flight96

Thanks all for your warm thoughts. I greatly appreciate them. It has been just a terrible 2 weeks. I never for a moment could have thought I could be this sad. I have always considered myself to be a strong man, but this has humbled me to no end. Brad's service was last Friday and I made damn sure the car was parked right in front. I spent a whole day making sure she was polished up nice and sounding good. The day turned out to be bright and sunny, so the car looked great. Many people loved the fact that the car was there. It was a great tribute to our friendship. The service was very nice and was attended by almost 300 people. From the Chief of police to the guys he worked with down at the Dockyard. He was a very well liked guy... Again, thanks .... My wife and I are back to work today. We have to get on with our lives, as hard as it is.... As for the car, before this horrific event, I was having gauge issues. I did fix that problem. I took out the cluster and noticed that a few of the cardboard pieces were broken. So I replaced them all with a rubber material. I then replaced the wire harness that I made, with a proper harness from the Mustang Shop. Either fix seems to have fixed the problem. All gauges now work fine. However, now that the gauges work I notice that the motor is running a bit hot. The needle goes almost to the "P" on the TEMP. I have a "real" gauge that I'm gonna put in when I do the Shelby gauge's in the console, but I think its a bit too hot. I'm running the original rad with no shroud. Maybe I should go to a larger rad ???? Or would adding a shroud cool it down enough ?? Then...Like I need more grief.... I took it in for an alignment. However they couldn't do it. Both wheels are at their max for the camber. There is no adjustment left !!! Now I know its a slot with the bolt through a "washer" so I am considering getting the machine shop to make me a bigger camber washer, taking off the LCA and making the slot larger so the arm can slide further....Does this make sense ??? Whew, that's a lot of typing... Thank you all again for your kind thoughts. Ken

This is an incredibly sad day...Its almost 5 am and I have not slept...My best friend and brother in law was found dead in his apartment last night. Brad was a very dear friend who has helped me all along with this build as well as being a close buddy and golfing partner. I am in deep shock and depression right now. My wife is a terrible mess. Brad was her baby brother. I know this has nothing to do with the car but he loved to help me work on it. He was as excited as I was to get her started. he helped me so very much. His coveralls still hang in my garage. I am so sad. Why.......he was only 39 !! I will miss him so very much. He never even had a chance to have a ride in the car. We always spoke of how much fun we were gonna have driving that Mustang. Now he will never get the chance....WHY !!?? It was his truck that brought the motor home and it was him that helped me do the install... He was there when I painted it....He was always pushing me to get it done......Im so sad........God bless him

Thanks... Tonight I will test my patients and start hunting down the issues....simplest to hardest I think should be the course... With a slightly chilled alcoholic beverage lying in wait....

For a system that seems so simple it sure is a pain in the a$$ !!:scared:... When you say to ground the connection from the sending unit for the gas gauge, are you saying to just unplug the lead wire from the sending unit, then find an area on the body and touch that wire to the body while the key in in the on position ? Also, in the pic below of the back of the gauge, where would the cardboard have been. Obviously, after 40 years most, if not all, that cardboard is gone. By the look of the pic, both terminals have to be in some sort of contact with the metal case !!?? Am I missing something here ?:helpsmilie:

I found this article while doing some research...It looks like this is a common issue with these clusters...Looks like I'll be pulling the dash apart...again...

Yesterday was a good day !!! Had a mechanic buddy stop by to set up the carb and timing and she sounds great now !! What a difference having it set up right makes !!:tongue_smilie:. I got rid of those ugly Accel wires and put on the set of Aurora's I was waiting for. Man they are nice wires !! Tonight I will try to get the exhaust leak fixed (Loose header...).Once thats done I will post another video so ya can hear her....Nothing worse than a damn exhaust leak sound !!! I drove it for a bit and then went to get the oil changed. It was hilarious to see the guys at the oil change place checking out the car. She sure rides nice and the Randalls rack makes it steer incredibly ! There are a few creaks in the right front shock area. I'll have to tighten things up I'm sure, as everything is new and some of the parts have been sitting for months (Shocks, tie rods...ect...). So i'll have to make sure its all greased and lubed really well. I didn't put my foot into her but I did see how it felt at a steady push on the gas pedal a few times (AS per the break-in instructions)...she sure does have some get up and go !! :whistling: So now its just a matter of dealing with a lot of small things. I should have the chrome parts back from the plating shop this week so I can get them back on. I have one more polish I want to do then the final hand glaze. Pics and video to follow !!

Well I got lucky for once !! It was just a flasher. So now the signals work and all the lights work. I have decided to change the seal beams to Halogens. So now my next detective work will be the gauges. I have checked the fuses and cleaned all the contact points on the printed circuit board. The engine gauge wire harness should be here soon, I'm really hoping that will fix it. However that doesn't explain why the gas gauge isn't working. Next time out I will put more gas in and see if it reacts. Being a new float and sending unit it may need to have a good amount of gas in the tank to get it to register.

Well I finally had a chance to go for a longer drive on Sunday. Up until now I have only gone around the block to troubleshoot leaks and clunks... So I had a chance to test the Randalls rack on my vert. What a great feeling. Before I had to turn the wheel half a turn before the car reacted. Now its bang on !! It definitely is a great investment.

Well I got the PS issue resolved. It was loose lines at the rack. A bit of a pain to get in there to tighten them but I got it. I took the car for a second test drive and it handled very well. Tonight I hope to deal with the timing and carb settings.

Well I'll replace the flasher and hope it fixes the problem...But ya know the way things go...Its NEVER the easy fix. :scared: Where is the signal switch ? Is it on the steering column or in behind the steering wheel ?

Yes, I did LED's in the cluster and cleaned up the gauges and put in new plastic faces as well as cleaning all the contacts. I could understand 1 not working but all 3 ??. I took out the plug again last night to make sure all the contacts were clean and all was good. On the signal light issue, could it be the flasher ? I know there are 2 flashers under the dash. Is one for signals and one for hazards ??

Boy if there is 1 thing I hate, it's wiring !!!....So here's my issue(s)... I have all lights working except my signal lights...I get nothing from them...My emergency flashers work...but no signals. I checked all the fuses and all is well...Just no signals...? Under the dash, by the light switch, there is a green wire with a red stripe. Its hot on ignition/acc. I have looked at the wiring schematics but I just have a headache now... :-) ... I am looking for a spot to wire the automatic choke to. This would work great but I gotta think it belongs to something !!!:helpsmilie: Finally, none of my gauges work...Just the speedo. I may not have enough gas in the tank for the new sending unit, but none of the other gauges work. Now I did make my own wire harness for the gauge feed. I have ordered a correct one but it hasn't arrived yet. If any one of the great minds here could help me with these I would greatly appreciate it !!

Im looking for the GT hood scoop, if any one wants to part with one !!?? Thanks !

Thanks all… And yes I realize that the 40 year old rubbers were a bit (OK a LOT) worn . I was just on a rant. It seems every part I've ordered needed some sort of mod. As for the hood...It was my stupidity that caused this. Strangely it was the first time that I put the hood down without checking for things in the way. Now I have to figure out what to do. There is not enough clearance there for any kind of air cleaner. So I guess I'll be adding a hood scoop...Anyone have a spare kicking around ??? As for the exhaust leak, Im going to re-torque the header bolts and see if that fixes the problem. If not I will replace the gaskets. The PS issue is another thing. Remember I went with the Randalls rack, not the original equip. So Im hoping that Its just a loose fitting on the bottom where it meets up to the rack. As for the short drive I took, It was very exciting to have it back on the road. It sure turns a lot of heads. There are a few other small issues...lights and gauges and such...but after all I have done Its not bad. What really suprised me was how well it steered with no wheel alignment. Of course Im still gonna get the alignment, but it was really nice. It cornered nice and the steering was tight, no play !! The signal lights worked for a while then stopped !! Weird !!

So that previous post was my gripe....Now my piss-off...After many hours of getting the hood nice and perfectly straight, I installed an air filter that was too tall and put a huge dimple in the middle of the hood...I will NOT be posting a pic of that...Im too mad. Now I am seriously considering a hood scoop... Now the progress parts... I got the floors completed and 99% of the interior is in. The great news is I actually got to drive her tonight :tongue:...For the most part all went well. It really needs to be timed correctly and the carb needs to be set right. The down sides were ... Power steering fluid pouring out Horrible exhaust leak Signal lights don't work Temp/Oil gauge don't work The PS fluid may be an easy fix...Im guessing/hoping its a loose line. The exhaust leak I hope is just re-torquing the headers.The rest may be electrical hunting... So thats all the rambling for now....It was great to drive her, and the issues could be much worse.... Any ideas for my issues would be greatly appreciated !!

OK... So I haven't posted in a while and much has happened...Good and bad...REALLY bad...First I started on the door rubbers. I just want to say right here that I am sick and tired of dealing with aftermarket parts. I pay a lot of money for parts that are supposed to be right. WHY can they not make them right. I paid big bucks for the 'right' door rubbers and they were chit !! Just look at the pics ! These were from Scott Drake. The doors would not close. When I contacted them about the MANY issues I was told that these were the only ones available and I just had to make them work. What a load of BS... It's wrong that we, Mustang restorers, have to FIX the crap parts we get from crap suppliers. EVERY part I have got for this resto has needed some king of mod. It BS !!...END of rant...but Im still mad...so much time wated !!

So basically now its good to drive...get in and go...Just nothing crazy for the first 500 miles..?

So all is right now. The trans shop re-built the trans and the machine shop paid for it. What a nightmare. But all is well... Now, the next questions...I haven't really run the car for any amount of time since I've gotten it back. I started it twice to get it on the trailer to get the exhaust. Should I do another run-up or should it be OK to do the drive part of the break-in ? I plan to run up the oil pump again before I start it. But to get it all timed right and do any carb adjusting I need to drive it to see how it runs. Can I just get in it and go for a run ? :helpsmilie:

Looks like this story may have a happy ending... Check THIS out...

I feel you pain man !! EVERY part I have ordered for my 69 has needed some kind of modification to make it work. Just last night I was putting the new exterior door handles on the car and they wouldn't fit. I had to use the old 'guts' from my old handles to make them fit !! And these were sold to me as "correct for 1969/70 cars"...correct my ass !! Theses repo parts can really suck sometimes !! I would be very careful when ya bend that tube. If I remember correctly mine was very thin and kinked really easy...Good Luck !

There are small clips called Barrel Clips. See them HERE . They push into the hole and the letters push into the clips and expand them, making them grasp the trunk. You should have gotten them with the letters...The ones I orderd came with the clips.

I looked at your pics quit thoroughly and plan on doing the exact same thing. I have 5 or 6 square sheets (Glue backed) that I plan on cutting into the areas like you did (Sorry for stealing your idea !!). I did look at dynamat but they wanted $400.00 !! Crazy talk !! Thanks for the info/idea. I hope to have it in tonight.

Well I have all the lights working and the side scoops are on and complete. It took a little shaving to make them fit nice a snug but Im really happy with how they came out. I did leave a small gap on the bottom so water would have somewhere to drain. Next project is the interior. I have the stick on squares os sound deadner that I plan on using first, then I grabbed a roll of reflectix from Home Depot ala Mr. Pakrats thread. (Great idea !!) The question is, should I get some spray glue and glue the refletix down or just tape it ? I was thinking of using a small amount of spray glue just to keep it in place. Also the carpet I have has a small amount of underlay in certain spots. Would it be smart to place a thin layer of underlay between the reflectix and the carpet ? Im hoping to have the car to the mechanic this Friday for the final tuneing and to be sure its all timed right. If I can meet that goal I will be able to do the initial engine breakin drive on Saturday !!!!:punk::w00t:

Things you Never talk about with friends... Money Politics Religion It never turns out good !!

Very nice. I like the way ya did the wire loom ! I think I'll do the same !