59 EDSEL 2.3 Turbo 5 Speed Conversion

[slowmover]

Bias tires are lousy, and not the whole story:

Put it on a scale. Total weight is always interesting, but axle weights are informative. A standard sedan from mid-century and later tended to be 56-44% of weight (with single driver and 3/4 fuel). FF/RR brake bias, alignment, etc, will want checking not just tire size and type. Shock absorbers can be sourced by the MONROE catalog where dimensions are known, and the weight of other vehicles checked against the same set of necessary specs. Spring changes can probably be done with the services of DETROIT-EATON. For this I would also try to get side-to-side weights (drive on one side of weight scale), as drivetrains were not always centered in the vehicle, and springs sometimes made to take this into consideration.

Really enjoyed the video, cars had great dashboards once upon a time. I miss the long hoods of cars I once owned, or grew up around. Pleased to read your continuing work.

[amcpacer]

I ordered some Kuhmo Solus HM KR-22 tires in 195/70-14 tires on TireRack. They are supposedly low rolling resistance and have a 6 year / 100,000 mile limited warranty. If they last half as long then that will be great. When they arrive I intend to add the whitewall paint. They are about 2" shorter in diameter than the 8.00-14 tires.

The gas gauge does not work yet. I found the fuel float potentiometer always reads empty. Autozone has a replacement on order that should remedy the issue. They also had in stock a set of 4 shocks for the car that I hope to install later this week.

I am still daily driving the car and it is a total joy. I finally ended up getting rid of that dangerous single piston master cylinder. I bought a 1967 Ford Mustang dual piston master cylinder and installed it. The swap was effortless. The swap required me to unhook the rear brake line and extend it to the front most port on the master cylinder. The open port at the distribution block was then capped off with a 1/8" NPT plug. This car does not have a proportioning valve and instead has a distribution block. I flushed the old fluid and air bubbles out of the line with a vacuum pump, one wheel cylinder at a time. The brakes work quite well, except now with the added safety of a dual circuit system.

I also added an electric fan controller. Advance Auto parts sells the universal controller. Fairly easy install and the set point is adjustable.

Currently it is not easy to keep track of fuel economy. It does not have a working fuel gauge and the speedometer drive gear is not the correct size. The new properly sized drive gear and fuel sending unit should arrive early next week. The only partially scientific fuel economy test I have performed is a complete fill and top off in Eugene followed by a road trip to see a friend in Tigard (just south of Portland). I used a GPS device to monitor driving speed. About 105 miles passed when I filled up again and topped off the tank all the way to the filler neck. It accepted 4.49 gallons which would amount to 23.39 miles per gallon. I made much of the trip in 4th gear since 5th brings the engine RPMs to a shuddering low RPM approximately idle speed. I really need to get a tachometer. I think those new smaller diameter tires will help make 5th gear useable. As soon as all of the support items are in place I will start keeping a fuel log.

Check out my pictures and videos!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH84yl_Oh8E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y9c2e1wsYw

[robertwb70]

Man that is cool, I'm really enjoying this thread

[bhazard]

+1

This car rocks.

You might try a 'ranger roller cam' swap for a little more low end torque. Look it up. I believe its ground for a little more low end power, and its also a roller cam, so less friction.

2.3's dont like low rpms. Thats why you have a hard time getting around in 5th. The ranger cam, advanced timing (maybe an MSD system?) and synthetic fluids might help, but you probably just need some shorter gearing. I could usually get usable power down to 1700 or so, but thats with a 3400-3600 lb car fully loaded.

[NHRABill]

Sounds like you need to change the rear gear ratio.. You will then have easier less stressful starts and actually be able to use 5th. Do the Math when the tires are mounted on the car measure your tire height get your rear gear ratio and look up the transmission gearing ratios get to calculating many online tools to help you there and find out what speeds each gear will be used for. Changing the Diff gear is easy compared to the swap you already did or bring it to have someone do it for you gears are cheap and its an easy job.

[lowglider]

I`ve used a calculator and the difference in the gear ratio between 8.00-14 (215/75/14) and 195/70/14 is 7.3%.

[amcpacer]

I got the new tires installed and now the car works great! 5th gear becomes useable by 55 mph and it is easy to take off in first gear on a hill. I like the low RPM highway cruising that the 3.1:1 axle ratio offers. The new tires do not look good on the car because of the black sidewall. As soon as the rains stop I will paint the sidewalls white.

A serious transmission problem came up while driving yesterday. The speedometer suddenly stopped registering while traveling on the highway. I pulled off and removed the speedometer cable and found it was in perfect condition. Next I removed speedometer gear and found it was also in good condition. Finally I stuck my finger in the transmission and discovered the big speedometer drive gear on the transmission is totally missing. Damn T-5 transmission! How does a drive gear simply disappear from the ouptput shaft? I am not looking forward to taking the transmission out of the car.

I installed the new fuel tank sending unit so the gas gauge works correctly now! I was able to calibrate the gauge by adjusting the solid state voltage regulator that I had substituted for the old 5V bi-metallic strip thermally controlled regulator. While changing the sending unit I could see a lot of rust inside the gas tank. That must be why the fuel filter before the pump periodically clogs. The great thing is I found rockauto sells a replacement tank that fits 1959 Ford Fairlanes for $190 shipped! It looks the same as the Edsel tank and appears to have the same measurements.
More Information for SPECTRA PREMIUM F34C

I wish there was a way to fix the transmission speedometer gear without disassembling the entire case. I bet the drive gear somehow shattered and is in a bunch of pieces in the bottom of the case. Without a speedometer there will be no way for me to know the car is going 88 miles / hour. GPS speedometer may be affected by the interference that the Ford 5 speed flux capacitor generates.

[EdKiefer]

Originally Posted by amcpacer

I got the new tires installed and now the car works great! 5th gear becomes useable by 55 mph and it is easy to take off in first gear on a hill. I like the low RPM highway cruising that the 3.1:1 axle ratio offers. The new tires do not look good on the car because of the black sidewall. As soon as the rains stop I will paint the sidewalls white.

A serious transmission problem came up while driving yesterday. The speedometer suddenly stopped registering while traveling on the highway. I pulled off and removed the speedometer cable and found it was in perfect condition. Next I removed speedometer gear and found it was also in good condition. Finally I stuck my finger in the transmission and discovered the big speedometer drive gear on the transmission is totally missing. Damn T-5 transmission! How does a drive gear simply disappear from the ouptput shaft? I am not looking forward to taking the transmission out of the car.

I installed the new fuel tank sending unit so the gas gauge works correctly now! I was able to calibrate the gauge by adjusting the solid state voltage regulator that I had substituted for the old 5V bi-metallic strip thermally controlled regulator. While changing the sending unit I could see a lot of rust inside the gas tank. That must be why the fuel filter before the pump periodically clogs. The great thing is I found rockauto sells a replacement tank that fits 1959 Ford Fairlanes for $190 shipped! It looks the same as the Edsel tank and appears to have the same measurements.
More Information for SPECTRA PREMIUM F34C

I wish there was a way to fix the transmission speedometer gear without disassembling the entire case. I bet the drive gear somehow shattered and is in a bunch of pieces in the bottom of the case. Without a speedometer there will be no way for me to know the car is going 88 miles / hour. GPS speedometer may be affected by the interference that the Ford 5 speed flux capacitor generates.

I am going totally by memory but you may be able to remove tail off to expose output shaft . The speedO gear is plastic and only held on by clip AFAIR .
To remove tail section , remove shifter and 4 bolts on tail. then you see shaft to shifter block, this is held in by a pin .just use punch to remove spring pin.
Then remove lower mount and the tail bolts to main case and pull off .First drain oil of course .
Its not hared to do but at end it maybe easier to pull it out totally so you can do work on bench, it would depend on how much room you have by tunnel of car .

[texanidiot25]

The Khumo Solaris isn't a bad tire for how cheap it is, but I wouldn't have used it for making white walls... If they still have that ugly sidewall design, it's going to be a weird looking tire.

Good tire, painfully ugly sidewall.

[amcpacer]

I agree about that Kuhmo tire being ugly. It has huge letters with a bunch of lines that form a hideous design. I plan to use a grinder with some 400 grit paper to carefully sand the lettering off of the tire and then use acetone to wipe the sidewall clean and then add the Krylon Fusion satin white paint.
http://www.sporttruck.com/techarticl...ing/index.html

EdKiefer thanks for the advice on the transmission repair. I was looking at the transmission and rotating the driveshaft and the output shaft seems completely smooth. Apparently that clip that you mention must wedge the gear in place. If this is the case then it is possible the gear may still be present but has slipped forward or backward. Perhaps there is a way to push it back in place and to drill and tap to add a set screw without taking the transmission apart.

Bhazard, I like that advice on the ranger roller cam. The cylinder valve system seems to work great and is quiet however that roller cam with less lift and friction should be a plus for efficiency. Do you use this cam in your T-bird?