Topic: 67 289 AC Idler Pulley Finishes & Rebuilding

[J_Speegle]

............. It can be seen in Jeff's drawn illustrations................

Note - Only the bracket is shown in the illustration.

The cast iron brace in the picture is the lower fixed idler minus the pulley.

Agreed that that bracket is shown.

Guess the question could be made - was this bracket and pulley used through the whole production year and can we find another example that would confirm its use?

BTW not finding any 390 examples with that lower fixed pulley

[J_Speegle]

Page 7-35 of Mannels book shows the lower fixed idler and it's placement.

Grabbed my copy of Bob Mannels book and found the caption that goes along with the picture mentioned

"a new fixed pulley (a) was used on all cars with the new A/C systems except the Mustang and Cougar" how ever by 3/67, even the Cougar and Mustang began using them.." apparently there was a TSB that went out suggesting it be added to earlier produced cars

So I guess (IMHO ) that helps allot and explains why we're find originals without as well as factory documents without the detail and others with the feature 

So reading this Richards Nov 66 car would not have originally had the fixed pulley is what I take away from this discussion and investigation

[Bob Gaines]

Grabbed my copy of Bob Mannels book and found the caption that goes along with the picture mentioned

"a new fixed pulley (a) was used on all cars with the new A/C systems except the Mustang and Cougar" how ever by 3/67, even the Cougar and Mustang began using them.." apparently there was a TSB that went out suggesting it be added to earlier produced cars

So I guess (IMHO ) that helps allot and explains why we're find originals without as well as factory documents without the detail and others with the feature 

So reading this Richards Nov 66 car would not have originally had the fixed pulley is what I take away from this discussion and investigation

Unless it was updated given the TSB prior to being sold to the first owner  . 

[krelboyne]

Now that we have gone down that rabbit hole, it should be mentioned that for 1967 289 engines, there were two different lateral brackets used. Jeff's picture shows the 2nd generation one, which was use well into 1968. It's casting number is C7AA-2888-G. The early cars had a lateral bracket with the casting number of C7ZA-2888-C. The change was around 1/3/1967, depending upon plant I would imagine. The original question on finishes should still apply though.

[67gtasanjose]

Unless it was updated given the TSB prior to being sold to the first owner  .

I was thinking the same thing. Car first sold 10/7/1967 (off Marti Report). I always figured this actual build date 11/02/66 example was used by the dealership as a Demo till the 68's arrived. I do know the AC compressor, being a piston-type, really works those long runs of the drive belts. This car was a Mojave Desert dweller (AC would be running pretty much daily, year round) so I imagine any complaints and subsequent TSB's of this sort were more than likely carried out pre-delivery to the first owner.

I updated my initial post to include a summary of discussion and to help readers avoid confusion (I hope the edit helps readers in avoiding confusion, we'll see)

[J_Speegle]

Unless it was updated given the TSB prior to being sold to the first owner  .

Ya and he could use apply the Caution Fan decal if the car wasn't sold until till 72 or the seat repair campaign fix if the seats had broken before it was first sold. LOL

We've both head the stories on the show field question is always how to restore the car, can you document it and how will the judges (if shown) address it. At least at this point we see that it was not built with that feature nor is it related to a safety defect

[Bob Gaines]

Ya and he could use apply the Caution Fan decal if the car wasn't sold until till 72 or the seat repair campaign fix if the seats had broken before it was first sold. LOL

We've both head the stories on the show field question is always how to restore the car, can you document it and how will the judges (if shown) address it. At least at this point we see that it was not built with that feature nor is it related to a safety defect

  I knew that  would get you going.    Yes if the car was not sold prior to March 67 it could be a viable argument if not then it isn't . FYI anyone driving their car would do well to take note of the TSB regardless on when their car 67 was built. 

[67gtasanjose]

Ya and he could use apply the Caution Fan decal if the car wasn't sold until till 72 or the seat repair campaign fix if the seats had broken before it was first sold. LOL

We've both head the stories on the show field question is always how to restore the car, can you document it and how will the judges (if shown) address it. At least at this point we see that it was not built with that feature nor is it related to a safety defect

WHAT??? My C9 replacement fan shroud came from Ford WITH the "Caution Fan" sticker on it! So that's wrong too!!!! ?    lol!

Yep! It is one of those things I will leave on...but mine will be occasionally driven, NOT Thoroughbred Class, not an example with numbers everywhere matching 100%...I'm working towards a '1-year-old looking restoration' since the car was at about a year old when first sold new. (and budget is better for my purposes of use too ) Regardless,  KNOWING what is wrong with it and accepting that imperfection is a choice. I CHOOSE also to leave the Caution Fan sticker off

[J_Speegle]

........ FYI anyone driving their car would do well to take note of the TSB regardless on when their car 67 was built.

Personal choice if your going to drive the car IMHO - allot of 66- 67  V8s out there that have been used for 50 years without that pulley without issue

[Bob Gaines]

Personal choice if your going to drive the car IMHO - allot of 66- 67  V8s out there that have been used for 50 years without that pulley without issue

I agree 67 on up big block and small block Mustangs all used the fixed idler (minuscule percentage of production that didn't in early 67 ) but many get put together without it and can be run for years without consequence. A/C belt slap is not that annoying but apparently enough of a issue for Ford to spend the money and effort to incorporate the fixed idler pulley into millions of A/C systems shared in a variety of Ford body styles over a number of years. With that said my previous statement concerning the TBS may have merit to some.

[67gtasanjose]

Personal choice if your going to drive the car IMHO - allot of 66- 67  V8s out there that have been used for 50 years without that pulley without issue

True. AC will function either way...with or without the "slap idler" pulley. Something to note on a scientific fact...The higher the "High Side" pressure reading of the AC system pressure, the more noticeable the "slapping" of the belt might be. (the slap occurs at idle speeds for most part). A person running alternative refrigerants should expect a HIGHER high-side pressure reading AND then add any potential of a higher ambient air temperature (say over 100F degrees), you could expect even higher readings than the Ford engineers were dealing with in the 1960's. I've experienced such belt slap on similar long belt drives.
 
Living 21 years in the Palm Springs area and servicing AC systems including being certified for retrofitting early cars to R134-a refrigerant, the experiences taught me a lot...and the one take-away I can offer is FOR DRIVEN REGULARLY CARS, these old compressors work best if retrofit with the Sanden rotary style compressors AND you'll notice GREATLY IMPROVED FUEL ECONOMY while operating on these alternative refrigerants. OBVIOUSLY, this is not at all Concours, so this Modification falls way outside the focus of this forum. A high efficiency condenser is a good idea too, they are now producing one that looks +90% original. There are ways I know to improve efficiency of the old retrofit systems that many are not aware of...MAXIMIZING the air flow through the condenser is the easiest way, but there are other ways too

Personally, I plan to fire my system up on a rebuilt OE Ford compressor with a modern refrigerant oil that is compatible with the newer 134a freon. After it has been determined to be functioning fine on the 134a, I'll recover out the 134a and shoot it up with R-12. I want the system to LOOK antique and original to the year of car it is, so the upgrade NOT worth the change in appearance for my desires.