Hey everyone,

I recently acquired a 1969 Ford LTD with a big block 429 in it. The engine has been very well taken care of, partially rebuilt, but the suspension is pretty much shot because of the weight of the car. My question is this: Where can I find a repair and maintenance book for this body? I have found a book for continuing the engine rebuild, but since there are some major body and suspension issues, I would like to refer to the original manual if possible. I tried searching conventionally on the internet, but was unable to find anything.

My right door panel is dented, and makes opening and closing difficult. I would like to manually remove the inner door panel to see if I can bang out the dents myself, but when I tried to remove it last night, I only got as far as pulling off the side and lower clinchers that hold part of it on. It seemed like the handle section was locking it on somehow, but I couldn't figure out how to get the sucker off without damaging the panel. Is there a way to get the damaged outer panel off alone? It might be that if I took the entire door off that I could possible do that but I'm not sure. Any help with this would be much appreciated.

Next, my front right coil spring is broken and needs to be replaced with a new one. I want to just go ahead and replace both of them while I'm at it, and I would like to do this myself as well, but I am assuming I would need to get her on a lift in order to do so. This being because my buddy said that he wouldn't get underneath her when she was jacked up for a million dollars. I guess getting crushed by an LTD that slipped off a jack wouldn't be a very fun way of going out. Anyway, if you have any suggestions for a best way to remedy this please let me know.

Lets see, lastly, there is no right side mirror... is that normal? The paint seems to be original and there are no mount holes for it... I guess I could have a custom one put on there- Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!
Parker

 

The right side mirror issing is normal. Some models came without and the passenger side mirror was an optional accessory. I wouldn't hesitate to climb under an LTD if it were on proper jack stands while properly supported (many good lifting areas on these old cars) and I grabbed and tried to shake it first to make sure it will hold. Honestly you'll want to know the load rating of your jack and stands compared to the cars weight to be sure they'll hold up. I've worked without a lift for over 20 years and I can say it's only as safe as you make it. Extra stands never hurt in case it would slip. You will need a very high lift shopjack to support it in order to drop off the front suspension and coil springs. You also need a spring compressor to get the coils out and put them in. As far as the door panel - go from the inside to take out the dent. To remove the panel some armrests have screws on the underside and built-in clips that once you take the screws out you must slide it a particular way to remove. Also the panels may be connected to the inner glass felt/cats whiskers which may require it to be pushed up and out for removal. Moving the window glass up, down or bothmay help depending on the car. The best places to find a manual that old would likely be a flea market, auto show or Ebay. Probably lots more places I'm not thinking of. At any rate if you want to I'll bet you can do the job. Just don't forget to be safe and read the weights and weight limits.

 

Also with the door panel - clips often connect the back of the panel to hols in the door - they need to be located and pried out of thier holes while being careful not to damage the panel too much. You might try an online search engine and type in Ford LTD or something like that to find more information online.

 

Goingstrong, thanks so much for your replies! I was able to get my door panel off and bang out the dent by hand. I found the screws inside the armrest and got it all done myself in record time!
I will look into getting jack stands for the suspension work - But may have to just go ahead and have a shop do that bigger work for me. My next question, however, is with the motor. I have a 429 Big block, and her idle is off. When running in gear she's smooth in the timing, but when idling it dips low in the revvs rythmically. The same everytime, vvvvvvvvvvvrrrrRRRRRRrrrrrvvvvvvvvvvvvrrrrrrRRRRRR rrrrrrrrrrvvvvvvv, etc etc. Is there a way I can get at this problem single handed? Let me know what you think, thanks again -

pDetch