JayEstes

On my 69 (San Jose, CA assembly), I found matching VINs on the top edge of the driver-side & passengers-side "inner fender apron" - the part that is formed into the side firewall and has the shock-towers bolted onto it). These VINs are covered by the outer fenders which lay over the top of the apron and cover the VINs. When you remove the outer fenders, you can see these numbers. Both the engine and the transmission VINs are stamped on the "top side". The engine VIN can be found on the block, back near the firewall, and the transmission stamp is also on the top of the transmission housing nearer the backside then the bell-housing. I have not found any other VIN's in the restore I have been doing. Are there any other places to look for VIN stamps on a 69?

Midlife did all my harnesses, and I think he is your best option for sure - by a long shot. It's nice to know you still have the original harness, there is virtually nothing to do but re-install when you get it back. The harness can be trusted, comes with new wirelist for every wire and connector specific for your car (i took my new wirelist sheets and had them laminated and spiral bound). He inspects and repairs all bad wires and connections. I don't think there is a better deal out there.

My thinking is you are better off leaving it, unless there are rust signs on either side in that area. Like what RPM said.

I used the wire brush sparingly, as a quick way to get the bulk of the crud off. I specifically made an effort not to remove original paint, but if it came off in an area of rust, I cleaned a little more there, and went back with paint to seal it again. Finally, I put the truck bed liner on to finish up the bottom.

I can see that working pretty well if you want to take the time. It didn't take me that long, and I definitely wasn't going for concourse. I just wanted it to be protecting the metal, and be ultra durable (so I don't have to do it again). Good discussion from all above.

I did mine from getting under on my back. It came out less than perfect, but its not bad. I raised the car high enough that when I was on a mechanics creeper I had sufficient room to maneuver tools and work comfortably under the car. For the most part, I started with a wire-brush on a 4in grinder. It slings the grease and grit pretty good, so I would used a face shield a painters bunny suit (be sure you don't get a loose suit near the grinder brush - ask me how I know). I removed most under components, brake & fuel lines, and bolted components, and went after it section by section. After a relatively fast moving wire-brushing to get the big stuff, making an effort not to strip original paint and remove well-adhered undercoat minimally. After this initial pass, I got a steel bowl and filled it about half way with laquer thinner. I bought a 5 gal bucket of laquer thinner when I started this. Using hand size scotchbrite pads (with some really heavy-duty gloves BTW), I would soak the pads in the thinner and work over the surface to loosen the rest of the tough greasy stuff - especially corners. Some spots need more grinding, and in other places, you can get some shop towels soaked in thinner and finish cleaning them. I used basically a 3-stage cleaning process 1) wire-brush 2) scothbright pads with laquer thinner and 3) shop towels with laquer thinner. After getting the surface clean again with towel and thinner, I got under and covered bare patches with black semi-gloss 500deg (duplo) engine paint. Once I had the whole bottom painted up, I bought spray on truck bed liner and covered it all again with that. It came out generally pretty even and seems to have stuck really well, but I don't have alot of miles on the car to say for certain. I didn't have huge rust issues to deal with, I had re-worked the floor pans (mostly from the top side) prior to getting to the bottom. The edges where the pans had been welded, I patched up a bit with JB weld and black RTV before the paint and truck-bed liner. Anyway. it can be done working from underneath. Doesn't take too long unless you are a true perfectionist. If you're overly anal about stuff I recommend a rotisserie.. ;-) Hope some of that helps. since you have a 2 post lift, maybe you can work from a roll around chair instead of your back, or even standing if you have the head room in the shop. Good luck. Jay

I think there are repro vents available - at least in the US - but my recollection is they are pricey. Most issues are just rotted out or missing felt in the slots (and lots of cleaning).

Merry Christmas to all you guys!.. You're a massive help to me, and collectively, a fantastic resource. Thanks for always knowing what to do!

FWIW, I covered the entire floor in dynamat,,,, but did the massback anyway. I figure any option you can add to make it more like a modern car in terms of quiet ride, etc is a good thing.

I really can't say if it's "worth it". My car was down for so long before restore, I can't say for sure it makes it much quieter. I do believe it would as the rubber material is perhaps 1/32in to 1/16in thick. Mine fit "ok", I wasn't thrilled with the fit, but can't really say it didn't fit. I did use some extra jute around the hump to "fill in" places the carpet wanted to hover above the floor due to stiffness. I think the mass back makes the carpet more stiff, but being formed, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. The jute that is on the carpet (it is bonded to the relatively smooth rubber that is used for sound deadening) is pretty minimal. Maybe 1/4in thick, and only in the major spots. My sense is it is better to have the mass back, but like I said, I can't prove it. To me, the extra cost was worth it.

Will a 235/60/R15 work in the front? Wheels and Tires are the last big purchase once my baby comes back from paint.... Was hoping to use those all the way around, and I would like them to be "rotatable"

Mine's been giving me some headaches. I'm still trying to verify it's the pump and not something else, but I was looking at this unit to replace the original: http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=5755947&cc=1132670&jnid=493&jpid=9 That's low cost compared to the other you mention, but is a straight stock look, not sure that is where you were going....

Is this the thread you are looking for? http://1969stang.com/forum/index.php?/topic/53935-glue-in-glass/

Are any tilt steering??

OK thanks. I may have to get new drip rails and boomerangs- I'll see what my body man says. Will PM if I'd like to discuss further.

Are you selling system as a complete unit (all together) or parting it out? I could be interested in the hoses..

So just this week I was investigating the "rattly front end" on our 71 and found out that the "higher end monroe" shocks I mention above were completely "blown out" after only 2 years and probably less than 5K miles. they had evidence of major leakage on both and one side lacked any resistance at all. Man - the commercial stuff is truly useless, and shockingly badly made. It's another set of KYB gas-adjusts for that car.

What condition are the boomerang chrome trim pieces (lower rear outside on back quarter windows) in? I'd like new ones. I also considering new drip rails - are yours in good shape?

I didn't notice a date stamp. Was that ink or a real stamp, and where would I look for it? It could be gone either way since the bumpers were re-chromed.

All, I have my rear-bumper off for refurb/polish. It was straightened & re-chromed in 1988, and there is an engraving for that, perhaps done as a reference mark for bumper warranty? I don't know. There is another engraving on opposite side that is a mystery. Says N.7.7.9E12 I think. Not sure what - if anything this means. Do any of you have any experience with decoding rear bumper markings? Maybe they were only done at re-chroming and aren't original, i don't know. Let me know if you have any experience here. Thanks, Jay

The videos make it all clear! Really good resource! Thanks for posting that!

I have KYB gasadjust, and I am very happy with the ride. It feels noticeably stiffer, and very stable - to me it feels like just the right balance for this car. I put some higher-end monroes on the front end of our 71, and I didn't care at all for those. Given the chance, I would do KYB again. The cost is reasonable, and well worth the difference in price over the mass-market crap.

Looking for Paint shops in Houston area My mustang is finally ready for paint I believe! SO- I'm looking to take it for estimates.... Anyone in the Houston Area (south side preferred as I am in Friendswood area) that you have used or had good experiences with. I will take tips on places to avoid too, PM if you prefer, it's too important to go to a place that won't do good work. Thanks! Jay

You know, I just rebuilt mine stock. Everything was original, and engine matches trans matches dash and fenders VINs. I put in a mild cam, and I even rebuilt the original carburetor. Original heads & cast-iron intake, I just reused all of that stuff. I had it bored out +.030, and had a qualified shop do the engine work. I dropped in a pertronix III ignition, and did everything else new. The engine was completely stripped down, cleaned and rebuilt to original specs as much as possible. New pistons, rings, lifters, valves, freeze-plugs, balancer, engine paint, a new 2.25in dual exhaust, then chrome valve covers and air breather for dress. $2800. And I really like it. It's got good power, and I can spin the wheels just fine coming off the line. I'll never win a drag race - but that's not what I need it for anyway. It idles like a dream, and runs super smooth. For a driver - which mine is gonna be, a like-new stock 302 has enough spirit for my taste. I decided that I wanted to spend all the money that would be required to get performance on another engine. One that I can drop-in, in place of this one later on. After the car is drivable, I plan to get a used 351 or something, and spend my time rebuilding that engine, and getting performance parts (intake, heads, carb, cam etc), and I'll get a good transmission & rear-end to match it. Then, I can swap the performance stuff for the original stuff but not have to throw it out or modify it. That stuff stays as it was originally - which is pretty damn good. I get the added benefit of getting to drive a sweet car around the whole time I am building a performance power-train in the shop. That's what I decided to do. I'm really happy after having done it this way... and the car goes in for paint next week! Good luck!

Yup. Soda blaster worked great on mine. I had to be a little patient with it, but it did a good job of not being to agressive and it didn't cause any damage at all.