'67 notch revival

[thebruce]

So here it is.

Got this sweetheart about 5 years ago, drove it a summer, and it has been slowly been worked on and this winter it will be the primary tenant in my shop, as soon as I evict the current deadbeat.

The above picture was taken so I could gloat at my coworker who had sold his 2001 gt mustang the previous autumn and bought a 2012 civic si (boo, hiss). Probably a reasonable thing to do considering the civic can be driven in the winter, even if it isn't.

Shortly after sending him that picture, and asking "Where's yours?" I find this:


Ouch.

So I bring it down to ye Olde shoppe and proceed to weld patches into the torque box and floorboards.






So I know they sell floorboards and welders that don't have to use Flux core wire and all sorts of magical things, but at the time I was doing all this I had aforementioned welder, most of a 4'x8' piece of sheet metal, and more time than money.

 

[thebruce]

And so after spending the following winter in my shop, it came out looking more or less like this, and has stayed like that due to other diversions, going to trades school, and other things unrelated. Small dog optional.



My objectives for the next 6 months or so are:
Get the shop ready.
Insert mustang into shop.
Save money and buy csrp .4 kit and roller perches from ORP. Renew worn steering and suspension components otherwise. Arning drop.
Shoulder belts in front and back. I love my kids and wife. Collapsible column kind of secondary but wanted. I am the most expendable.
Exterior down to bare metal and at least patched so there is metal to put filler on. I'm not looking for perfection, but if I can I will. SPI black epoxy primer as topcoat so I can come back later and fix body properly.
Seal the cowl leaks. I'm going in behind the front fenders.
Install the new headliner and other things I have forgotten that are in the trunk of the car waiting.
Pull the motor and patch the small rust spots on the front framerails. Paint motor the dark ford blue, install weiand stealth and holley 4bbl carb.
While the motor is out I may as well clean up and paint the engine bay. A couple patches to weld in as well. Maybe some custom electrical gizmos because that's what I do. Homebrew immobilizer for sure.

Running out of plans, and this amount of work is quite time consuming and the list may evolve or be stripped down as time goes on.

 

[Horseplay]

Admirable efforts thus far. I would caution you to consider going after the cowl leaks in a more conventional way, that being removing the top and bottom and replacing at least the bottom piece in its entirety. Really not that much more work for a finished product you can be assured is good to go. I'm betting you'll find a lot more rot in there than expected judging by what little we've seen of the car so far.

You can save some cash by making your own roller perches too. Not trying to steal a sale from John but it is possible.

Love your little co-worker/pilot

 

[B67FSTB]

A 67 !! love that year !!
As Terry said , do the cowl as he said but take first some measurement of the top of the cowl ( read : center of cowl to A-pillar , both ways )
Cause when you finished that , you could end up with different gap measurements between RH to hood and LH to hood . Importanta !!

Then in this order : first structurel frame repair , then brakes , then suspension and steering , then drivetrain and later on cosmetic stuff.

my 0.02 eurocent

 

[thebruce]

As much as I don't want to remove the cowl, you are probably right. Rest assured that it will be measured before removal!
I had a look at it from under the dash earlier and it didn't seem too bad, but I could feel a spot that definitely has some rot. I looked through a few threads where it looked like you could see right through the upper and lower cowl into the floor of the car, before cutting, so I'm optimistic it won't be as bad as that.
I'll remove the fenders, vents and windshield when I get it into the shop so I can have a really good look.

I have contemplated the DIY roller perches, but with my dwindling spare time vs. the relatively low cost on top of all the other things I will be buying I will probably just pay the man. I'll be too busy drilling spot welds on the cowl... !

I should revise the above list as it doesn't reflect a sane order of operations. It was more a brainstorm of all the things I would like to make it safe and driveable and run a little better. Was pretty tired finishing up that last post.

I did some work on the bike occupying the shop today. Put new valve seals in the head and installed the piston and cylinder and hung the new timing chain.
Hoping to be rid of it by the end of the weekend, then I can move some stuff out and get the mustang at least pointed at the shop.
About once a year I have to be reminded why I don't work on other people's junk anymore...

 

[B67FSTB]

" About once a year I have to be reminded why I don't work on other people's junk anymore..."

Same here man. I feel your pain .

 

[tarafied1]

So here it is.
View attachment 28525

So I bring it down to ye Olde shoppe and proceed to weld patches into the torque box and floorboards.

So I know they sell floorboards and welders that don't have to use Flux core wire and all sorts of magical things, but at the time I was doing all this I had aforementioned welder, most of a 4'x8' piece of sheet metal, and more time than money.

Love the commentary! and I have built mine the same way. As I have time and money. Sometimes I have to do things over later but when I first got I tore it down to bare bones with great ambition. After it sat for a LONG time and seamed so overwhelming and so far away from completion, I just started to put it back together so I could drive it! Then I did weekend projects (that sometimes lasted weeks) but it could go back together and drive with in a reasonable amount of time. It wasn't pretty but I enjoyed it finally. And people seamed to like it anyway!
It looked like the pics below for 15 years until my wife said "we at least need to make it all one color" so I shot it with grey primer and drove it like that for another two years. She also decided it needed an interior! but anyway, love your project and your helper

 

[B67FSTB]

What a scoop !!!

 

[thebruce]

Need a scoop that big to fit ALL THAT MOTOR! (429, no?) Must absolutely boogie in a car that size. I know the dead stock one in my Galaxie is pretty torquey....
That dual snorkel air cleaner is classic.

 

[tarafied1]

Need a scoop that big to fit ALL THAT MOTOR! (429, no?) Must absolutely boogie in a car that size. I know the dead stock one in my Galaxie is pretty torquey....
That dual snorkel air cleaner is classic.

it was a 460 in those pics. And the air cleaner assembly was off a 1985 Mustang GT (Last of the carbed Stangs). It has a 429 now. The 460 needed rebuilt and was already bored to the max so I went in search of a block. Found a sweet deal on this 429 so I built it instead. I thought about putting the 460 crank in it but sadly I did not. And yeah, it's got gobs of torque! It handle surprisingly well too thank to ORP!

 

[Fst Blk]

That hood looks familiar.

 

[B67FSTB]

It is !!

 

[tarafied1]

yes indeed! same hood. that was the stock hood on my first car I bought when I was 15, back in 1981. I had stashed it away because I put a turn signal hood on it. Now Bill has it!

 

[Fst Blk]

Wow. 15. That is a long time. Looks like it's gonna be my hood minus the scoop though.

 

[Midlife]

The Hood and the Boyz.

 

[thebruce]

The Hood and the Boyz.

Was not expecting that reference. Well played, sir.

I thought about putting the 460 crank in it but sadly I did not

I just looked at the bore vs. stroke of the 385s. I didn't realize how oversquare and how far under 4.5" of stroke they are. I used to fiddle with Harleys, their motors are usually undersquare. To the point that the piston speed of the strokers causes some issues. For some reason I was expecting the stroke of the 460 to be longer.
The extra cubes would probably have been nice, but I'm sure there's no huge deficit in power as is.
I've been dreaming about the kaase boss 9 heads since I heard of them... those will make up the difference for you.

Better watch that hood don't give your car the herp. It's been around...

Managed to get the neighbour's kid's dirt bike out of the shop. Did an el cheapo rebuild as it was burning lots of oil. It had super worn rings and the intake valve was hanging open for a very long time from lack of adjustment. Cam was galled, I warned that the intake valve was probably bitched too (both it and the guide were, I found after) . "Bolt it back together" he says. Runs like a top, doesn't burn oil. I don't have much expectation for longevity, but those little 4 cycle Hondas are tough as hell.
I absolutely hate doing work like that, but don't have the time or desire to argue with people what they want. Plus it frees up the shop for other things...

Got about a cord of firewood yesterday and did some maintenance on the roofs of shop and house so I didn't directly work on the car, but made a bit of dough and cleared the way for the winter's project over the weekend.

 

[JRANGER]

Nice work....4 years pretty much on mine...

 

[tarafied1]

.
I've been dreaming about the kaase boss 9 heads since I heard of them... those will make up the difference for you.

me too!!! but they are out of my price range. I do have some aluminum heads for it though. Winter project

 

[thebruce]

Quite pricy for sure. But a guy has to dream...

Didn't have work yesterday, so I split and stacked some firewood, and managed to get the old girl into the shop!

 

[thebruce]

Stumpy thumb hit post instead of upload.
These ain't piano playin hands...