Carter YFA Rebuild

It has literally been years since I have rebuilt a carburetor, but I knew I had to do it before I could get the old girl started.  I didn't necessarily want to go with just any parts store's rebuild kit, because sometimes they are not the best quality.  I ended up going with a kit from Mike's Carburetor Parts out of  Rochester, Washington.  The guy who runs the business seems to really know his stuff, and he even had videos on YouTube detailing how to rebuild the Carter YFA.  The kit was $24.95, and was of very good quality.  I definitely recommend going to Mike for all of your carb needs!  His website is: http://www.carburetor-parts.com.

When it came to cleaning my carburetor, I decided that I would really like to soda blast it.  Unfortunately, I do not have a blaster or a large air compressor, so I started searching the net for a solution.  I came across an article on how to make a DIY soda blaster.  They recommended a larger air compressor than what I have, but I decided to try it anyway.  I initially tried a box of baking soda, but it was very slow and I used the box up in just a few minutes.  I found some extra large soda blasting media at Harbor Freight, but the smallest amount they had was a 50 lb. bag.  I went ahead and bought it and have to admit that it worked much better than the box of baking soda and was much cheaper in the long run.  My compressor is only 2HP and has an 8 Gallon tank, so I only did a small section at a time.  It did an amazing job!  The carb doesn't look as good as some of the ones I saw online, but it is definitely much cleaner!  I cleaned most of the internals with carb cleaner, and you want to be sure to rinse all of that soda off.  For info on how to make your own homemade soda blaster, check out this site: http://www.aircooledtech.com/tools-on-the-cheap/soda_blaster/

Below are some before and after pics.  Sorry that the before pics are not very clear.  It was starting to get dark out when I took them.

Before 1

Before 2

After 1

After 2

Gas and oil

Yet another trip to Suzanne's house and I feel like I am making some progress.  I decided to put a battery on the old girl and see if she would turn over.  As soon as I hit the ignition switch she turned over without any hesitation.  I just bumped it at first, mainly to make sure that the old oil didn't get pumped all through the engine.  I'm not sure if the Marvel Mystery Oil helped, but it definitely didn't hurt!

  The next thing I decided to do was to pull it up on some ramps with my wife's Jeep Cherokee so I could get under it and change the oil.  My Dad always put Castrol 20w-50 in it, due to a recommendation from my uncle I'm pretty sure, so that's what I used to put in it.  Since that seems a little thick compared to today's standards, I decided to do some research.  I found that using heavy oil in these engines is pretty commonplace.  I did find that the recommended oil weight is 15w-40, and decided to use Shell Rotella 15w-40 diesel engine oil.  Primarily this is because diesel oil has similar levels of zinc and detergents that were used in gasoline engine oil 15 years ago and should help clean up the internals.  It's also just a little thinner, so maybe it will pick it up a little quicker  I won't go into the details, but a quick internet search provides plenty of info about the pros and cons of using this oil.

  I also decided to pull the old carburetor off to work on rebuilding it.  I will post my progress rebuilding it next time.  Hopefully it will go well!

For more inline six specs:
http://www.classicinlines.com/SmallSixSpecs.asp

And for all of the oil info you will ever want to read:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com

First oil change after several years of sitting!

First Steps

Hello again,
  I went to my Mother-in-law's (Suzanne's) a couple of weeks back and started the steps to awaken the old Granada.  My first and main concern was that the engine had not been turned over at all in six years or more.  This can lead to the piston rings fusing to the cylinder walls and to a rebuild if it is bad enough.  So my first step was to make sure that the pistons would be able to move freely and with some lubrication when I was ready to turn the engine over.  This made me remember what an older friend of mine told me about this subject several years ago.  Basically you take the spark plugs out and squirt some Marvel Mystery Oil into the cylinders.  If you leave it in there for a few days or even weeks, then it will start to seep around the rings and make sure that they are free to move.  It also adds a little bit of initial lubrication since no oil has been pumped into the cylinders for several years.  So that is basically what I did.  I removed all six plugs from the old 250 six cylinder one at a time and used a two cycle oil measuring syringe to squirt the oil into the cylinders.  We'll see how it goes once I try to start her up!

My next concern was that I was unable to start the Granada six years ago before I moved it.  I had to winch it up onto a trailer to get it to Suzanne's house.  I narrowed it down to a fuel pump back then, but had no cash to fix it.  So I have now bought a new fuel pump for it at O'Reilly's Auto Parts and installed it.  It is super easy on an old car like this.  You have two fuel lines to disconnect, and two bolts to remove.  That is basically it.  And don't forget to install the gasket that comes with it!

Parts used:
Oil Mixing syringe
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Hopkins-Mfg.-Corp.-10111-6-Oil-Mixing-Tool/22314667

Marvel Mystery Oil
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/MVL0/MM13R/N0443.oap?..

Fuel Pump
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/PFP0/M16060/02535.oap?year=1977&make=Ford&model=Granada&vi=1129902&ck=Search_C0401_1129902_1312&pt=C0401&ppt=C0025

This is my Granada after six years in Suzanne's garage

Fresh Starts and Second Chances

Hello all,
  This blog is dedicated to my first car, a 1977 Ford Granada.  I still own this car and it has unfortunately been left sitting in my mother-in-law's garage for the past six or so years.  As I start working on it, I hope to post my progress here and share any valuable information that may help others.  Some may say, why keep and work on an old Granada? First off, let me give you a little background on my car.

  A friend of our family owned the Granada for years, and when my Mom started looking for a car, we found that he had decided to sell it.  It needed a few repairs, but was in pretty darn good shape at the time.  (Keep in mind that this was in 1990, and I was eight years old.)  My Mom was a homemaker and also worked on our family farm alongside my Dad and Uncle.  She didn't need anything super new, she mainly just needed something to drive to the store and to visit family in that wasn't a truck.  So my parents purchased the old Granada for $1000.  She served the family well for about 5 years, but was really starting to have some issues.  In about 1995, my Mom started working for a local organization called C.A.S.A (Care Assurance System for the Aging and Homebound), and really needed a more dependable vehicle to drive.  It was going to cost a bit to repair the old Granada, so my parents decided to buy another car.  One of my uncle's owned a body shop and ended up selling my Mom a 1990 Chevy Lumina that had been repaired in his shop.  We didn't really need the Granada any more, so my parents decided to sell it for $500.  For some reason, this really bothered me.  Up until this time I didn't think I had any real attachment to the car.  So, for whatever reason, I asked my Mom and Dad if there was any way that we could keep it.  My parents took this into consideration and a couple of days later asked if I wanted the car.  My initial reaction was "heck no!" because I didn't want that ugly car!  But the more I thought about it, I realized that I could have my own car at 13 years old.  So, I soon accepted the offer and haven't looked back.  By the time I was sixteen, I had it in pretty good running condition and even did my driver's license exam in it.   So between the sentimental ties to the car and my love of Fords, I had almost no choice but to keep it and fix it.

  Stay tuned for future posts on my progress!

This was right after I washed it and took it to my mother-in-law's six years ago.  It's not really that shiny, just wet.