1969_Mach1

MikeStang, it's hard to tell, but from the top view photo it looks like something is bent on the seat back.  He mentioned he is going to try to adjust the brackets.
 
Yeah, he did a nice job fitting the upholstery.

Maybe I'm wrong, but my thoughts are, unless you are going down to bare metal, I'd use something like mineral spirits instead of lacquer thinner for the initial clean to remove the large amounts of grease.  Then thorough cleaning with a strong soap and hot water. The lacquer thinner will soften whatever paint or primer remains.  After completely dry use a Grease and Wax remover.  After all that, sanding or scuffing, address any surface rust, then clean clean again with grease and wax remover.  Some will try acetone instead of grease and wax remover, but, that can also soften any existing paint.
Duplicolor spray cans have a nice spray pattern for a can.  But, you will need a lot of cans.  Each coat is extremely light and doesn't cover very well.  I use to use Duplicolor because it's available everywhere.  Now Duplicolor is my very last option for spray can paints.  If you are going the single stage spray can route, which is fine, I'd first look to see what SEM offers.

That shouldn't be a problem.  When I rebuilt mine I ended needing new gears, etc. like you went through.  At times on the bench it looked like a brass blocker ring might stick to a gear.  But, it works fine.  When doing your final checks on the bench all I can add is make certain everything is well lubricated with a GL4 rated gear oil (not GL5 or GL4 and GL5 rated).  I also used a trans assembly lube for assembly as it has a low melting point and mixes with the oil.  Greases for assembly will never melt and mix in.  So with greases any metal shavings from a fresh rebuilt (which will happen) will stick to the grease and won't drain out with the oil.
Be certain to change the oil frequently to get any metal particles out.  They say 500 miles, I've changed mine twice in about 100 miles.  So far okay.
Initially I had a trans shop rebuild mine, they used grease for assembly and didn't inform me to change the oil soon after use.  After a few hundred miles metal particles from the rebuild ruined the rear bearing and the inside of the case was completely coated with grease and embedded metal particles. 

You might need to get away from a stock style starter and move to a permanent magnet gear reduction starter.  They're smaller in size so are less prone to heat soak from close proximity to headers.  Powermaster usually offers several options.

I'd hang on to the press.  You can do more with it than you think, and not just axle bearings.  If you rebuild your own differential, it's needed, manual trans, it's needed, a simple distributor gear change or removal and installation, it's needed.  Need to dimple a piece of thin wall tubing or thin sheet metal, the press can do it with a little creative setup.  It will also straighten or bend thick steel pieces.  Need to modify an air cleaner base so it drops down a little more, you can do that with the hydraulic press.  Want to change out some rubber suspension bushings, the press is needed or at least makes the job much easier.  So there are many uses for it, not just axle bearings.

West Coast Classic Cougars has a video with information on Brake Boosters, differences and a little on master cylinders. 
 
The Bendix booster does not use a space/filter assembly between the master cyl and booster like the MIdland booster.  Did you accidentally install the spacer/filter assembly on the Bendix booster?

I'd hang on to the press.  You can do more with it than you think, and not just axle bearings.  If you rebuild your own differential, it's needed, manual trans, it's needed, a simple distributor gear change or removal and installation, it's needed.  Need to dimple a piece of thin wall tubing or thin sheet metal, the press can do it with a little creative setup.  It will also straighten or bend thick steel pieces.  Need to modify an air cleaner base so it drops down a little more, you can do that with the hydraulic press.  Want to change out some rubber suspension bushings, the press is needed or at least makes the job much easier.  So there are many uses for it, not just axle bearings.

When I did the conversion on my 1969 Mach 1 a long time ago, I kind of "eyeballed" it using the clutch rod then noticed a dimple in the firewall where is looked like the rod should pass through.  Maybe I got lucky, drilled the hole to fit the rubber boot using the dimple for the center and it worked.

I installed a Borgeson kit on my 196 Mach 1, 351W and 4sp car.  The car also has JBA short headers.  I installed the Borgeson kit before Open Track Racing offered a modified Z-bar so I had to modify my own.  It works just fine.  My concerns with the Borgeson power steering:
1.  When collapsing the column to fit the Borgeson steering box the inner and outer column shafts fit loosely and rattle.  This is because the plastic rings Ford installs to lock the inner and outer column shafts together end up in a new position where they no longer serve part of their purpose.  This thread by another member shows the plastic rings for the inner column shaft. Collapsible Steering shaft bushings - 1969-70 Technical Forum - 69stang.com and 1969stang.com The 1969 and 1970 Mustang Supersite
2.  The steering for the most part does not return to center.  This bothers some, but I'm okay with it.
3.  If you want one finger Cadillac style power steering, then this will be fine.  There is absolutely no road feel in the steering wheel.  I tried reducing the pump pressure, but it's either Cadillac style power steering or no assist at idle.
I likely would never do the conversion again.  And if this ever has any issues I'll go back to the stock steering box.  

With those, even the close ratio versions have a fairly low first gear ratio.  My thoughts with using a close ratio top loader 4sp in my Mach 1, I'd select one of the middle two close ratio versions and use something like a 3.50 or 3.70 rear axle ratio.  The overdrive ratio will depend on how you want to drive on the freeway.

It's hard for me to offer opinions on this.  Even if I had that kind of expendable cash I wouldn't spend that much on either.

This one looks simple, that is the wrong exhaust manifold.  Here's an image I found.  The bottom manifold is the left (drivers) side and the top manifold is the right (passenger) side.  I wonder if somebody installed 289 or 302 manifolds on a 351W.  If so, both are wrong as the 351W manifolds have a larger flange for a larger exhaust pipe.

This one looks simple, that is the wrong exhaust manifold.  Here's an image I found.  The bottom manifold is the left (drivers) side and the top manifold is the right (passenger) side.  I wonder if somebody installed 289 or 302 manifolds on a 351W.  If so, both are wrong as the 351W manifolds have a larger flange for a larger exhaust pipe.

Maybe I missed something, but I briefly looked at your pictures in your other thread.  The fan shroud you have is for a radiator with the lower hose on the passenger side.  To the best of my knowledge big blocks all have the lower hose on the drivers side and the shrouds are made for that.

What kind of Mustang is it?  If that is an original 1969 351W that hasn't yet been rebuilt, I'd rebuild what is there.  The 1969 351W motors are not that easy yo find any more.  In the end, if it were mine and that's is the original 351W motor, I'd do a mild performance or relatively stock build using what is already there.  I say mild performance or stock because you can easily go down a rabbit hole with a performance build.

There are these distribution blocks.  I used something like these on another project.  https://www.summitracing.com/search/brand/painless-performance/product-line/painless-performance-8-point-distribution-blocks/part-type/electrical-junction-blocks?fr=part-type&autoview=SKU&ibanner=SREPD5

That's correct.
Did you say everything works fine when you attach jumper cables to your battery?  Did you try simply jiggling the battery cables and battery cable connections?  Could be coincidence I guess and still a bad ignition switch.

Will it will not crank, since it has headlights and dome lights, but no radio or heater fan, maybe the ignition switch.  When it will not crank, I'd first double check for power at the S terminal on the starter relay while the key is in the crank position.  If it's the ignition switch, there should be no power at that terminal while the key is in the crank position.
I've seen a bad battery cable cause similar intermittent issues.  But in those instances nothing worked including headlights.

Good to hear!  Sounds like the fan temp sensor seems to work okay in the water pump.
Looks good, but you sure have a lot of stuff crammed into that engine compartment.

Make yourself a template from something like 1/8" or thicker steel.
- Drill two of the bolt holes in the template the correct size to bolt to the existing control arm bolt holes.
- Then drill the two new 1" lower holes in the template only 1/8" diameter for a pilot drill.
- Bolt the template in place, drill two new 1/8" diameter holes in the shock tower using the new 1/8" template holes as guides
- Remove the template and finish drilling the new holes to the final size in a couple of more steps.

I've seen some good simple information on Spicer's website regarding this topic.  It's more a matter of the operating angles of the U-joints.  This is just their online calculator https://spicerparts.com/calculators/driveline-operating-angle-calculator  They have much more information on this topic as well.

That combo was in one of my older brothers 69 Mach 1 back in the early 1980's.  He was one that would street race almost every weekend.  On Saturday mornings I'd see all the rubber stuck to the rear quarter panels and rear inner fenders of the car.  At first he'd clean off all the rubber before our father saw it.  After a while he didn't care and left it on there.

Keep in mind, an auto trans starter will not work on a manual transmission.  A couple of things to remember when selecting a starter for your car. (1) Do you have a 164 tooth or 157 tooth ring gear.  If you have an 11" clutch (standard on 351W cars) then you will have a 164 tooth ring gear.  If somebody installed a 10.5" clutch setup like used on the 302 engines, then it would have a 157 tooth flywheel. (2) Manual trans cars use a 3/8" offset drive gear on the starter and an auto trans car uses a 3/4" offset.  An auto trans starter will bolt on a manual trans, but because the drive gear sticks out further, it will never disengage from the ring gear, (guess how I learned about this.) 

Mini starters can be expensive. And some of the gear reduction aftermarket stuff can be noisy.  I had the same issue you are having, hard to crank over when hot with the 351W in my 1969 Mach 1.  This was many years ago, I went to the parts department at my local Ford dealer, the part number changed a few times, but I ended up with a late model permanent magnet gear reduction mini starter.  It solved all the hard starting issues.
If you have an automatic trans, I think a starter for a 1995 or so F150 with a 5.8L and automatic trans will fit.  Those are a PMGR mini starter and you can get one from a parts store.  Just do a close comparison before installing it, especially the drive gear.

Just put a manual transmission in it.  Most today won't be able to drive it.