gas guage - Ford Forums

kidtaurus · 10-23-2001, 07:20

First I would like to thank you guys for all the help I have received so far. I just got a 68 mustang coupe for my b-day and am starting to restore her. The previous owner told me that the gas guage didn't work. Is there any way to test to see what is wrong, and how do I remedy this?

s-code · 10-23-2001, 07:33

Congrats, you lucky #*@!*#$@!.

Just kidding. What is it a coupe, FB, convert. Give us all the details, engine, mods, everything.

As for your gas guage, welcome to the world of 30 year old mechanicals. Currently my Tach doesn't work, but I have just been to lazy to do anything about it. When you say it doesn't work, what do you mean. Is it registering incorrectly?, or not at all?

kidtaurus · 10-23-2001, 09:32

Well its a 68 coupe w/200 cu in. i don't know what that converts to in liters or the hp or torque ratings are. She is bone stock. Future plans: rebuild the engine, maybe some wilwood 4 piston brakes and convert the rearend to 5 lug bolt pattern drums. Any suggestions on how? Oh the gas guage doesn't work at all. I just wanna drive around her maybe later,way later a 302 and t-5 swap.

s-code · 10-23-2001, 09:54

Cool man. Got any pics yet?

As for the motor, when you talk about classics, it's alway cubic inches, never liters. That's one of those new fangled methods.:D

On the brakes, as long as you feel comfortable with them, there is nothing wrong with drum brakes. I personally have 4 wheel drums and no power either. Kept in good shape, drum brakes work just fine, you just have to remember they are drum brakes and they are different to disc.

As for the gas guage. It could be as simple as a loose connection behind the dash, to the guage itself is bad. I would try for the connections first. Remove the front of the guage pod and check your wires.

kidtaurus · 10-23-2001, 11:41

No pics as of yet, but I should have some soon. I am going to try and see if it is the connection. BTW do you know the hp and torque rating on the 200 cu. in. ?

s-code · 10-23-2001, 11:49

Code T
Cyl 6
disp 200
carb 1V
HP 120@4400
FT-LB 190@2400

hawkrod · 10-23-2001, 11:54

hi, saw your post. good start on a nice car i am sure. there are several ways to go about checking the gas guage. the easiest way to start is to remove the wire on the sending unit (forward lower side of gas tank, where the hose goes in) and ground the wire ( a piece of wire with alligator clips is the easiest, but make sure it gets a good conection on the ground side as the chassis of these cars tend to have lots of undercoat, paint, and road grime). if the guage goes up whan the wire is grounded then the sender is bad. if the guage stays at the bottom you need to work back to the guage. the next spot to check is above or behind the kickpanel on the drivers side. there is a plug set that connects the tailight harness to the dash harness. unplug the connector and ground the yellow gas guage wire and see if teh guage goes up. if the guage does not go up it is time to pull the instrument cluster and check the guage to see if it getting power (it is 6 volts by the way, the little electrical box on the back of the instruments is a voltage regulator for the instruments and drops the voltage). as for 5 lug wheels, the easiest is to get the rearend and front spindles and brakes from another mustang that came with a V8. second choice would be to get front disc brakes and rearend from a granada (it all fits but is more work) or get all the stuff from a maverick. good luck, hawkrod

s-code · 10-23-2001, 13:26

Hawkrod, you are new to the boards, so let us say welcome!!!

Way to jump in there and start answering questions.

hawkrod · 10-23-2001, 14:35

hi s-code (i assume you have a 390 gt). i have been around for 20+ years but just found this forum recently. i have been a mechanic at a lincoln mercury dealership, i am a trained auto shop teacher, started my own restoration business in 1984 (and have done work for brizio's, don garlits, and vic edelbrock just to drop a couple of names), started manufacturing repro parts in 1989, was a senior judge for the CCOA, ran the XR7-G registry in the 80's, was a con******t on a restoration guide put out by the early V8 ford club, have written numerous magazine articles and books about fords, and currently i am restoring two cougars (a 68 s code XR7-G and a 69 428 CJ)and modifying a 62 t-bird landau. my hobbys include knitting afghans and oh! wait thats wrong (not to mention not PC!). actually i have a scathing sense of humour and i sell vintage car parts for a living. my blood is primarily blue but well you know....whats your story? hawkrod

PS here is a pic of the bird i am building. i just dropped in a new 390 and put the 16 inch wheels on it. 4 wheel disc brakes are in the garage. and the car is at the body shop getting a coat of black suede right now.

kidtaurus · 10-23-2001, 19:10

Thanks,I will be trying all that you suggested this weekend. As far as the brakes Wilwood qouted me for around $700 for 4 piston brakes, probably non-powered, but with 4 piston I don't Think I will have any problem braking.