Out for a spin.

[ew1usnr]

When I drove into work this morning, the windshield was initially clear. When I pulled out the heater knob it began to mist up, When I turned on the defroster it fogged up very quickly. I will have to install a new heater core.

I had previously scheduled tomorrow off from work because my wife and I are driving the Falcon up to Ocala for the ......

"21st Ford and Mustang Roundup, January 10 – 11. The show is Totally Free to 1993-earlier vehicles. Set your sights on the most fun-filled gathering of Ford enthusiasts on the east coast. Come join us at Florida's Nature Park - Silver Springs, home of the world-famous Glass-Bottom Boats. Spend a relaxing weekend in a natural garden setting to visit with fellow hobbyists and friends. This is a just for fun event! Judging is people's choice."
See the 2015 Show Flyer at: http://www.npdlink.com/store/pages/ss_ford.html
The Maverick and Comet club will be there! : http://maverickcometclub.org/event/f...rings-florida/

Ocala is about 100 miles north of here and I don't like the idea of driving 200 miles while breathing antifreeze mist from the leaky heater core, or the possibility that the leak could become worse. I will drain the radiator tomorrow morning and bypass the heater by using a piece of the heater hose to join the water inlet and outlet on the engine. How difficult is it to cut a heater hose? Do you think that I can do it with a serrated kitchen knife?

The weather forecast says that it will be around 60 degrees tomorrow as we drive to Ocala. Yea, I know that is not cold, but my wife interprets things differently. I have not told her yet that the heater will not be working. She will need to dress warm.

Ford Heater.jpg

[redfalken]

Heater hoses are pretty easy to cut. I just use a sharp utility knife or razor blade. Also, you should be able to find a hose splice at most auto stores to help make the connection. They have various sizes so measure the inner diameter or bring a sample. And pick up a couple of fresh hose clamps!

[ew1usnr]

I cut the heater hose and bypassed the heater. The temperature dropped to around 50 on the drive up to Ocala and my wife and I were both wearing our jackets.

The 21st Ford and Mustang Roundup was really something.
Silver Springs 2015.jpg

There were boat loads of cars there.
1-DCP_0078.jpg

I heard that seventeen Falcons had attended.
1-DCP_0165.jpg

They had the 50 millionth and 100 millionth Fords: A 59 Ford and a 79 Fairmont Futura.
1-DCP_0095.jpg

I really liked this 1950 Ford. It is such a nice looking little car. The owner said that he had kept it completely stock, including its original flathead V-8 and 6 volt electrical system. He said that everything worked just fine. I love the round shape and proportions of those cars and the style of the chrome grill. The styling of the early Falcons was (in my opinion) more reminiscent of this car than of the Fords of the second half of the 1950's.
2-DCP_0127.jpg

I liked this guy's 1925 Model-T. I asked if he had trailered it the show. He said "No", he had driven it. He fired it up Saturday morning and drove it 35 miles from Dunellon to Silver Springs. That would have been a blast. I wish that I could have ridden with him.
2-DCP_0135.jpg

My wife and I took a glass bottom boat ride on the Silver River. This little Florida Alligator wanted me to pass his best wishes to all the good folks in Washington State.
1-DCP_0108.jpg

[redfalken]

Looks like pretty nice weather to me! And I really like those '50 Fords too. Especially the jade green color in laquer. Don't know what the real name of that color is but my wife collects jadite glassware and she always points them out.

That frame around the photo for the car show looks like a good idea for our Mini-Regional Show! We'll have to have Joanna add that to her design tasks and figure out how we can get people to wait in line for photo ops next year!

[ew1usnr]

We'll have to have Joanna add that to her design tasks and figure out how we can get people to wait in line for photo ops next year!

Hello, Kenny.

All the in-bound cars were directed down one street and a person took pictures as each car passed. They arranged the photographs in order from the time at which they were taken. A person could later quickly find the picture of their car, as long as they knew the approximate time that they arrived. They had a booth set up where you could get your picture made into a plaque, a magnetic refrigerator ornament, a key chain fob, or prints of different sizes.

Later, Dennis.

[Jeff W]

I love the two guys behind the Model A smiling at, what I guess is your wife taking the picture. Friends of yours or just comedians?

[ew1usnr]

I have driven my Falcon over 10,000 miles! I am doing the happy banna dance:

The odometer read 16687.9 when I bought the car on 7/07/2012 and it passed 26688 while I drove to work this morning. This car is so fun to drive that it has made my daily commute to and from work something to look forward to.

Special 10,000 mile commemorative photos of my car when I got to work this morning. It is parked next to (from left to right) a Toyota Camry, Nissan Maxima, Toyota Prius, and a Mazda:
1 Left Rear.jpg

2 Back.jpg

Closeup of my new magnetic bumper sticker:
3 Bumper Sticker Close.jpg

The first 10,000 miles were a challenge. The car was just worn out when I got it and I had to repair almost everything. Maybe the next 10,000 miles will be easier and all I will have to do is change the oil and rotate the tires!

[ew1usnr]

Hello, Jeff. Every time I look at the photo of your car it reminds me of the Falcon wagon that I drove while I was in high school (1977-1979).

I found another photo of my first car. The hood is open a little because it was hooked to a battery charger. I like the tan color that the car was painted. It looks like it could have been in Rommel's Afrika Korps. I must have been sixteen when that photo was taken. That was a gloriously magnificent car. It was so roomy that I could have carried the Grand Canyon in the back. I did carry a large part of my high school water polo team to practice in it.
1963 Falcon Wagon.jpg

If I ever get another Falcon it will probably be a '63 four-door wagon.

My older brother had that car before me and he had rolled it while driving too fast around a curve. My brother was not hurt, but the roof was crushed in over the windshield. My father put a jack inside the car over the transmission hump and jacked the roof back up and hammered it back into shape. Then he had a junked abandoned Falcon towed home and put its windshield into the station wagon.

I look at the photo now and I am amazed at what a good job my father did. The roof looks smooth and straight. I took things like that for granted back then, but now I am astounded by his capabilities and accomplishments.

[ew1usnr]

I usually do not drive my Falcon on days where the chance of rain is greater than 30%, but we've had at least a 50% chance of rain every day for the last month. This coming week and a half looks to be more of the same with rain every day.

Screenshot (2).png

So, this past week I said to heck with it and drove the Falcon anyway. It rained at about 1:30 and the streets were still wet when I drove home from work. The skinny P175/80/R13 tires on wet pavement made clear that the Falcon does not have automatic traction control or an anti-lock braking system.

The car fishtailed back and forth maybe three times while I made an accelerating right turn from a red light. Yee haw!! A guy in a new Mustang evidently thought that I was peeling out while drag racing him and went zooming past me. I was really just trying to get the car back under control.

Then I made a gentle "power slide" while making a left turn through a green light. I had slowed down so it was not much of a slide, but it was enough for me to feel.

When I was further down the road, the rear wheels spun while I was starting out while from a red light while moving straight. I had to press and the ease off the gas pedal a couple of times and then very gently pressed it down before the car finally took off. The guy in the van behind me was probably wondering what I was doing.

You have to be really careful while driving this car on wet roads. Making a quick stop without sliding would be difficult. I will pay the extra money and get a set of the bigger P185/80/R13 tires whenever my present set wears out.

And for some general gripes about other drivers:

On a different day I was on my way to work and driving the Falcon and in the center lane. I need to move to the left and saw that there was plenty of room and the car behind me was a ways back. I turned on my left turn signal a courtesy and began to move over while watch the car behind me in my mirror. The instant my turn signal came on that turkey (driving a Mitsubishi) suddenly accelerated to close the gap and cut me off. I had already started moving over so I went ahead and completed the merge anyway rather than yank back into the center. He irritated me.

On another morning, I was driving the Falcon to work and a guy in a Mustang crossed in front of me from a center turn lane to go into a McDonalds. The guy saw me on top of him ... and he stopped! I was going maybe 40 mph and had to stand on brakes hard and came to a screeching, smoking stop. The guy in the Mustang gave me a startled expression and when my car came to a complete stop, THEN he moved and finished crossing the street to the McDonalds. If you pull in front of someone, don't just STOP and sit there!

And on another day, I was driving my Honda CRV home from work. The weather was nice with a 77 degree temperature and I had all my windows down. I was waiting at a red light under an overpass and a twerp in an Acura coup wearing a backwards ball cap was blasting some obnoxious "music" so loud that I couldn't hear my radio. Then the light turned green and this yahoo floored it and darted around the car in front of him. He had straight pipes (no mufflers) and the reverberating sound under that overpass was as loud as a bomb exploding. And my windows were down. He knew what he was doing. He sped forward and we stopped at the next light that was just one block further down. RRRRRRR!!! I was not thinking nice thoughts.

But, the idiots are offset by a lot of nice people. I liked the woman who was driving a Mercedes and honked and waved and gave me a big smile while I was driving my Falcon. She was driving a Mercedes and got excited about seeing a Falcon. What a nice person.

[Jeff W]

Good morning Dennis,

We have the same idiot drivers in Seattle

You may want to leisurely start your search for 14" stock rims and matching wire wheel covers. The 13" tire selection is poor, and I would imagine, will be even worse as time goes on. Easier to find 14" rims (or any spares) when you don't NEED them rather than try and locate the week you are down due to tire failure.

[dhbfaster]

Dennis, what size are your tires now?

[ew1usnr]

Dennis, what size are your tires now?

Hello, Don.

I have Milestar brand tires, size P175/80/R13 .

Milestar Tire.jpg

“Milestar MS75 Passenger tire is offering a comfortable ride with excellent handling and incredible low road noise. The wide circumferential grooves are to avoiding hydroplaning offering you a stable all year round ride. The Milestar MS75 tire employs a contemporary tread pattern with quality styling queues like the pattern name imprinted into the tread face. Entry level price with quality performance and styling.”

See: http://www.tiresall.com/Milestar-MS7...S-WW-A-S/1392/

[dhbfaster]

Wow, what a find. I looked all over for that size and couldn't find them any more.
Jeff's advice is no doubt sound, and I may give in one day, but I'm trying to keep mine mostly Origional including these tiny wheels. I do think I might give in before paying $800 for 4 Coker tires however. My tires are 185 70r13....and they are a nice tire and in great shape but small. 23.2" in diameter. (According to http://tire-size-conversion.com/tire-size-comparison/ )
My spare was trash, so I bought a spare that is a 165 80r13 and had it put on after the wheels were painted. It's 23.4" diameter. 0.2" bigger, and I can tell the difference in the look. The coker bf Goodrich bias ply are 23.78". I think I'd rather go the quarter inch bigger...and do 175 80r13.
Dennis, I think you found the perfect last set of tires for our cars! I think I might buy a set after I get rolling again...maybe next spring.

[ew1usnr]

Hello, Don.

Having 14-inch wheel would give a lot wider choice of tires, but doing that would mean buying five wheels. The price of five wheels would cancel any cost saving on the tires. Going to a bigger wheel would also alter the accuracy of the speedometer and require a gear change.

The general fashion trend for automobiles has been towards bigger and bigger wheels, but I will be in the minority and say that I like my 13-inch wheels. They weigh less, take up less room in the trunk, give the car a lower profile, and they are what the car came with. They may be an unusual size now, but they used to be extremely common. My 1981 Plymouth Horizon had 13-inch wheels. And I gotta have white walls!

The V-8 Falcons have 6.5-inch wide rims and the six cylinders used 6-inch wide wheels (I think). Whenever I replace my present Milestar tires, I will try the Maxxis MA-1:

Maxxis MA-1.jpg

The wheels used on the Sprint hardtop model are 6.5” x 13”.
The Maxxis MA-1 185/80R13 whitewall tire will fit 5” - 6.5" wide rims. “The Maxxis MA-1 is the perfect touring tire for almost any passenger car. With an attractive design and solid construction featuring double steel belts, solid center rib, advanced tread design to resist hydroplaning, and a stylish narrow (3/4”) white sidewall with serrated black sidewall.”
SKU: 700403, Tread Width: 5.40, Section Width: 7.40, Overall Diameter: 24.70, Load Index: 90, Speed Rating: S, Max Load Capacity: 1323@35PSI, Rim Width: 5.00 - 6.50.
See: http://www.cokertire.com/maxxis-185-80r13.html
Amazon has them for $104.89 each with free shipping.

[MacDee]

When I installed my front disc brakes, I had to convert to 14" wheels. The 185/70-14 tires I got are EXACTLY the same diameter as my original 6.00 X 13's.
I didn't want to lose the look of the wire wheel covers, so I found a 14" set on e-bay. Turns out they were from a '63 Galaxie. I just swapped in the center "knock-offs" from my 13" wheel covers. Voila! Fourteen-inch Falcon wire wheel covers!

Before/After pics: