Mechanical woes

[John Heisley]

Just joined the forum. Is there a technical site? I just bought my '58 Retractable a couple weeks ago. Got a manual online, started working on the top mechanism. Can anyone help with a problem I'm having? The top linkage isn't working right,The lift jacks go full stroke but the top only starts to retract at the end of the cycle and is only about 6" off the deck when the screw jacks are full stroke. ??? Any body run into this? I noticed that equalizer bar is bent, maybe it got in a bind the first time I tried to retract it? Is the bar supposed to be straight? Thanks for any help! JH

[Ddave]

I'm certainly not an expert on the top but am working on mine. The bar should be straight. My top would go up and down when I got the car - see my web page on my rebuild. http://dunlavy.us/1959ford/index.html
My plan is to completely rebuild the top mechanism. Some pictures are on my web site - Rebuilding Pictures - Top
There is a video of me exercising my top - under videos. Dave Dudt sent me instructions to strengthen the top rear area. I am following those instructions and will have some pictures of the addition of the steel pieces soon. Will put more up there today. I would watch the operation while someone else operates the switch and think you should be able to see where the problem is. It does not sound like a trivial problem. As you can see my project came with all the wiring and switches out of the car. Dave suggested in my case the bushings in the lifting mechanism might be worn. They were very worn and have now been replaced. I expect to re assemble the linkages soon. We will operate the motors manually while we are getting the mechanical limits adjusted. The wiring is quite complete and we are assembling it on the bench mocked up. I'll try to get as many pictures of the operation as I proceed because I have found they are of great help. To see my previous restoration projects you can go to my home page - http://dunlavy.us/
The tab Autos allows you to choose previous Ford reconstructions.
I am just a hobbyist and don't do this for a living. Please feel free to call me (563-three-873736)and visit about your project. One last thing, my project is to build a "driving car for pleasure" - therefore, my emphasis is on making it work reliably, not to meet factory specs.

[silverbird58]

the counter drop over links are missing? or spring assist cylinders are Both Stuck (collapsed? )