[Virgil & Sue Klein]

I personally would use a 10W-30.  When I lived in Southern California I always used mulit-viscosity oils eventhough it rarely got below freezing.  Oil will deteriorate just sitting in the engine and may look clean on the dipstick (a good thing) but may have drawn moisture from the atmosphere.  Condensation can be a problem for oils although modern oils have additives to help with that.  Be sure to use a quality filter as well.  I prefer Motorcraft but have used Purolator and Fram as well.

[Virgil & Sue Klein]

There is a ton of debate right now in the old car world about what oil to use in the older engines.  It appears that emissions requirements have caused zinc to be removed from current gasoline motor oils.  Zinc is said to be a necessity for older engines to prevent excessive wear on cam lobes and lifters.  Many owners are now using Rotella which is a diesel engine oil but has the lubricants, detergents, and other additives needed in gasoline engines.  Other diesel oils would have the same properties.  There are also zinc additives available at parts stores I have been told.

Viscosity (thickness) is also an important consideration.  This would be the “weight” of the oil, as in 30 weight or 10w-40 weight.  The higher the number the thicker the oil.  20 weight oil is the recommended viscosity in many late model engines but I would not use it in an older engine especially one with alot of miles on it.  I live in Nebraska and use 10w-40 in my ’55 which is the same basic engine design as your ’54.  I use a mulitviscosity oil because of the cold weather we have but I get the thickness of a 40 weight when things warm up.  I happen to come from a “Texaco” family and we are great believers in Havoline.  The brand is currently owned by Chevron however.

Do you need a synthetic?  My personal opinion is, “NO”.  Most of us don’t put enough miles on the car between oil changes to justify the additional expense of a synthetic.  I don’t think you would hurt anything using a synthetic oil except your wallet.

The most important thing you can do is change your oil and filter at least twice a year and more often if you drive alot or in adverse conditions. 

Non detergent oils would not be great choice either.  They are still available  but do nothing to keep the internal parts of the engine clean.  There is a debate that if you have an old dirty engine that a detergent oil will just gum things up.  If an engine is that dirty, frankly, it needs to be overhauled anyway.

There are many good motor oils out there.  Brand is not as important as API rating and viscosity. So get a quality oil that makes you happy and enjoy driving that ’54.  They are great cars.

[Virgil & Sue Klein]

Suggest you contact Joel or Greg at Mercuryland.  Their website is Mercuryland.com

[Virgil & Sue Klein]

Contact Joel or Greg at Mercuryland.  Their website is Mercuryland.com  I spoke with Joel today and there is a kit to convert your  ’51.  The first year power steering was offered as a factory option was ’53.

[Virgil & Sue Klein]

The exact same thing happend to me when I converted to a C4.  I took the car to United Speedometer in Riverside, CA  (I lived there at the time).  They made a gear box that mounted to the back of the speedometer head to get the proper (well almost) reading.  It actually screws to the back of the speedometer head using a fitting like that on the end of the speedo cable and the speedo cable plugs into the other end.  As I recall it was a bit noisy.  I was looking for something the other day and happend across it.  Interestingly, when I switched the car to a 5.0L with AOD the speedometer read pretty acurately with out the gear box.  Give me a call at 402 461 6080 and we can visit about giving this a try.

[Virgil & Sue Klein]

Would suggest you check out a couple of advertisers in Quicksilver.  Those would be Big M and Mac’s Antique Auto.  You missed the auction at Mercuryland (which is covered in this issue as well) because you could have found what you are looking for there at a very reasonable price.  What didn’t sell is now crushed.

As to the issue with the shift linkage, I am guessing it involves normal wear in the steering column part of the linkage.  Try some lubrication on the moving parts to see if you can free them up a bit.  The problem could be internal to the transmission but it sounds like you are able to get things working under the hood.  Always try the simplest thing first. 

 

[Virgil & Sue Klein]

Joe, there is a membership list on the website.  Just click on the contact tab (upper right on this page) and a box will pop up to access the directory.  (Or at least there is supposed to be.  It didn’t work when I just tried it.)  You can search by location, or year of car.  It is very handy when it is working.

[Virgil & Sue Klein]

I have my ’87 which is an XR7, but not a 20th anniversary edition.  We also have a 30th anniversary edition.  We love both cars and have no intention of parting with them.  Why can’t Ford build a mid size two door anymore?

[Virgil & Sue Klein]

I would assume it would not be a problem.  I have an ’87 Cougar with disc brakes up front and drums on the rear.  The wheels are completely interchangeable with no issues what so ever.  They are the factory wheels.  The spare in this case is a donut.

[Virgil & Sue Klein]

As far as wheels and disc brakes go it is all about the offset.  Just go to google and enter wheel offset.  It will explain the concept in detail.  Disc brakes generally require more negative offset (a deeper dish on the back side) than drum brakes because you have the caliper to deal with.  Wheels that fit on the disc brakes of a car will almost always fit on the drum brakes as well.  For many years cars had front disc brakes and rear drum brakes and only had one spare (usually one of those mini spares, although a ’66 would not have that).  If you know you need a wheel for your ’66 you should be able to find out the  diameter and bolt pattern in your shop manual or at a friendly dealer or tire store.  I’m guessing there is only wheel size for full size Mercs in ’66.

[Virgil & Sue Klein]

The firewall is not black but painted the same as the lower body color.  The balance of the parts you have listed were painted black as noted.  The manufacturers did not buy expensive paint for these parts.  If I had to choose I would go with gloss black which is what I see on most show cars of the era.  Most show cars are way overdone and better than anything the factory could afford to produce.  “Better than factory” is not a true factory restoration, in my opinion, but it is what gets you judging points if that is what you are looking for.

[Virgil & Sue Klein]

I would suggest you look in the member directory on this website and contact one of the owners of a ’54 wagon.  Someone will know the answer but they may never look at the website.  Good luck.

[Virgil & Sue Klein]

Look at Mac’s Auto Parts website.  They show a complete gear set for ’49-’50 Mercury transmission.  The set is $695.  I was also able to find a complete gear set for a ’50 Ford truck (don’t know how much different) at C&G Early Ford parts.  Price was the same.

[Virgil & Sue Klein]

This may never shift as smoothly as you want it to.  Remember you are dealing with gear ratios that are not necessarily the best for the particular set up you have so shifting can seem early or late depending on the circumstance.  I guess I would yank the modulator back out to make sure the threads are not stripped in the case or the modulator.

[Virgil & Sue Klein]

I wouldn’t call a leak in a freshly overhauled transmission normal but then if the spot is only the size of a half dollar (maybe a drop or two of fluid) after driving it I don’t think I would have a big concern either.  If the leak is coming from a specific area I guess I would look at whatever gasket seals that area and replace it first.

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