Engine trouble in a 1969 Mercury Monterey

[ziggy_prime]

I have having trouble with my 1969 Mercury Monterey. It has a 390 2v engine in it, and is an automatic transmission.

It started not too long after I purchased in about three months ago. It had sat, undriven, in someone's garage for about 20 years. It has 56k miles on it, so I happily set about driving the monster around town. The only issue at the time was that it would not start in park, only in neutral.

About two weeks later, a hose on top of the engine ruptured. It was a coolant host, easily replaced. But, after that, the engine kept overheating. Finally, it died on the side of the highway, and I limped it home, trailing big clouds of white smoke. By the smell, I knew I was burning antifreeze.

The car sat again, for probably a month and a half, in front of my house. Finally, I drove it around the block. It had stopped smoking, and seemed to be running okay, save for the very rough idle and the odd start up.
It takes about a minute and a half to get the engine to start, and then it dies. Start it again, and it leaps to life, as if nothing was wrong.

I drove it about five miles in city, and the upper radiator hose blew. I replaced the hose, the thermostat and gasket, and noticed that the vacuum valve on the braket had a broken arm. I repaired it with JB Weld, made sure that I had not blocked the passageway, and reassembled. Now, the idle is improved, but the car is still blowing clouds of smoke.

Any ideas on what I can do to repair it?

[macktoschool]

Wow, JB Weld? Couldn't find Duct Tape? Dude, replace the broken arm. As far as the smoke goes, it could be a couple of things. Does your motor have an EGR Valve plumbed into the air cleaner housing? If yes, then check to make sure it isn't stuck. If the smoke is white, then you are getting water into the combustion chamber. Blue is oil, black is too much fuel. I would backflush the cooling system, and do a leakdown test with the engine warm, and cold. Compression check wouldn't hurt either. Post the results and good luck.

[ziggy_prime]

Originally Posted by macktoschool

Wow, JB Weld? Couldn't find Duct Tape? Dude, replace the broken arm. As far as the smoke goes, it could be a couple of things. Does your motor have an EGR Valve plumbed into the air cleaner housing? If yes, then check to make sure it isn't stuck. If the smoke is white, then you are getting water into the combustion chamber. Blue is oil, black is too much fuel. I would backflush the cooling system, and do a leakdown test with the engine warm, and cold. Compression check wouldn't hurt either. Post the results and good luck.

Tried to replace it, but no one here stocks it anymore.

As far as the rest, I will try. The smoke is white, and I have been told it most likely is either a blown headgasket or cracked head. I will try to run the checks you have recommended, but I am an amatuer mechanic.

[MagicRat]

Lesson learned, when one coolant hose goes, replace them all.
I have resurrected my share of cars in storage a long time. After a rest of 20 years or so, all belts, hoses, tires, flexible brake lines and all fluids need replacement.
Mack's advice is spot on. Let us know, if you don't mind.

[topdog2]

sounds like a blown head gasket to me. if it is, and you do the work, get ready for a HEAVY intake manifold. it make up the top half of both heads. it,s easer to pull the hood, so you can get up in the engine bay, and pick stright up,and get some help putting it back on,so you don,t mess up the gasket. hope this helps.

[CatchAFlyer]

I also have a Monterey. In fact, I just started it up after leaving it sit for about 6 years. Once I messed with the points a little bit, amazingly, it fired right up.
But, back to the point....I have the same exact problem as the original poster regarding starting my car. In order to start it in Park, you have to put a little pressure on the column shifter to push it a little further into park.
There must be a problem with some sort of electrical contact in this particular model. Does anyone taken the stearing column or anything apart to figure out what the issue is and figure out a fix?

Oh yeah....I've got you beat on number of original miles....I've only got 18,590 on mine. It was the classic little old lady that drove it to church situation. I know...b/c it was my Aunt's car. She had only put 9,000 !! miles on it in about 17 years. I doubled the number of miles in a couple of years but then basically let it sit for about 20 years. It's in pristine condition. No rust, no tears.