Len69Coupe

After a lot of reading most people say the stock driveshaft is 51". Some people have gotten away with using the stock and others have had to have it shortened. The difference some have said is the 9" had to be shortened and the 8" should be good. I have the 8", so crossing my fingers. That's a great idea about the driveshaft from an Explorer. I'll keep that in mind. Any idea what years those came from? Does it use the stock size u-joints that the 69 Mustang uses? After a lot of reading most people say the stock driveshaft is 51". Some people have gotten away with using the stock and others have had to have it shortened. The difference some have said is the 9" had to be shortened and the 8" should be good. I have the 8", so crossing my fingers. A friend said there is a shop about 30 miles away that can shorten the one I have. Not sure if they can make a complete shaft. I'll load up the car with some weight and get another measurement and see where I'm at. Thanks for the help.

It came with 5 lug, so I don't have to change that.

I've never messed with diff gears before. I'd really hate to mess up the pre-load and have a screwed up diff. I do plan to eventually have a limited slip installed, so it may be the time to do it if I change the yoke on the diff.

I guess I fit the 200lb weight, but I don't think I can get the wife to do the measuring, lol. Anyone have an idea on what it should cost to shorten the D/S? I've thought about new, but all the ones I've seen (steel) are around $250. Thanks for the help.

Well, I never thought about having everything installed on the car. Right now no trunk lid, gas tank or interior. I guess I'll have to wait until I get everything back on then and measure. Any idea what's the minimum clearance once I re-install everything?

Changing the I6 with 3 speed to 302 with T5. How much clearance needed between slip yoke and trans is required? Trying to figure out if I need to shorten the driveshaft. Pic is with the old slip yoke installed, but I compared it to the new yoke and don't see any difference. I don't want to install the new yoke yet if I have to have the D/S shortened.

Install went well. Thanks for thelp.

Mike65 and aslanefe, thanks for the help. If it goes bad I'll let you know, lol.

Thanks aslanefe. I'll install it that way.

Replacing the I6 with a 302 and have a question on the motor mount. Does the tang go on the bottom or top of the motor mount. I don't want to have the motor half way in and realize I have them wrong.

I'm definitely willing to try the screws, as long as they don't look butt ugly like mustangstofear said. If I can't get them to look right I'll weld the holes and re-drill. Thanks for all the help guys. Len

Cantedvalve, I was truly hoping there was an easier way, probably because I'm lazy. Not really, LOL. barnett468, I was thinking going to larger screw wouldn't work because of the size of the hole in the sill plates. Wouldn't a larger screw not fit in the plate properly. I don't know what a Wurth is? Online store?

Any tips on repairing sheet metal holes that have been stripped. Specifically talking about the door sill holes. Can't really install larger screws I don't think. I've always fixed stripped wood by inserting a toothpick and then installing a screw. I thought about trying to stick a piece of welding wire in the hole and then the screw, but I'm not sure if that work or last. The car is completely stripped right now and I thought maybe weld the holes up and drill them back out. Seems like a PIA though. Any tips?

Thanks for the info guys. I was scared it was pot metal. I'll figure what to do about the broken tab.

It's a mystery. I'm sure I thought when I removed it I'd remember. Wrong! Lol. So Caseyrhe's post did remind me I do have a tab broken off on the headlight bucket. Anyone know what the bucket material is? I'm guessing aluminum. I just won't to make sure it can be welded back on before I take it somewhere.

Caseyrhe, nope, nothing broken of the fender. Unilec, I think you're correct, sure looks like one of those hangar parts. Thanks gents.

Hmmm...trap door? Is that in a Sportsroof? I have a coupe.

Going through my stuff looking for my parking brake cable connector and ran across this part. Went through all my photos of disassembly and can't figure it out. It was with my rear bump stops and parking cable hardware. Any ideas? Never did find my parking brake cable connector :( I just know as soon as I order a new one I'll find the old one.

Nice job. Thanks for the pic.

Mike65, where did you mount the reservoir?

Thanks guys! I think MDL could do a little better on their instructions, or I'm just dense ;)

Started looking at the install for the MDL Hyd Clutch Master Cylinder install. Instructions have me confused because they start off talking about converting an Auto Trans Car and the pics don't match my manual car. Should the master cylinder use the stock clutch hole? Don't want to start making new holes when it would seem the stock clutch hole would be the place to install the cylinder. Any tips for installing the system? Couldn't find any good videos of install.

Thanks Brian. I appreciate the info. Now I can finish the install today. Len

So finally getting back to assembling the front end. When I removed the strut rods the bushing cups concave side faced the bushings. Now I'm installing synthetic elastomer bushings that are supposed to be softer than polyurethane, but better life than rubber. Bing searches reveal some photos of the rear cup with the concave side (convex against bushing) facing the rear of the car. People have said this helps reduce the stress on the strut rods. What's the right way? Here's the bushings. https://www.npdlink.com/store/products/bushing_kit_strut_rod_includes_bushings-198690-0.html

Ended up going with Opentracker. Really hoping it helps low speed steering effort. Thanks for the help.