I think the vacuum release was to prevent driving the car with the parking brake on. I think putting the transmission in Drive, Low, or Reverse automatically released the parking brake. I would bet that even back then most drivers didn’t bother to set the parking brake. They just put the car in Park.
Oh, I think I understand. When you put the automatic trans in P, the parking brake set automatically? Then it automatically released when you shifted to D? I can see some advantage of the first part, as it guarantees the parking brake is set. But I’ve never had any trouble remembering to release the parking brake or found the effort to do so much of a burden. But an automatically setting parking brake, that makes some sense.
The automatic parking brake release was also common on Cadillacs in the 1970’s and '80’s, not an unusual or mysterious feature.
There are many vehicles today that both apply and release the parking brake automatically.
It’s a convenience, that’s all. Not a necessity. You put the selector in drive or reverse and the parking brake releases, it eliminates a movement on the driver’s part. People (like me) willingly pay for things like that. As for only being able to afford a basic Ford, I’m reminded of a colleague. His two sons were growing quite large, and he still insisted on having a Ford focus as the family car. I said “get yourself a Taurus so the kids have room” he said “you know what my salary is, I can’t afford that”. I told him to give me a copy of his monthly budget. We’re both finance guys, so that was easy. I looked at his budget and saw a substantial outlay for a 2 week family vacation. I said “knock the vacation down to a couple long weekends and you can easily afford the payment on a Taurus”. The moral of the story, it’s usually more a function if what you choose to spend money on than affordability. My parents didn’t take vacations either, but instead spent that money on Saturday nights at the Copacabana or stork club in Manhattan.
You were close George, it was actually 223 cubic inches.
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@George_San_Jose1 I don’t think putting the automatic transmission in Park applied the parking brake on these Mercury and Lincoln cars of the 1960s, but released the parking brake if you did set it when you moved the selector out of Park. I could be wrong about this.
You are correct, @Triedaq
I had a relative that bought a 1965 Mercury Monterey in 1969 at a bargain price. It was the bottom of the line 2 door with 24,000 miles on the odometer. It had automatic, power steering and power brakes. It had s great ride and the 390 cubic inch V8 provided plenty of power.
I passed over a real bargain in 1965 on a used Mercury Monterey. It was a manual shift and the original purchaser decided he wanted an automatic. The dealer had a terrible time trying to sell an upscale car with an automatic. I didn’t consider that Mercury because I knew people with 1957 and 1958 Mercurys that were really troublesome. What I didn’t realize was that by 1965 the Mercury shared a lot of components with Ford and were much more reliable.
Ok, thanks for the clarification, I corrected both those comments above. The 223 engine in the Galaxy coupe wasn’t the primary performance limitation imo. The suspension system was the limiting factor. It was noticeably unstable at speeds over 75 mph in cross-winds and bumpy roads.
Oh boy. We tried out a 65 Park Lane way back when with the breezeway. I really liked that car but it was -20 out and there was something wrong with the heater. I thought we should get it anyway and they could fix the heater but my folks were gun shy. Beautiful car and rode like a dream. I could have used it for prom. Tan and something with luxury tan interior. Don’t make them like that anymore.
Update.
Got brakes, stage one, done and - SURPRICE - the vacuum release worked flawlessly and the rest also. Got a new pitman arm, now you don’t have to turn the steering wheel 120 degrees between wheel movement, but I cannot adjust the st,box further, so still a good 2 inch “slack”, but boy was it scary before.
Stage two, brake pipes, 4 new(ish) rims a new steering box (maybe) and new rear springs comming up in a few weeks.
Sooo, if somebody would give their oppinion on the brand of the following:
I have a feeling that I can eliminate the Cardone
It’s the rear springs.
I could also use a link (or more) to companies selling quality rims/wheels,
Btw. Engine mysteri solved. It’s a 390 - as it should be - and there has been some tinkering done to it, at a bare minimun a different carburettor, I’ll update as I find out if so wished for. Something has to be done to it, it’s not doing well on the road.
That’s probably as good as new. 1960s US cars weren’t known for their handling in most cases.
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I’m aware of that, but the fact that the adjustment is at its limit tells me that the steering box is basically worn out.
I can get BBB/Vision Ford/Saginaw in DK for north of 900 USD. Ford/Saginaw for 297/Ford resp. 369/Saginaw imported from RockAuto.
which translates into around 450 resp. 555 USD on arrival here in DK.
Thats why I thought of asking this forum.
Have you obtained the correct adjustment procedure? I was surprised at how complicated it was for one recirculating ball steering box I was looking to adjust.
Yes, He came with an old factory repair manual friday. He had all kinds of luck and found one at an American car club in Copenhagen.
That’s true, they are not all that simple to adjust correctly.
Yes. 1960s power steering was vague at best.
I had a 1954 Plymouth when NY came out with an auto inspection law. I took it to a friends garage which was now an inspection station. He picked up the hood and asked me to turn the steering wheel one way and then the other. He then asked me to look when he turned the wheel.
The steering box was supposed to be bolted to the engine. Both bolts were missing and when I turned the wheel left the box just rotated until it hit the inner fender, then when I turned right it rotated until it was stopped by the engine. A little over 1/2 a turn of play. I had not noticed it.