Some progress with my Mark 1

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varodder

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Back in August I ran a post about my "Barn Find" 65 Tiger. Since then I have made a bit of progress with the car, and I must say the information gleaned from this forum has been invaluable to me.

Put the car up on jack stands to begin work.



Rebuilt the brakes and all of the hydraulics first...

Had the nasty gas tanks and radiator boiled out and refurbished by a local radiator shop. (they did a great job). Bought new rubber from SS and put the tanks back in.





Thought better at trying to get the motor running in place. Decided to pull the whole drive train and pull it apart first. (turned out to be the right thing to do). Many thanks to Duke for his video on engine removal, I watched it many times before trying this.....I managed to get mine out in about 5 hours.











 
More.....

Teardown of the engine revealed it was built around March of 1964. Although it only had 66K miles on it autocrossing had taken its toll. The bearings were pretty well worn. Ended up boring .030 and turning the crank .010.



A little challenging to find parts for this motor but I put in a set of new Keith Black cast pistons.



The heads were completely rebuilt with new valves and hardened seats.



Put in a Comp Cam kit for the motor but found that the timing gears in the kit would not work.



After several tries I wasn't able to get a timing set that would work (Comp Cams doesn't make one). I was able to re-use the original gears and found a new timing chain. This cost me a couple of weeks...

Cleaned up the old F4B and rebuilt the Holley. Added roller tip rockers to the valve train.



Had a local vendor make up some new hoses for the remote fuel filter.



New headers from SS (have to get these ceramic coated)



Took everything out of the engine bay and cleaned it up. Had the typical barrel nut problem for the front end so I made up some gussets and welded everything back up solid.

 
Where I am today....

Repainted the engine bay (used Porsche Guards Red.....will be using this for the rest of the car too)



Wish Cat notes were still in print (I found someone in the area with a copy I can borrow) The front cross member is going to need a lot of work....probably the stress of autocrossing with race tires in the late 60's and early 70's.



Went back to visit the previous owner and found another air cleaner, the original hub caps and trim rings, and the roll bar that used to be in the car. Hopefully will find other parts later (his garage is a hoarders paradise)



Next will be a transmission rebuild and clutch assembly.

This is proving to be quite a journey........:D
 
Congratulations on the progress. Very impressive.

Are you going to have the trans rebuilt as a wide ratio unit?

If I may ask, what was the approximate cost of having the gas tank work done? Were they just cleaned or did you also have them galvanized? Thinking about doing both things to my tanks but have not gotten to the point of getting a quote. Would be nice to have a comparison pricing even if in a different part of the country.

If I may ask, I am not sure what I am seeing in the pic of the remote oil filter line attachment at the block. Is there something different from the stock configuration? If so I hope there is not going to be a clearance issue with the side frame rail. It is very tight there. Barely enough room for a shorty filter plus space to slide it over a block nipple. But again, just not sure what I am seeing in the pic. May well be all okay. I just thought it might be worth asking about. I would hate for you to have a problem when you are getting ready to re-install everything.

Also curious about the timing gear fitment problem. Was it because of the mechanical fuel pump eccentric on the front of the cam? I was told it was okay to leave it off since it served no function. The conventional wisdom was that it was cheaper for Ford to leave it on at the time they made the engines rather than change their build process to leave it off. If you put it back on with the old timing gear, that should not be a problem either. Fortunately the old gear is not one of those original nylon ones!

For the trivia file, much the same goes for the oil slinger on the crank. Apparently that was really to block oil from getting too much against the timing cover crank seal and causing a leak. I had thought it was to help get oil on the timing chain. Supposedly the seals there are much better now and there is not a problem. But I digress. Looks like you have things well in hand.:)

Please keep us posted on your progress.

Gene
 
Great job

It looks like it was not your first Rodeo though. Had to go to the computer to enjoy the large pics you posted after a tease looking at them on the tiny phone screen.

Great so it was Keith Black for the 260 pistons?

If you could snap a few photos of the clamp for the brake booster on top of a ruler that would be great, my car came with a Lockheed Victoria British one and while I can find lots of cores but no clamps.

When you get into the trans there is a gear change you can do that makes the car more like the later MK2 ratios.

I have cleaned many a motorcycle gas tank with the washing soda battery charger method and it is way easy and by reversing the polarity and using a zinc you can cover the bare steel. I have only used the cleaning method though. In Calif. you are lucky to find a radiator shop at all.

Keep up the great work,
 
cadreamn67 said:
Congratulations on the progress. Very impressive.

Are you going to have the trans rebuilt as a wide ratio unit?
Click to expand...

I haven't given it much thought (until now) what are the advantages? I have driven my car in the past (first time I was 17....I am now 60!) as I knew all of the previous owners. It's been a long time since I drove it (over 30 years). I recall it being a lot of fun but I don't know what the difference in gear sets would be.

[/QUOTE]If I may ask, what was the approximate cost of having the gas tank work done? Were they just cleaned or did you also have them galvanized? Thinking about doing both things to my tanks but have not gotten to the point of getting a quote. Would be nice to have a comparison pricing even if in a different part of the country.[/QUOTE]

I am fortunate to live fairly close to a great radiator shop (Culpeppers in Portsmouth VA) They charged about $250 to clean both tanks, the connecting pipes and the radiator. In addition the pressure checked the tanks (fixed a problem with the filler neck) and replaced several of the tubes in the radiator. They sprayed the gas tanks with a rust inhibitor (compatible with gasoline). They even painted everything so all I had to do was bolt everything back in.:D

[/QUOTE]If I may ask, I am not sure what I am seeing in the pic of the remote oil filter line attachment at the block. Is there something different from the stock configuration? If so I hope there is not going to be a clearance issue with the side frame rail. It is very tight there. Barely enough room for a shorty filter plus space to slide it over a block nipple. But again, just not sure what I am seeing in the pic. May well be all okay. I just thought it might be worth asking about. I would hate for you to have a problem when you are getting ready to re-install everything.[/QUOTE]

I'm using the original remote oil filter setup. I just had new hoses made up. They are extremely close to the original hoses so I expect they will fit OK.

[/QUOTE]Also curious about the timing gear fitment problem. Was it because of the mechanical fuel pump eccentric on the front of the cam? I was told it was okay to leave it off since it served no function. The conventional wisdom was that it was cheaper for Ford to leave it on at the time they made the engines rather than change their build process to leave it off. If you put it back on with the old timing gear, that should not be a problem either. Fortunately the old gear is not one of those original nylon ones![/QUOTE]

In the picture of the timing gears the original gear is on the left and it is flat. The new timing gear (on the right) has a boss that is approx 1/4 inch. The problem with the new gear is that it failed to properly locate the camshaft and it had a gross amount of end play. Using original gear solved the problem.

[/QUOTE]For the trivia file, much the same goes for the oil slinger on the crank. Apparently that was really to block oil from getting too much against the timing cover crank seal and causing a leak. I had thought it was to help get oil on the timing chain. Supposedly the seals there are much better now and there is not a problem. But I digress. Looks like you have things well in hand.:)[/QUOTE]

I left the slinger and the eccentric that is intended to drive the stock fuel pump on. I'm trying to preserve the car pretty much as it was in the late 60's and using as many of the original parts that is practical. It still has (for now) the Mallory/Shelby dual point distributor on it. I will debate an electronic conversion after I get it running.

Please keep us posted on your progress.

Will do. And I appreciate any suggestions.

Gene
 
Warren Cucarullo said:
If you could snap a few photos of the clamp for the brake booster on top of a ruler that would be great, my car came with a Lockheed Victoria British one and while I can find lots of cores but no clamps.
Click to expand...

Do you mean the big circular clamp that goes around the booster or the bracket that goes from the firewall to the circular clamp?
 
RE: Wide Ratio Trans

There are some great threads in the Forum archives here on the subject, especially the posts by Maliburevue. Basically. the wide ratio is the upgrade that Rootes made when the MarkII came out.

It makes the car much more enjoyable to drive in urban traffic. The close ratio first gear is more of a race track first gear. It is hard to launch the car from a full stop without slipping the clutch a lot. However, once you get going you can hit 55 mph or so in 1st, depending on how high you want to rev the motor. Launches with the wide ratio are a lot smoother and less wearing on the clutch. And replacing the clutch on the tiger is not all that easy!

Plus if you are ever stuck in stop and go traffic, with the close ratio trans, you cannot really crawl along in first gear without a lot of engaging and disengaging the clutch, a little throttle blip and then coasting in neutral in between. The lower wide ratio first gear really reduces the need to do all that. You can stay in gear longer and go slower without lugging the motor.

BTW, I took another look at the remote filter hose pic. Is that an oil pressure gauge hanging in front of the block connection? That may be what was confusing to me in my original look at it.

Gene
 
cadreamn67 said:
BTW, I took another look at the remote filter hose pic. Is that an oil pressure gauge hanging in front of the block connection? That may be what was confusing to me in my original look at it.

Gene
Click to expand...

Thanks for the gear ratio info. Yes there is an oil pressure gauge hanging in front of the block connection. When we spun up the oil pump to prime everything and make sure oil was flowing properly we got a big spurt out of the pressure gauge connection :eek:. It was simple to plug it with a spare pressure gauge and I haven't taken it off yet.
 
Looking really good. Thanks for posting all those nice pictures. It is always a help to those in the future to see rather than read.

You are most welcome with the video, I am glad it helped someone.

I found that my 260 ran the best with a Autolite 4100 carb. Everything was operational including the hot air choke. The ket is to use a ~500 CFM Carb, don't go too big as the 260 heads are very restrictive.
 
Fuel Pump Eccentric

"the mechanical fuel pump eccentric on the front of the cam? I was told it was okay to leave it off since it served no function."

At the risk of going too far off subject, I would like to mention that if anyone is thinking about leaving off their fuel pump eccentric that they should be sure to substitute a washer with the same thickness. Otherwise, the bolt through the timing gear into the camshaft might bottom out in the camshaft. You can get the right torque readings on your wrench, but the bolt is not under tension and can work its way loose with catastrophic results.:mad:
 
Timing chain sprocket bolt.

Good heads up. Thanks. I do remember there was an issue with the bolt being too long without the eccentric in place. I think I tried a shorter bolt first but was worried about having enough thread engagement and went the thick washer route.:)

Gene
 
Glad I left the eccentric in:). Duke, my Holley is a 500 CFM. The car was set up for autocrossing in the late 60's and as I recall it ran really well. I hope for even better results with the slightly more aggressive cam, roller rockers, and rebuilt heads......it should surely be fast enough for me:D. I'd get in a lot of trouble with big power......
 
Servo Mount clamp

Warren Cucarullo said:
If you could snap a few photos of the clamp for the brake booster on top of a ruler that would be great, my car came with a Lockheed Victoria British one and while I can find lots of cores but no clamps.

Warren: Here's the servo clamp . . . .
Click to expand...
 
Great progress so far, looks good. I like the nailhead in the background, what's that going in?
 
The nailhead is going into a 1933 Ford Sedan that belongs to a very good friend of mine who has the hobby garage I'm building the motor in. In the back there is a lift and a 1933 Ford dirt track race car, a 1954 Chevy leadsled, the 33 sedan, a 64 Nova Station Wagon, and a 57 Chevy gasser. He also has a 34 Ford bobber pickup with a 401 nailhead in it. In my garage is my 35 Ford coupe and the Tiger (no more room). My friend Tom was also in the foreign car parts business for over 30 years and is a great source of help to me. I'm very lucky to have a friend like him.:D And hot rod guys DO like Tigers!!!
 
Mk 1 almost ready to run after 30+ years!

Been making a lot of progress over the past couple of months. Front end is rebuilt and back on the car (thanks oneoffive for the cross member and A-arm repairs). The motor and transmission are back in as well. Cleaned up the underside and treated everything with Por 15. Hope to fire it up next week:D.
 
The engine compartment looks great--nice to see it moving along and getting closer to road worthy.
 
Nice!

varodder said:
Been making a lot of progress over the past couple of months. Front end is rebuilt and back on the car (thanks oneoffive for the cross member and A-arm repairs). The motor and transmission are back in as well. Cleaned up the underside and treated everything with Por 15. Hope to fire it up next week:D.
Click to expand...

Lookin' darned good. Debugging all the little "this & that's" will take some time, but looks like your going to be irritating the pavement fairly soon.
 
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