engine bay questions

[ELTBIRD]

Yesterday I removed the cruise bellow assy. behind the carb for better access to continue cleaning, painting etc. Way down on the fire wall, pass. side in ths tranny tunnel I found this round tube with,a sort of rubber cover that was falling apart. Not the tube just below the heater motor. It's below that. What is this?

[ELTBIRD]

Here's a pic. That's a brake line running across.

[redstangbob]

That is what's left of the rubber cover for the A/C condensate drain, most are deteriorated like that. Good Luck, Bob C

[ELTBIRD]

A drain for the evaporator?

[redstangbob]

A drain for the evaporator?

yes. here's a different view. also notice the nipple for the tube that supplies air to the blower motor.

[ELTBIRD]

Thanks Bob. I will be looking for that evaporator drain rubber nipple. Merry Christmas!

[ELTBIRD]

Can't find that rubber cover, nipple, what ever it's called. If anyone has a source please let me know.
Driver's side rear intake manifold bolt holds a spring bracket. Should that be blue, black, natural? Also the NSS harness has a rubber (crumbling) coated clamp but not attached to the upper left bell housing bolt as it should be. Okay, so I removed the bolt to attach it but the clamp hole is too small for the bolt. That was a head scratcher. So much for the thought to be easy stuff. I had to drill the clamp hole to 1/2" to fit. I would rather replace it with the original rubber coated one with the right size hole if it is available. If someone has a source for that, please let me know. Thanks! Ed

[Rt.146]

"By the way, the steel power steering line was also secured to the neck of the power steering pump with an adjustable crimp type clamp, unique to that application. It held the steel line in the correct orientation, so it was routed around the face of the left valve cover and connected to the rubber hose above the intake manifold, along the inboard side of the left valve cover. This clamp is another item that too often was lost or discarded by mechanics and is missing from the vast majority of Thunderbird's today. The clamp was used in both 1965 & '66".
[/quote]

My lines do not look all that secure with your description and picture of clamping it to the power steering pump and another clamp at the oil filter adapter, I think I will have those lines secure.

[Scott6T6]

Ed, the accelerator return spring anchor bracket was mounted on the engine before they were painted so it got painted blue. By the way, both the accelerator return and kickdown springs were painted satin black.
There were TWO steel 'J' clips utilized to secure the NSS wiring harness. One at the left rear valve cover mounting bolt and the other at the upper left bell housing bolt. The clips were not the same. As you noted, the 'J' clip at the bell housing bolt was unique and had a larger hole (I believe it was 1/2" in diameter) to accommodate the bell housing mounting bolt and the bottom of the clip was squared off. The valve cover clip had the left corner cut away at 45 degrees, so it fit into the bolt recess on the left valve cover, and it had a smaller hole for the valve cover bolt. Nobody reproduces these clips to my knowledge, so your only option would be to locate used ones if your originals are missing. Both of those wiring clips were originally painted satin black and the 'hooked' end had a heavy rubber coating.
Scott

[ELTBIRD]

Scott, Your pictures and attention to detail are absolutely amazing. Thank you! Nice to know, as I go, that there will be answers to my sometimes mundane questions. If anyone has these clips please let me know. I will have more questions about the firewall thruway for hoses, wires etc. Workng the engine bay from back to front. Gonna be a long but fun winter! This forum is the best.

[Scott6T6]

Ed, thank you for the compliment. My '66 Town Landau is an extremely well-preserved survivor, so most of what you see in my photos is original. Plus, I have gone to great lengths to replace anything that had been changed out over the years with the factory correct parts.

Tomorrow I'm going to visit a friend of mine who has parted out numerous Thunderbird's over the years. He has all kinds of used small parts like the wiring clips that he's saved. I'll find out if he has any of these particular clips.
Scott

[Scott6T6]

Here's a shot of the steel 'J ' clip that was located at the upper left bell housing mounting bolt - used to secure the NSS wiring harness on those '66 Thunderbird's equipped with the C6 transmission. This clip is hard to come by and as far as I know was only used in this location. Ford part # 354925-S100. S100 designated a 'special finish'. In this case that may have been the black paint and the rubber coating on the hooked portion of the clip.

I removed this clip many years ago from a '66 in a salvage yard. At that time, I restored it and took this photo of it. Sorry Ed, I no longer have it.

The wiring clips at the front and rear of the left valve cover are far easier to come by - used that is.

[ELTBIRD]

Thanks Scott,
More great info! Looking forward to hearing about the clips.

[Scott6T6]

Ed,
I spent a couple of hours this afternoon at my friend Blakes place looking through drawers and boxes containing all kinds of hardware and small parts removed from Thunderbird's over the past 35 years or so and I'm sorry to report I did not find a single original valve cover wiring clip, nor did I find the one at the bell housing. I was surprised because I thought for sure he'd at least have a few of those valve cover clips - no such luck!

You might want to try Gary Leavitt in California 909-563-0444. I'm pretty sure he has some of those valve cover clips on '66 parts cars he has on his property. The clip at the bell housing is going to be pretty challenging to find as they're very scarce.
Scott

[ELTBIRD]

Thanks for your efforts Scott. Most appreciative! I will check around tomorrow.