Rookie's First Restoration Attempt...

[mrvette]

The son of the owner I bought my house from up north, stored his Mustang project in the work bay for a month....kid hated loosing that garage....his project was very similar a total resto...'66 stang as I recall, similar to one next door with a sad ending.....

and a old buddy bought his daughter a '71 light blue Mach 1 convertible white top and interior, to go to college in, broke a bunch of hearts, cute blonde....

:lol::lol:

 

[BBShark]

.........white can with red lettering if I recall correctly.....

That's SEM brand. If prepped and applied correctly, that stuff will last forever.

 

[big2bird]

Just a thought. Do you think its a good idea to use 40 year old wiring? If it was me I would replace it with the wire with the newer type of coating on it instead of what they used back then. Old wiring could crack as your bending it back into place and you don't need a fire at this point of the build.

You bring up a good point. I have found Ford wiring looms that are total trash after 30 years. Bad quality insulation.
I have found wiring from GM to last longer, although, as Gene stated, heat will embrittle it, such as the fusable links around the starter.
I say if it looks good, and feels soft, use it, But do use caution, and if it cracks as you reinstall it, it's done and MUST be replaced. $$ or not, if it burns down, it's rubble. Expensive rubble.

 

[turtlevette]

Just a thought. Do you think its a good idea to use 40 year old wiring? If it was me I would replace it with the wire with the newer type of coating on it instead of what they used back then. Old wiring could crack as your bending it back into place and you don't need a fire at this point of the build.

You bring up a good point. I have found Ford wiring looms that are total trash after 30 years. Bad quality insulation.
I have found wiring from GM to last longer, although, as Gene stated, heat will embrittle it, such as the fusable links around the starter.
I say if it looks good, and feels soft, use it, But do use caution, and if it cracks as you reinstall it, it's done and MUST be replaced. $$ or not, if it burns down, it's rubble. Expensive rubble.

Yep, bad wiring blew a 747 to kingdom come.

 

[Rod75]

Just a thought. Do you think its a good idea to use 40 year old wiring? If it was me I would replace it with the wire with the newer type of coating on it instead of what they used back then. Old wiring could crack as your bending it back into place and you don't need a fire at this point of the build.

This thought crossed my mind also. This just isn't a place to be frugal! Now's the time to plan ahead on electrical as well.
I've got a few ideas, if you want shoot me a PM.
:beer:

 

[stinger12]

I used SEM Color coat - the stuff is great. Absolutely no cracking and no fading from handling; it feels and looks like brand new vinyl.

 

[stinger12]

I started rebuilding the heater box today.

 

[stinger12]

 

[stinger12]

Here are the studs mounted back in place.









Another repair...

 

[JE Caudle]

You should change your user ID from stinger12 to MrFiberglass.
Great work as always!

 

[stinger12]

Here is the heater box painted.



And here is the finished repair on the corner.



I sandblasted and painted the seat latch release mechanism for one of the seats. The other seat's latch (and the strap) is destroyed...so I'm now in the search for one of those.



I also finished the console wiring harness. Mike labelled every wire for me off the top of his head...that guy is unreal.

 

[stinger12]

Binnie "donated" his rocker panels to me (once again, thanks a bunch Binnie!). They were in awesome shape. I decided to go one step further and puttied the dents in the panels, then I primed them.



I also cleaned up some of the t-top hardware.

 

[stinger12]

I finished cleaning up the t-top hardware.



I also did a bit of fiberglassing!



Mike ordered my Dewitts radiator this week. He also got the AFR heads for the engine.

 

[MYBAD79]

Mike ordered my Dewitts radiator this week. He also got the AFR heads for the engine.

wow ... I thought you were on a budget ?? Buying some high dollar parts there

 

[stinger12]

Mike ordered my Dewitts radiator this week. He also got the AFR heads for the engine.

wow ... I thought you were on a budget ?? Buying some high dollar parts there

I am on a budget. I wouldn't have been able to purchase the radiator without the help of all the forum members who have sent me money and parts over the years.

Mike also insisted that this engine deserves a quality radiator. He doesn't want me to cheap out on the rad for one reason - it isn't worth the risk.

 

[stinger12]

Jeremy made a mistake.

I primed the rocker panels a week ago with some spray can primer...which did not harden. I have no idea why...I shook the can forever to get it to mix before spraying.

I ended up stripping everything and starting over. This time I sprayed it with some K36.



I also fiberglassed for 4 hours last night...I'm almost done the inside of the rear bumper, which is a major milestone!

 

[MYBAD79]

what's the purpose of glassing inside the rear bumper? the transition to the fenders ???

 

[stinger12]

what's the purpose of glassing inside the rear bumper? the transition to the fenders ???

When I bought the bumper this thing was paper thin...I'm all about strength. I also want this thing to stay in place when I'm driving...I don't want it changing shape on me once there is paint on the car.

 

[stinger12]

I need to thank forum member black75 (Jon), for the heater box he sent me for free. Jon, I can't express how much this meant to me! Like I've told you guys before, I never expected to get anything in return from this thread. I just wanted to document my progress and teach others what Mike has taught me, and what I have taught myself. Binnie just shipped me his t-tops free of charge too (with the interior panels). Thank you Binnie!

Here is what it looked like when I opened the box.





I scrubbed it with thinner and scotchbrite until it was clean.

This tab was broken, and there was a hole in the face of the cover.





I glued the piece back on with this glue to hold it in place for the time being...



Then I v'd it out...



I masked it, then glassed it with epoxy resin and matt. I carefully sanded it back into shape.







Here is the other repair.





I primed the rocker panels with K36 this time. Sanded with 320 grit, then painted them.







Its too bad most of the panel will be covered up by the sidepipes, because these things look perfect!

PS: Mike is being featured in the next issue of Auto Enthusiast magazine. Its about flippen time he's hit the magazine rack. Way to go Mike!

 

[JE Caudle]

As always, nice work! Your glass work is nothing short of art.
Standing by for your next post!