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burnout289's 67 coupe project

Horseplay said:
You simply cannot beat NPD for stock and selection. I too buy a good deal from CJ's but expect to wait for most stuff to deliver. Catch something pricey on sale with them and you can save some money (plus get RPM points). For me, NPD is next day delivery if I order by noon. Plus, NPD does try to only sell the very best re-pop parts available.
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For me, it's about 2-day, but that still beats just about everything else. Summit is pretty quick, just more for generic items.

I really like how NPD states right in the part description, "Good repro" or "best repro" so you have an idea of what to expect.
 
Last night I cleaned up the tail lights and reinstalled with new gaskets/hardware. I took a look at my back up lights and they're pretty bad. Both lenses are cracked and the pigtails are cut off really short. I can't even get a butt connector on one of em. I started adding it all to my cart on NPD and decided to look up California Mustang. Saved a few bucks and they're really close by. I realized after placing my order that I probably could have just driven up there.

I also picked up a new license plate light. I had all kinds of trouble mounting mine, and the only way it fit seemed to be upside-down (with the little metal tab facing down). Pics online showed me that I have a 65-66 light!

Can anyone tell me what the license plate light shield is and how it mounts? I did not get one, as it makes no sense to me. Here's the NPD item: https://www.npdlink.com/store/products/mustang_shield_rear_license_plate_light_best-169779-449.html

More work tomorrow night. Hopefully we can get my fan shroud built finally. I really want to get the engine warmed up and make sure everything is working properly.
 
Also, last week I called up Shaun @ Street or Track and had a great chat about my future suspension plans. What a great guy to work with, he wasn't in a rush to get me off of the phone like some folks I've dealt with. Can't wait to start piecing together the coilover kit! First, though, I really need to pick up the ORP steering rebuild kit. Just saw it went up a few bucks.
 
I decided to skip a couple of repairs. The driver's side bumper bracket is all tweaked, as well as the lower valance and bumper on the passenger side. I really wanted to get the front end back together and really want to go with either an R-Style apron or a full fiberglass nose...so I decided to just delete the damn bumper altogether. Hell, just the brackets are a decent weight savings, not to mention the massive bumper itself.

 
I'm still on the fence between getting that R apron or the full front nose (with headlight buckets and grille surround built-in). I forget where I saw that. I'll just rock it like this in the meantime. Going for that TA look anyway!
 
burnout289 said:
I'm still on the fence between getting that R apron or the full front nose (with headlight buckets and grille surround built-in). I forget where I saw that. I'll just rock it like this in the meantime. Going for that TA look anyway!
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Maybe Rich at Mustangs to Fear?
 
I kept thinking MTF as well, but looks like his are only the Shelby-style for a long hood.

Ah, here it is! http://store.cobraautomotive.com/1967-68-r-model-style-apron/ ...not cheap, but replaces other parts. The Maier R-style apron is $514 from Mustangs Plus, but I only see it available with the molded lip. That makes me a little nervous with the crappy roads around here. I'd rather have a separate lip that can break away without taking half of the apron with it.

Edit: I had thought this piece did away with the grille surround and trim, but looks like it has holes for those. I was hoping to avoid replacing any of that trim/hardware with something that was fully molded.
 
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Yes, Cobra Automotive, Inc. I like that piece. If I hadn't gone Eleanor on mine, I would have done this
100_RMA67__42337__85899.1406371698.1280.1280.jpg

http://store.cobraautomotive.com/1967-68-r-model-style-apron-1/
 
I finished wiring up my gauges and installed the cluster. One of my AutoMeter lights is out, so I'll need to replace that. Voltage gauge jumps right to 12v with the key on.

However...should the gauge lighting and headlights have power through the switch even with the key off? Been a long time and who knows what I did 10 years ago. I'm cleaning up all kinds of stray crap. I jumped the AutoMeter lights off of the main dash light circuit, I want to say it's green w/ red stripe (19 on the diagrams).
 
Green/red is not 19; blue/red is the wire color. Green/red is used in two applications: brake switch power (always hot) and coil (RUN only). Blue/red is the dash lamp circuit.
 
That's it! I was a little groggy last night. It looked green, but when we peeled some of the wrap off, the green was really blue.

Should those be able to light up without the key in?
 
Doesn't feel like I accomplished much today. I put one side of the grille trim on, and didn't have enough of those little trim clip things to finish the other side. I think it's stupid that those little things are like $12.

I did pick up some other random hardware. New bolts for the grille to latch support, gauge bulbs, screws for the hood trim, nuts and washers for my hood pins (some just disappeared). After fiddling with them, I took the pins out and put the hood stops back in for now. I wasn't happy with now it was lining up, I think my hinges are struggling. I always have to push down on the back of the hood after closing.

Then I got restless and started mocking up a cardboard template for a radiator/grille shroud. I made one for a Subaru WRX I had a few years back, this is a little more complicated but not by much.
 
After a frustrating mishap by UPS, I finally have my NPD order that should have arrived yesterday. I'm still irritated about it. Once I get home and crack open the box, I see everything I ordered...just not everything I expected. Once again, I was going through it too quickly and didn't realize the turn signal lens is sold by EACH and not PAIR. My original lenses are not cracked, but they have overspray and are quite foggy with age. This one is so nice and crystal clear...and I only have one. Can't justify paying shipping again for just one item, so I'll need to wait until I have a new list going.

Honestly, nothing I ordered was critical, but I am glad that I now have a proper rear-view mirror. I have the upper mount that catches the visors, but as long as I've had the car, it's had a glued-on mirror. I've knocked it off several times and re-glued it, not knowing any better, and it's still in a box since the last time. Now I have a nice shiny new break-away mirror and mount!

I hear a Guinness calling my name.
 
Fan shroud finally completed! I actually got to let the engine warm up enough to make sure the fan works, and it sure does.


I drew up some plans and my friend made it today.


Sadly, the engine is overheating anyway. This was a cool-down after the first run around the block. Got up over 220F, still need to investigate further. You can see the grille cover mock-up I made as well.


After a couple of turns, we quickly realized the fender lips needed massaging. Jake busted out a hammer and dolly, and took care of the fronts. I still want to go back to a smaller adapter spacer, the steering is intense. Well, also all of the steering components are pretty bad.


The rears are a little better, but we'll need to pull the wheels off so he can really beat on them. Otherwise, I'll call my other friend who has a rolling tool.



Radiator has plenty of coolant, we thought it was maybe an air pocket, but not at this point. Belt was slipping, so we thought maybe water pump isn't spinning fast enough. Fixed that and still overheated. We did take it out on the road briefly to get air moving aside from the fan, and no luck. I'm wondering if it's a timing or leanness issue. Need to rent a timing light and find someone who actually knows how to tune a carb. Apparently I can take one apart and reubuild it with little fuss, but making it actually work properly? Nah...
 
Thermostat was new and water was flowing, although I brought it home tonight to test it in a pot of water.

Turns out the radiator was clogged. Either the shop didn't clean it like they said, or we didn't do a good enough job flushing the block. I drained and removed it, we'll take it somewhere with some high pressure water to blast the crud out. Then we'll use a filter to catch the junk in the block so it doesn't clog the radiator again.

Hate those backward steps, but it's the only way to go forward.

On a positive note, O'Reilley's had a replacement dimmer switch and now my headlights work!

On a really positive note, Jake has a buddy who has stopped by a few times while I've been working on the car. Apparently he was there yesterday and dropped off a little present for me...a new-in-box Scott Drake sequential tail light kit! All the wiring, bulbs, gaskets. How cool! So while at the parts store, I grabbed an electronic flasher for the hazards since it's required to run this kit.

Now I just need a new turn signal switch...mine isn't working and the hazard switch had broken off at some point. Well, at least I now have an excuse to pick up the other turn signal lens that I failed to get last time.
 
The radiator filter, aka pantyhose, caught a lot of junk last night. But the motor is still getting too hot too quickly, and there's water dribbling out the tail pipes. Looks like I'm in the market for some new head gaskets now. This weekend, we'll pull the top end off and I'm hoping this finally takes care of it.

I mounted the new turn signal switch but man, that little plug on the end is a huge PITA. I don't fit so well under the dash. I must have done this before, since I did replace this years ago with a cheaper repro. I'll tackle this again when I'm not so tired.
 
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