lol:
Jim
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lavron
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Re: 65 Futura in East TN . . .

Post by lavron »

bigdan wrote:Yes, you can, lavron, but like POP said, it'd make for some long cables.
Yes I think the way I heard it explained the big starter cable is only energized when you start the car, but I guess it would be 6 or one 1/2 doz of the other.

One of my goals is some nice bright headlights, haven't found a good budget way to do that yet so will probably be buying new conversion lights, hopefully I can find ones with glass lenses.

See Ya,
Mike
Mike's build thread
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13058
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bigdan
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Re: 65 Futura in East TN . . .

Post by bigdan »

Lavron, those that I'm using are the tri-bar H4 conversion headlights from Speedway.

Here's 2 things to consider;
(1) they're bright (especially since that's just 2a of testing juice from my battery charger, not even enough to actuate the flashers)
(2) they're a little spendy $$$-wise but to me pretty cheaply built. We'll see how they last.

Thanks for looking -

Dan
Long time search complete, 65 Cyclone project in progress!

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comethead
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Re: 65 Futura in East TN . . .

Post by comethead »

Looking good (and bright) Dan!!
1965 Caliente HT- 289/4 speed
1964 Falcon HT- track car- 302/4 speed
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popscomet
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Re: 65 Futura in East TN . . .

Post by popscomet »

Jims65cyclone wrote:I could put a set of those in my top light holes on my 65 and go coon huntin', right Pop? :lol: :lol:
Jim
YEP !! that's the reason for stacked....the man at the design center was an avid coon hunter,so he sold the big boys at FORD on making them that way......64's are for spot lightin rabbits on the road side...…. :shock: :roll: :lol: :wink:
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pop/glenda

bigdan
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Re: 65 Futura in East TN . . .

Post by bigdan »

Must be alot of coon hunters on this board . . . I prefer stories about the ever - so - famous Highball myself, to those that get the reference to the greatest coon dog of all time.;)

On the 65, now it's a waiting game for a few heater parts. I'm using a small compact "hot rod" style heater, both for room and really just to give defrost and a little heat. Being diabetic, I have a hard time being cold, or otherwise the heat wouldn't be an issue. In the interest of sticking with my focus on simple and reliable, rather than cut holes in the firewall that could cut a heater hose later I'm waiting on 5/8 barbed bulkhead fittings, which are fairly hard to find. On the way, though.

As far as my to-do list goes, other than the heater all I need to do is set up the release bearing/ master cylinder and then i can go ahead and drop the rest of the driveline in. Getting closer every day -

Dan
Long time search complete, 65 Cyclone project in progress!

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bigdan
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Re: 65 Futura in East TN . . .

Post by bigdan »

How about a mid - weekend update?

Per American Powertrain' s directions, it is apparently possible to destroy your entire project if you overstroke the release bearing, so I decided to tackle the initial pedal adjustment with the engine/trans on the floor beside the car. First, it didn't take 5 minutes to get it bled, which was a nice surprise. The pedal stop is essentially just 2 jam nuts on the pedal rod that hit the firewall plate to limit travel. Once it was bled, I started way short of full release on the pressure plate with the transmission in gear. I put the kiddo on "trying to turn the driveshaft" duty, and slowly adjusted the pedal travel till he could turn the driveshaft, then locked it down. Now to get this trans in the car and the engine soon I hope.

Moving along -

Dan

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Long time search complete, 65 Cyclone project in progress!

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bigdan
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Re: 65 Futura in East TN . . .

Post by bigdan »

Finally, a day with some real progress.

Was able to get the TKO installed and the neutral safety switch installed and tested first thing this morning.

Since my hood is a cowl hood now, to keep the engine heat from running me out of the seat i whipped up some cowl vent block off plates with gaskets and installed them.

Installed the heater and heater controls, then got the wiring sorted out. I'll get fresh air from the windows LOL.

Had a "squirrel" moment at lunch and started looking around for an old set of taillight buckets I had with back up lights but couldn't seem to locate. Turns out they were hidden in a back corner, so pulled the back up light brackets to start getting my taillights together. Cut out a few gaskets for the backups also.

As for the heater, I hid it in the passenger footwell near the kick panel. In the interest of keeping the engine bay clean, I picked up some 5/8" bulkhead fittings, so I'll hide most of the hose outside the apron as well.

So, all over the place, but I love staying busy. As soon as I locate/ install the bulkhead fittings and route the speedometer cable, the 331 can drop in for good. Can't wait!

Dan

Ridiculously hard to find bulkhead fittings, and the backup lights I misplaced for 5+ years!
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Long time search complete, 65 Cyclone project in progress!

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bigdan
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Re: 65 Futura in East TN . . .

Post by bigdan »

Side question for all the pros - Doug's headers - possible to install after the engine is in, or stuff them in before?

Dan
Long time search complete, 65 Cyclone project in progress!

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tomb22
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Re: 65 Futura in East TN . . .

Post by tomb22 »

In my 65 comet I tried to install a 302 with Doug headers on but that didn't work. Installed engine with headers off but had to raise the motor up just a little and the headers went right in from the bottom. Hope this helps you.
Tom
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tomb's 65

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SASSY
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Re: 65 Futura in East TN . . .

Post by SASSY »

Probably a little late on the bulkhead fitting, I picked these up at a truck shop.
Barbed straight under dash and available in several angles engine bay side, serviceable.
could be nice and clean with the crimped covers(proper name eludes me) in the engine bay.

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I'd rather do it myself if it's done right or not,,,isn't that what hotrodding is all about

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poboyjo65
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Re: 65 Futura in East TN . . .

Post by poboyjo65 »

I'd put the headers on just as soon as the bell housing is bolted up, keep the cherry picker hooked up -less skinage :roll:
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Re: 65 Futura in East TN . . .

Post by popscomet »

poboyjo65 wrote:I'd put the headers on just as soon as the bell housing is bolted up, keep the cherry picker hooked up -less skinage :roll:
sometimes the starter needs to go on before the header,,depends on the header...pop
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bigdan
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Re: 65 Futura in East TN . . .

Post by bigdan »

Sassy - I like those fittings; I still haven't made a final decision on hoses yet, but definitely prefer bulkhead fittings if I can.

Poboy and Pop - starter is a mini, so it shouldn't be too tough to get in. I planned to leave the engine hanging to give wiggle room for headers, just couldn't remember if I could get them in with the engine installed, that way I could finish up a few plumbing and wiring issues before the headers get in the way. I guess we'll see this weekend I hope . . .

Dan
Long time search complete, 65 Cyclone project in progress!

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bigdan
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Re: 65 Futura in East TN . . .

Post by bigdan »

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Did alot of upside down crawling around and decided that running the hoses outside the apron wouldn't work. Still, trying to keep everything organized and out of the way, so I snuck the hose barbs as far out of the way as possible (right under the right hood hinge).

At this point, all that I have left prior to dropping the 331 in is (1) I need to decide on a good location for a chassis ground from the engine, and (2) route a lead from my tach input to a switched ground on the dash.

I want a full day to drop everything in so it'll have to be the weekend, so I'll probably go ahead and drop the distributor in and crimp plug wires, etc, to get that out of the way. Annoying part will be pulling it back out to prelube, but there's too many connections to make to guess! Anyway, closer every day.

Dan
Long time search complete, 65 Cyclone project in progress!

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