Engine Build - part IV

Reassemble with a hammer and dolly to create the smooth seam.

This is the other one, but you can see how you do not want any of this falling into your engine. I wouldn't even use this on a worn daily runner.

I powder coated them and made new gaskets. Clean and ready to use, plus they look nice.

New grommets and fittings.

Rockers covers are done.

My next nemesis were these idler and tensioner pulleys for the air con compressor. Two problems here, first no one remakes these, secondly stick a fork in the grease and seals because they're 50 years old and done!

Back side view of the little blighters.

After careful disassembly, (joke), whilst I pressed off the pulley I took a hammer to the bearing. It's an unusual bearing, especially for the 60's on American cars. the inside shaft is English but the outer race is metric.

I poured through bearing suppliers books and could not find this at all. So a new approach was needed.

I found a generic aftermarket pulley for a 17 series belt that was close to the outside diameter to the original pulleys. I then bought some shaft steel and turned it down to press into the original base and I could mount the new pulley, which is now easily replaceable with a bolt. It's akin to a modern car now.

Here's the modified one on the left and another original '66 on the right.

There's the part number for the new pulley and compared to an original set of '66 FE air con pulleys.

Powder coated, but more importantly reliable.....

This is a test fit. This isn't the air con compressor I'm going to use, I just grabbed this boat anchor of a cast iron Tecumseh off the shelf, I did indeed go with a brand new aluminum York 210, same as the car came with.

The idler realllllllllllllllly (intentional stutter) doesn't do all that much, but it's there.

Back to some more esoteric detail problems. The plug on the Duraspark distributor is unique, so unique no one makes the mating pigtail replacement for it. I could scrounge round the junkyard for one, but this is big, ugly and not that water tight and pain to separate once coupled.

Enter Deutsch connectors, my favorite connector, albeit a little pricey, but the quality is outstanding.

Lop off the Ford plug and crimp the new pins on the leads.

Insert the pins from the back side into the connector and push in the terminal assurance clip and your done, a nice water tight seal, easy to couple and uncouple.

Plus it's smaller and less obtrusive.

More on part V