RPM

Yikes, got some work ahead of you eh? It's truly amazing what the bare shell looks like when completely stripped. I "thought" mine was pristine, until it was blasted clean. My hat's off to you. Good luck. Bob

Where are you located? If you enter your location in your profile, folks can see where you live and maybe chime in to help. If you're near me, I'll help out. Bob

Very nice job. Crazy sweet looking ride!!! Bob

Door is 2-1/4", body is 1-5/8" Bob

Oh great, another silver jade 69 Mach One to make me regret going with Porsche Indian red instead of the original silver jade. Seriously though, congrats on the nice purchase. Where in SoCal are you located? Did you find the car locally? Bob

Um, if you'd have used the search function you could have found where Auto Meter gauges fit just fine without any mods. Bob

Doh! I looked at roush's website for take offs before I posted but didn't see any. I forgot they were on eBay. That's the route I would go. Killer price and new! Mustang Steve says to try it with the stock 69 prop valve, to add an adjustable one if needed. Wildwood has one for about $50. Bob

You can do the 13" Cobra brake conversion from Mustang Steve for =< the $750 from csrp. Steve's brackets are about $250 iirc, used calipers from http://www.car-part.com for $75 each, rotors around $100 each hoses and pads, bam! Bob Edit: oops, just sunk in that you already bought the csrp kit.

Quite a bit of knowledge at mustangsteve.com. Welcome to the friendliest Mustang site around. The only 65 mustang I owned was a 6 cyl which got pretty darn good mileage. Bob

Thanks pimpin. One of my Dad's many lines was, if you're going to do something you might as well do it right. I "try" to follow his good example. Bob

Congrats! Looks like you'll need to change your user name :) A little fluff and buff and you'll be in business. Bob

Clean set up. The blue Loctite will work fine. Bob

Prayers, I didn't see where you got the 70 spindles also. From the wording it sounds like you're asking about attaching 70 steering to 69 spindles. If you did get the 70 spindles that's even better. Bob

Wow, new baby, house and appendectomy! Hang in there buddy, it'll get better. Bob

Buckeye, that is one cherry ride! You have done an outstanding job. Be proud young man. Bob

A 70 prop valve? It's my understanding the 69 is separate and next to the distribution block, and the 70 is included in the distribution block. You'll need to use the 69 tie rods. This is my 69 distribution block and prop valve. Bob

As much of a pita it is, I've only heard of connecting the lines, snugging them up real good any praying for no leaks. Bob

My method of restoration is one step forward, two backwards. It's not my intention, but seems to go that way for me. Back around 2001 when I brought the car home from the body shop the first time, I noticed the stock fender opening wouldn't work for my plans. So I decided to roll the fenders which means more paint time on the fenders. The fronts were fairly easy. With them off the car and sitting on a padded table, I used a tool designed to roll the edges inward. It bent the edge so that the tire wouldn't get cut, but was still at least an inch thick. I pounded with a soft hammer with a sand bag under it. I was able to make progress, but not as much as I wanted. I cut slits to allow the fender lip to roll under till I was happy with them. The top of the w/o is .300" thick, and the lower edges .400". I used a mig to weld the slits, and let the body shop finish the edges. The rears were a major pita! The problem lies in the double layer of panels from the quarter panel and the wheel house panel. I did it entirely with a body hammer. Spent 2-3 hr's per side and was able to get the edge to just under 1". They have a smooth radius without any worry of cutting tires. I did not cut reliefs like the front due to the double panels. Even though it was a lot of work with a hammer resulting in sore arms and hands, I'd definitely do it again. Bob

Hey first 69, where about you located? I've got a buddy who lives in Roscoe Illinois, a few miles from the border. Bob

Jim Jim Jim. what person in their right mind would add rack and pinion steering to a classic Mustang? I thought of adapting a r&p back in the mid 90's. I wanted a quality unit, one I could modify myself because I'm that way, one that I could get the center tie rod pivots at around 13-1/2" (I think) to fit in line with the UCA & LCA pivot, and one with about 4 turns lock to lock like the stock Mustang box. I contacted the hot rod shop Total Cost Involved as they made a coil over front kit with rear steer. They originally used a modified Omni rack, but changed to their own design. I bought a used Omni rack but didn't like it because of its cheap construction. I then bought a BMW alum case rear steer rack, narrowed the housing and the rack. The problem with this was by narrowing it, the steering shaft was moved to far in to the vehicle centerline and would interfere with the oil pan. I wasn't smart enough to modify it like the popular units used today are done. I really lost interest in the conversion after it didn't work. Once I saw the current adaption method I decided that I will add the r&p after I get the car on the road. One of the first things I bought for the car was a Flaming River new box, so I'm currently not too worried about the steering. Good observation Jim. Bob

Fordracing, the AFCO part #'s are: Upper bj-20034. Lower-20036 Ball joint threaded sleeve-20043 On a related note, the tie rod adjusters that allow you to change the position of the tie rod angle fot the big bearing 70 spindle, but not the 69. They have the same hole taper but need reamed out a bit larger. The 69 has a 7/16" hole at the small end, and the 70 has a 1/2" hole. Speedway Motors sells the Ford tapper reamer. Bob

Thanks Fordracing. I bought the screw in ball joint cups from AFCO. No mod to the spindle hole needed. I think they are the Mopar bj, I'll look for my info. Bob

Since the front end is lowered a bit and I don't care for bump steer, I bought a tie rod adjuster from Afco. It took several adjustments to get the rod end at the correct height location. After each adjustment I moved the spindle thru its arc of travel till I found the position with the least amount of toe change. The tie rod adjuster replaced the stock outer tie rod with a shorter rod end. The stock crappy stamped steel toe adjusters were not long enough to fit the shorter rod ends. I made a pair out of 1" 6061-T6 aluminum round bar. I drilled the center to size and tapped them 11/16-18 (odd size) left and right hand. I milled flat spots for wrench adjustments.

Cool story. He was smarter than the average bear. Bob

Couple different ways it can be done depending on the location of the damage. Anywhere probably 8-12 as a wag. Been several years since I've written a sheet. Paint time around 3. Plus materials. Somebody here surely must work at a shop with correct time. Edit: hell, your car looks great in your album! New damage? Bob