Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

Progress report: Mark VII.

As found after years of slumber.

Like many old car projects the time comes when you run into a brick wall. Most projects are not exactly easy, but sometimes you set yourself up for some real headaches.

I had made some real progress:

A new set of wheels in an easier to find tire size.

I removed the brake hydraulics.

There were plenty of challenges in disassembling the wheel cylinders. I was successful in rebuilding them.

I ran into a real dead end in trying disassemble the master cylinders. The piston and front seal came out easily enough. The internal seal is deep inside the unit and can only be removed by unscrewing the end plug. This plug has had a life time to rust in place. I'm thinking that I'll just throw them in a jug of vinegar and let them sit.

It was so easy with my Mustang. Everything was available new, so I just threw away all the old stuff and replaced with new. I didn't think that it would be easy or cheap to find parts for the Mark. Would it be worth it to spend a bunch of money to rebuild obsolete equipment? Or would it be better to source and adapt a modern replacement?

I started looking at just replacing some of the components. The Wilwood website had a few possibilities. These were reasonably priced at less than 60.00

I think that these could be adapted.

I searched different sites that specialized in brake upgrades and custom set ups.

I found this bolt on set up for around two grand.

It's not like the Mark doesn't have a performance history.

The Mark VII was the overall winner in 1956.
It came in sixth place in it's first competition in 1952.

The car is definitely worth investing some money into, but I may not be the person to do it. Anyway there's no hurry to do anything yet.


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A little more progress with the Explorer.

Ever since I bought it a couple of years ago I knew that it needed shock absorbers. There was a definite porpoising motion that followed freeway whoop de doos. It also contributed to a vague "busy" feel to the suspension when you were just driving normally. I am anticipating taking the Explorer on a long roadtrip so I've been keeping an eye on things and fixing what I can.

This model Explorer comes with torsion bar front suspension and the shocks looked to be easily accessible. They were. All I had to do was lift up what was left of the splash guard and I had a clear shot at the shock top mount.

Access was outstanding.

I just drove the truck up the ramps.

As you can see from the photo I had plenty of room to work under the truck. I was also able to sit on a mechanic's stool while I unbolted the top mount from the side. It wasn't even going to be necessary to remove the front wheels.

To make things even easier there is a nut welded to the shock body.

I used an adjustable crescent wrench to hold the body while I undid the top nut. The bottom of the shock was held by these two studs. I laid on my back to undo these.

A very simple mounting set up. I failed to hit these with some Kroil
before trying to loosen them. Still, not much of a problem.

I only replaced the front shocks. I had checked them by doing the jump on the bumper test and the fronts were definitely rebounding a couple of times. After over a hundred miles of test driving I discovered that there was a definite improvement in ride and stability. Of course I had minimized any funky handling traits before this. It wasn't dangerous, just not the optimum set up.

I decided to use Monroematic replacement units instead of the recommended KYB gas charged shocks. I had read some reviews that indicated that the KYBs rode a bit harsher and I wanted the best ride possible. They were also a bit cheaper. An important point since I was buying them from my local parts store. Yes, I made a conscious decision to support my local business! I checked the air pressure in the tires. The recommended air pressure was only 26 lbs. As you will recall, early Explorers were infamous for blowing out tires and rolling over. Investigation revealed that faulty, undersized tires that were specified to run at lower air pressures weren't up to the job. Car and Driver did a simulation where they used a remote control blow off valve to simulate a tire failure. I read the original report at the time it was released, and they determined that there wasn't a real loss of stability and control.

One thing that I have noted is that my Explorer has a tight turning radius. This makes it easier to park but I imagine that cutting the wheel all the way to the stops in an emergency might cause a real problem. I've seen the videos of Explorers rolling over and it's not reassuring.

I always run pretty high tire air pressures, It gives a sharper feel of control and will minimize tire roll under in an emergency maneuver. It also helps keep tire temperatures down. I chose to run 32 lbs. in front and 34 lbs. in back. My front tires were already at 36 lbs. and dropping them down made a noticeable improvement in ride quality.

Things are wide open under there.

Look at how easy it would be to pull that starter.

I was quite impressed by the accessibility of the undercarriage components and layout of the Explorer. When I replaced the fan blower motor I was amazed that it was sitting right there on the firewall, instead of buried inside the bowels of the dashboard like a typical Ford of this era. I remember changing the fan motor in my 1984 Mercury Cougar and my 1970 Mustang.

Ease of repair is a real important aspect in the old car hobby. Strong availability of aftermarket repair and replacement parts is a real plus. My Explorer might not be really fuel efficient but that's not a real deal killer. It's not my only everyday vehicle. It's a trade off that I can live with.

I'm liking my Explorer more and more each day.