69RavenConv

Here is a Happy Thanksgiving wish to everyone here.

They usually start building "next year's models" around July or August. For example, I heard a radio ad today enticing me to go buy a 2019 RAM pickup.

Mine turns 50 tomorrow.  I guess I have resurrected it from near death....
  Built in Dearborn, November 17, 1969.  Rescued from the graveyard, March. 2013
Headed to paint in 2019
 
 
 
 
 

Boy, things have changed. I've pretty much gone into the "I'm going to do this the best I can" mode. This could be the last major project car I can do, I am not getting any younger or in better health. I really wanted to do this with a 69 Mustang Coupe, but odds are that will never happen.
I ended up scrapping the 89 Mustang. Decided that since ultimately I want a big V8 I might as well just do it now. So I bought an 89 5.8/351W from a Ford Van. Seller had already stripped the van, was going to use the engine in a project but is moving and can't store it right now. Came with a C6 that I was going to use, but after hearing about how bad it would fit and again realizing it wasn't what I wanted, I am going to sell it, along with the EFI (including the computer and harness) and am looking at a T5. I figure that an 89 shouldn't be too hard on a T5. Eventually I will need to go with a TKO of some sort, but I'll wait until I really get into the engine. I have bought a Quicktime Mustang II bellhousing that will fit the T5 and a TKO down the road. For now I am just going to use a used 4bbl Edelbrock carb I have for the Ranchero. Bought an Weiand Stealth intake already. Also a Summit HEI distributor for it. I wanted to avoid having to use a box with the ignition, hence the HEI for now, but here I had to compromise on cost. We'll see if that comes back to bite me later.
Got the largest aluminum radiator that Speedway makes. Might have overdone that, bought it without measuring, but since I don't have to worry about fitting it into the radiator support it won't be a big deal.
Oh, I bought rear 5x4.5 rear axles from a place called Dutchman Axles. These are made for the Mustang II rear end.
Speedway still has the front brake kit on back order. But I went ahead and got a new master cylinder for 4 wheel disk brakes, and two proportioning valves. One that has the distribution block, brake light switch, etc, and one that is just a valve that can be turned to zero if needed, as I have heard that sometimes the other prop valves don't have enough adjustment. Going to be using 2002 Crown Vic rear disk brakes. Was for the Ranchero, but I can always get another set later.
Oh, I did something I thought I would never do. I bought a 21 ckt Painless universal wiring kit. Decided that it would be easier to start with that than to try to piece together something, especially at the price of just the fuse boxes. I will be heavily modifying it though. The fuse box is NOT going under the dash! But it is a good starting point. And I won't have to worry about 40 year old wiring. And it was on sale.
Summit and Speedway must be loving me right now. I've spent like $3500 in the last month and a half. 
Need to get a trans so I can get the engine mounted properly. Need to get the rear axles bushings pressed on, but I need to dig out the instructions for the CV brakes to see what else needs to be done at a machine shop.
Taking today (thursday) and tomorrow off from work, was hoping to work on the Pinto, but I have to work on our Subaru instead. So if nothing else, I am taking Jan 4 thru 11 (I think) off to concentrate on the Pinto. Still facing the March deadline. But if I get real progress made, I think we can renegotiate that a bit.
Ok, probably way more than anyone here cares about. So I will stop here for now.
 
Thanks,
Russ

Happy birthday! Hard to believe these cars are half a century old!

Celebrating the 50th birthday of my mustang today. I purchased it over 10 years ago from Oregon and shipped it to Australia where it’s had a well deserved restoration. I hope I look this good when I turn 50 in a couple of years lol.
 

I would like to give a big shout out to RPM ,not many people would take the time out to go look at a vehicle for some one  ,Thanks again Bob

An update: yard is now cleared, house has been tarped, and insulation, ceilings and any mold is being removed.  Phone, cable, and Internet service is not expected to be restored until Thanksgiving, so if you want to get ahold of me, please be patient.
 
Thanks.

I want to do one with a elictric reduction motor .When i sand blast i have to shut the blaster down to spin it ,electric motor i just hit the button

He was out trick-or-treating on the birthday no doubt.

Wow, that guy's still around? I had his 8-track back in high school, who knew he was in to Mustang parts.
 
 

https://youtu.be/UqImonFarVw   I wasn't sure if this vintage Ford intake manifold would work with my shaker hood assembly until it was installed.  See how it worked out.  Ray

The advice above is all good. I did my own and it came out great but it was probably as much luck as skill. Take your time - a lot of time - test fit everything 3 or 4 times and do it where it is warm. Take the WCCC videos with a grain of salt. They improvise a technique on tape and everyone assumes it's the way everyone does it. 

That's always a possibility. These were inexpensive cars built to be inexpensive 50 years ago. Lots of slop in the build tolerances, LOL. 

Randy called, said they rode out the hurricane from home with his wife and 5 animals! No power or phones. No trees for 3/4 of a mile around his home. 60% of his shingles are gone. 
 
He's definitely got a lot of work ahead of him. After seeing the pics of the damages, and his proximity to Panama City, I was a praying for him. 

Shep is referring to a common upgrade that many people do - put short pieces of pipe around the bottom of the tubular tracks.When the window goes down, the metal brackets hit the pipes and travel stops. The pipe meets the brackets, not the glass, which doesn't stress the glue joint.
The factory design (seen in the picture above, directly above and below the PLAY icon) has a metal piece glued to the bottom of the glass which hits the rubber bumper bolted to the curved piece welded to the door. The flaw of this design is that torque on the window crank stresses the glue joint, working to separate it.

Shep is referring to a common upgrade that many people do - put short pieces of pipe around the bottom of the tubular tracks.When the window goes down, the metal brackets hit the pipes and travel stops. The pipe meets the brackets, not the glass, which doesn't stress the glue joint.
The factory design (seen in the picture above, directly above and below the PLAY icon) has a metal piece glued to the bottom of the glass which hits the rubber bumper bolted to the curved piece welded to the door. The flaw of this design is that torque on the window crank stresses the glue joint, working to separate it.

One caution with the WCCC video is the bracket position on the glass is different between Cougar and Mustang.  This video states 1" from the edge.  Mustang is 3/4".  I know because I used the 1".  It still works since the guides are big enough.  But its best to use the right dimension.  

I'm guessing they started squeaking?

I've often thought the rear license plate frame would be a good spot. One could route the wiring in parallel with the license plate lamp. Frames around the license could be modified ad nauseum without affecting the integrity of any of the car's real sheet metal.

Hopefully this will work:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/119782062078232/permalink/262949424428161/?sale_post_id=262949424428161
or try this
 

Guys, we pride ourselves on keeping a polite and respectful site. Differences of opinion are normal and to be expected but please don't make it personal. If you want to continue discussing A/C options, I'm all for it. If it degenerates into more bickering I'll lock the thread and we'll all move on. We're all here to learn from each other. 
 

Guys, we pride ourselves on keeping a polite and respectful site. Differences of opinion are normal and to be expected but please don't make it personal. If you want to continue discussing A/C options, I'm all for it. If it degenerates into more bickering I'll lock the thread and we'll all move on. We're all here to learn from each other. 
 

Tough call. There aren't a lot of '69 Mustangs still wearing their original paint and that 50-year-old patina has a certain charm. OTOH, it's hard to argue against the incredible mirror-finish of a fresh, modern two-stage paint job. If it was me (and it isn't), while I kinda like the cherry red, I'd probably keep the black jade.

Thanks for all your hard work Ben. It's a thankless job but we all appreciate you keeping this site alive.