To build or not to build

[unfrozen1969 11]

Do you guys know how much a rolling shell would weigh without a motor or trans.

 

I need to know if my mini-van could tow the car and trailer it is on. My GVW is 3500lbs.

 

Bill

[bnickel 10,004]

well with no motor or trans probably around 26-2800 maybe less without the interior

[unfrozen1969 11]

I will have to speak with U-haul to determine how much a flat bed trailer weighs. I have to drive 4.5 hours o get my car this Spring, and it may be a bit of a strain on my my mini-van. I can always rent a truck from u-haul as well.

 

Thanks for your input.

 

Bill from Ottawa, where it is still snowing.

[bnickel 10,004]

glad to help.

[my69mach 10]

Try to get those cars off the ground and cover them or the moisture will eat them alive. I'm another Canadian and I grew up a mile from the Windsor salt mines, so I know what the harsh Canadian roads will do to cars from that area.

I'm now in Indiana and my 69 won't be seeing any salt as long as possible.

Good job finding the newly acquired convertible.

[my69mach 10]

Try to get those cars off the ground and cover them or the moisture will eat them alive. I'm another Canadian and I grew up a mile from the Windsor salt mines, so I know what the harsh Canadian roads will do to cars from that area.

I'm now in Indiana and my 69 won't be seeing any salt as long as possible.

Good job finding the newly acquired convertible.

[unfrozen1969 11]

The unfortunate reeality is, that both of these cars do not have floors. I have both cars on jack to keep them level, as the tires don't hold air for very long. There is a lot of metal work there for someone who is adventurous.

 

My latest purchase is in much better shape, and will not be left outside for the elements to attack.

 

Nice to hear from you, and I bet you miss the winters....not..

 

 

Bill in Ottawa

[unfrozen1969 11]

The unfortunate reeality is, that both of these cars do not have floors. I have both cars on jack to keep them level, as the tires don't hold air for very long. There is a lot of metal work there for someone who is adventurous.

 

My latest purchase is in much better shape, and will not be left outside for the elements to attack.

 

Nice to hear from you, and I bet you miss the winters....not..

 

 

Bill in Ottawa

[unfrozen1969 11]

Hello everyone,

 

I have to admit I have not driven a lot (any) classic cars, and I have a question about power steering.

 

Is it better to salvage a power steering set up from another classic, or to use an aftermarket product? The convertible that I am building is not a concourse car and I would like it to be a comfortable driver, so it it needs some modern additions then I am okay with that. Do you have any comments or suggestions?, as well as any further suggestions of other add on's such a disc brakes, etc. All of your comments would be appreciated.

 

Newbie Bill from Ottawa, Canada

[unfrozen1969 11]

Hello everyone,

 

I have to admit I have not driven a lot (any) classic cars, and I have a question about power steering.

 

Is it better to salvage a power steering set up from another classic, or to use an aftermarket product? The convertible that I am building is not a concourse car and I would like it to be a comfortable driver, so it it needs some modern additions then I am okay with that. Do you have any comments or suggestions?, as well as any further suggestions of other add on's such a disc brakes, etc. All of your comments would be appreciated.

 

Newbie Bill from Ottawa, Canada

[Gazoo 10]

Bill, when I rebuilt my Mach 1, I redid the OEM power steering with a rebuilt control valve, rebuilt power ram, and even had my original steering box professionally rebuilt. Even with all that, it still drove poorly and wandered all over the place. Driving it at highway speeds was a high-stress ordeal. I finally got fed up and built my own rack and pinion set up using an 87 Taurus rack, just to see if I could. It drove so much better on the highway that I was completely sold on the idea. I am now in the process of installing a Randall's Rack this winter. My advice would be not to spend a dime on the OEM power steering system and put that money towards a decent rack and pinion set up. Randall is in Kelowna, B.C., by the way. Though I have not yet done the install, I am very impressed with the quality of components he has supplied.

[bnickel 10,004]

i rebuilt my OE power steering and it works just fine, no real complaints about the system. when they work right they are actually pretty nice but getting them to work right can sometimes be a pain but if you use quality parts in the rebuild they work just fine, in other words don't use the cheapest stuff you can find. i re-did mine with all gates parts and or/rebuild kits and i'm very happy with it. once i get the alignment re-done after adding the monte carlo bar and export brace it should drive absolutely perfect.

 

that said, i have a TCP rack and pinion in the garage that will be going on the cougar project. less parts to leak and a better steering feel plus a quicker steering ratio will all be nice to have on a 40 year old car. the rack is not necessarily needed though but definitely a nice addition.

 

i will add though that if you were to rob all the power steering stuff from a granada it will work better than the stock original system. it the exact same style of power steering as the mustangs but it uses o-ring seals on all the hose connections and that helps a ton with the leaks that always seem to be present in the original mustang systems. you'll need the control valve, ram cylinder and hoses, everything else you can use the stock stang stuff, pump, gear box, etc.

[unfrozen1969 11]

Can you not purchase a 1990's mustang GT or 5.0 and salvage parts such as power steering etc for the classic car. How hard is it to retro fit? The same goes with the front suspension and motor, and brakes, I would imagine it has been done before, but is anyone aware of how common and how difficult it is?

 

Thanks for responding to my questions.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[bnickel 10,004]

Can you not purchase a 1990's mustang GT or 5.0 and salvage parts such as power steering etc for the classic car. How hard is it to retro fit? The same goes with the front suspension and motor, and brakes, I would imagine it has been done before, but is anyone aware of how common and how difficult it is?

 

Thanks for responding to my questions.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

 

 

engine and trans will swap and if it's a 5 lug car you can use the rear brakes with a bracket kit and the 2 piston PBR calipers from a 99-up stang will work with a bracket kit also. the steering stuff won't work and neither will the suspension stuff. also, if it's a 4.6 car the engine and trans won't work either

[Gazoo 10]

Bill

You certainly could use the 5.0 and trans, lots of us have done that. The suspension and steering is completely different, (Fox uses a front steer spindle, the classic Mustangs are rear steer spindles.) The closest kit I've seen is the one from FatMan Fabrications which uses Fox (or SN95) Mustang front struts and spindles/brakes and a Tempo/Escort rack. There are lots of good aftermarket suspension and steering setups, your only limit is your bank account. Frankly, the stock suspension will work just fine, it's just the steering that could use improvement. You can rebuild your whole front suspension with new everything for about $500 in parts, (not counting the steering.)

[unfrozen1969 11]

I read somewhere on this site, where someone thought that there should be a place where all of this knowledge that you guys have could be kept.

 

There maybe value in 69stang.com creating its own wiki where members could edit and update topic headings such as we have been discussing on this thread. It could then be used as a reference for those of us why are new at this and could definitely use the wiki as a resource.

 

I have to admit, through all of my searching on mustang sites, I have yet to come across a mustang wiki.

 

Just a thought.

 

Thanks for your comments guys, I have a ton to learn, and it is a little bit daunting, but I am up to the challenge.

 

Heck it only takes time and money, and as my brother Bob always says, "you can't take it with you, so you might as well spend it."

 

Regards,

 

Bill from Ottawa

[bnickel 10,004]

that's a good idea really but i for one wouldn't know where to begin, i'm not all that computer savvy. i can surf the 'net like nobody's business though.

[unfrozen1969 11]

I would imagine that who ever runs this site would have a good idea. WIKI's are supposedly easy to modify by the user, but their are conditions or rules placed upon the user to post only legitimate things, etc...

 

Who would one contact for this site to develop such a thing?

 

Bill

[bnickel 10,004]

I would imagine that who ever runs this site would have a good idea. WIKI's are supposedly easy to modify by the user, but their are conditions or rules placed upon the user to post only legitimate things, etc...

 

Who would one contact for this site to develop such a thing?

 

Bill

 

that would be Bswor, he is the owner of the site. i just work here so to speak

[unfrozen1969 11]

Question:

 

Are Shelby side scoops produced aftermarket? How difficult are they to modify to a 69 convertible.

 

Bill

[Pakrat 1,043]

Many places offer the scoops but they are not all created equal. I recommend getting them from Tony Branda. They can be as easy to install as you want depending on how well you want them to fit and if you want to drill new holes for them or adapt the holes from the original scoops to them. Click on my sig pic to go to my gallery, I have many pics through out it of various stages of installing them from out of the box to paint.

[bnickel 10,004]

i'd get the from Mustangs Unlimited, Tony Branda or Maier Racing and no one else unless they sell the Maier racing flares. Mustang Depot may have the Maier ones at a decent price. mine came from NPD and they were absolutely horrible, the holes for the screens weren't even cut out but they were the only ones anyone had in stock that i could afford. i normally get most of my stuff from mustangs unlimited but they were out of them and they were on backorder from the manufacturer

[unfrozen1969 11]

Funny that you should mention that Bryan, I was just looking in their catalogue and saw that they had them on sale. Of the side scoops that you guys recommend, is there a brand name or serial/reference code for them?

 

I have read on some threads about how you guys are enjoying your cars, and I wanted you to know how I envy you all. I think I need to move to Florida or Texas.

 

My coral is knee deep in the white stuff.

 

Bill

[bnickel 10,004]

now that gives a completely different meaning to "drifting" your car right there......:biggrin:

 

no brand name other than the Maier racing ones, they make their own. the MU and Branda pieces i have no idea who makes them or even it's the same company that makes them, no part number or serial code that will help either, just 69/70 shelby convertible side scoops. not all of use are enjoying our cars right now. it snowed/iced/mini hailed here last night and has been raining all day. plus it realy hasn't been all that warm lately, a few nice days that would have been nice enough to cruise if the wind wasn't blowing 30+mph and relocating soil from new mexico to our back yards......:helpsmilie:

[unfrozen1969 11]

I caught the new and improved television show knightrider. The new mustang looks nice, and what a nice option it is to have where you can change paint color at a flick of the switch. I guess I missed that in the sales brochure.

 

Bill