1965 Mustang Coupe

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Akurma

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Got my hands on some NOS R-12! going to give the AC system a charge tomorrow and hope for the best

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Figured id update this thread.

I did get around to trying to recharge the old AC unit, but had no luck. It seems that the clutch isn't engaging on the compressor when it is turned on inside the car. It appears that i can replace just the clutch but I cant find out what exact part is needed, nor how to do it. I am told Four Seasons Part #48809 for HG850 compressor should work but again, not 100% sure. Working AC is not a top priority for me.

On my last drive of the year I was on my way to my families body shop to work on my other Mustang when the lower radiator hose decided to pop off on me at an intersection. Luckily I had my tools with me and was only a block from a food store so I parked it, went inside bought the last gallon of coolant they had tightened the clamp on the hose. Filled it up with the coolant and about a half gallon of water I had in the car and limped it to the shop I was going to anyway. Drained and filled it again. no issues..

Until this weekend. the weather was half decent So I rolled it out of the garage only to find a small wet spot of coolant on the ground. Not only is there a wet spot in a row of fins but coolant is pooling on the lower end tank. So definitely have a leak in my radiator which is original to the car, with a December 1964 date code stamped on it lol. I also believe the water pump is starting to go. I think it is leaking from the weep hole, or possibly the upper rad hose clamp is loose. but cant be positive.

I figure I have to drain the coolant to take the radiator out anyway, might as well replace the water pump at the same time. Not sure if i will try and get the radiator fixed or buy a replacement. When I had a leak fixed the first time the guy told me the inside of it was pretty rusty. might just do better with a new one, Ill have to see what he says. I really dont want a shiny aluminum one in there as it would look out of place compared to the rest of the engine bay.

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RAU03MACH

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Figured id update this thread.

I did get around to trying to recharge the old AC unit, but had no luck. It seems that the clutch isn't engaging on the compressor when it is turned on inside the car. It appears that i can replace just the clutch but I cant find out what exact part is needed, nor how to do it. I am told Four Seasons Part #48809 for HG850 compressor should work but again, not 100% sure. Working AC is not a top priority for me.

On my last drive of the year I was on my way to my families body shop to work on my other Mustang when the lower radiator hose decided to pop off on me at an intersection. Luckily I had my tools with me and was only a block from a food store so I parked it, went inside bought the last gallon of coolant they had tightened the clamp on the hose. Filled it up with the coolant and about a half gallon of water I had in the car and limped it to the shop I was going to anyway. Drained and filled it again. no issues..

Until this weekend. the weather was half decent So I rolled it out of the garage only to find a small wet spot of coolant on the ground. Not only is there a wet spot in a row of fins but coolant is pooling on the lower end tank. So definitely have a leak in my radiator which is original to the car, with a December 1964 date code stamped on it lol. I also believe the water pump is starting to go. I think it is leaking from the weep hole, or possibly the upper rad hose clamp is loose. but cant be positive.

I figure I have to drain the coolant to take the radiator out anyway, might as well replace the water pump at the same time. Not sure if i will try and get the radiator fixed or buy a replacement. When I had a leak fixed the first time the guy told me the inside of it was pretty rusty. might just do better with a new one, Ill have to see what he says. I really dont want a shiny aluminum one in there as it would look out of place compared to the rest of the engine bay.

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Champion makes a really nice aluminum 3 core radiator exact fit for car cheap
160 to 180
 
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Akurma

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Thanks for the suggestion! i did some looking around and it looks like they also offer a black radiator as well, which I think will look a bit better. I may end up going that route! I ordered a new Gates water pump last night. $23.. would be foolish not to lol
 
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Dropped the radiator off at a local radiator specialist. Will see what he has to say. I told him to be be honest with me if he thinks its too far gone to let me know. Even though it was snowing out I also spent a good part of the day in the cold garage working on taking the water pump off. Figured, ehh two hours tops including taking pictures and messing around... boy was I wrong!

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I had the power steering pump off and all of the water pump bolts off in under an hour. Only to find out there are two bolts for the water pump that are behind the AC bracket that can not be taken out with the AC bracket on the car. This is where things went down hill and fast lol.

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Spent nearly the next four hours hunched over the engine figuring out how the bracket comes off. Since it is an old school aftermarket unit there is no guide online nor is it similar to the factory setup. It is only a handful of bolts but the position of the upper ones took up most of the time as I couldn't get a ratchet in there and could only turn a wrench a 1/4 inch at a time and of course the bolts were long. whoever at "Mapco" in the 60's designed that bracket.. fuck you. I am highly considering taking the entire AC compressor off of the car and putting it in storage seeing as it doesn't work to begin with. I'd leave the condenser and lines in place. Would make life a hell of a lot easier when it comes to working on it... and maybe free of some horsepower;)

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five hours later and the AC compressor and bracket off the engine I could get to the last two bolts. Popped them out with ease only to realize the water pump frozen to the block:mad:. My flashlight died shortly after and I called it quits for the day

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Ill tinker with it during the week if it is warm enough, no rush on this since I don't drive it in the winter anyway.

I am well aware that the engine is disgustingly dirty lol. the amount of grease all around the front of the motor is insane, easily the dirtiest engine bay i've ever worked on. I believe it is because of the power steering pump and how bad it leaks from the front seal near the pulley, it just slings the fluid all around. Since it is off and I have contacted two people who are reputable rebuilders for these Eaton pumps to see how much a rebuild costs.
 

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Great project you have going there. My “Other car” is a 68 convertible. I highly suggest to jo8n the Vintage Mustang Forum. You’ll find a wealth of knowledge on these old classics. The weather pump should come off with a Firm wack on the pulley with a rubber mallet.

For Power steering issues, you first call for parts or rebuilding should be to Dan Chock “Chockostang”. He is the most knowledgeable guy around on the, and does great work.

Take heart on the Engine bay. Mine looked at least that bad.


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PinkieT

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Having your radiator guy re-core your old radiator using the stock tanks would let you keep the stock look. Cost might not be much different than a new aftemarket rad.
 

Flade

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Having your radiator guy re-core your old radiator using the stock tanks would let you keep the stock look. Cost might not be much different than a new aftemarket rad.
Cost is about 2-3 times the cost of a good repro.
 

PinkieT

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Cost is about 2-3 times the cost of a good repro.
Guess things have changed since the last time I had to redo my 70 Road Runner radiator. I had it re-cored and it was about the same cost as a new replacement.
 

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Guess things have changed since the last time I had to redo my 70 Road Runner radiator. I had it re-cored and it was about the same cost as a new replacement.
Copper prices have gone through the roof and the number of shops that do the work is dwindling fast.
 

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For the A/C talk to Classic Auto Air in Tampa. They are the most knowledgeable folks around o; the old systems. They sell most of the parts.

For the radiator I’ve had good luck with ACP Max cool radiators. They look original but cool well.
NPD sells them. If you haven’t already learned about NPD, they are the best in the business for classic Mustang Parts. You’ll need a shroud too For the extra load with A/C.
 
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Great project you have going there. My “Other car” is a 68 convertible. I highly suggest to jo8n the Vintage Mustang Forum. You’ll find a wealth of knowledge on these old classics. The weather pump should come off with a Firm wack on the pulley with a rubber mallet.

For Power steering issues, you first call for parts or rebuilding should be to Dan Chock “Chockostang”. He is the most knowledgeable guy around on the, and does great work.

Take heart on the Engine bay. Mine looked at least that bad.

Beautiful 68 you have there! When I bought this there was a dark highland green 68 coupe that I actually wanted more than the 65 lol. I like the coupe body of the 67/68 cars more than the coupes on the 64 1/2 - 66 cars.. but they've grown on me. I will have to look into the Vintage Mustang Forum! Might be better suited feedback over there.

I did reach out to Chockostang! he quoted $130 for a full rebuild. the other guy I reached out to (Stanger53/Randy? i think) quoted me $75. I was all for the $75 option until i did a little research and it seems his turn around time can be very long. Id like to have this back before spring time so I think i'll go with Chockostang.

Having your radiator guy re-core your old radiator using the stock tanks would let you keep the stock look. Cost might not be much different than a new aftemarket rad.

Cost is about 2-3 times the cost of a good repro.

Yeah I talked to him about getting a recore done and he advised against it because " When Ford made these radiators the top end tank is designed differently than the bottom and usually what happens is the top will crack and be unrepairable. I can do a recore but I am very hesitant on doing so." His words not mine. He also gave me a rough estimate of around $200 for a recore. For that money I can get a nice 3 row Spectra repro or even a Champion rad.

For the A/C talk to Classic Auto Air in Tampa. They are the most knowledgeable folks around o; the old systems. They sell most of the parts.

For the radiator I’ve had good luck with ACP Max cool radiators. They look original but cool well.
NPD sells them. If you haven’t already learned about NPD, they are the best in the business for classic Mustang Parts. You’ll need a shroud too For the extra load with A/C.


Ill have to give them a call about the AC system, they might know what I need to get the clutch to engage on the compressor. I have come across the ACP radiators in my search but not a lot of reviews, good to know they are pretty decent! I'll keep them in mind if this one acts up again.
 
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Got the radiator back from the local repair place. Turns out i did a bit of damage when I took it out, rookie mistake for not covering it with cardboard. He advised me that the inside of it is still fairly rusty. I had a feeling it was seeing as the coolant had a brownish tint to it when drained. I spoke to him about getting the radiator recored and as I said above I was told "When Ford made these radiators the top end tank is designed differently than the bottom and usually what happens is the top will crack and be unrepairable. I can do a recore but I am very hesitant on doing so." So I dont think I will have it done if it starts leaking again, especially since the rough $200 estimate is about the same cost for a new repro unit.

Anyway I did finally find out that my radiator is just a 2 row, wasn't sure if it was a 2 or 3 row. Never had any temperature issues with it. So for $37 I was on my way. So far I am only $60 into this cooling system overhaul which is laughable to me seeing as a I think an Edelbrock water pump for my 2v was over two hundred. Ill get around to reinstalling the radiator when I find some free time or there is a warm weekend.

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Got the frozen water pump off of the block, a few good whacks with a mallet and off she came. I expected the inside to be very rusty and disgusting but was pleasantly surprised. The new Gates pump looks identical to whatever old school brand was one it. I also expected it to be a cast iron pump but it was actually an aluminum pump.

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You can see in the photo above, just a bit below and to the left of where the coolant passage is, there is a bunch of white gunk. I have absolutely no idea what this white gunk is but it was in in two of the spots that the pump sits against. Not where coolant flows. Does anyone have any idea what the hell this stuff is? its slimy, chunky, white and uhh a little sticky...;)

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Honestly the water pump probably didn't need to be replaced, there is a bit of erosion/pitting on the pump blades. I actually think the small coolant leak was from the thermostat bypass hose dripping down and around the pump. Oh well, i feel better knowing the coolant system is now all freshened up. Going to order a few parts and send my power steering pump out for a rebuild
 
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Flade

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While you got this all apart, seriously consider replacing that Harmonic Balancer. The rubber looks pretty dry rotted.

IT will look sweet when you get it all done. Here is the 65 I am working on. It looked about the same as yours when I started.

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