indianfiremach

Are you still looking for a 351w? I am rebuilding the original motor from my car and taking out the ‘69 351w we put in during the original restoration. I haven’t set a time for pulling the current engine, but the original is coming back from the shop next month.

Hello all. I've been out of the hobby a few years as I helped my dad battle terminal cancer, and now that he's passed, I'm looking to restore the '69 convertible we did together when I was in high school ~20 years ago. Back then we took off the stock 351W air cleaner and heat shield and put on aftermarket finned pieces. We also took the front seats out and put in 1970 high-backs as they were super comfortable. As part of this re-restoration, I'm going back all original. So with that, I'm hoping someone has a good core set of '69 bucket seats, a 1969 351W stock air cleaner, and heat shield. I would also like to find a stock tilt column, but know those are hard to find. Thanks all. I'm located in Charlotte, NC.

Sure is. The trees in front of the shop hit peak color over the weekend. I went to the new cars and coffee location with my dad. Good show overall because of some of the people we met, but the ingress and engross into the parking area wasn't great.

Happy fall everyone!

Thanks. The knowledge and community here on the forum kept me going / inspired in what has been by far the hardest build I've done. I almost sent it out to a restoration shop to finish when I hit a wall, but ended up taking it one step at a time, even when some says I left more steps behind than when I started!

Was able to take a day off and spend a long weekend in the shop. While the outside of the car is done, a lot of items under the hood needed to be finalized. Replaced grill - broke a tab installing the last one Repainted core support / front of engine Installed temp sender with direct line to Shelby /console gauge pod instead of in-dash gauge Installed AC condensor Repainted hood latch from cast to black so you don't see it through the grill Relocated coil to PS intake manifold, ran new tachometer and Pertronix wires Attempted install of Sanden compressor.... I ran into troubles with the Vintage Air Sanden conversion bracket. It could have been my error, but the compressor sits too far forward or too far back depending on how I mount it. I compared it to two other brackets on our other cars, and it was slightly different. I ordered a new bracket that should be in this week. I'm hoping to have the car 'done' before the end of the year, and then work on detailing it in the Spring in time to take it to some shows. Thanks to all on here for their advice and encouragement over the past few years.

Car is looking great. At this rate you will have your convertible back together before mine!

Wow, has it really been June since I did an update? Time flies. I took the car to its first show this past weekend with the Carolina Regional Mustang Club. I entered it as display only, I still have some engine bay detailing to do before I'd let a judge near it. But the car made it there and back with no issues (thanks to a new 9" 3.70 TL rear end I buttoned up at 9:00 the night before!) Was able to enjoy the first show and beautiful NC weather with Vic and my father, Jim in the red shirt. My dad and I have been wrenching on cars for 16 years together, it's a great feeling to get one across the finish line. They're never done, but this one is finally getting there. Thanks to everyone's help and input on here over the 4 years this has taken.

Took the car by the painters and put on the decklid stripe and side mirror. Love to see the little details come together (and my shelves clear of more Mach 1 parts!

Some twilight pics from my drive last night. It's a great feeling that even with the gremlins I'm chasing that I can still take it out and enjoy it some. Looking forward to getting them settled and taking the car to shows, though I missed the spring / early summer show season for the most part. Definitely can't rush this build. Not enough hours in the day or dollars in my pocket to do that!

Thanks for the message. I've been able to get the car running have put almost 100 miles on it. It also shuts off now after replacing the ignition switch with a new one and splicing the plug. I now have a noise at a certain RPM to track down, but other than that, things are going well. I'll have to take some more photos of it after work now that it's more together. It's headed back to the painters this weekend for final panel alignment and adding the decklid stripe / emblem. Then I'll install the engine bay AC components and get it charged. It's getting hot out here in the south!

Chasing down gremlins.. The starter has been staying engaged when the car is running, the battery has been running down, and the car won't shut off when you turn the key. Fun! Since putting the column in the car, I've not been able to get it into accessory mode. All of these problems were related. My ignition swtich was off a tooth causing the keyed positions not to line up. I disassembled the column and moved the ignition tumbler a tooth over and now all of the positions work as intented. I'm hoping once the column is back in the car that my starting / running / battery drain issues will be over. I'm hearing a tick when the car is running, which I'm hoping is a stuck lifter from the engine sitting and not running during the restoration. Will keep the updates coming! Still hoping for some time on the road this spring.

Good looking setup! The serpentine kit is really nice. Did you get the compressor as part of the Vintage Air kit?

Thanks for the nice comments. No one better put a lug wrench to these, they were NOS! Not many nice ones left. I'll keep this one. My first car was supposed to be a '70 Mach 1, and I though it was the coolest thing going. However we found out it was too rusty to save. After some other classics and older Mustangs, I found this one and fell in love with what it once was and what it could be.

Some progress this weekend! Got a plate for the car, alignment, and exhaust installed. The exhaust is a magnaflow SS kit, which was really nice. Tips are polished stainless versions of the originals. The Sanderson FC4 headers look great but DO NOT work well with power steering. The DS dumps right where the PS ram is. We got it to work but I wouldn't recommend using those headers with the stock power steering system. It will get timed this week and then back to the body shop for a final panel alignment and putting the decklid stripe on.

Thanks. After almost four years into it and all the time and money spent, its great to have it make progress like this. Cant wait to take it on the open road.

Drove the car for the first time.The car hasn't seen sunlight in over a year so it was nice to get it out and take some pictures. It's now ready to put on a trailer and take to the exhaust shop. Great feeling! Original shifter handle & arm bolted to the TKO-600 shifter. Seems to be a good fit. Too bad they don't make a 5-speed pattern T-handle.

Trying to get the video to work: [media] [/media]

Got it running! Trying to get a video uploaded but having some issues with photobucket. Great feeling to hear it come to life after three quiet years. And it certainly didn't sound this good then!

Another day of progress, but couldn't get spark from the coil to the distributor so I have some more troubleshooting to do. So close I hate to walk away from it! Also... Put gas in the gas tank (leak at fuel pump, replaced) Put power steering fluid in the system (leak at new ram, tightened bolts) Changed the oil (leaked out of drain plug, tightened) Filled TKO (GM synchromesh, no leaks) Filled radiator Haven't found any antifreeze or brake fluid yet, but when you work on a project for 3 years, replace everything with a mix of good used, rebuilt, NOS, and new parts, you're bound to have a lot of little puddles to clean up.

I believe F150's of the same era have the same hood latch. It works for '69 as well. I went with the locking version but that's probably overkill.

Congrats to you both! Looks great.

Back on it! Tying together loose ends (and bolts). Hoping to get it started in the next few weeks as I have time. Driveshaft is 4" aluminum from a 1997 Explorer V6 that I had shortened 1" and balanced.

Thanks for the replies, now that I'm back working on it, I can't wait to have it running again. Hopefully by spring I'll have it moving under its own power. The hood latch works ok, you do have to make sure it's latched all the way as the cable is a little stiff from being 40+ years old. It does not release until you pull the cable from inside and then pull the lever under the hood, so it's a two-step process. The line hits my clutch pedal now, so I'm having to relocate the lever over to the left hand side.

Hi all! Happy to be back in the saddle again. I've been tied up working on a house project (gut renovation of a 60 year old house, fun!) and now that it's finishing up I'm happy to get back on the car with the goal of getting it running and driving. A few items left open: Brakes (final assembled and bled today) Power steering (hooked up, no fluid in the system yet) Run heater hoses Install rest of hydraulic clutch (transmission side) Install driveshaft (used v6 explorer aluminum 4" driveshaft which is currently being shortened 1" Start the car - from the key! I can turn it over with a remote start, but nothing from the key. Some troubleshooting to do. Wish me luck, and I'll be back taking pictures soon. I will probably take the car to shop to have it started for the first time, check my work some, and install the exhaust. After over three years, I feel like I'm finally getting close. This car has gone from a beat up old '70 Mach 1 to little more than a roof and a bunch of boxes of parts, to a good looking paperweight that cost me all my money. Can't wait to drive it after all this. The TKO has really slowed me down, not sure that I would do it again. I'm far enough along now where I'll try and make it work. The driveline angles with my shaker and stock mounts has been an issue even with the streamlined TKO.