Handegard

Poor car is stuck in the shop! I replaced the replacement lower control arm today, and snapped my swaybar endlink... Oops... I thought nothing of this, having had driven vehicles without one or both of them in the past. I figured I'd just drive it home, then come back and replace it today... but noo... I made it 30 feet or so, and when I tapped my first little pothole, something seemed wrong... so I got out and looked, and my tire is riding super close to to my fender... I guess those end-links help a heck of a lot keeping the tire from rebounding up into the fender! So I'll buy a pair of Moog's tomorrow. I'll only install one. Once I get the replacement lower control arm from CJ Pony Parts, I'm going to do the other side... and align it again... I also flushed the brake fluid from the system, it was some of the nastiest stuff I'd ever seen. Must have been damn near factory fill ;)

It's just weird, looking at it and coming to the realization that I needed to do it on the ground ;) I'm just gonna trailer it to work, and put the tranny in there ;)

I've got a AOD swap bracket on the way... So I'm out in my garage thinking about the swap when it hits me... I have to actually crawl around on the ground to do this! I work at a shop and work on cars all day, I've become so spoiled by having lifts and transmission jacks that I dread the thought of having to work on something at home, ah! Oh well, at least it's my Mustang... Couldn't be a easier vehicle to work on at home...

Whats the difference between a '69 and a '70 gas tank? I can't see any, even looks like the same amount of bolt holes. I was planning to give my new (8 years and zero miles ago) gas tank from my '69 to my girls '70, when I noticed magazines listing separate parts for each year. Thanks!

Great so far. I ordered a lower control arm from them around Christmas. I was out of town when it came, and installed it last week when I had the time. Anyway, when I was all done, I went to fill it with grease, and it never made it into the boot, coming out underneath the arm instead from some unseen gap. CJ Pony parts offered to send me a new balljoint for free, but I declined, I'm sending then the defective LCA and they will send me another LCA. (if I have to take the LCA out anyway, I'd rather just swap it) They even offered to pay for return shipping! WOW! They were very helpful, I thought the offer to just send a balljoint for free was very kind, and the return shipping reimbursement was a surprise like a slap in the face. Overall, I plan to buy from them again. I need 2 upper control arms now, and a sway bar bushing, and... etc, etc, etc ;)

I've got to at least say it, if you've got the kind of Mustang where numbers matching matters, why not just keep it stock? Aside from that detour, why not build yourself a nice little 351 or a stroker, and then store your current numbers matching engine? That way, with a afternoons work you can go back to numbers matching, and in the meantime you won't have to worry about wearing your original motor?

Today we taped up a bunch of chrome (even though most of it needs to be replaced) and sprayed some primer around. Much better looking than it was yesterday. Much smoother, and a lot more coverage. Keep in mind this primer is just to make the car look better until I get it media blasted and professionally primed someday. I must say, it looks stunning for having a primer paintjob done with rattle-cans ;) I used Spray Kote Primer and Spot fill btw... Only 4-5 cans total so-far...

Yeah, I did a double take when I confused those two when working on my '85 F250... I noticed a few casting numbers that were D0 or D6 and I imediatly assumed the motor was not original (not that it mattered) before I remembered that those weren't the actual build date... I have been unsucessfull at finding a date code on my current 302, anyone know exactly where it should be hidden?

Oh, I'll finish the project, thats for sure. I've had the car for 8 years, I've been with her for 7... I don't see marriage changing my life one bit from the way it is now, I've lived with her for long enough, and we already have a 2nd daughter on the way... So the only setback is the delay in parts purchasing ability ;)

Well, I decided to order the AOD bracket, without knowing what engine will eventually go in. I'm gonna go for it with the 302 for now, and if I end up changing the engine later, maybe I'll use the AOD conversion on the '70... Hopefully, I will order my bracket when I get home Monday (off with family in mountains right now)

I got engaged and the damn ring sucked all my Mustang budget up. Looks like I'll have to hold off for a couple months on any further spending on my Mustang. To top it off, I'm gonna have to make payments to my dad for not just the ring, but also for a trailer he's giving me, so that I can haul the Mustang to the shop and back for more work...

Well, it depends on the state, I know here in WA the State Patrol will issue you "Registration in Doubt" and you can register the car for three years. If no one steps forward in those three years to claim the car, they give you a title at the end. I have to do that with my '69, even though my Grandfather was the owner. He doesn't have the title, and they can't do a lost title search more than six years back, and mine was last registered over 20 years ago...

Car is sitting, awaiting a new lower control arm and ball joint anxiously! Once the holidays are over, I plan to drop the transmission, replace either the front pump seal or the rear main (somethings leaking) and re-seal the oil pan. While I do that, I'll do the transmission filter and re-seal the pan, then flush it with fresh fluid (not a power flush, nor with any additives, just a 100% fluid change) Tonight I'm going to head to the shop and do a transmission filter/pan gasket on my F250.... Well, it's 3:45am, so "tonight" isn't the correct phrase...

Any noticeable difference for a daily drive that is never pushed hard? I'm going through any and all pieces with rubber one by one and replacing as i go... these caught my eye...

Oh, and to add, I did search around a bit, and came up with some numbers 15.4' long and 5.9' wide. I'd just trust it more if someone here confirms it. I'm sure some of you have trailer shopped, and can at least tell me the length ;) I'm sure I'll do fine on width (I know the trailer is about 6'6" but length might be a issue....

Anyone know the length and maximum width of a '69/70? I don't have anyone to help me measure right now and I'm dying to know ;) I want to see if it will fit a trailer I might go look at tomorow that has sides, so width is important. I don't plan to open the doors, so it only needs to squeeze on, I'll climb out the window. If the dimensions the guy gives me match up with the dimensions I get from you guys, I'll go look at it.... I'm psyched, if I have my own trailer, FAR more work will get done on my '69 by dragging it to the shop every weekend!

For those who care, CJ Pony Parts has the lower ball joints available for ~$20. They are meant to be riveted in in place of the current ones. I found them while browsing for a control arm/bushing combo! I ended up ordering a new arm though. It's taken so long because I was trying to get a cheap one, some Open-Trackers are something I wanted, but I didn't have the money to shell out on the '70 just yet, and didn't want to slap a $50 Moog on only to replace it in six months ya know. CSK was looking for one, they said they "had it in stock, but couldn't find it because of changing warehouses" (they just got a brand new warehouse up here) and they finally called and said "yea, we can't find it, sorry"

I just picked up a few more cans of Plasti Kote Primer. This stuff is awesome, but a little pricey. I'm going to get the whole car primed, just to keep it uniform. I plan to get it running and be driving it first, then do the body work and paint as I get funds. I'd rather drive it in spray-primer than have it look great and sit in my garage collecting dust.

Automatic or manual? The portion of the transmission that bolts to the engine is called the bell-housing. Fluid should not be in there, if there is fluid coming out, it's either oil from a rear main or casting plug or transmission fluid from a front pump seal in the tranny. To fix any of the above, the transmission (or engine) needs to come out. Bot are relatively simple, aside from the whole "removing the transmission" part...

I think you should see if there is a reputable independent exhaust shop in the area and talk to them a bit. I'd call a independent repair shop or two and ask them if they have a exhaust shop they recommend. Loud is fun... for awhile ;) My goal is to have the best flowing exhaust setup I can get, while still maintaining a fair amount of silence, with a good bit of "rumble" But if it's not a daily driver, and you want loud, some glasspacks could easily give you a real nice sound all by themselves :P

Yeah, I know for a fact I have the skill to make one, but for some reason I just don't want too.. dunno why... But my grandfather gave me the money to order the part, so I might as well.. Once the part is sitting here on the desk, it will motivate me to get out and get it installed, as opposed to being forced to motivate myself to drag the car down to the shop and try to fab one.... I'll wait a few days to se if I can get a homemade one off simplyj or someone else, then I'll order... Thanks though...

Hmm... That might suffice, temporarily if nothing else.... I was nervous about making my own because I didn't want my transmission to sit to high or two low, and tip the engine forward or back... Let me know for sure. I might pull the trigger sooner and buy one, but I'll try to hold off... I found some other brackets on eBay from NE Performance Mustang that are less than $100... but they look a little cheaper... Anyone buy from NE Performance Mustang before?

My searches led me to http://www.transmissioncenter.org/classic_mustang_to_aod_conversion.htm And I'm leaning toward the tubular bracket #94XM, anyone know why the (seemingly less-sturdy) #94X costs ~$50 more? Any other suggestions? For now, I'm mostly interested in just the crossmember. I'll be buying the linkage and speedo-parts later.

Are there any? I was curious if anyone has stumbled across a company who makes a rear window with a defrost element in it? Or maybe a kit to add one? It's such a simple device, I'm surprised I can't find a way to add it... My '70 has the factory "Defog" which doesn't do much, but my '69 doesn't have it...

So far this week I've made more progress on the '70 than '69... I replaced what looked to be a factory thermostat... Gee, they don't make'm like they used to! Replaced upper, lower, and bypass hoses, flushed the coolant. This evening, I'm going to go use silicon to seal the temporary floor pan job we did untill I weld it when I get bigger pans...