Just Bought A 69 Coupe

[Lil John SVT 27]

1969 mustang Grande coupe. I went looked at it. All original interior, original vinyl top, still has the stickers on the inside if the trunk and engine bay. 351w, automatic, ps, a/c. After looking it over real good I bought it. Got it home and looked over it real good. It has some rust. Nothing terrible, front lower door, small spots at the lower quarter panels, and very little on the fender bottoms. The floor pans are good, except behind the drivers seat. Nothing major to me. I was excited to see the condition of the car.

 

But I started looking more into the car. To my surprise its not a original 315w car. Decoded the door tag. It came with a 6 cylinder. The swap fooled me. It looks original. Motor runs perfect. It has drum brakes all the way around. But there no pedal at all. Not sure what's the problem.

 

So I have a few questions,

The vinyl top has to go. It's all original but I don't like it. Any tips or tricks to removing it? I know there will be holes to fill but that's minor.

 

The brakes. I have no idea how well the drum brakes worked on the car. They are manual powered drum brakes all around. I like the look of the disc brakes. I've seen conversions kits from $500 to $1500. I know you get what you pay for. But I also know that some things are over priced. What's a good kit to buy? And should I switch to power brakes or leave the single master cylinder manual brake in the car?

 

The a/c is not original. The car came with a/c but it's a later pump. The motor has a serpentine belt system on it. One of the lines going into the firewall is cut and on the line with a hose clamp. I'm sure that leaks. Where can I order a custom made line?

 

Rust treatment. I know the best is to remove all the rust. But there's places like the door that I'd have to destroy the door to get to some spots. I've researched alot on the subject. I'm leaning towards either Por 15 or Rust Bullet. Any recommendations on rust coatings?

 

Thanks for any input. Sorry for the long post. Just excited.

[THE EVIL TW1N 12]

I really like Por15. I've used that and will continue to use that.

 

I'm not sure if I'd go power brakes, but definately would upgrade. I would do some nice 13" Cobra brakes since all the kits use the drum brake front spindles anyways. As for the rear, that's a toss up. You wont notice much improvement at all doing those up, but it wouldnt hurt anything (except your wallet a little).

[LiLMike 42]

+1 What Evil Twin said. Unless you are building a show car or doing some heavy racing, the rear disc upgrade is hardly any bang for the buck. The front disc is mandatory but keep the rear drum unless you just want to spend money for nothing. You will not notice any difference in everyday driving. My 2010 Ford Escape has drums on the rear if that tells you anything.

[maxum96 32]

Don't go off the door tag unless the VIN number on it matches the dash VIN tag. Doors have often been swapped in these 40+ year cars histories.

[danno 128]

The serpentine belt on the motor is a strong clue the motor was not original to the car. Does it have 4 or 5 lug wheels? The 6 cylinder cars had 4 lug wheels, v8 had 5 ( I think).

 

Is the AC an R12 or R134 system? If it is has a hole, you will need to change to a R134 system anyway. If the compressor has been changed, the odds are it is R134. Getting the hose replaced could be a big job if you have to remove the dash to get at the evaporator. Sometimes holes can be soldered or welded, maybe that would be another way to go?

[dennyb68 11]

250 6 cyl had 5 lugs 200 gad 4 lugs from what I can recall

[Tgriffin91 27]

Congrats on your purchase! Definitely check the vin in the front window as well as the one on the front quarter panel. Hopefully they match, and if not go with the one in the window as quarters are often replaces like doors.

Sounds like you have a good start overal.

I have never used Rust Bullet but POR15 works well.

Definietly get front disc. I'm almost to the point where my car is drivable and as soon as I can enjoy it (legally) I'm going to start saving for front discs.

Currently I have drums all around and they work. You just have to plan your stops a little farther out than normal. They will work until I can save some money.

Enjoy and keep us updated!

[Lil John SVT 27]

The car has 5 lug hubs all the way around. Ill look at the vin number when I get back home. Either way I love the car. The 351w is a huge plus for me. I'm not going for a all out original show car. I want to fix it the way I like it and enjoy it. So if it has a few add ons oh well. I'm gonna do a disc brake swap on the front. I have to figure out why the brakes aren't working now. There's no pedal pressure at all. The car sat for over 14 years in a garage. So I'm not sure if the mater cylinder went out or the fluid has leaked out. I was pressed for time when I got her home so I didn't check much on the car. But when I do get home ill go thru the car.

 

The passenger door and quarter windows are out of the car. The owner said they need to be glued back in. I've researched this and read good and bad stories on glueing them back in. Any tips on getting it right the first time.

[FrozenMonkey 12]

If you don't have the patience for bullshit like me, I'd just take it to a auto glass place and have them glue it in. You probably won't have the luck I had but my drivers one came loose and the shop was going to charge $20 but just said whatever its free, took them 15 minutes. They did a good job on it too. Need to have them do the passenger now, its come out of its front channel.

 

If you want to find out what year the motor is, I believe there should be a serial number stamped either above the oil filter plug or above where the starter motor is. Post that up here and we should be able to decode the vin (or google can for you if you want to find out yourself). Might not be a big deal but could be fun to know where it came from.

[Mike65 476]

250 6 cyl had 5 lugs 200 gad 4 lugs from what I can recall

 

That is correct.

[RPM 1,190]

Welcome to the site, and congrats on your 69 purchase. If I were you, I'd check the rear end to see if the original 6 cyl axle its in there. An 8 or 9" has access from the front, the 6 cyl rear has rear access. You need an 8 or 9" with a V8. Good luck.

 

Bob

[LiLMike 42]

The passenger door and quarter windows are out of the car. The owner said they need to be glued back in. I've researched this and read good and bad stories on glueing them back in. Any tips on getting it right the first time.

 

Food for thought, you can put in the 70 bolt-in-glass into a 69. I was thinking of doing this. CJ Pony Parts had the info on it and the parts list but they have since changed their website and it is not there. You could probably Google it and come up with what is required.

[Grande69 10]

Welcome to the forums! I, too, own a 1969 Mustang Grande however mine came with the numbers matching 351w and FMX. As far as removing the vinyl top; I had to remove mine because it was old and torn and I didn't like the look of it either. Also the birds decided to finish ripping it apart so I knew it had to go.

It took my buddy and I about 5 1/2 hours to peal off all the old vinyl pieces (which btw were glued on) and to sand off all the remaining glue from the roof, degrease the roof, prime it and sprayed it a flat black which is what it is now. A temporary fix, if you will, until it comes time to paint. I didn't have to remove any of the chrome trim pieces around the front windshield or rear window or the roof rail chrome, however I took a good while trimming the remaining vinyl out from the corners of the chrome trim pieces and just bondo the holes from the rear window (black) trim filler pieces.

 

One last thing, if your car still has the 4 piece black trim along the rear window carefully remove and Do not throw it away or damage it!! Those pieces are no longer reproduced and the only way to get a set is off of eBay or another mustang. I found that out the hard way.

 

Anyway, congrats on the car and good luck!

[Lil John SVT 27]

I do know the axle has no rear cover. I was looking at it when I was strapping it down. Confusing. But like posted before, no telling what the previous owners done. He said it was all original. Whether it was a sales pitch I don't know. I guess more time and decoding will tell the story. And yeah I noticed those rear glass trim prices are hard to come by. But that top has to go. To me the car looks so much better with out it. Once I get my laptop up and running ill be posting some pics of it. Thanks for the input

[LiLMike 42]

Here is some information on how you can determine whether or not you have a 9" rear end.

 

http://www.kevinstang.com/Ninecase.htm

[Tgriffin91 27]

 

The passenger door and quarter windows are out of the car. The owner said they need to be glued back in. I've researched this and read good and bad stories on glueing them back in. Any tips on getting it right the first time.

 

I just glued in both my drivers window and my rear window. It took about 2 hours for the drivers (mostly measuring and re measuring) and about 5 for the rear. I used 3M window glue and it seems to have worked very well. No leaks yet! The windows are pretty easy to do. The hardest part with the drivers window was getting it in and bolted up.

The quarter windows should be a piece of cake for gluing, but if you're looking long term for the driver and passenger window go with the bolt in. I decided to spend the $12 on glue as my car needed other things more such as a rear windshield and exhaust! :D

Just my experience.

[Tgriffin91 27]

By bolted up, I mean I took the window tracks out and had to bolt them in. Not bolt in windows. Which I would recommend if you have the money.

[Lil John SVT 27]

Yeah I found a dimension diagram that shows the placement of the pieces the glass glues in. I read some people glue the windows in and close the door and center it up on the seals before the glue sets. That way it's in the right place. I'm not sure if this is the right way or wrong way to do it.

 

On a side note, me and my wife was discussing the tag on the car. According to the tag in the door the car was pastel gray from the factory. But there's no gray on the car. It's completely white. If it was changed they reprinted the entire car. Even under the viynl top. So I'm hopping the tag is wrong.

[Mike65 476]

 

Pastel gray was a very light gray that looks almost white.

[69SlowResto 19]

My car was supposed to be pastel gray also...previous owner painted it pure white. Pastel Gray is an off white if you Google pictures of it.

 

Edit...see Mike's pic above.

[Lil John SVT 27]

Well hell. That looks like white to me. So maybe the tag is right. Non the less it doesn't matter. I'm not going for a factory looking mustang. I have the pic of what I want it to look like. So it'll be ok either way.

Mike65, that's one sweet looking ride you have.

[MN69Grande 203]

Another option if you go with the 70 style bolt in glass. You can change the windows over to power. That's what I'm going to do soon. I actually had to do body work on both doors on my 69 and replaced them with 70 doors. Now I've got a window kit from A1 and I'm going to use the crank as the switch. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

[Tgriffin91 27]

John,

 

When you go to actually do the windows PM me and I can help you through it if you need.

I would roll the windows up into the track to make sure they are aligned :D

[Mike65 476]

The way I used to do it was put the glue in the track, set the window in place & roll it all the way up with the door closed so the glue would dry with the window in the proper position.

[Lil John SVT 27]

Thanks for the input. It'll be a project for sure. But the end results will be worth it. I'm gonna start the body work when I get home. I was gonna replace alot of the body panels. But after reading horror stories about poor aftermarket panel figment I think I'll repair the factory sheet metal. The doors have some rust on the lower front corners. And the fenders have some at the bottom in the rear. Ill cut the bad parts out and put new metal in. Nothing major. The only concern I have is the drivers side quarter panel. It was hit before. The body work it isn't the greatest. The body line isn't crisp and it has some waves in it. I'm debating replacing the whole panel or just the back half.