Body work

[70mstang 11]

That is a sweeeeeeeet blue!

[69GT 0]

oh man these guys are good!!!!!!!!! you're paint job will be even nicer than mine. how much is this job going to cost you when it's done? hell, if it's cheap enough i'll ship the cougar to them for paint

 

Well, the entire job is kinda expensive. But for just paint, we kind of factored it into the entire cost but so far for the paint itself I think it was something like $460. Kind of hard at this point to tell you how much painting it alone will cost, but im still excited!

 

I stopped by today and still more progress! The trunk lid got painted a while ago, I just never got to see it so I got a picture of that. The inner part of both fenders has been painted as well as shot with undercoat. However its not all good. Something was bound to happen eventually but we've run into the bump that others have hit as well with reproduction pieces not fitting up correctly. The problem is with the fender and door lower body line. With the top body line aligned the bottom line is off slightly. Its not by much so someone probably wouldn't notice it unless they got down there but its still kind of a bummer. The body guy is going to see what he can do to try and get them to line up as best he can and try to make the lines as close as possible.

 

Also, it turns out that my intake manifold was hitting the hood slightly but I just never noticed it. Part of the nut that holds on the throttle body hits the cutout for the hood scoop. Its nothing that can't be fixed but I just had no idea of how little space I actually have with that intake on it. Nothing a little bit of griding and filing can't fix. (not on the hood of course)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[69GT 0]

Went by today and more progress. The body guy who checks this forum once in a while and thinks its funny I call him the body guy, shall now be referred to as Steve! :tongue_smilie: Steve started the block sanding and all the body parts are on the car again! The hood problem has been kind of resolved. We decided to trim a little bit more off the hood to give it a little bit more clearance. That along with a little grinding on the throttle body should take care of the clearance problem. I also took the GT gas cap and hub caps with me to repaint the emblems. We'll see how well they turn out.

 

 

 

 

 

[unfrozen1969 11]

It's not just Steve, it is King Steve...Good work Steve, you are making us all envious and proud.

 

Bill from Canada, eh.

[69GT 0]

It's not just Steve, it is King Steve...Good work Steve, you are making us all envious and proud.

 

Bill from Canada, eh.

 

:biggrin: I'll make sure he reads this.

[bnickel 10,004]

even more anxious to see the final paint now!!!!!!

 

BTW, on the gas cap and hub cap emblems i found a Testors model paint called Taillight red metallic that is a great match to the original red used on them, it's not a bright cherry red type paint but a slightly darker translucent red metallic that looks sweet.

[69GT 0]

Haha dang, wish I would have read that earlier. I actually just finished painting the gas cap. I masked off everything and painted it. Id say it turned out decent, not super good but better that it was to start with. The red is darker than what it looks like in the picture, looks kind of pinkish in that one. I think it just needs a little cleaning up around the edges and it will be fine. Also got around the gear on the outside, that took forever to mask and cut out everything.

 

 

 

[bnickel 10,004]

looks good. a quicke tip to help the cap look better overall is to find one of the repro standard 69 pop open caps for cheap and use the base and the catch with your original gear tooth outer cap. that's what i did on mine and it the difference is great.

 

here's one of the ones i'm talking about

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1969-MUSTANG-MACH-1-FLIP-DOWN-FUEL-CAP_W0QQitemZ360116025205QQihZ023QQcategoryZ6763QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

 

the new chrome base from the repro cap will make a huge difference in how the cap looks. it will look so good that you will have to look closely to see the crazing on the outer GT part of the cap

[69GT 0]

Hmm thats a good idea. Just a couple of screws to swap over the old cap. The base is actually kinda bad. I tried to polish it up but there are cracks in it where the chrome is just plain gone.

[bnickel 10,004]

i really wish someone would repro the 69 GT cap but as there are so few of them around still it isn't likely to happen, and probably 2/3 of the original caps still around look like ours or worse. the one my car now is one i snatched up off of ebay a few years ago and it was the best one i could find. my original cap has dent next to the "T" from a bumper jack slipping and of course it had to hit the cap, what really sucks about is the chrome on the outer cap was almost perfect with only some very light crazing.

[69GT 0]

Well its been a while since I've posted progress pictures but its mostly in prep stages so theres not a whole lot to see. Before christmas it was getting final touches to the body and getting prepped for a final coat of primer. Currently it has its final primer coat and is getting block sanded for actual paint. This is just that final stage that feels like it takes forever because its so close to being done!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bnickel 10,004]

any new updates yet? i'm getting anxious to see the final paint job!!!!!!!

[69GT 0]

Ya kind of an update. Man believe me, I want my car back so bad but I also don't want to rush them. The new fender has given them a little bit of trouble. The original headlight bucket didn't quite want to fit up with the new fender and neither does the front spoiler. If you look closely in the first picture, you can see the fender drops down a little lower than the headlight bucket and the curves around the outside of the fender don't quite match up with the headlight.

 

The fender and headlight bucket have been taken care of. The car has been block sanded already so now it just needs to be hand sanded with 500 grit and its good for paint. So its close, just no projected date yet!

 

Edit: I think the second to last picture makes the car look rather angry. :angry:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[69GT 0]

Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present to you a painted mustang. :biggrin: Steve worked his butt of Friday and stayed late to get it panted and then came back Saturday to finish her up. The blackout hood and door stripes haven't been put on yet. Its going to get a little bit of sanding to take down the almost non-existent orange peel and then buffed. I am very happy with the color. With it in the light the car looks to be almost 3 different colors depending on how you look at it. I cant tell you how cool it is to be able to see actual refections of things in the paint! In one of them you can see the little red Honda I've been having to drive around the absence of my Mustang. But less talking, more pictures!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jkskinsfan 19]

Looking good, 69GT. I am soooo envious. I won't have mine ready for paint untill the weather here in Maryland warms up. Probably another two or three months.

[Chappy 18]

Looks good! What color is it?

[bnickel 10,004]

beautiful!!!!!!!!! love that acapulco blue when it shines, such a beautiful color and your paint guy did a marvelous job. outstanding!!!!!!! can't wait to see it all striped out and stuff.

[70mstang 11]

Looking fabulous!!

 

I have a quick question on door jams. I have some rust on my convertible around the hinges. My Driver side has a rust through where the windshield pillar connects but it isn't huge. I am wondering if you or anyone else may have had to replace metal in the jams and what the best way to do this is.

 

Thanks!

Ed

[69GT 0]

I had a little rust below the door jam switch, but they took care of it for me. I don't know what method was used to fix it.

 

As for the car, all the small pieces are painted on it now. Cowl, headlight buckets, quarter extensions, chin spoiler, and rear valance. Also ordered up a bunch of weather stripping and random parts to get the car put back together. I actually have some questions on parts if anyone has an answer for me.

 

I'm looking for the clips used to hold on the trim around the windshield, I guess they currently aren't being made? The second is the stainless steel strip that attaches to the rear of the window that seals the quarter glass. Mine got beat up and split down the middle and I can't seem to find those things anywhere either. The last part is a new side mirror. It's not the 'bullet' or racing mirror but rather one with a rectangular base and remote adjust. I can't seem to find that thing either. Took it by a local mustang parts guy and he said it looks similar to a 68 mirror but he thinks the base is different. Anyone have an ideas on these parts?

[bnickel 10,004]

I had a little rust below the door jam switch, but they took care of it for me. I don't know what method was used to fix it.

 

As for the car, all the small pieces are painted on it now. Cowl, headlight buckets, quarter extensions, chin spoiler, and rear valance. Also ordered up a bunch of weather stripping and random parts to get the car put back together. I actually have some questions on parts if anyone has an answer for me.

 

I'm looking for the clips used to hold on the trim around the windshield, I guess they currently aren't being made? The second is the stainless steel strip that attaches to the rear of the window that seals the quarter glass. Mine got beat up and split down the middle and I can't seem to find those things anywhere either. The last part is a new side mirror. It's not the 'bullet' or racing mirror but rather one with a rectangular base and remote adjust. I can't seem to find that thing either. Took it by a local mustang parts guy and he said it looks similar to a 68 mirror but he thinks the base is different. Anyone have an ideas on these parts?

 

 

 

the trim clips can be found at just about any glass shop but Scott drake makes them also. the side mirror is a 69 only part and is not being repro'd at this time, i see them on ebay a bunch though, i also see the stainless trim on ebay ocassionally as well, i do not know if that piece is being repro'd or not but i seem to remember possibly seeing it listed in one of the catalogs before though.

[bnickel 10,004]

trim clips

 

http://mustangsunlimited.com/itemdy01.asp?T1=8941+01&Category=&catkey=emustang

 

window trim

 

http://mustangsunlimited.com/itemdy01.asp?T1=F2200+01&Category=&catkey=emustang

 

this is listed for 69 and 70 but is only technically correct for a 70, however it works much better than the 69 piece, you'll need the correct 70 weatherstrip pieces as well to make these work but it will be well worth it in the end. watch out for the weatherstrip pieces that say they are for 69 and 70 though because they aren't they are 69 pieces and they'll work but not nearly as well as the right weatherstrip for the 70 model which is listed as 70 only because it is designed specifically for this trim piece. i'd get both trims and matching weatherstrips if it were me. you can get the 69 trim used from www.westcoastclassiccougarinc.com though if that's all you really want to do.

 

 

i found a this mirror on ebay, it's not a prefect NOS piece but it seems to be pretty nice. it needs the adjuster knob but if you still have your old you can just swap it out, it's pressed in so it's not real easy to get it out but you just have to work it a little and it will come loose.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1969-69-Ford-Mustang-Deluxe-Door-Remote-Mirror-LH_W0QQitemZ200299356266QQihZ010QQcategoryZ140707QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

forget that one, here's an NOS mirror that's even cheaper

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1969-Mustang-Remote-Controlled-Mirror_W0QQitemZ350114292007QQihZ022QQcategoryZ10076QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[69GT 0]

Wow bnickel, my car and I thank you! So the window trim is listed for a fastback, but it will work fine on a coupe with 70 weatherstripping? Thats the stripping that attaches to the trim right? As for the mirror, I think I'm going to have to buy that one up. :shifty:

[bnickel 10,004]

actually i don't think the fastback trim will work on a coup, fastback windows are shorter because the roof slopes down more than on a coupe. i totally missed that. i'll see if can find the right pieces. the mirror is right though, i'm sure of that because my car had the same mirror, i just added the sport mirrors

[bnickel 10,004]

well i looked everywhere i could think of and couldn't any repro pieces, maybe i was thinking of the fastback pieces but i could swear i'd seen some repro coupe pieces somewhere. west coast classic cougar lists the 69 pieces but doesn't list the 70 pieces, that doesn't mean they don't have them, they just aren't listed on their site. i'm sure they do have them, they have been parting out cougars for something like 20 years and they are the largest used cougar parts place in the country so i have no doubt that they have them in stock, you'll just need to call them

[69GT 0]

I'll keep that in mind. I actually just got back from talking to the local mustang parts guy and he has a lead on one. Someone he knows that does parts also I guess has this piece. He was going to call me later with more details on it but hopefully this will work out.