I came across a top loader at a swap meet in Tucson on Saturday although it was out of a Torino. I thought the price was acceptable at $550.00
Today I found a guy locally here in Magdalena, Mexico that is suppose to have a top loader. He is suppose to call me back (heard that many times before). I am hoping that he does and that what he actually has is a top loader.
Let me know if you end up needing one as I have a contact in Nevada that will no doubt have what you want but it will range between $750.00 to $1,400.00
Your right, this week may not be the time for a drive but in a week the weather will be back to normal and you can enjoy it!
I got shown this once by a guy named Bill Thomas in CA. I hope he is still in business since he was a great guy and a great resource. He was the 9 inch guru as well as 4 spd top loaders. He was the kind of guy that I would go up to get a new bearing on an axel and I'd end up spending half a day there. He knew his stuff and wasn't afraid to share it. Plus he had everything. I got a set of Cobra Jet heads from him as well as a set of Australian 351 two barrel heads. He also had a couple of Boss 302's and Boss 351's covered in boxes that he called his retirement.
Well anyway. After I bought my 4spd close ratio top loader I brought it up to have him look at it. He showed me that if you pull the cover with the gasket you will notice that there is a hole opposite of the vent hole in the cover. If you carefully separate the gasket you will most likely find some sludge/residue on the top side of it. Bill them took a screw driver and scraped some of the residue off. He then took a strong magnet and waved it in front of the screw driver and the residue looked like a snake since what it was, was fine metallic particles. He then pointed out that this is a quick test to see how much wear the tranny had. So if you are at a swap meet bring a screw driver and a magnet with you. He said my tranny had the normal wear and looked good.
He also showed me that if you rebuild your tranny mark how the lower cluster shaft is put in. When you put it back in rotate it 180 degrees. Since the bearings are only loaded on one side the wear will be on the other side.
Here is his info in case anyone is interested:
Bill Thomas Enterprises
1877 N. Massachusetts Ave Unit #5067
San Bernardino, CA 92411
909-888-7949
I've been away for a bit looking for a car after being hosed by a potential purchase. I was planning on waiting until spring since the weather in NY is headed for the crapper soon, but you know how well waiting works. I kept torturing myself looking at ebay and Autotrader. Well it landed a 69 Fastback, that was close by. It is not a Mach (So I don't even know if I'm allowed on this site) and is a pretty plain Jane 302 front drum fastback. At first, I wasn't too excited about that until I started thinking about the positives. With this car, I will feel no guilt about changing it the way I want and the price will allow me to do that. Not that I will be cutting it up or anything, but I will upgrade the suspension and maybe change it to a stick. So I went to see it and the body is rock solid and the paint is great. Being that I'm a Mechanical Engineer, I don't need to tell you where I'd like to spend my time given the choice between body and mechanical work.
My first order of business will be to change the brakes to power disk, remove the wing (By the way, does anyone have a good solution for covering the holes left in the trunk lid?) and get a set of 15 x 7 Magnum 500's with 255/60/15 tires.
I will be looking to sell the rims that are on it now (Style Steel) never been a fan of these rims. I believe the tires are brand new. They are BFGoodrich T/A's. I will post pictures of the wheels and what the tire size is when I get the car tomorrow. So if anyone is interested, let me know. I'm not looking to make money on them, just something fair.
The other cool thing is, if you remember my list of Mustangs from the beginning of this thread, this car now fills in the missing gap of 1969 (Which is the year I was born). I've always wanted a 69 Fastback and now I've got one to toy around with.
So, hopefully you guys will let a non Mach Owner hang out.
(12-17-2011, 02:54 AM)Jimjific Wrote: It is not a Mach (So I don't even know if I'm allowed on this site) and is a pretty plain Jane 302 front drum fastback.
So, hopefully you guys will let a non Mach Owner hang out.
Beautiful car. Not a Mach 1 - NO PROBLEM!
It will be interesting to hear the history of the car and to watch you transform it into what you want.