58 rear upper control arms

[OUR5T8BIRD]

Hi Martin, how is your rear suspension working after replacing all bushings? Do you remember if the upper clappers, which are fixed to the axle with the U-bolts,
are also welded to the axle? On mine at least they are, making it impossible to change the angle of the differential yoke towards the transmission slip yoke.
Did you ever see how much the clappers open up and close down depending on the suspension travel? Even with rubber in between, there still will be a lot of stress put on the suspension arms and bushings. Its probably not for nothing that such a large bolt is used in the clapper connection. I´m interrested in the bulletin for the torque values, could you attach it here?

Frank: Tried to get under the car as much as I could and look with flashlight for now. All parts are powder painted and there is no sign of anything moving around excessively . The axle brackets seem welded to the axle and ' U ' bolts go through it and no movement there .There appears to be a upper arm support with a insulated between them . Both upper and lower insulators are compressed slightly with the spacer ( sleeve ) in between them . Would think the insulators ( pucks ) would need to be of certain size ( thickness ) for proper compression over the sleeve . I may still have the old original for size check . If memory serves me right, one was thicker than the other .

The Bird seems to drive just fine ( for a 60 year old car ) with little if any noise from the rear suspension . ( just a thousand miles since restoration ) .

Must get it up on a hoist one day and take some pictures of the suspension .

[Frango100]

I also have the puck sized rubber insulators, but they are as hard as a rock. According the manual the thin insulator goes in between the two clappers and the thick one below the lower clapper. But on my Bird the distance is that large between the clappers, that they had put the thick insulator in between. And than still the clapper bolts where tightened to make the gap smaller. But this puts a huge amount of strain on all the arms and bushings. I will first see how the clappers behave without the vertical bolsts installed.

[OUR5T8BIRD]

I also have the puck sized rubber insulators, but they are as hard as a rock. According the manual the thin insulator goes in between the two clappers and the thick one below the lower clapper. But on my Bird the distance is that large between the clappers, that they had put the thick insulator in between. And than still the clapper bolts where tightened to make the gap smaller. But this puts a huge amount of strain on all the arms and bushings. I will first see how the clappers behave without the vertical bolsts installed.

Frank, It almost sounds as if the pivot bushing between the two arms is missing on yours .
Just sent the pdf on the rear suspension service letter to Dave and Ray . Ray will probably post it . Can send it to you if I have your regular email address .

[Frango100]

Frank, It almost sounds as if the pivot bushing between the two arms is missing on yours .
Just sent the pdf on the rear suspension service letter to Dave and Ray . Ray will probably post it . Can send it to you if I have your regular email address .

Yes please send it to me: f.engelgeer@td.klm.com. Thanks in advance.
There is a bushing which passes through both insulators, but its a bit rusted.

[OUR5T8BIRD]

Yes please send it to me: f.engelgeer@td.klm.com. Thanks in advance.
There is a bushing which passes through both insulators, but its a bit rusted.

Will send it to you as well . I was referring to the pivot block with a bushing in it that mounts between the two arms, not the metal sleeve that goes inside the insulators ( pucks ) . You will see it in the parts diagram I am sending . ( part # 5555 ) .

[YellowRose]

58 rear upper control arms

I just posted the 1958 Rear Suspension Noise Service Letter in the Technical Resource Library that Martin provided us. You will find it in the 1958-1960 Squarebirds Suspension section. Thank you very much for this information, Martin! I is much appreciated.

[simplyconnected]

...But this puts a huge amount of strain on all the arms and bushings. I will first see how the clappers behave without the vertical bolsts installed.

Well? Did you try running with the clappers empty?

[Frango100]

Well? Did you try running with the clappers empty?

Hi Dave, still waiting for the differential parts to arrive, so for now the differential is out of the car. I presume it will take another two weeks for the parts to be in my hands.
I will do some other upgrades in the mean time, an electrical fuel pump (Carter)for priming will be one of them.

[simplyconnected]

...I will do some other upgrades in the mean time, an electrical fuel pump (Carter) for priming will be one of them.

I'm not opposed to an electric fuel pump, but why?

Your mechanical fuel pump already includes a check valve that is supposed to stop fuel from flowing back to the tank. Simply put, when you shut your engine off, fuel on the top side of your fuel line keeps the pump primed (even if your carb empties out). Fuel in your carburetor bowls should be enough to start the engine AND get the fuel pump going again.

If your car is hard-starting, I would look for the root cause rather than adding 'yet another d@mn thing that can go wrong'. Bottom Line: Your car ran fine for decades without any more than the original pump and carb.

Electric fuel pumps are meant for systems (like EFI) that don't have float bowls or a reserve of gas to squirt into the engine. Electric fuel pumps can deliver too much pressure; more than the carb's needle and seat can deal with. Therefore, a low-pressure regulator may also be needed. (Yet, another d@mn thing that could go wrong.)

Use all your senses when troubleshooting. Pay attention to things that are absent, as well. For example, you crank the engine but it doesn't start... Do you smell fuel, or NOT? Absence of pungent fuel smell might indicate water instead of fuel, or no liquid at all. A short length of see-through plastic in your fuel line will show cavitation, vapor lock or a bad fuel line seal, etc.

You know what you're doing, so be creative and don't be afraid to try different tests and techniques. - Dave

[Frango100]

Maybe in the old days with the old fuel it was working fine, but now every time I will have to crank the engine for at least ten seconds to get it to start. The fuel bowls are just empty every time. Only when I start the engine and don´t let it warm up completely and shut it down, it will start rapidly the next time. So I want/need the electrical pump to fill the bowls and keep it as a back-up in case the mechanical pump fails. (the last just as an added bonus).
I don´t know if the Edelbrock 1405 is also more prone to this problem than the original carburator, but also don´t forget that we have 27% of ethanol in the fuel here in Brazil and the bowls are just completely dry each time. I normally drive the bird at least once a week. But I don´t want to overload the starter and battery and don´t like the extended starting times, so that's the reason I will put on the electrical pump.

[jopizz]

I don´t know if the Edelbrock 1405 is also more prone to this problem than the original carburator, but also don´t forget that we have 27% of ethanol in the fuel here in Brazil and the bowls are just completely dry each time. I normally drive the bird at least once a week. But I don´t want to overload the starter and battery and don´t like the extended starting times, so that's the reason I will put on the electrical pump.

I haven't noticed any problems with Edelbrock carburetors that I've had running dry. 27% ethanol is a lot. I have seen check valves that you can put in the fuel line to keep it from running back into the tank but as Dave mentioned you have one in the fuel pump. Depending on where you are putting the electric pump you may have the same issue if it's related to the amount of Ethanol in the fuel. If the fuel is evaporating even an electric pump may not totally solve your problem.

John

[Frango100]

Hi John. I had put a check valve in the supply line close to the tank, but it didn´t help a bit. Still empty bowls. I will put the electrical pump with its own switch,
just to be able to fill the bowls before the start.
I want to put the pump as close as possible to the fuel tank.
Its a vane type pump, so will not have a lot of suction and should be close to the tank. The pump should supply around 6 psi, which should be ok for the float valves.

[Astrowing]

Mine evaporates in 2 weeks requiring some cranking. If I run it the next day, it starts right up with a bump of the starter. Fords in my experience always start easily.

Once this pesky hurricane goes away, I can get back to suspension arms.

[Frango100]

Mine evaporates in 2 weeks requiring some cranking. If I run it the next day, it starts right up with a bump of the starter. Fords in my experience always start easily.

Once this pesky hurricane goes away, I can get back to suspension arms.

Which carburetor are you running? Maybe the high amount of ethanol over here (27%) is part of the problem.

[Astrowing]

I'm running the original Autolite 4100 carb. Venting could very well be different. In the US, the vapor pressure of gasoline is limited to either 7.8 or 9 psi depending on location and month. They allow an additional 1 psi for 10 percent ethanol. E85 ethanol can go up to 15 psi total so I'm not surprised 27% alcohol has a substantial vapor pressure and hence rapid evaporation.