In order to fit the International Dragmaster wheels, I had the front rotor hubs turned down a tiny amount for clearance. Since these were not disc brake wheels, caliper clearance was very tight. The wheels worked fine, but I had to direct the guys balancing the wheels to keep the weights almost directly on the centerline on the back of the rim or they would interfere with the calipers. The wheels appear to be early-mid 60’s production considering they have no safety beads, and have the large hole for the valve stem.
Well it appears I got a few things out of sequence, so here are a few topics I missed that happened a bit earlier:
I eventually picked up a chrome hood latch to go along with the chrome radiator deflector panels. The chrome is driver quality, but was cheap and looks good from five feet away.
When it came time for air conditioning, I removed all the original GM engine brackets and replaced them with Alan Grove Components. I had these powder coated gloss black before installation, and many years later they still look great and fit perfectly. I didn’t take any pictures when it first went together.
To increase cooling capacity, I installed a Be Cool radiator picked up from Summit Racing. Being a cross flow design, the installation was somewhat of a pain because the lower outlet is above the passenger side frame rail. The hose has to leave the radiator, turn right, go down then back up to the water pump. I always ran an outer hose over the lower hose to prevent chafing between the frame and the lower hose. Once running, I immediately discovered the radiator had a pinhole leak near the upper hose outlet. I took it to a local radiator shop for repair, and they said it was a very poor design and wouldn’t work on it. Not sure if it was inherently a bad design or they weren’t good at fixing aluminum radiators but since the truck was my daily driver, I sent the radiator back to the factory for repair and had a new core fitted to my Impala radiator which was quickly reinstalled. The Be Cool came back repaired some time later, but was never used again. It was the most efficient radiator I’ve ever owned. When the thermostat would open, the coolant would drop five degrees immediately. But the lower hose was a pain to deal with, and since my other radiator proved adequate the Be Cool unit sits in the basement. It was installed for such a short period of time it appears I never took any pictures of it.
An Old Air Hurricane air conditioner was installed and turned out to be a huge disappointment. Here’s a shot of the interior when it was first installed:
For starters the heater was for warm weather climates only, not North Idaho where winter temps frequently drop below zero. Without adequate heat the defrosters were useless in cold temperatures. There was also an internal defect in the diverter valve directing air between the defrosters and the floor. It would latch so tight in one position or the other it could not be operated with the original dash controls. I switched to a choke cable, but the valve snagged so hard it tore the T handle off the cable. I had to resort to operating the lever with a wrench from under the dash which wasn’t very convenient.
The fan motor burned up twice. Old Air customer support was fantastic. They were very friendly and supportive and replaced the first motor promptly at no charge. When the second motor burned up, I wasn’t interested in a replacement, and rewired the system to utilize a fan motor from a Pontiac Fiero instead. The most annoying feature however was a loud shrieking noise emitted from the compressor at about 2500 engine rpm. I took it to every shop in town trying to discover what was wrong with it, and after spending hundreds of dollars having it purged, charged and lubricated with no improvement, I finally tore the whole system out and threw it in the garbage. In addition to never working well, I got sick of the mess under the hood. Here’s a picture of the engine compartment right before it was removed:
Years later a forum member advised the compressor may have had a bent shaft causing the noise. Amazingly none of the professional A/C outfits ever suggested that might have been the cause of the racket. A decent diagnosis might have saved the system and the investment.
While the A/C was in place I discovered a need for an electric fast idle solenoid. An Edelbrock EDL-8059 was installed and tied in to the A/C controls.
Whenever the A/C was switched on, the solenoid increased the idle speed. After the A/C was gone, I realized how convenient it was to use the fast idle solenoid independent of the choke valve. So I wired up the solenoid to a dash mounted toggle switch (along with an indicator light), and control the idle speed and choke separately. On all but the coldest mornings, the choke isn’t needed. Just flipping on the fast idle electrically keeps the engine running fine until warmed up.
In all the years I’d owned the truck, the dash knobs remained a mix of new and old mismatched junk. For years I tried to buy a full set of 49 Ford knobs or early Cal Custom chrome ball knobs, but never found any worth buying. Most were rusty, chipped, dented or dull. Here’s a photo of the type with vanes on them for better grip. I wanted the other type that was completely smooth.
So I went with a set of dash knobs from a 1960 Galaxie. They were black with stainless highlights and blended well with the interior. They had a nice grip shape, and finally they all matched.
All was right with the world until I went to a local Goodguys show and discovered the Clayton Machine Works ball knobs:
Since I had recently invested in the Galaxie knobs I wasn’t too enthusiastic about replacing them, and especially at $15.00 each. So I stewed about it. The following year I was looking them over again, when I discovered SoCal Speedshop had also released a similar knob at less cost and with a longer shank that was almost a duplicate of the original Cal Custom knobs. Here is one attached to a switch:
They became a must have, and quickly replaced the Galaxie knobs. The knobs that could be salvaged were handed over to my son who happens to own a 1960 Galaxie.
Here’s what the new one’s looked like:
