Body work

[69GT 0]

So about a month ago I started tearing down my mustang to start body work on it. I am starting with the door skins, of which I have already replaced one of them. I am gluing the skins instead of spot welding them like they were from the factory. Gluing can be just as strong if not stronger than welding and also provides rust protection against door rot which is exactly what happened to mine. I have stripped both doors down and treated them with the POR 15 metal ready and the regular POR 15 paint.

 

I picked up two door skins from NPD and the quality is actually pretty good. The only modification I had to do to make it fit was grind a small bit on the door shell. The next door I do ill be sure to take pictures of all the steps you take when you glue a skin. Its actually easier than welding I would think.

 

Anyways I will probably drive down to NPD on friday to pick up two new quarter panels. Pictures and updates to come!

[69GT 0]

Here is what the old skin looked like when it came off. You can see the long line of rust at the top which is just under the window. You can also see the rust holes in the bottom corners.

 

EDIT: You can also see the shiney/burnt looking portion on the left of the door. This is where I started working out dents and then gave up after I re-evaluated the rust and the rest of the dents and said screw it.

 

 

[69GT 0]

Here is the driver side door after being glued and fitted. It fit like a glove and lined up well with little modification after it was hung.

 

 

 

 

 

[bnickel 10,004]

looks good. may need a little bit more work on the alignment but just some minor tweaks. looks like the door needs to go in just a little bit

[69GT 0]

Progress!! Body guy started working on it on Friday and is addressing rust under the hood first, and found that it had been possibly hit on the driver side which is why the driver side fender never quite wanted to fit. You can see in two of the pictures I posted where the metal is distorted, especially on the radiator support. Other than that, the top of the inner fender had some rust bubbles so I asked them to take care of that but without pulling the engine if possible so he made some patch panels for it. But enough talk more pictures! Im excited if you cant tell. :clap:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bnickel 10,004]

it sure is nice to see progress being made isn't it? BTW i didn't know your car was a factory ac car too. sounds like our cars were equipped pretty similarly, factory air, PDB and the 351w mine is a 4v was yours a 4v or a 2v? auto or standard? mine is an auto trans car with console and the vinyl top and it had the rear seat speaker option but just a standard AM radio, no stereo. it also had the visibility group option which i think all GT's had but i'm not 100% certain on that. the visi group got you a remote driver side mirror (the chrome one), parking brake warning light, trunk light, map light, under dash courtesy lights, glove box light, glove box lock, ash tray and ignition switch lights

[bnickel 10,004]

oh BTW, for all the naysayers out there who say that the 69 GT didn't come with front discs as standard equipment here is another site that also says they did, in additition to the old ford publication i have somewhere, if i can ever find it, that says the same thing. front discs were standard on 69 GT's....

 

GT Equipment Group

 

 

-Grille Foglight Assembly (1967 and 1968)

-Power Front Disc Brakes (std in 67 and 69; req'd add'l option in 68)

-Side Tape Stripe (1967 standard; 1968 upon request)

-C-Stripe (1968)

-GT Badging on the Fenders (GTA for automatics 1967 only) (Not 1969)

-Chrome Quad Exhaust Tips

-GT Emblem on Gas Cap (not pop-open in 1967; see Exterior Decor Group)

-Special Handling Package (HD springs/shocks, 7/8-inch front sway bar, power front disc brakes, 16:1 steering gear)

-Styled Steel Wheels (option in 1967, standard in 1968/69 GT's)

-Chrome Engine Components (1968 Big Blocks Only; see note 1)

-Hood Scoop (1969)

-Pin Type Hood Latches (1969)

 

The GT option is extremely rare in 1969 as it was phased out in favor of Mach 1 and Grande styling.

 

Note 1: Chrome components included valve covers, air cleaner lid, didipstick handle, and radiator cap.

 

 

i know there have supposedly been some that didn't have them but they were special ordered as a delete option, slipped through the cracks or just plain weren't real GT's. the only other option is that the discs may have only been standard on any of the 4v equipped cars and only the 351 2v didn't get them as standard equipment

[69GT 0]

Ya it had factory air (previous owner removed compressor and hoses), Power Disc's, 351W, FMX auto, no console, no vinyl top, no rear speakers although I added them in, it came with an AM radio with 8 track, and I do believe it had the visibility group because it has all the options you mentioned.

 

I think when this is all said and done I am going to have a car almost identical to yours.

[bnickel 10,004]

oh so yours had the 8 track? then the speaker holes in your doors are factory then, they only came on stereo cars, either AM/FM stereo or AM/track. i believe if you ordered the rear seat speaker with either of the stereo options you got 2 rear speakers instead of one like my car had, so your car would have had 4 speakers, if it had the rear speaker option, and mine only had 2 one front in the dash and and one rear in the package tray.

 

it's cool that our cars will be so similar, to bad we live so far apart, it would be cool to cruise 'em together. my cougar will also be very similar as well and i'm even going to get a set of 15" GT wheels for it as well as my old Riken mesh wheels.

 

there was supposed to be a GT option for the cougar in 69 too, but for whatever reason it didn't happen, probably because of the eliminator, however the Marti records show about 4,000 were actually made, though we now know it was because those cars were ordered with the 351 performance group which had heavier duty suspension, hood scoop, hood stripe, hood pins, 351 4v and dual exhaust...sound familiar? i plan on building the cougar into a phantom 69 cougar GT using all the same or cougar equivalent stuff as a 69 GT stang would have, plus the stuff we know was supposed to have come with the cougar GT package which basically was only interior options like seats and door panels and GT badging for the dash

[69GT 0]

Ya that would be cool to cruise them. Just wondering but what state do you live in?

[bnickel 10,004]

Ya that would be cool to cruise them. Just wondering but what state do you live in?

 

 

Texas but i was born in San Diego...concieved in Texas though

[69GT 0]

Ah. I have family that lives in Dallas. Who knows, maybe one time ill have to take a little road trip out to see them.

[bnickel 10,004]

Ah. I have family that lives in Dallas. Who knows, maybe one time ill have to take a little road trip out to see them.

 

 

that's cool, i live about 6 hours away from the big D though. some people call it the asshole of west Texas..Lubbock... look at any map of Texas and right about smack dab in the middle of the panhandle is where Lubbock is

[unfrozen1969 11]

That would be great if you posted more pics, as I also have to reskin a door or two before I start the metal work on the floor. I have a convertible and have to make sure that everything fits and is aligned before I start taking old metal in the floors out and replacing it with new metal. So any pics you have of your doors would be greatly appreciated.

 

Bill from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

[d.reese 13]

I'd say you are a preety fair metal man!

 

There is one pic of rust at the battery locaytion, are you going to have to replace this area too?

[69GT 0]

I'm afraid I don't have anymore door pictures as I was taking a large portion of them with my phone as I went along and the phone got destroyed while loading the car on my trailer. :001_huh: If you want me to take any pictures of the finished product id be more than happy to or give you any tips or advice.

 

As for the battery tray, I don't recall it being rusty but I see what you mean by that picture. I think its mainly surface rust but ill check it out next time I go by the shop. I wish I could take credit for being a good metal guy, but other than skinning the doors, I wasn't too comfortable taking on the rest of the car.

[unfrozen1969 11]

Do you have a motor from a newer Mustang in your car?

 

Bill

[69GT 0]

Nope, original 351W. Just different manifold with injection.

 

More progress! I'm surprised with how fast progress is being made. The driver side quarter panel is completely removed and everything is exposed. The body guy pointed out some rust spots on the wheel wheel that needs to be taken care of. My option was use patches which he really doesn't want to do because theres more of a chance of the rust coming back, or get a new outer wheel well and start with new metal. Sounds like I will need to do that for the passenger side as he said the rust was too bad to use patches but I haven't seen that side yet. I'll be going by there with the NPD catalog to see what all we need to order up.

 

 

 

 

[69GT 0]

Went by today with the NPD catalog to order outer wheel wells for both sides and saw there was some sanding/bondo work. Snapped a few pictures with my cell phone.

 

 

 

[69GT 0]

Well, got the new outer wheel wells installed and the body guy fit up the new quarter and welded it in. Starting to look pretty good. He ended up using a larger part of the wheel well than he thought he would after getting a better look at the old one. He has most of the door and quarter lined up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[69GT 0]

Went by to check out the progress today. They pulled the windshield and rear window. Found some rust I had forgotten about. There is some rust in the trunk that had gone all the way through. I ordered up some replacement trunk floor pieces for the body guy to replace. Driver side quarter is completed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bnickel 10,004]

moving right along. when are they supposed to have it painted and all done? i can't wait to see the final results

[69GT 0]

Well, they quoted me theyd have it done before christmas. At the rate they are making progress Im thinking maybe by November?

[bnickel 10,004]

Well, they quoted me theyd have it done before christmas. At the rate they are making progress Im thinking maybe by November?

 

 

cool. the shop that did mine originally quoted me 6-8 weeks then took almost 9 months but he cut me some slack on the price since i let him use it as a fill-in car for when the shop was slow

[69GT 0]

Went by yesterday to check out progress. The driver side they were working on is in primer and he already took out the passenger quarter panel. After seeing both driver and passenger side outer wheel wells im glad I went with replacement metal. Both of them were pretty bad, especially in the corners. I took some pictures of the primer and removed quarter. I also got a couple of the passenger side lower part of the back window rust. One shot is from outside, the other is looking from inside the trunk up towards the roof.