Well have done a fair bit since the last post. Fuel & brake lines and rear axle fitted. Engine bay fitted out, wiring harnesses mostly in, firewall insulation pad on, etc. What I'm sure is no surprise to more Mustang experienced people than I, is how many necessary fasteners are missing even when you've bought all the AMK "Master Kits"...
I wanted all screws located in the firewall in, as they all help hold in the insulation pad on etc. So I needed to install the Windshield Washer foot pump gizmo. Another sub-system I'd forgotten to tidy up along the way... Not fitting that delays trial fitting my "Perfect Fit" AC system's box under the dash. (something I'm keen to see).
So into the foot washer pump. Only fitted in 1967 & 1968. A curious gadget as it brings its washer fluid inside the cabin so any leaks could cause wet carpets and eventually rust. An odd choice given previous (and subsequent) years had a simple electric pump. However I do like the way it provides an intermittent wiper function to add to the factory 2 speed system. For those unfamiliar, a quick dab on the pedal releases a sprung double pole switch, that makes one cycle of the wipers then parks them. They also squirt a decent amount of washer fluid too, but on that score I'd rather have an electric pump foreword of the firewall somewhere... And yes there are several types of electric pump kits available, however they don't provide a discreet switch, and some look messy, so I decided to go stock for now.
I thought of one way which combines stock appearance and an electric pump that I may build one day. Using a simple starter push button switch mounted through the foot pump bellow's base plate, using a couple of big fender washers. That can activate a discreet electric pump mounted near the bottle, yet retain the wiper switching function. Anyway I digress.
So heres some photos. I had 3 washer units to do. All with ratty paint / surface rust, 2 with errr "crunchy" sounding switch units, and one that leaked from under the rubber bellows. It was easy to test them using a wee funnel held in my vice and some old tubing. One had its arm's pivot point rivet squashed end, half knocked off. So I decided to explore the unit a bit by removing the rivet. They use a semi tubular 3/16 rivet with about 42mm under the head, semi eclipse style head. These are easy to buy except these days only in the US or the PRC it seems. Which means blowing $20-30 AUD for a pack of 10 when only 1 is needed... Bugger! Anyway an M5 stainless cap screw replaced that for now. Far better fastener anyway. I may pick some of the rivets up when I'm back in the states for work. Just to get that one OEM correct. Postage being 1/2 the cost... Anyway masked and media blasted ready for priming.
I removed the switches, as they all needed to be inspected and cleaned.
They revealed grease on the contacts so that was replaced with new dielectric grease. 2 were quite dirty inside. One with sand (beach car?). Anyway all clean now, lubed and tested. I believe you need this switch in place to allow the wipers to park regardless of whether you have a functional pump. You can buy new contact kits in the USA (WCCC have them for $30 USD).
They were attached to the frames with little semi tubular rivets, so the cases were likely attached prior to the insides being added.
Re-attached using little pop rivets. Not 100% OEM looking but basically invisible anyway and if you're really fussed you could always fill the shank hole in the head with a dab of knifing putty and touch up with a silver paint pen. These switches were not at all sealed from dirt, with a big gap around the nylon plunger. Hence the much I found inside 2 of them... I found what looked like the remains of a thin foam pad around one switch's plunger hole. So perhaps when new that sealed around the plunger to keep dirt out. I'll look for some adhesive rubber / foam to replicate that.
Anyway on to the guts of them. The rubber bellows etc. They can split and leak (available for around $25-35 AUD) but in my case the bellows were all good, and the leak on 1 was from around the threaded shaft of the nylon plinth they mount over. They used what appears to have been a standard rubber tap washer to fill the gap between the OD of the base of the shaft to the ID of the hole in the bellows. Anyway here they are apart.
The nylon threads on 1 of mine was burred. So I guess a new bellows had been fitted at one time. Its a common UNF thread (sorry I forgot the size, but maybe 5/8"?) so that was easily cleaned up. The plastic hex nut that contains the 2 hose barbs likewise is worth gently running a lubed tap through while you're at it. I used silicon spray as lube. Good for nylons / plastics / composites etc. I replaced the tap washers (all the old ones had gone hard). They should be about 3mm thick to match the rubber bellows hole thickness of approx 4mm. (as the lip of plinth where the washer locates, sits up about a mm from the wide flat section). The inside of the plinth / screw mount (whatever you want to call it), actually has a squared off shape inside its fluid passage. (like a potentiometer shaft). Good to hold it still whilst threading the plastic barb nut on, but alas with the Bellows installed you cant reach it!
But there is another way to stop it moving... Use an F / G clamp to compress the actuating lever / arm down to the frame, as if you're pumping the lever with your foot. Fully compressed there is just enough tension to do up the nut. So anyway they're assembled! Testing wise, 2 were leak free, one dripped a bit. So I took the advice of a mate in TX and used some black Sikaflex 227 around the base in-between the bellows hole and the washer. Left it go off overnight and voila! Leak free. Final step was fitting new pedal rubbers ($5 each), and printing up new PN tags. Fomoco used plain paper tags it seems. Nothing vinyl or glossy about them. Anyway done!
Amazing how much they fetch on eBay etc. I guess they're getting rare? Unrestored, untested, un-warranted examples going for $130-$350 USD today! Crazy!
Ah well at least I have a couple of spares. No fun installing them though, a bit tight down under there. I recommend fitting the wiring plug BEFORE tightening the 4 self tapping screws.
