Hey Scott, long time fan here. I found a 1969 ford fairlane 500 4 door car 302 v8 that has been parked for 41 years. Very little rust and was able to drive her home. Tank is good I have added new fuel filters plugs and wires . While changing the water pump on it I ended up taking off oil pan and doing the timing cover gasket and all. My question is what else do I need to do to since she has sat so long . The car was full of milk jugs and old sugar bags when I got it but was able to locate the original seats and things from the grandson of first owner . I got the car in a sheriff sale in Northern ga. I have been driving her for the last 3months with no issues except a high idle. Should I change the transmission fluid or the rear end dope? It has 67000 miles on it. Im not hot rodding it just using it as my family car. And would you recommend me switching over to disk brakes in the front or would it be ok to add a booster to the brakes? Also what fuel should I be using. I have been getting ethanol free and adding marvel mystery oil in it.
P.s sorry for my rambling im just very excited about my find im 33 so this is really the first car that im not just fixing it enough to get by. Usually I buy a cheap car on its last leg and scrap it. But I wanna keep this 1 one the road for many years.
Thanks, your big time fan
CL YOUNG.
My 5 cents: after 41 years all rubber in the vehicle should be in bad shape, from tires to any suspension part that works as isolation, hoses and all that stuff. I would say be prepared to have issues with the radiator and also check the condition of the wiring, i have seen old cables that unravel when bent.
Many years ago I had a '66 Fairlane with 289 V8, essentially similar to yours. You didn't say how much work it took to get the car driveable after waking it from its long slumber, but pretty much everything would need attention.
As Killabyte says, all of the rubber on the car is suspect; control arm bushings, strut rod bushings, rubber boots on ball joints and tie rod ends, fuel lines, brake hoses, wheel cylinder seals, coolant hoses, transmission cooler lines, etc.
Probably a good idea to change transmission fluid, I'm assuming it's an automatic transmission, probably an FMX? What I usually do is drain and fill 3 times, driving around 20 or 30 minutes between times. That gradually introduces the new fluid into the transmission. I don't recall whether there's a replaceable filter, if there is that should definitely be changed out as well. (Some automatic transmissions just use a metal screen as a filter.) Be sure to use the correct fluid - it may require "Type F" fluid which was commonly used in Fords of the time. I'd change differential lube as well.
At a minimum you should rebuild the brakes if you have not already done so. Drum brakes are the pits, upgrading to power front discs is a good idea if you're not concerned about originality and plan to use the car as a regular driver. Not only do they work better, but disc brakes are a heck of a lot easier to service.
Thanks yes I have redone the brakes and all rubber hoses new. Choke cable. To get her home i added a new fuel filter and battery and gave get a few shots of starting fluid and she fired up. All my heater hoses fell apart when changing the pump. So I got a hose kit. Im not concerned on the original parts anymore more of functionality. I'll change the rear end dope and put new seal on it tonight. Thanks a million.
@fairlanedadcar
Sounds like you're on top of things! That drivetrain is pretty much bulletproof. My Fairlane took a real beating (I was young and stupid!) and it just kept going year after year, mile after mile, until I loaned it to someone who unfortunately totalled it in an accident. Another thing you should probably do if your car has power steering is to change the fluid there as well. I'm not sure what fluid was used in those (mine had manual steering), but back then many power steering systems used transmission fluid, so look into that. A factory shop manual would be a good investment if you don't already have one.
I'm ordering all 5 tonight, but I ended up ordering a 1969 assembly manual. I just got done with the cover gaskets and going to get some new vacuum lines, im very excited about it. I abandoned the restoration to original and decided it was cheaper to just make it the way I want. My led headlights and install kit should be in today. Waiting on tires in mail. The tires on it have not been made in 30 years
@fairlanedadcar
The size tires used on 1960s cars, mostly 14", are getting thin on the ground these days, that's for sure. Sounds like a really solid, rolling project you have there! Absolutely some upgrades for regular use will make the car a lot more pleasant on today's roads. I've always preferred setting up an older vehicle for practical use rather than making it a trailer queen.
You're already taking care of replacing the old sealed beams. Longer term even though you've rebuilt the drum brakes you really might want to consider moving up to power front discs. I have a similar vintage vehicle ('67 Rambler Rebel) and recently rebuilt the drum brake system and I'm kicking myself a bit for not going the extra mile and installing front discs.
Installing some decent shocks along with radial tires will help handling quite a bit. Factory shock absorbers of that time period were marginal and didn't last very long. After sitting all those years they can't be working very well.
If you still have breaker-point ignition an upgrade to Pertronix ignition or maybe a later Ford electronic distributor would be a good thing.
Just got my ford electronic ignition kit in the mail and yes was hard finding tall tires for it, I was able to find some all season tires 205 75 r14 and having them shipped to the house . Didn't even think about the shocks. Also I do wanna upgrade the brakes but may have to grab some parts from the junkyard the kits cost too much at this time
@fairlanedadcar
Modern gas shocks should make a big difference in ride and handling. Yeah, those disc brake conversion kits can wind up costing a lot. Scarebird kits aren't too bad costwise but might not fit stock 14" rims for your car (says will fit "many" 14" - what exactly does that mean?):
https://scarebird.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=65&product_id=86
Another issue with disc conversion is that pedal pressure required might be too high for comfort without a power brake booster, so unless you already have power brakes that's more expense and complication. You'd also want to install a proportioning valve for the rear brakes to keep them from locking up prematurely on hard braking.
Had a fuel line break and small fire but I thank god that when I removed the motor I painted engine bay with exsaust paint and suffered more of a cosmetic issues
@fairlanedadcar
Ouch, replacing fuel lines on a car that old should definitely have been on the list! Glad it wasn't more serious!
Also take a look at any rubber hoses on the fuel filler, and the hose from the tank to the metal fuel line. Basically on a car over 50 years old any rubber parts are suspect, and metal lines should at least be checked for corrosion and replaced as needed.