And so it begins

[jjstang 51]

Hi all,  Been hanging around for years, and over at VMF, asking my questions and contributing where I can.  Thought I'd start my thread and give my story.  Bought my car several years ago off ebay.  After several questions I pulled the trigger.  The car arrived.  Well, the guy did miss-represent the car ( read that as lied) A LOT!!  The interior was pretty nasty and the wife would not even get in it.  So out came the interior.  That's when I discover the "rust free" car needed floors and a patch in a inner wheel well.  At least I couldn't find any more.  The "professional"  paint job was just terrible.  The seller told me that the door plate was lost during the painting.  Not true... its a '70 door!  The instrument panel is a '70 too. So I thought I was getting a really good deal but really paid what it probably worth.    So phase 1 of the restoration included the interior as well as the entire brakes, steering and suspension.   Been driving it around as my weekend warrior doing and the meets and such.  Everything but the engine leaks.  Been planning where I want the to go with the rebuild. And that is still a moving target.  So its has sat for the last few years as life got in the way.  Finally got the garage cleared out and the shop set up.  Started dismantling the car.  The good news is no rust in the cowl was found, the engine is original and so far I believe the rest of the drive train is also.  It looks like front floors and toe board need replacing.  I assume the torque boxes will need work and probably frame extensions too but they don't that bad yet.  Its been hit in the left front and left rear.  The lower rear quarters has been replaced. 

So the plan,,,,so far. Its nothing to special. A '69 Mach1, M code automatic.  It has factory a/c (not original). Been working on cars all my life and generally do modifications however I would like to try and stay with period correct mods.  In other words only the mods that would be done in that era. Well I already deviated and bought rack and pinion and a 4rw70.  I aim to go a trans-am direction, its all about corner carving! So its began...lots of photos, bag and tag and dreaming.  Bought a welder and I am going to learn how to use it.  Its coming completely apart .  I can be a little anal so I'm thinking about having it dipped and e-coated.  The debate is going back with it silver jade or resale red.  I like the red but the wife likes the silver jade.  We'll see who wins that one.  So I assume I'll have more questions so I'll say thanks in advance.  This is my first attempt at posting pics so we'll see if that worked.

 

 

 

[Raven R code 281]

Welcome aboard! I am down to a shell at the moment too. Is that the original color?

[Fantastic 57]

I'm an "original look" guy, but agree with adding factory options and performance upgrades. My original 351w has a full Edelbrock power package with all the HP I'll ever need, even with the addition of a factory A/C set up.

Color, I went original, but the Gulfstream Aqua screamed out for a white interior. Sometimes the car will tell you what it wants. I think yours is asking to stay with the original color options.. 

[jjstang 51]

Yes, silver jade is the original color.

 

Boy, this car is a really bastardized.  The driver door is '70 with '69 door panel, the passenger is a '69 door with a '70 door panel.  Go figure.

So its appears I'll also need front aprons, a driver partial front frame rail, radiator support,  driver truck drop off and bumper bracket.  Who knows what else I'll find.  It seems so much of the car was put together with one screw and the pile of non-standard fastener is growing rapidly.  It has the usual rot along the top of the aprons too.  Overall, not to bad I guess. 

[michael2938 24]

Other than the bolt in glass on the 70 (which is supposed to be better than the glue in glass on the '69), how can you tell apart the door?  Are there any other differences?

 

Also -- Silver Jade is an awesome color.  I was torn between that and Gulfstream Aqua on mine.

[stangnet33 88]

Looks like a great car for a rebuild. Nice to see another Silver Jade car, at least for now :) Look forward to following your progress !

[fvike 173]

Welcome to the site! First thing I thought when I saw the pictures was that it was a great looking car. After reading what you wrote, and studiyng the pictures, I see what you mean. Nice from a far, Far from nice. It's not all bad tho, '70 doors means '70 bolt in windows! My car also came with '70 doors on it when I bought it, and I'm glad it did. I would also go with the silver jade, just because red fades over time, so a it take a lot of work keeping it looking great. I read in Mark Stielow's book "Pro Touring" about the buildup of his '69 Camaro "Mule", that he didn't recommend e-coating; or rather, the stripping process beforehand. The acid was caught in out-of-reach places and never stopped reacting, which lead to rust. So you gotta investigate that process thorougly. The Stielow book is actually a very good book, with a lot of stuff in it. Worth a read. I thin they have it on amazon.com

[jjstang 51]

Other than the bolt in glass on the 70 (which is supposed to be better than the glue in glass on the '69), how can you tell apart the door?  Are there any other differences?

 

Also -- Silver Jade is an awesome color.  I was torn between that and Gulfstream Aqua on mine.

If I recall....I think the cut outs were different but mainly there were no holes for the data plate.  I t also had a '70 remote mirror and the the pull bracket was different.

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

Welcome to the site! First thing I thought when I saw the pictures was that it was a great looking car. After reading what you wrote, and studiyng the pictures, I see what you mean. Nice from a far, Far from nice. It's not all bad tho, '70 doors means '70 bolt in windows! My car also came with '70 doors on it when I bought it, and I'm glad it did. I would also go with the silver jade, just because red fades over time, so a it take a lot of work keeping it looking great. I read in Mark Stielow's book "Pro Touring" about the buildup of his '69 Camaro "Mule", that he didn't recommend e-coating; or rather, the stripping process beforehand. The acid was caught in out-of-reach places and never stopped reacting, which lead to rust. So you gotta investigate that process thorougly. The Stielow book is actually a very good book, with a lot of stuff in it. Worth a read. I thin they have it on amazon.com

This is correct ,i had a 37 Chevy chemical striped and the acid just kept comming out of any and all seams ,when it got wet especially .It stained the paint leaving streaks ,i would not recamend it .And the e coat is a pain in the butt ,it has to be sanded well or top coat will not stick and it will rust through .A good epoxy would be best .

[jjstang 51]

I've heard the problems with dipping, seems all methods have have issues.  Dipping seems to be the only way to get inside doors, frame rails and etc.  Just hate the idea that rust is lurking in there.    I speculated that if the dipper did the ecoat also,  that they might be sure to avoid some of the dipping issues.  Maybe I'm trying to hard. 

[RPM 1,190]

Sounds like our cars and rebuild plans started out as twins. I have a San Jose car vin 9R02M133461. I'll side with your wife as I certainly wish I'd have stuck with the original Silver Jade instead of painting mine Porsche India (or Indian) Red. The red paint on mine when purchased in 1989 was its 4th paint job, and I'd never seen a silver jade Mustang or knew what color silver jade was.

 

While stripping the car bare and starting fresh has its benefits, half of me wishes I'd have just done repairs which allowed me to continue driving the car during the rebuild the past 16 years. During my build I've been hit hard with a case of while I'm at it, might as well do...

 

There's more than one way to skin a cat, I wish you luck with your Mach 1.

[jjstang 51]

Here's an update.  It's finally stripped down, just a few minor things to deal with, assorted clips, j nuts, drip moldings, etc.  Started cutting out metal, really testing the various metal cutting tools to see what works best.  HF shears broke in about 6", but the body saw and a regular sawsall worked great.

 

The car is set up on 8 point screw jacks.  Used a laser level for the datum line.  Happy to say everything is in spec within 1/16 inch.  Surprising since its been hit in both the front and rear. 

[RPM 1,190]

Nice progress. I do like those screw jacks! I think if you go with silver jade you'll have your wife in your corner throughout the build, and it's a cool color.