KMD88

Yes, there are seven 2x4s high, with a piece of ¾" osb on top. It's 11¼" in height, which works perfect for my floor jack's jacking height. 
I added a couple of 2x4s on the ends for tire roll. In my prior pic there are 2 thin pieces of steel with grease between them during the alignment. 

16 inch square. 

I have started using a floor jack on my built engine crossmember which has a jack pad welded to it. I made it from 1½ x .188 wall chromo round tube. Jacking from it is kind of a pain as I have a front spoiler and my 69 is lowered quite a bit. I have to drive into 2x8 planks to be able to get the jack to clear the spoiler. And I always use the rear axle to jack from.
The stock crossmember is not the strongest to be used for jacking, and it doesn't have a jack pad. Mine was bent up pretty good when I removed it years ago. 

For something as simple as changing oil, I use the drive on ramps. Easy peasy.
When I need to lift the front or back, or both, I use the front torque boxes and lift the rear from the center of the rear housing. I rarely use jack stands anymore since I built a set of 2x4 cribbing stands. 

Kill Switches and Protecting your Car
It seems that everyone has their own opinion or philosophy about protecting their car…and you know what they say about opinions, but here is mine. Some people only insure their car and don’t even lock it, insisting that an accomplished thief will steal it if they want it. To me, that says they have no personal investment in the car- no blood, sweat, or pride of ownership. Mine is part of the family, a very old friend, and it’s MY CAR, not theirs for the taking. So here are the steps I have taken.
I believe you must have a layered approach, with as many layers as you can apply. Slow the thieves down and make it as difficult as possible. In this case, I believe that paranoia can be your friend.
1.    Insurance: today's thieves could roll up with a car hauler and a GPS jammer. Unless you have your Mark 1000 Visual Acuity Devices trained on it (your eyeballs), your car will be gone. But most thieves aren’t that accomplished or prepared, and don’t need to be- it’s just too easy to steal a classic Mustang. So insure it and keep it in sight as much as possible when it is out of your garage.
2.    Where you take it: don’t take it to the mall, theatre, supermarket, or other long term parking place. They only need seconds. When on a road trip, one of our members will take his car to the local police department and ask them to lock it in their secured parking overnight. He claims he has never been turned away as long as he offered them a ride.
3.    Lock the hood: everything they need to steal the car is under the hood, so protect it. There is way too much mischief they can get into under there. I use a 76 Ford F350 truck hood latch. It has a cable going inside to a handle with a keyed lock. You also need a “helper spring” mounted to the hood. This pushes the hood up and away from the latch so the latch doesn’t re-engage as soon as you release the pull handle. Mid 70s Ford truck latches will bolt right into a 69-70 Mustang and the same vehicle also has the helper spring. All I had to modify was the secondary safety release arm so it was easier to access.
4.    Lock the doors: this is so obvious that I almost didn’t mention it. If you don’t give them an open invitation, they may move on. It’s just basic common sense.
5.    Alarm: a noise maker is good- I like them. Even if other people don’t pay attention, you will. They can have vibration, and glass sensors, door, hood and trunk switches (remember to lock the hood anyway), and they can even call you if they sense an alarm or set off a GPS tracker. It’s all good stuff and part of the layering process. Where they fall short is how they attempt to actually prevent the car from running, and that will require a technical discussion on KILL SWITCHES. On the other hand, a system like LoJack is good (and expensive), but it doesn’t try to stop the theft, it just shows the cops where it is once you notify them it has been taken.
6.    How cars are stolen: the method most often used is a jumper wire and a screwdriver. This is so ridiculously easy that you won’t believe it, and it literally only requires seconds. Here’s what they do:
(1)  Lift the hood (that’s why you have to lock it).
(2)  Put a jumper wire from the battery positive to the coil positive. This supplies power directly to your ignition system, and bypasses everything, including aftermarket alarms.
(3)  Use a screwdriver to short from the front solenoid terminal to the “S” terminal. This cranks the engine to start it, and they are gone.
Seeing is believing, so here is a link to an 8-1/2 minute video, where he shows how to jack a 60s era car. It’s not a Mustang, but it has the SAME features. If anything, a Mustang is easier to steal because the coil and solenoid are up front. If you pay attention around 4:15, he talks about Fords. He’s a little long winded, but I find him entertaining, and everything he says is unfortunately accurate. As you’ll see, it takes him about 58 seconds to open the locked door, then the hood, start the engine and close the hood- all while explaining it and not rushing the process. PLEASE WATCH THIS
Below is a schematic (not a wire diagram) that shows why this is so simple and how it works. This is the ignition system for a classic Mustang:

The jumper wire is #2, which connects the battery directly to the coil and bypasses everything else (ignition switch, alarm, whatever). The screwdriver is #3, which connects the battery to the solenoid “S” or coil terminal. This turns the solenoid on and the engine cranks for as long as the screwdriver is there. And away they go.
7.    KILL SWITCHES: this is a kill switch used on a car with points. It is just a simple on-off toggle switch with one side connected to the chassis and the other side connected to the wire going between the coil and the points.

Don’t let this description throw you – this is just how the physical laws in our little corner of the universe work: The points have to open and close to make the magnetic field of the coil build and collapse to make a high voltage spark. With the kill switch closed the coil will stay on, but the field can’t collapse, so there is no transformer action in this DC circuit, so there is NO spark.
 8.    Kill Switches for other ignition systems: here are a few other popular ignition systems and how to disable them.
 This would work for a Pertronix 1 as well. When I showed the example in #6 above to Pertronix, they were sure it would disable the car, but thought it may also damage the Pertronix module. They offered this solution instead:

ANOTHER...

9.    Fuel kill switches: there’s no magic here, just a switch to open the circuit to a pump or fuel solenoid.

10. The Problem with Kill Switches is simple- where to hide the switch? If it could be hidden in a place where it’s not seen or found, but can still be activated, then that would make it very difficult to defeat. That can be done using a magnetic reed switch. The reed can be hidden behind the plastic of the dash or console, or “A” pillar trims, or behind any plastic. Then when you pass a magnet over it (within about an inch) it will allow the car to start. In this simple circuit, the kill switch is turned on as soon as the ignition key is turned off. So you can’t forget to set the kill switch (its automatic), you just have to use the magnet to turn the kill switch off, so you can start the car. So, turn the key to ON, pass the magnet near the reed switch and the LED will turn ON, announcing the kill switch is OFF, then turn the key to start. Easy peasy. For maintenance by some shop, insert a fuse (safer than using a switch) and the kill switch is bypassed.

Side note...you may think this is a bit too complicated and unnecessary, but after reading all of the above, one guy told me that he uses RFID (radio frequency identification) to "unlock" his limit switch. I think that's really cool, but WOW! That's a whole lot more complicated than a reed switch, a magnet and a relay.
11.  Transmission lock: If you have a 70, I understand this was done from the factory. If the back wheels can’t roll, it makes the process of towing more difficult. I have a 69 with an automatic and of course it has a floor shifter (since that’s all they ever came with). Back in the day, and long before digital pictures, I came up with a method to lock the shift linkage with a spring loaded pin. The pin is removed from the linkage by a solenoid, and it is operated by a switch that is controlled by the shift button on the T-handle. If the kill switch is on, the power to the solenoid is cut and you can’t take it out of park. I would love to show it to you, but I still don’t have any pictures. I came up with this using the simple home tools I had at the time, so think about it and surprise us with your version. You may be able to provide pictures before I tear mine apart ;)
12.  Electronic handbrakes: sometimes called electronic parking brakes – work on the same basis but use electric motors to achieve the locking effect. Press or pull the button and motors on the rear brakes press the pads onto the discs. You can often hear a reassuring whirring noise as the motors do their work.

As far as headlights go, simply adding a couple of relays to them will do wonders. It'll also reduce the chances of an electrical far.

Awww shucks.  Thank you!

As most everyone has mentioned, the under hood stuff is most likely to be degraded. If you intend using Alloy Metal Products, then call NPD and see what harnesses you would need under the hood for your model and engine, then decide which you want to do, and the order to do them. Since they plug into one another, you could do them one at a time.
For my Mach with a 351w there is; Wire assembly engine gauge feed, alternator feed, wiper motor repair harness, engine ground, wire & plug headlight extension, wire loom firewall to headlight (this is the main under hood harness), wiring harness turn indicator (for the hood scoop signals). I believe there are four others, but they are inside the cabin or trunk.
 

There are two schools of thought on wiring
1) Use stock OEM type harnesses from a company like Alloy Metal Products that are available from a vendor like National Parts Depot. This will have a standard fuse panel and exactly match the Ford authorized wire diagrams. The advantage here is that anyone who has a standard wire diagram can help you, or fix the car.
2) Use an aftermarket harness like available from Painless, which will use the new style fuses and incorporate some relays (neither of which is available in option 1). The disadvantage is that you can only get help from that company or someone else that has their product and has their wire diagram.
Personally I will stick with the OEM harnesses and add to them as needed- but I will make a wire diagram showing the additions for the next guy that ends up with the car (and so I remember what I did).
You will never learn if you don't try. It isn't rocket science, but it isn't for everyone.
 

Give it as much advance as possible without pinging. Increase the timing 2 degrees then drive it, if it is not pinging, give 2 more degrees. Keep increasing the timing as above until it pings; when it pings, take 2 degrees of timing. My engine is at 18 degrees timing and idles at 570 rpm when in gear (auto). Every engine is different, so you have to play with it to find the optimum timing.

I love it when people who axe questions online follow the advice given, and follow up the thread with a conclusion. Nice work KMD88.

Thanks to everyone for the help. Got the timing dialed in (running around 800rpm’s now) and the drive is much better! Might do a little more tinkering, but I think the ignition timing did the trick! 

Thanks to everyone for the help. Got the timing dialed in (running around 800rpm’s now) and the drive is much better! Might do a little more tinkering, but I think the ignition timing did the trick! 

Idle is waaaay too high.  Should be somewhere around 800 rpm; 1600 when cold.

This is from the shop manual- idle RPM is on the bottom line

Find local mustang people around you.
offer to get together and work on cars, offer to help them on their car.
i have had several apprentices over the years, one was a younger guy from work that knew a little about cars. He would come over and help me with my cars and I would help hum as well as give him a place to work on his car.
currently it’s my daughters x-boyfriend. He has learned a lot about cars from me as well as helping me a lot around the shop

It isn't that difficult, get an inexpensive timing light, a tach, and maybe a dwell meter like shown here and give it a whirl:
 

No. Pertronix only replaces the points of the distributor, timing still needs to be adjusted.

Yup, you need correct levels of fuel, oxygen and ignition timing to get the most out of the engine.

I would get a timing light with tach (like Innova 3568) instead of installing a separate tach (unless you want a tach inside the car). You need a timing light to adjust timing anyway; you can use the tach feature of the timing light for setting your idle etc.

Figure out a way to install the vacuum gage, it is a valuable tool for tuning. Carb adjustment/tuning is only one part of the equation; advance/distributor tuning is the other part of the equation for a good running engine.

The motor, carb and intake info might help?  Idle mixture screws are a great start.  Easy to do and undo. We all like to work on acceleration.  Professional tuning is usually best left alone.  That said with the help of a tach (so you will have a base rpm) you could adjust the idle rpm's using the idle adjustment screw.  Brian

While doing my upholstery it wasn't the ring pliers as much as the constant pulling, stretching and tucking that played havoc on my arthritis.  

Welcome to the site.  Before converting to EFI you might try a basic tune up?  Plugs, points and condenser or an oil and filter change?  Get the Ford Shop Manuals for your car.  Start learning the names of parts and their functions.  Then try asking a few questions?  See how it goes.  Brian 

Unfortunately, I found very few classics in my club, and even fewer people who actually work on their cars. I find that frustrating, because I like working on things, and talking to like minded people. If you don't have some natural mechanical ability, it will be very difficult. I have one son that doesn't know one end of a screwdriver from the other, but his younger brother will attempt anything. I figure I could do anything, but there are some things I just don't want to do. For instance, I think hog ring pliers would make my arthritis act-up, so unless I can fashion a pair with long handles, I'm not going to attempt upholstery. You will learn techniques as you go along, just by trial and error. You may need to do it over one or more times, but so what? You'll probably do it better than most shops- and believe me that is very true. Only one in four professionals are competent at what they do.
With help and guidance from a group of guys like we have here, you will get it done. These are are fairly simple machines, and its not rocket science. Much of it is unbolting one part and bolting on another. I had never welded until recently, so I bought a welder and through the use of videos, I practiced (and practiced)  (and practiced), and finally built a ramp to get one of my cars in the garage (its one of those plastic cars that we don't like to mention on this forum). The car is too low and the driveway too steep, but now I can drive it right in. 
If you think you can't do something, you're right. If you adopt an attitude that anything you mess-up can be fixed, it makes a world of difference. Just remember that nothing that anyone does is perfect. I tend to be a perfectionist and constantly have to remind myself when something is good enough.