Took our mach 1 to the mechanic today

[Todd and Son]

We took it to a friend of ours to basically point at stuff and ask what things were and have him tell us what a mistake we made buying it. There was a fuel filter that was leaking so he switched that out right off. Its ugly but its functional for now. He brought out some laser thing said it was only running on 5 cylinders, but we will get to that later.
Keep in mind I am not a car guy yet and I may misrelate what he told me.
We found out that it has a Muncie top load 4 speed transmission, a 4 barrel Holley carburetor and that it wasn't the vacume one but the mechanical controlled one? The intake on it was a 4 barrel Stroker something (I forgot to bring a notepad lol) He said the heads were probably 4 barrels aswell if the guy spent the money for the rest of it but that we would check that next time. We also have some kind of non stock headers, but we didn't circle back around to them to get more info there. They were talking about stuff I didn't know about and referencing other things in relation to them that I still didn't know about so needless to say I was a bit lost.
He drained out the rear axle lube and put new stuff in. He said the oil was clean, but we should change it anyway. Then he told me to go buy a mechanics for dummies book at the bookstore (boring read btw) He ordered us some accel plug wires and a performance distributor and had them pull a regular distributor cap and rotor and some good spark plugs for us to change out at home to see if that helps those cylinders. We also got an air cleaner, but it wasn't the right size.

We got home with 1000 hp of raw energy and zero planning so I go into the house to grab a towel to throw over the side of the car because I once changed an alternator in another car and finished to find the button on my pants scratched up the paint. I walked out the door to find my son had already popped the hood and pulled the plug wires off the distributor and was trying to figure out how to get the cap off. No he did not write down or mark their locations so we got to learn how to find the TDC by putting my thumb over the hole in the number 1 cylinder the spark plug is supposed to go.
I have to tell you my friend is a bit of a prick especially after I had to call and tell him what we did when he told us to pull them off one at a time. So he doesn't bother to tell me anything other than you have to put your thumb over the hole and have your son turn the car over and watch the rotor. You will know when the rotor gets to the TDC and then starts to laugh a sinister laugh. I of course not knowing anything thing I am about to get the piss shocked out of me or my thumb blown near off. Of course as you experienced guys know it was only a burst of air but the first time I jumped back like a, lets just say it was less than macho, and move on. Then we started the plugs but didn't get finished because we lacked the right ratchet extensions and I dropped a spark plug onto the header pipes and it slide down on top of them where I couldn't reach. Both of these events prompted separate trips to autozone and as the afternoon started to go by company showed up and the wifey told us we couldn't play anymore so we will get back after it today.

T

[Kit Sullivan]

Kudos to you for jumping right in and "getting to work" on your new car...your learning curve will be fast, since you are (apparently) starting at the very beginning.

There are many things even the most novice of a wanna-be mechanic can do perfectly well, provided he follows the proper steps.

In your case I would very strongly recommend that you go and by a "Chilton's" or a "Hayne's" repair manual for your specific model. They are aftermarket books designed to get a person jhst like you easily and simply through a task that you can do on your own with little mechanical knowledge. They are inexpensive and invaluable to a guy like you.

In your situation I would recommend that you NEVER attempt a repair by taking instructions over the phone or from memory of what someone told you hours or days before. Something important will invariably be left out or forgotten. If you do it this way you will probably end up spending more money in the long run than you would on a prefessional mechanic to do most jobs.

You say the "Mechanics for Dummies" is a "boring read". That may not be a good sign. Personally, I love reading and learning from tech, engineering and repair manuals as I think most others here do also. Maybe you'll acquire the taste...

At any rate: Good job to you for tackling stuff in unfamiliar territory! Get one ( or both) of those books above: it will make your life much essier.

[Todd and Son]

I was looking at those books for instance the Haynes one I saw was 64 1/2 to 73 mustangs. That seems like a lot of different vehicles doesn't it? I was looking for a 71 to 72 mach 1 type book since those are all pretty similar, but that may be too specific for them to make enough money to produce. Search engines on the internet these days are ridiculous showing 5 pages with 90% of it not what you are wanting.
The for dummies book was rough because I think I need more of a engine specific one. I know how to check my oil and tire pressure etc. and that is what this book was starting with. I don't want to skip stuff just in case there is a nugget in there somewhere that I may have not known or forgotten about, but we will see.

T

[Steven Harris]

Congratulations!

You have begun a great journey.

I agree with Kit on his book recommendations. You shouldn't need any book any more "specific" than one that covers the early model Mustangs.

I remember the first time I picked up a live plug wire! Anyway, take your time and enjoy the time with your son. When it gets too frustrating walk away for awhile and come back latter. You will get there.

[Todd and Son]

Yeah I bought one earlier this afternoon. At the rate I have been buying tools I needed and parts etc I figured I might aswell. I hadn't found anything more specific so we got it. Changed the oil and filter today and drained the coolant and flushed it out. Then we drove around so he could show his friends after we cleaned it up.

Any idea on how to clean up the air cleaner cover easily?
Here is a pic hopefully it will come through smaller than the first ones I did.
You can see where I jumped on it with an sos pad and that is some slow going.

[Steven Harris]

Looks like a candidate for some 409, purple or green stuff, bristle brush and elbow grease.

[Rare Pony]

Try to pick up a set of the original Ford Workshop manuals. I've had a set for my 73 since I first bought the car back in 74. The are very detailed.

Here is a link to a set on eBay (not mine):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1972-Ford-Car-Sh...e0&vxp=mtr

I noticed some other sellers have some listed too.

[Kit Sullivan]

A complete set of original Ford shop manuals for your car would be an awesome set to have.
My only comment would be that the Ford shop manuals are written for a knowledgable and skilled mechanic, and as such some of the procedures may not be fully grasped by a novice.
If you get the Ford shop manuals ( which I do recommend) I suggest that you also get and refer to the consumer-level manuals( Haynes or Chiltons) to help you fully grasp some of the more possibly-confusing procedures in the Ford manual.
The Ford manuals have several volumes ( one fof each area of the car: Body, Drivetrain, suspension, electrical, etc...)and can pricey for the whole set, but they are great to have.

[Rare Pony]

Here is a sample from my 73 Ford Workshop Manuals: