latoracing 256 Report post Posted November 5, 2016 As the "quilt work" continues, the driver's side tower was given a makeover, so it wouldn't be jealous of the other side. In between making the apron patches and getting them welded in place, I was also stripping the outside shock tower and upper frame rail. (prepping for the B-302 braces) The apron patches were metal finished once I got them permanently attached to the newly repaired tower top. A little primer made them look presentable. With the battery apron MIA, I might go on and get all the shock tower mods / repairs accomplished before installing that, and the rear passenger side apron patch. The passenger side tower has issues, as it has been heavily brazed in it's past. There are a few areas that will need attention, along with inspection of the previous repairs. With the apron on the floor, the tower is much easier to access. This "quilt" is all most done, then its time for a few mods. More to come.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vicfreg 771 Report post Posted November 9, 2016 Mike, nice work. Can't wait to see the B302 dogbones and the shock tower wraps go in. Funny about the brazing that you found, another 3 beer repair story from the 1970s....... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
latoracing 256 Report post Posted November 12, 2016 This past week has been one of those tedious, one thing leads to another repairs. As I had previously posted pictures of the passenger side shock tower and all of it's lovely brazing work, the more I looked, the more there was to fix. One of the first areas I had found was the forward side, next to the UCA area had a large vertical crack, which I stop drilled. I brought the TIG back over in order to accurately weld this all back together. Not that MIG wouldn't have done a great job, I just find it easier to follow a very curvy line and weld up hill with the TIG. Looking at the top of the frame rail to the forward attachment tab, I noticed the spot welds had broken and the front of the tower was 1/2" ish towards the inside of the engine bay. (Green highlights were added for clarity) Along with more brazing and cracking at the spot welds on the inside. As the metal was all but gone from rust, and brazing on top of rust, I decided to replace a small section, along with the attachment flange on the inside. With the mounts basically "disconnected" I used the porta-power to get all the pieces back to where they belong. This thing must have had some more hit to the suspension at some point in its life. Almost like it had been ditched going backwards, least what I could envision. As the hydraulic helper was keeping the tower still, I welded it back in place, so the patching could resume. Taking the time to undo the brazing, I discovered more broken factory spot welds and more rust. Adding more rosette welds to the middle section of the tower, and patching the same are in the rear of the tower made the majority of the old repairs disappear. I welded all the patch seams solid, then metal finished all the areas. As I was all cozy sitting on my stool in the engine bay, I went ahead and trimmed in the tower reinforcement for the rear driver's side. The top of the frame to the shock tower seam was welded solid, after a thorough cleaning. The B-302 plate was trimmed to fit, and the area got a good coating of POR-15. This has been left to dry so the next time I'm out there, more parts can get welded in place. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vicfreg 771 Report post Posted November 16, 2016 Mike, nice work. Another piece of Mustang history uncovered, with the backwards crash sometime in the 1970's.....maybe the driver dropped his 8 track tape and lost control.....lol..... Thanks so much for bringing it back to life.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
latoracing 256 Report post Posted November 16, 2016 Got some welding done over the few days. The B-302 plate was welded in place. Finished trimming and drilling the reinforcements. With a little test fitting, they were prepped for installation. With a few tack welds and a couple "taps" with a 32oz ball peen, they were made to stay. Don't think they will be falling off any time soon. Now for the other side. I'll clean all of them up once the modifications are complete. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPM 1,190 Report post Posted November 17, 2016 32oz ball peen? Heck, that's almost two pounds! Looking real nice. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vicfreg 771 Report post Posted November 17, 2016 I agree on the 32 oz comment....like a small sledgehammer..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
latoracing 256 Report post Posted November 17, 2016 I agree on the 32 oz comment....like a small sledgehammer..... That is what I use for body work (no kidding) as it is one of my favorite hammers. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
latoracing 256 Report post Posted November 21, 2016 Been busy today and have gotten a good portion of the items on my to do list checked off. I got the driver's side shock tower welded to the frame rail on the inner portion. Trimmed, fitted and welded the B-302 plate in place. I did throughly coat the inside area with more POR-15 before capping it off I had the driver's side plates all trimmed and drilled, ready to install, so they were welded in place. I got out the grinding tools and started the clean up. I knocked down all the big stuff with a 40 grit flap wheel. I thought it might look a little more factory if I didn't fill the spot weld areas slam full, leaving a little indentation for cosmetic reasons. Since I welded the permitter of all these plates I didn't want them to look out of place so I made them look like they had been seam sealed, only with very high temp, very quick setting "seam sealer". Being careful to not remove the weld yet bevel it into the shock tower without digging into it is fun, and tedious. Once they were properly shaped, and a light hit with some scotch brite, they are presentable. I welded and cleaned up the tops all the way up. Gives it an even look. Having those areas all finalized, I punched the locations for the rosette weld holes on the battery apron, did a little prepping and fried it in place. Got some more grinding to do on all those spot welds, along with the last patch on the shock tower top. It's getting there. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPM 1,190 Report post Posted November 22, 2016 You have some mighty fine skills there Mike. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vicfreg 771 Report post Posted November 23, 2016 Getting close to the finish line... That battery tray was in a pile of junk in some big Tupperware bins....Mike noticed it was a NOS replacement part....nice....fits great. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
latoracing 256 Report post Posted November 26, 2016 As the replacement battery apron didn't have any fender attachment holes, it was in need of a little more attention. Bolting up the passenger side fender the holes were marked and the fender was removed. I made some templates of the necessary openings to make it look like it's supposed to. A little drilling and some filing, all the holes are ready for use. Tidying up a few more small projects, one of them was to roll the rear quarter panel wheel opening lips, just incase Vic wants to run some wider rear tires. I have used my forming bag as a sound / impact absorber on other vehicles when doing this same procedure. It was a little easier on the convertible as I could clamp the bag in place, and not have to strap it in place. The bag does a nice job, as the neighbors will attest to, and provides some much needed support in order to get the lip nice and flat to the inner wheel house. About 10 minutes a side, and they are ready to go. With the lips rolled, the outer tab on the bump stop was removed, just incase. With three sub projects left on my list, I wanted to get the sub frame connectors started. I temporarily installed the passenger side connector, marked the areas on the frame rails to be cleaned, and cleaned up the powder coating on the brackets for welding. I wanted to fit the driver's side next, stuck it under the car, and could not get it to go on. Pulling it back out from under the car with a little examination, realized the people at Global West had goofed. The brackets have a "P" or "D" stamped on the inside of each connector, I had the "D" on the driver's side. Putting the two parts side by side, they were welded at the same angle. Ooopss, that happens. So, off came the attachment bracket, the weld removed along with the powder coating in that area. I used a little paint stripper to clean the inside of the attachment bracket. In just a few minutes, it was all clean and ready for reattachment, this time, in the correct angle. I'll put the two pieces back under the car and weld the bracket in place, no one will ever know it was cut off... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Angel 24 Report post Posted November 29, 2016 Hmm. I also have global west SFC and i noticed during mock up that there seems to be an issue with how they mount. Now that I read your post, I wont be surprised if my set has that same issue. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
latoracing 256 Report post Posted December 3, 2016 Having a quite busy week but still got a little more done. Installed the "two piece" driver's side connector and tack welded it in the correct position. Removed it from under the car and fully welded the bracket back in place. Pretty straight forward from there as I had all ready cleaned the weld areas, both were made to stay. Next on the agenda was to get the Total Control panhard bar brackets installed. These brackets are a weld on item, so a little more cleaning. Following the directions, as I did not want these to be in the wrong location, I got a rough idea of where they were to be mounted, cleaned the rail and clamped them in place, well, that was on the passenger side. The driver's side, as we all know, the trunk floor is really tight to the frame rail. The directions said to weld the bracket perimeters all the way around, yea, sure. These brackets all but touch the bump stop bracket, and are 10.375" long, which puts the majority in that congested area . There is absolutely no way to get anything else in that area, much less see to weld. So, I made an access hole in the trunk drop off area just forward of the gas tank opening. Tack welded everything in place and the welding got under way. The galvanized frame rail protested a little, with a few blow throughs, but ended up welding nicely. I completed welding everything in place, just have to fix the "can opened" access hole in the trunk floor along with some patch work on the interior of the doors. This portion of the build is all but complete. Time for it to be on some wheels! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
latoracing 256 Report post Posted December 7, 2016 Got the can opened trunk floor welded back in place. With a little grinding, no one will ever know... I got started on fixing some holes that someone hacked in the lower inside doors to install speakers, nice... With a little metal and a few hundred tack welds, one patch down, several to go. There are a few rust areas that will need attention, they will also get some patches on them too. The body is ready to come off the fixture and get some temp suspension put under it. While it is on the lift, a few areas that need to be ground will be much easier to access, lifts make you lazy lol. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPM 1,190 Report post Posted December 7, 2016 I like the way you thought through your road block and were able to get to the area that needed welding Mike. And your new signature is spot on. 3 JeffreyVuff, latoracing and JamesSmoge reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
latoracing 256 Report post Posted December 9, 2016 This door is coming together, but the more I look, the more I find. The easy ones to spot... are fairly straight forward to make a patch... tack weld it in place... weld, weld, weld.... grind, grind, grind... on to the next patch. This area is a little bit more interesting. I got to play with my assortment of hammers and my stump (yea, that block of wood in my shop isn't for aesthetic purposes lol) and got the complicated portion of this patch roughed out. A little trimming, some more forming and it was tack welded in place. I didn't tack the bottom edge, as I had more to fix. Removing the rest of the swiss cheesed material, that patch went quickly and was tack welded in place. All that is left is to weld all this up and more grinding. Only 50 more places left to fix, on this door lol Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPM 1,190 Report post Posted December 10, 2016 Yikes! I am very grateful for my doors. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
latoracing 256 Report post Posted December 10, 2016 Took a break from the door repair to do something that this car hasn't done in a very long while, ROLL. Rolling on the make shift pallet it came on, and the ride on the frame table from the lift and back doesn't count. I cleaned up my mess as I was using the floor board for a tool holder, retracted the adjuster feet on the table and rolled it all over to the lift. A little positioning, unbolt the rear and up in the air it went. I had a few areas I wanted to touch up on the bottom side so a little grinding was in order. It is much easier to stand up and get to some of these places as compared to semi laying down under that table. A few pics of the underside, while it was suspended. I found one more rusty spot in the passenger side wheel well that needed a quick patch, so I fixed it. Digging out my old 8" rear and some ultra crunchy leaf springs, with equally crunchy bushings, I bolted all of the rear suspension in place. With some trend setting rear wheels, it sat on 3 wheels and is mobile once again. Rolling it back into it's hole, it looks funny all jacked up, just like back when I was a kid lol. Get the doors all fixed, and it will be off to the body shop. 1 Ridge Runner reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Machspeed 219 Report post Posted December 11, 2016 Mike, I think you did "all" the work on that car in the time it took me to remove the radiator support and two front aprons....LOL! After the body shop, will it be coming back to you for any additional work? Thanks for sharing buddy, guys like me glean a ton of useful information from projects like this. John Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
latoracing 256 Report post Posted December 11, 2016 Mike, I think you did "all" the work on that car in the time it took me to remove the radiator support and two front aprons....LOL! After the body shop, will it be coming back to you for any additional work? Thanks for sharing buddy, guys like me glean a ton of useful information from projects like this. John I do not foresee it coming back here, but am always open for other challenges, or other custom bits. With such a huge chunk of the car missing when I picked it up to having it rolling again is an accomplishment in and of itself. I'm glad I had the opportunity to reassemble another Mustang that could have easily been discarded as unfixable. Seeing this type of information shared on these forums has inspired me, and I am glad to share what I have learned with others to hopefully inspire them. Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vicfreg 771 Report post Posted December 11, 2016 I don't think the convertible will be back, but I am thinking my 1966 coupe will get to Mike's soon. Needs some quarter panels and a tail light panel. Plus, Mike needs something to do in his spare time.... :) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Machspeed 219 Report post Posted December 12, 2016 I don't think the convertible will be back, but I am thinking my 1966 coupe will get to Mike's soon. Needs some quarter panels and a tail light panel. Plus, Mike needs something to do in his spare time.... :) But the Grabber Green Mach is screaming at him for completion....lol! 1 RPM reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPM 1,190 Report post Posted December 12, 2016 But the Grabber Green Mach is screaming at him for completion....lol! No kidding! There are some of us who live vicariously thru Mike and his work on the 70 Grabber Green. By the way Mike, have you named your Mustang yet? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
latoracing 256 Report post Posted December 12, 2016 No kidding! There are some of us who live vicariously thru Mike and his work on the 70 Grabber Green. By the way Mike, have you named your Mustang yet? It is GREEN for a reason lol. ($$$$$$$$$) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
