You are doing it right, getting the rolling stock and suspension steering right. With the foundation right this is going to be one very solid car. 👍👍👍👍👍
I'm currently in the middle of restoring my own 1966 Galaxie convertible and found your videos last week while search for some tips! Appreciate the work posting this as I'm guessing you will be a source for a ton of information as you're about 5 months ahead of me. This past weekend got all the upper/lower control arms, spindles and components out and ready to bead blast.
They usually do come apart fairly easily. The lower bolts are often a pain, but I expected it. I didn't expect the left side to come apart as easy as it did. I am just about to head out to the garage to get it off, even if it means using the torch....
I love all this stuff. I learn something new every time I watch your uploads. Thank you for explaining how/why/what you're doing -etc. Got to get the steering n suspension perfect ! It makes me anticipate the first inspection/drive of the finished car. Exciting ! Cheers...
Check upper ball joints by taking a pry bar under lower a arm and pry up, lower by squeezing joint with a large slip joint pliers. Ford specs are 1/8 th inch play, which is very generous. They're very strong I doubt if you will have any problems with yours....
I checked both upper and lower the way there suppose to be checked. There is no play at all... they are like new. I just happen to have a lower and two upper joints in my parts horde, but will save them for another future project.
Working on my 67 Galaxie suspension tonight. Again, really enjoy your videos. I was trying to remove the Idler Arm and broke the (2) J-Bolts that hold the Idler Arm to the frame. I have been looking all over the internet for replacements. Any suggestions? Thanks again for your videos. Hope to be painting the frame by Sunday!
Howard, try to find an old timer that does or did alignments. There's a special tool specific to these cars. There's pins that go in the holes in the frame and it moves the A frame in and out.
I use a friends auto repair shop that I grew up with for all my front end alignments. He has all the old school tools. Only problem, his shop is a 45 minute drive one way. Thats why I needed to make some measurements, to have it close, for that drive.
@@chrisgoldbach6556 I will stop and ask Doug if he has one next trip up his way... I am sure he does. It's an old shop, from the late 60's era. He always does my alignments on old cars. It's the only place that can get it right the first time.
I did the same thing with the brakes on my 65 Galaxie.. i put front disc on the front..they came from a 68 Galaxie..with the equilizer or J- block..stops on a dime..
I would put disc on it, only if it's the factory original option. I most likely will go back with the drums, but use a dual master system. I just can't bring myself to restore a car to factory original, then put one item on thats not... it's just not right. Even tho the master cylinder was a single system, I will use the 67 system, to keep somewhat of an original look.
The brakes are just around the corner... hope to get the parts late next week or early the week after, as I hope to be to the point of needing them soon.
I was thinking of bead blasting one of them to see if they state what they are. Nothing else looks to be replaced on the car, and it still had the factory type nuts on the lower part of the shocks... so I tend to believe there the original ones.
@@mikesamra9126 When it was on the road, it was in Florida... sold new in Florida. It sat parked in a pole barn here in Michigan since 1976... so I guess it has spent most of it's time here in Michigan, but was not driven at all here.
@@OldCarAlley I live in Saginaw mi of course and we have a condo in Hallandale Beach on the ocean right on the Broward county line. I find that cars in Fla on the ocean Rust as bad as they do on Michigan. Now in Traverse City they sand the roads and it's not nearly as bad as salt. My 70 Cougar convt stays in my garage all winter that is heated from having the boiler in the garage for the furnace.
Ford did it as a way of cost saving.... GM was waist-full back then. When Ford had engine castings with bore issues on a standard bore, they would bore more, to see if it cleaned up, up to .005" over. The overbore was painted on the casting, so when pistons were installed, the correct size was installed. All were called "standard", but the true standard had red paint on the top. A .002 over had blue paint, and the .005 over had no paint. My pistons had blue paint on them. All the new pistons standard size are the smallest size. The new pistons I got were .001 smaller the the factory original pistons. Thats why I reused the original pistons. The bores had zero ware, and the pistons had almost no measurable ware either. Ford assumed that when the engine ever needed work, it would need a rebore anyway, so thats why all three size pistons were called "standard". It's a lot of cost to machine an engine block, only to scrap it, because the bore had a minor imperfection. So if a minor over bore made a usable casting.... thats what they did. Who knows, maybe GM just let there bad bores go into a car as is, so just maybe Ford had a better idea.
Another great video Howard! as i mentioned earlier about installing the springs in my 67 Impala SS over the summer i didnt have nearly as good a spring compressor as yours. I was in fear using that harbor freight spring compressor and rightfully so..not only did it bend the center threaded rod on the first spring but then one " finger" or "hook" as you called it broke off just as i began jacking the control arm back up to the spindle..SCARY! Another question..how do you control paint and wire wheel dust when youre truck is inside? No snow in Ct as of yet..id wish not until march lol...take care ❤
I back the truck out, when I make lots of dust. I use my big backpack blower to clear the dust out of the garage, with all the doors open. It does an amazing job of finial clean up... I sweep up the best I can first. Before painting, I clean and cover everything in the garage... that takes a hour. Then mopping the floor and covering it with plastic is another hour. Then comes masking the car off.... that can take hours, and I mean sometimes the whole day before, is nothing but masking and covering stuff.
It takes about two hours for a twenty or thirty minute video. I got to go from camera, to editing, then save it to a file for a TH-cam upload. Than the upload time.
Replacing the ball joints will add about $125 to my project. I have a budget I need to stick to, in order to be able to finish this project. All the extras that have been suggested on this project would be over a grand now, if I did them all. The ball joints are like new. There an easy replacement even on the car, so if they ever need replacing in the future, it's no big deal. For now the factory originals are staying. With new control arm bushings, shocks and new springs, I am sure this old Galaxie will drive like a dream and float down the road, like your sitting on your living room sofa!
Just tackled this on my 67 Tbird. Just one thing : your measurement of the upper control arm position isn’t that useful as the old bushing rubber is compressed and changing the bushing will result in you having to realign. But sure, it might get you close…
I did that to get it close enough to drive it to get an alignment once the car was finished. When I did take it in, it was spot on the factory specs. The car had been aligned just before it was parked, when the bushings were probably still good. There was a Sears service card in a plastic thing on the dash, showing new inner tie rod ends and alignment, only having a few more thousand miles on the odometer than the service tag from 1976. I was surprised when the alignment guy told me it was spot on..... A good friends owns the shop.....
that old rubber just proof that newer materials are not as good as the older OEM stuff in some cases, great job
I’m thoroughly enjoying your videos. I’m restoring a 65 Galaxie 500 2 door hard top and relate to all the work you’re performing on the 66.
Yeah, same here !
You are doing it right, getting the rolling stock and suspension steering right. With the foundation right this is going to be one very solid car. 👍👍👍👍👍
I just love watching you. Thanks
I'm currently in the middle of restoring my own 1966 Galaxie convertible and found your videos last week while search for some tips! Appreciate the work posting this as I'm guessing you will be a source for a ton of information as you're about 5 months ahead of me. This past weekend got all the upper/lower control arms, spindles and components out and ready to bead blast.
So far, it been a fairly easy car to work on. Well engineered... Ford made the car easy to service.
Surprised at how easy it came apart - less the one bolt that is sticking up.
They usually do come apart fairly easily. The lower bolts are often a pain, but I expected it. I didn't expect the left side to come apart as easy as it did. I am just about to head out to the garage to get it off, even if it means using the torch....
I love all this stuff. I learn something new every time I watch your uploads. Thank you for explaining how/why/what you're doing -etc. Got to get the steering n suspension perfect ! It makes me anticipate the first inspection/drive of the finished car. Exciting !
Cheers...
This rocks
Check upper ball joints by taking a pry bar under lower a arm and pry up, lower by squeezing joint with a large slip joint pliers. Ford specs are 1/8 th inch play, which is very generous. They're very strong I doubt if you will have any problems with yours....
I checked both upper and lower the way there suppose to be checked. There is no play at all... they are like new. I just happen to have a lower and two upper joints in my parts horde, but will save them for another future project.
That car would have been a chick magnet at the Totempole Drive-in, in the old days. Remember Ted's Drive-in? The good old days on Woodward.
Working on my 67 Galaxie suspension tonight. Again, really enjoy your videos. I was trying to remove the Idler Arm and broke the (2) J-Bolts that hold the Idler Arm to the frame. I have been looking all over the internet for replacements. Any suggestions? Thanks again for your videos. Hope to be painting the frame by Sunday!
No clue on where to find them. Try your local auto parts store to see if they can order them, or eBay maybe.
Howard, try to find an old timer that does or did alignments. There's a special tool specific to these cars. There's pins that go in the holes in the frame and it moves the A frame in and out.
I use a friends auto repair shop that I grew up with for all my front end alignments. He has all the old school tools. Only problem, his shop is a 45 minute drive one way. Thats why I needed to make some measurements, to have it close, for that drive.
I think I have 2 of those tools from my father in law. He used to run his own service station. Let me know and I could lend you one.
@@chrisgoldbach6556 I will stop and ask Doug if he has one next trip up his way... I am sure he does. It's an old shop, from the late 60's era. He always does my alignments on old cars. It's the only place that can get it right the first time.
If I can make a suggestion on inexpensive way of masking off parts, use Saran Wrap (plastic wrap).
Done that, and aluminum foil works good too.
I did the same thing with the brakes on my 65 Galaxie.. i put front disc on the front..they came from a 68 Galaxie..with the equilizer or J- block..stops on a dime..
I would put disc on it, only if it's the factory original option. I most likely will go back with the drums, but use a dual master system. I just can't bring myself to restore a car to factory original, then put one item on thats not... it's just not right. Even tho the master cylinder was a single system, I will use the 67 system, to keep somewhat of an original look.
Interested to see how the dual master cylinder works out. I've been wanting to do the same thing on mine (use a '67 master). I'll be watching closely!
The brakes are just around the corner... hope to get the parts late next week or early the week after, as I hope to be to the point of needing them soon.
@@OldCarAlley Sounds great! Here's a pic of mine: photos.app.goo.gl/JGenDFHybF7TXkMw6
The shocks should say FoMoco if they are original. The Idler's arms look ok and they probably just need bushings.
I was thinking of bead blasting one of them to see if they state what they are. Nothing else looks to be replaced on the car, and it still had the factory type nuts on the lower part of the shocks... so I tend to believe there the original ones.
@@OldCarAlley Where did you say the car spent most of its life?
@@mikesamra9126 When it was on the road, it was in Florida... sold new in Florida. It sat parked in a pole barn here in Michigan since 1976... so I guess it has spent most of it's time here in Michigan, but was not driven at all here.
@@OldCarAlley I live in Saginaw mi of course and we have a condo in Hallandale Beach on the ocean right on the Broward county line. I find that cars in Fla on the ocean Rust as bad as they do on Michigan. Now in Traverse City they sand the roads and it's not nearly as bad as salt. My 70 Cougar convt stays in my garage all winter that is heated from having the boiler in the garage for the furnace.
Howie how was it that FORD motor CO. machined every cylinder a different size. I didn't seem to have such issues with any GENERAL MOTORS engines
Thanks Howie
Ford did it as a way of cost saving.... GM was waist-full back then. When Ford had engine castings with bore issues on a standard bore, they would bore more, to see if it cleaned up, up to .005" over. The overbore was painted on the casting, so when pistons were installed, the correct size was installed. All were called "standard", but the true standard had red paint on the top. A .002 over had blue paint, and the .005 over had no paint. My pistons had blue paint on them. All the new pistons standard size are the smallest size. The new pistons I got were .001 smaller the the factory original pistons. Thats why I reused the original pistons. The bores had zero ware, and the pistons had almost no measurable ware either. Ford assumed that when the engine ever needed work, it would need a rebore anyway, so thats why all three size pistons were called "standard". It's a lot of cost to machine an engine block, only to scrap it, because the bore had a minor imperfection. So if a minor over bore made a usable casting.... thats what they did. Who knows, maybe GM just let there bad bores go into a car as is, so just maybe Ford had a better idea.
@@OldCarAlley 12w
Another great video Howard! as i mentioned earlier about installing the springs in my 67 Impala SS over the summer i didnt have nearly as good a spring compressor as yours. I was in fear using that harbor freight spring compressor and rightfully so..not only did it bend the center threaded rod on the first spring but then one " finger" or "hook" as you called it broke off just as i began jacking the control arm back up to the spindle..SCARY! Another question..how do you control paint and wire wheel dust when youre truck is inside? No snow in Ct as of yet..id wish not until march lol...take care ❤
I back the truck out, when I make lots of dust. I use my big backpack blower to clear the dust out of the garage, with all the doors open. It does an amazing job of finial clean up... I sweep up the best I can first.
Before painting, I clean and cover everything in the garage... that takes a hour. Then mopping the floor and covering it with plastic is another hour. Then comes masking the car off.... that can take hours, and I mean sometimes the whole day before, is nothing but masking and covering stuff.
what was that some kind of bolt shoved into the coil spring? wow
It was an old school spring spacer. It was designed to lift sagging springs. I find new springs are the best way to repair sagging springs.
@@OldCarAlley wow yes i remember now
How time consuming is editing the videos?
It takes about two hours for a twenty or thirty minute video. I got to go from camera, to editing, then save it to a file for a TH-cam upload. Than the upload time.
I would have replaced the ball joints. As old as they are it would be cheap insurance. Ball joints are not expensive.
Replacing the ball joints will add about $125 to my project. I have a budget I need to stick to, in order to be able to finish this project. All the extras that have been suggested on this project would be over a grand now, if I did them all. The ball joints are like new. There an easy replacement even on the car, so if they ever need replacing in the future, it's no big deal. For now the factory originals are staying. With new control arm bushings, shocks and new springs, I am sure this old Galaxie will drive like a dream and float down the road, like your sitting on your living room sofa!
Just tackled this on my 67 Tbird. Just one thing : your measurement of the upper control arm position isn’t that useful as the old bushing rubber is compressed and changing the bushing will result in you having to realign. But sure, it might get you close…
I did that to get it close enough to drive it to get an alignment once the car was finished. When I did take it in, it was spot on the factory specs. The car had been aligned just before it was parked, when the bushings were probably still good. There was a Sears service card in a plastic thing on the dash, showing new inner tie rod ends and alignment, only having a few more thousand miles on the odometer than the service tag from 1976. I was surprised when the alignment guy told me it was spot on..... A good friends owns the shop.....