New '76 Elite owner - into the unknown! |
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Iain
Member Joined: 21-March-2020 Location: England Status: Offline Points: 61 |
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Posted: 21-March-2020 at 6:53AM |
Hi all,
Just bought a 1976 Elite. It's massive (not bloody mid sized!) but that's cos I'm in England. Bought it on a whim, as I fancied a change from my 1983 Capri 2.8 injection which I've had 13 years. The Elite's been in the UK for 3 years, came from Salem (so that's a good movie related thing for me....). Someone has added a 460cui, torker 2, 750 holley, elec pump, C6 box, tube headers, big x exhaust pipes, and magnum wheels which is what attracted me to it (plus it is finest brown in colour, which is ace!). It looks like every car I saw on American TV when I was about 5! It has a few issues, not least a drink problem (not surprising though), a few small leaks (gearbox tail, rear brake cylinder), and a small rumble coming from the rear (wheel or axle - not looked yet). It's big, amusing, and worrying at thesame time.
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californiajohnny
Moderator Group Joined: 05-October-2013 Location: winlock, wa Status: Offline Points: 14606 |
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welcome!
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JOHN
74 GRAN TORINO S&H CLONE 74 VETTE CUSTOM 90 S10 BLAZER 4X4 LIFTED 77 CELICA CUSTOM 75 V8 MONZA SUPERCHARGED 79 COURIER VERT. SLAMMED 75 VEGA V6 5 SPD 70 CHEV C10 P/U 68 MUSTANG FB CONVERSION |
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72FordGTS
Admin Group GTS.org Admin Joined: 06-September-2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Status: Offline Points: 5802 |
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Welcome aboard Iain! A big Elite must be a rare sight in England. We have a few other members from the UK and more from other parts of Europe. You have been upgraded to a full member so you can post some pics of your car.
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Vince
1972 Ford GTS Sportsroof - Survivor, One Family car GTS.org Admin |
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Iain
Member Joined: 21-March-2020 Location: England Status: Offline Points: 61 |
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All pics are upside down, even if I rotate them beforehand, still upside down? Can't fidure it out!
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Iain
Member Joined: 21-March-2020 Location: England Status: Offline Points: 61 |
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72FordGTS
Admin Group GTS.org Admin Joined: 06-September-2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Status: Offline Points: 5802 |
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Nice Elite, that colour really does suit it! I fixed your photo. If you took the photo with a mobile device, it sometimes won't show up on here correctly due to the way a mobile device rotates images. If you use a mobile device, try turning off the screen rotation. If that doesn't work, rotate it with a computer editing program on a computer (ie photoshop, paint, picture viewer, etc) and that will fix it. That's what I did to fix your photo.
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Vince
1972 Ford GTS Sportsroof - Survivor, One Family car GTS.org Admin |
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Conner
New Member Joined: 06-July-2019 Location: Michigan Status: Offline Points: 39 |
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Beautiful Elite
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Conner Van Hine
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californiajohnny
Moderator Group Joined: 05-October-2013 Location: winlock, wa Status: Offline Points: 14606 |
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wow the paint finish is top notch
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JOHN
74 GRAN TORINO S&H CLONE 74 VETTE CUSTOM 90 S10 BLAZER 4X4 LIFTED 77 CELICA CUSTOM 75 V8 MONZA SUPERCHARGED 79 COURIER VERT. SLAMMED 75 VEGA V6 5 SPD 70 CHEV C10 P/U 68 MUSTANG FB CONVERSION |
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Iain
Member Joined: 21-March-2020 Location: England Status: Offline Points: 61 |
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10 foot paint. Looks good in the sun and from a little distance, but there's several shades dispersed around the car! Petty good over all though!
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gpd294
Senior Member Joined: 18-September-2008 Location: Dallas, Texas Status: Offline Points: 2178 |
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Welcome and that Elite does look nice...thanks for sharing
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Carlos....1975 Gran Torino Squire Station Wagon restored to look like a 1973 Torino Station
Wagon my Dad bought new from McAnary Ford on June 6, 1973 in Gary,Indiana |
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handsofstone
Senior Member Joined: 13-April-2018 Location: Northeast Status: Offline Points: 3941 |
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More pics please. welcome aboard.
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Iain
Member Joined: 21-March-2020 Location: England Status: Offline Points: 61 |
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Iain
Member Joined: 21-March-2020 Location: England Status: Offline Points: 61 |
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Found these under the covers. There was a bit of clatter, so had a look to see if I was in for some replacement lifters. Turns out it was much simpler to sort!
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handsofstone
Senior Member Joined: 13-April-2018 Location: Northeast Status: Offline Points: 3941 |
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Bonus multiplier. Sweetness.
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californiajohnny
Moderator Group Joined: 05-October-2013 Location: winlock, wa Status: Offline Points: 14606 |
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nice! chances are they added other goodies in there too
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JOHN
74 GRAN TORINO S&H CLONE 74 VETTE CUSTOM 90 S10 BLAZER 4X4 LIFTED 77 CELICA CUSTOM 75 V8 MONZA SUPERCHARGED 79 COURIER VERT. SLAMMED 75 VEGA V6 5 SPD 70 CHEV C10 P/U 68 MUSTANG FB CONVERSION |
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handsofstone
Senior Member Joined: 13-April-2018 Location: Northeast Status: Offline Points: 3941 |
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That is probably easy to see if the cam is a roller. Must have been a nice ride home once your initial fears never materialized.
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Iain
Member Joined: 21-March-2020 Location: England Status: Offline Points: 61 |
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I think that may be an issue. I have no idea if the cam has been changed for anything different. Is there a way of checking? Other than seeing how far the valve spring compresses? I'm assuming standard lifters too, as the motor doesn't sound too loud in that respect. |
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handsofstone
Senior Member Joined: 13-April-2018 Location: Northeast Status: Offline Points: 3941 |
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I have a tiny endiscope that is a smartphone toy and it fits in many small spaces. It would easily fit down into the lifter galley. With a pushrod out you should be able to use a flashlight to peek at the lifters. Roller cam has the lifters linked together I believe. Ither that that maybe there is paperwork in the car with receipts for parts.
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handsofstone
Senior Member Joined: 13-April-2018 Location: Northeast Status: Offline Points: 3941 |
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The camera has a 15' cord and 90 degree mirror adapter and a focus adjustment that is easy to use even while shooting video. I think it cost me $12 plus shipping.
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Iain
Member Joined: 21-March-2020 Location: England Status: Offline Points: 61 |
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Does it now! Haha! Not a bad idea, could do with some more gadgets I don't really need. I'm going to press the push rods down to see if they move as a quick check. If they do, at least I can still set the rockers without needing accurate clearances for an unknown cam. No info came with the car apart from a few listed mods you could most tly see anyway. 460 motor, holley 750, performer intake, C6, and some performance numbers which are unknown claims (465 hp 475ftlb), 3.55 LSD diff, , but I could try to contact the last US owner somehow. I have a name and town, it can't be too hard.
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Conner
New Member Joined: 06-July-2019 Location: Michigan Status: Offline Points: 39 |
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What kind of tires are those?
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Conner Van Hine
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Iain
Member Joined: 21-March-2020 Location: England Status: Offline Points: 61 |
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Expensive over here it turns out (£200 each)! BF Goodrich 275/60/15 on all 4 corners. Makes the speedo read 5mph higher though.
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handsofstone
Senior Member Joined: 13-April-2018 Location: Northeast Status: Offline Points: 3941 |
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You can change the speedo gear to get the correct reading. They are not difficult to change.
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legend onirot
Senior Member METAL GOD Joined: 18-January-2009 Location: hattiesburg ms Status: Offline Points: 3038 |
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welcome! nice car
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malcolm 1973 gran torino sport (formal)... "Stacy Lynn" 1972 gran torino (formal)... "Mackenzie" 1973 gran torino sport (sportroof)... "Leela" |
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