Time to get back to work(sorry,long)

[russ69coupe 3]

A little background, for those new here or who care. :tongue_smilie:

 

I have had this car for over 4 year nows. It spent one of those year sitting in a VMFer's back yard in California. When it went to CA I kissed it goodbye, thinking I would never be able to get it to Ohio. But I managed that trick this past Christmas time. I need to thank my wife again for putting up with towing it back on our trip to Arizona.

 

I bought this as a rolling shell. It still is one, pretty much. I spent most of my time tracking down pieces for it, and taking stuff off of it. I still need to get some stuff, but I have enough to get it at least looking like a car.

 

My original plans were to make this into a serious restomod. I am still going that direction, but finances are going to cause some programming changes. Long term I will still do all I wanted to, but I want to get this car driveable asap, and then I can go back and change things. Mainly drivetrain stuff. I have a 351C block with 1970 4V heads, the heads were rebuilt about 4 years ago, so they may need freshend up. The block is now bare, I left all the other pieces behind when we moved, since I am/was planning on a stroker. I do have some very nice coated headers, and a 4barrel aluminum intake for it.

I also have an AOD (non electric) that I bought, but it is original and needs a complete rebuild. So my new plan is to most likely go for a basic 302/5.0/C4/? setup for now. I can get one of those fairly cheaply.

Rear end is currently an 8 inch, about which I know nothing of the history. It came on the car, so it is probably the original. I wanted a 9, but for now I plan on just taking it apart and resealing it, assuming everything looks good.

 

Interior is empty. I do have a couple of high back's out of a 70 (I think, could be 69's), but most likely I will go for something newer from a junkyard. These seats I have would need redone, and frankly for the money I would rather buy some new seats with more comfort. But for now whatever I can get when the time comes will work. :tongue_smilie:

No back seat, I am still putting the roll bar I want in. Who wants passengers anyway? Roll cage is about $160 from Summit Racing, and I live 10 minutes from them. :biggrin:

I have enough bits and pieces of metal that I got from a place I used to work (amazing what some places throw away!) to make a console or two out of. (as well as about a full car body) I always wanted an overhead one(closest I will ever come to being in a space ship), and after driving more modern cars I have found that having a drink cup is not an option anymore, so I will do both. I just remembered, I already have a console from a MustangII, along with the ebrake handle. Bending over to reach the factory ebrake realise is a pain. Literally. Would help if I lost weight. :surrender:

Which leads up to the electrical system. I had planned on doing my own wiring(I am an electronic technician, playing with wires and soldering irons is not a problem), but this is one area I may need to rethink. I have enough wiring harnesses from pieces of medical equipment(see above comment) that I can easily do it with just some time and thought. I even have a fuse box and some wiring (actually, most of the wiring from the car)I took from a 1992 Buick I junked a year ago. I have some time before I have to cross this bridge, so I will hopefully be able to do it. I plan on having the battery, fuse box, and so on in the trunk. The fuse box would be in an enclosed area, along with sound stuff. Removeable panel type thing, but I haven't gotten that far in planning yet. I still have the original wiring harness(I think), but it is almost 40 years old. the original fuse box is trash. Going with headlight relays and halogen lights. Relays are also from the Buick. ?This actually might be a good winter's project since I can do most of the harness stuff inside my basement.

 

The body is basically sound. I may end up having to go with a Maaco paint job though. No compressor, and no electricity in the garage to run one. Besides, I doubt if I could paint well. Plus, this will be a driver, so why worry about scratches. Color is still up in the air. Part of me wants to duplicate the yellow that my high school Mustang was. Another part wants purple. Kind of a grapeish, not anything lavender. :biggrin: Interior has to be black. No options there for me. But if I paint the car yellow, I would like to have some yellow inside as well. I actually have considered doing the roll on paint that some of you may have heard about from a Mopar forum, but I really doubt if I have the energy to do that. Although that is basically how I plan to paint the bottom of the car. Being in Ohio, I have to take rust prevention seriously. So Rustoleum it will be on the bottom at least. And in the interior, this car needs to last.

The doors will need some work. I bought these from the same dealer I bought the car from. Possible reskin, I need to strip them and see. No innards though.

 

Front suspension is 4 years old new. Meaning no miles on the parts, but I bought the kit back then. It has been on the car for almost 2 years now. I may have to replace the rubber stuff.

I have Versailles(Granada type) front brakes, but I need to get new parts for that as well.

I have brackets for the rear to install disk brakes on, these ones use I think(it has been a while) Cadillac and something I can't remember bits. Bought them from a guy who advertises on ebay alot, his ad mentions studebakers and bonneville. I would still like to use these, or get another type. Not much into drum brakes, and I would have to completely replace the originals, what is left of them. But I want to use the Centerline style 15 inch rims I have, can't afford to buy bigger right now, so that limits what brakes I can use.

 

 

It just occured to me that I am still on Arizona time as far as working on my car. It is just getting to the point where in Phoenix you would want to be out and working on stuff, and I am really feeling the itch. Problem is I am here in Akron, Ohio now. It is going to be freezing fairly soon, and I have an unheated/no electric garage. but I am doing some stuff, got the garage cleaned out and got some bookcases loaded up with parts that have been in the car for the last 2 years last Sunday, and got my steering column disassembled last night.

Fortunately, I have a nice workbench in my basement where I can do smaller projects like the column. I need to start up my own project post here soon. I am hoping to have the undercarriage and engine compartment cleaned up and painted by Christmas, including getting the TCP subframe connectors I have had forever and the ProGas shock tower support kit installed. As well as patching the hole in the battery apron. I figure I can pull the car out of the garage so i can be close to an electrical outlet for my welder that I need to learn how to use to get those things done.

 

Well, I started this off just answering another post, and then thought I should just make a new thread. Hopefully I will be able to do a little each week on the car, my wife works Sundays so I have that whole day, if I can stop watching football games of teams I don't care about.:tongue_smilie:

 

Russ

[russ69coupe 3]

this is what the car looked like a couple of days before it went to California. Everything that is attached, doors, fenders, etc, including the suspension, is barely bolted on, just a few bolts to keep the parts on for the trip. The car was just about completely bare a couple of days before this picture was taken. It still looks like this, but it will be bare again in the next couple of weeks.

Russ

[Aw4g63 0]

Hey a local coupe guy. Cool. I live up on the east side of Cleveland. In Wickliffe.

 

Sounds like you have a fun time on your hands. I'm knee deep in car too. But it doesn't sound like you're too overwhelmed. Good luck and keep us posted on progress. Start a thread for your build.

[bnickel 10,004]

wow Russ, been a long time since we heard from you on the project. i thought you'd given up or something. glad to see you're still at it some.

[burritoboi5 10]

Ditto on Bnickel's remarks. Good to see your getting settled in and can start working on the car again. Best of luck with it and be sure to keep us all posted on your status.

[russ69coupe 3]

Sh#t. This is the third time I am trying to answer. I keep hitting a mouse button and going back and losing this.

 

"Never give up! Never Surrender!"

10 points to whoever gets that reference. My favorite movie.

 

Anyway. To be brief. I have depression. Fairly serious. Not on meds right now due to money. Going to get that taken care of soon. Point is that I tend to let problems overwhelm me sometimes and I stick my head in the sand hoping they go away. Well, the Mustang isn't going away. No one else wants it. (joke, sort of).

I have found a solution to the title issue, so I can now feel that I won't be wasting my time working on it. I really want to get it running so I can drive it, even if it isn't exactly what I had been hoping for. If I wait until that time, it will never be driven. But I can drive it and fix it up as I go along.

 

Now, if I could just get back onto a day job so I can do things when I get home. Seems the neighbors aren't thrilled with the thought of noises coming from my garage at 3AM. Although I get to hear the workers putting on siding on many houses around here from 8 am on, which is prime sleeping time for me. Ah, the joys of working nights!

 

Of course, as soon as I posted the first message, my next two weekends get taken up with other stuff. Actaully, 2 days are Mustang stuff, just won't be here to work on the car. Going to the Dayton area this Sunday to get a windsheild from that other Mustang I had for a while last year, and take Keith the fibreglas hood I have that I won't use. And then maybe not the next saturday, but not sure yet, there is a get together of some vmf'ers in the Toledo area.

 

So with my luck, the weather (which has been unusually hot for October here in Ohio) will be freezing by the time I am able to really start working in the garage. :-) But hey, once I start trying to weld, I could easily have a nice fire going to keep me warm.

 

Russ

[unfrozen1969 11]

Braveheart

[Aw4g63 0]

Gaxaly Quest?

[russ69coupe 3]

yep, Galaxy Quest.

we have a winner. :-)

 

Russ

[russ69coupe 3]

Well, things haven't gone quite according to plan. But I am 48 years old, so I should be used to that happening to me by now.

Haven't made it to Dayton yet to get the windshield from Keith. :-( I will be able to do that the first saturday of November.

I am not sure about my job situation. I should find out Monday if I still have one. Let's just say that I thought that slavery ended a long time ago, and the management at the place I am at seems to think that it is still allowed. Problem there is that too many others are scared of losing their jobs so they don't stand up for themselves. Oh, well. We'll see soon.

 

I am really hoping to fire up my welder that I bought over a year ago today for the first time. I have never welded before, so there is going to be a learning curve. First thing though is that I need to see if the electrical outlet I am hoping to use will be enough. Garage isn't wired, so I have a limited choice. If this outlet works, then I can start practicing my welds.

 

So that is where I am at right now. I really need to update my CarDomain site, I have lots of pictures to add, just need to get them on the computer.

 

Russ

[russ69coupe 3]

I just added some pictures (page 9) to my site. They are almost 2 years old, but the car is pretty much in the same condition, although I have gotten all the loose parts out and shelved in the garage, and have started to get it stripped back down to a bare shell.

Russ

[russ69coupe 3]

Well, things are still going slowly. Wife has been really sick and missed over 2 weeks of work, so not spending anymoney.

Good news is a guy from the VMF has some metal for me to practice my welding on. (If I can get ahold of him)(VMF down right now)

I also got some painting done on my steering column. I may redo it, once i see how it looks it the daylight. My basement needs better lighting, so I couldn't really see if I got it smooth. But I just needed to do something on the car.

Job situation is crazy right now. I accepted an offer for a new job with less money. I hate my current job. Then I find out that my great job at Cisco will be starting up again "soon". So I am trying to decide if I should turn down the new job and just tough it out at the job from hell until then. I wouldn't want to start a new job knowing that I won't be staying. Plus current job pays more. Cisco pays $22 an hour, which is much more than either. Me want Cisco job. :-)

Russ

[russ69coupe 3]

well, time goes by and no workie on Mustang. sigh.

Money still a big issue. My wife has been on unpaid medical leave(or something) for well over 4 weeks now.

If her mom hadn't of sent some money we wouldn't be eating. She goes back to the optometrist tomorrow for a new eyeglass prescription, and once she gets the glasses she should be able to go back to work.

 

I took the new job, been there a week and a half. It is day shift(for now), which is killing me. I tend to be a night shift type. Hopefully i will get used to it so I can use the daylight when I get home (all one hour or so) to do some stuff on the car. The job itself is pretty easy, I do have over 10 years of experience in that particular area. Just have to learn this company's way of doing things. Staying awake is being the difficult thing to do.

 

I decided to work on the shock towers this long weekend. First thing I am going to do is to get the factory support pieces hammered back into place. They have a gap all around. The export brace and monte carlo bar fit well, so I am thinking that the towers themselves are close enough. Then I want to get the ProMotorsports reinforcement kit I have had for almost 4 years fitted and ready for welding. I finally got that scrap metal, just haven't had a chance to do any practicing. Too wet lately to be doing welding outside, and that is the only place I have to do it.

The worst thing about this is that I had a really nice small 5 pound or so sledge hammer. Apparently it didn't make either the move from Phoenix or the move up to Akron. So I had to go buy one in order to be able to do anything this weekend. I am hoping that using it will help me get rid of some stress along with getting the Mustang fixed up.

 

I am not sure what to do about the title situation. The plan I had come up with seems to have fallen through because of my recent financial problems. Hopefully something will come up.

 

Hopefully I can remember to take some progress pictures. Assuming that I make any that is. :-)

 

Russ

[russ69coupe 3]

Well, sos-just another day.

It is coming down to the fact that with an unheated and unelectrified garage it is too f'en cold for me here to do anything outside(including in the garage). I tried welding and my hands about froze, I actually thought I had frostbite for awhile. That was with welding gloves. They don't keep the cold out.

 

With the title issue still there, I am very tempted to just say f it and get rid of the car, but I am trying to hold on til spring. Why, I don't really know. I doubt if things will get any better re the title. I wish I had kept the Ohio Mustang I bought instead of this one. It had rust, yeah, but it also had a decent title.

 

I never should have moved to Ohio from Phoenix. Being a kid here is not the same as being an adult. But not having been an adult here I just wouldn't listen to those who tried to tell me. sigh.

 

Russ