Making all the little widgets work together...

As many current owners of vintage mustangs will tell you, there is no telling what happened to the little car previously or why. If only these cars could talk! A little history that I know about my mustang was that it was a race car. I don't know the wins or loses or even if anyone notable raced in or along side of the fastback. What I do know is people are resourceful. Maybe not correct, but resourceful. For example the little mustang was hit on the front right, not hard but in an accident. When it was put back together, they used 1967 parts! Try explaining that at the auto part store! Lately I have been tracking down small stuff to work the bugs out. For example on a '65 mustang, there is a threaded rod that comes off the clutch pedal into the Z bar at the top then at the bottom, there is supposed to be a fixed rod that connects to the clutch fork. In '66 there was an adjustable rod that connected to the clutch fork. Will it work if they get it wrong? Yeah, but keeping the top and bottom adjusted properly is just a bit too much! The correct part cost $7 today and back in the day was probably a dollar. Still a dollar saved ... There's a lot to getting the little mustang up and running and it takes a little bit longer  correcting other people's remedies!

Whoa Pony!

I know it's been a while since my last post, but know that the restoration is on going - albeit slowly. The past few weeks have been spent on replacing the entire brake and fuel system. I have replaced all the hard lines, soft lines, rebuild master cylinder, clips, wheel cylinders, filters, clamps etc. I know it's not very glamorous, but necessary. Notice that I am replacing the brake system before I even get the engine up running. The fastback is code A with manual factory disk brakes up front and drums in the rear. However the rear is a nine inch axle with traction loc, 10"x2-1/2" pads and factory 3.0 GT gears. Pretty stout for durability and more whoa power! I'm glad I replaced the lines as the originals were corroded and clogged with gunk. Although not correct, I am going back with stainless. Works well, but patience is necessary to seat the flares to prevent leaks.  More photos soon when I get to my desk top...

Spaghetti Westren Part Deux

My original wiring on the mustang worked okay. Back when I was driving the little pony, it only left me stranded one time. However that one time was a doozy. I stopped and refilled the tank, came back to start the car and nothing. No clicking, nothing. I ended up replacing the battery, alternator, voltage regulator and coil. I always wondered why I lost everything at once. Flash forward to today. I am making good progress on replacing the main under dash harness and have ventured out under the hood. I have installed the headlight harness, guage feed and starter solenoid. In the process I have come across many items that have been hacked, spliced and reconnected. My latest item to replace is the alternator feed. Seems someone jury rigged that one too. Sigh! The good news is I have the correct one on order and will get to that little project soon. I feel better knowing that I will have a bone stock, by the book wiring system. I only have one goal - no cuts or splices, please!

Just venting a little...

Venting as in vent windows. Yeah! The vent windows are in! It was a balancing act holding the vent window assembly in one hand and trying to thread a bolt through a hole the size of a thimble with the other hand. They are in, but need adjustment. That will have to wait as I need to install the headliner, roof trim, weather stripping, etc. I also put in the rear window track, so I hope to install the door glass next week. Fingers crossed! I also managed to run the headlight harness through the lower radiator support. Still need to organize that and install the voltage regulator, but at lest I can start on the headlights. Bit by bit, piece by piece...

Grab a box mentality

A lot of people have offered some great advise on restoring my mustang and the order in which to do the rebuild.  Some of the advise I have incorporated, but I have also had to come up with my own survival plan.  I call it, "Grab a box mentality".  It's fairly simple, since I am so crowded for space and am sharing a garage - I grab a box and open it.  If what's inside is something I can put on the car, it goes on. If not, it goes back on the shelf and I grab another box. In this manner, I am trying to install as much on the car as possible to help free up some room! I am making good progress and managed to fit my hands into the opening in the doors to add peel and stick insulation. A simple ten minute job to install the door handle took a little longer, but I hope that the doors don't sound so hollow!

Spaghetti Westren

My Lovely Bride was recently chastising me for not updating my blog, she is a great lady and knows I enjoy working on the mustang when I can.  Recently in the garage I have been installing a completely new wiring harness. I do have the old one on a shelf, but it looks dangerous with all the cuts, splices and rust. In the process of installing the new harness, I am getting an education on reading wiring diagrams. Everything is plug and play and color coded right? Hmm... Thus far I have installed the rear tail lights, reverse lights and ran the harness back to the main. I have also installed the wiper assembly and plugged that in along with a few accessories like the headlight switch, ignition switch, etc.  I am also installing an original emergency flasher system. The bottom tray under the dash is maxed out on wires! I also installed the heater box and controls. While installing the hoses to the box, I added a couple of rubber grommets to get a good tight seal at the firewall. Be sure to use a lot of WD-40 as rubber to rubber contact does not allow the hoses to go through the grommets easily! I am maxing out my time under the dash by adding peel and stick insulation. For my next rabbit trick, I am going find a way to add the peel and stick to the inside of the doors as I hate the hollow sound when you shut them. Things are crowded, hectic and at times over whelming with all the parts, but I am having a lot of fun one or two hours a weekend. Good thing I don't have a deadline! 

Can you hear me now?

Time is a precious commodity, I may only get an hour or two on the weekend to work on the mustang - so I am making the best of it! Below are some photos under the dash where I have added some sheet insulation. I hope to keep the car a little cooler and maybe cut down on some of the road noise. I took a photo of the top of the cowl where the wiper pokes through. My car actually has some putty formed into a tube to seal the top and bottom layers of the sheet metal. I guess the factory felt this would help cut down on leaks? Anyway, it took some effort fabing a replacement. I know it may be overkill, but I also added insulation to underside of the cowl. I certainly hope it is worth the effort!