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It's a bittersweet feeling...

K

Kats66Pny

Active Member
Finally got some room cleared out in the garage, and got Gertrude moved in to her stable (which was pretty fun with no brakes!) so now the fun part begins.... taking my pony apart. :hide

It's a sad feeling thinking I won't be driving her for who knows how long, but on the other hand it's an exciting feeling thinking of actually getting around to fixing her up. :yah
 
There's more than just brakes than need to be worked on. The only thing good on my mustang is the engine. LOL I just didn't want to mess with any of it until I have my fun driving her for a while before I take her apart.

* Convert from single to dual master cylinder
* Redo the drum brakes front & rear
* Replace front & rear suspension..and do a shelby drop
* Replace the radiator
* Redo the wiring
* Replace an apron and put the battery back in the front
* Interior
* Swap to an AOD
* Replace the entire cowl vent (shoot me now)
* Body work / put on an "Eleanor" kit
* I'm still deciding if I want to pull the motor out and clean up the engine bay and make it nice looking or not.
 
As close as you will be to the engine, I would pull it and do the engine bay too. This will really help on the cowl repair as you can work from the engine bay without worrying about crap getting all over/in the engine.

Take tons of pictures to show the how to for reassembly. Label pictures and locations because by the time you need them, you will have forgotten where you stashed them.

Bag and tag all hardware AS YOU REMOVE IT.........keep things separate as far as left and right sides too. Sandwich size zip locks and 3x5 cards to label on the inside with. Writing on the bag does not work.

Don't get in a hurry......
 
Pete nailed it 100%. It took me 4 years to get Shag up and running. You can tolerate a fraction of that time.
 
+1 for me with what Pete said.

Do you still need a black dash pad?

I am changing Ed's to a blue one that I have sitting here and will have a black one that I can send your way.

Mel
 
"AzPete" said:
As close as you will be to the engine, I would pull it and do the engine bay too. This will really help on the cowl repair as you can work from the engine bay without worrying about crap getting all over/in the engine.

Take tons of pictures to show the how to for reassembly. Label pictures and locations because by the time you need them, you will have forgotten where you stashed them.

Bag and tag all hardware AS YOU REMOVE IT.........keep things separate as far as left and right sides too. Sandwich size zip locks and 3x5 cards to label on the inside with. Writing on the bag does not work.

Don't get in a hurry......
Click to expand...

Agree....except when I took my front end apart I didn't take pictures...I took video at various stopping points along the way and pointed out to myself "notice how these bolts go" and things of that nature. Also, get a body assembly manual prior to putting it back together. The fix is also a good source....

For storing bolts, another idea is put them back where they go. For example, I pulled the AC compressor out of the TA and the bolts are generally speaking in the holes where they belong a little more than hand tight until I get around to bolting in the new compressor and lines. Some of the bolts are hand tight in the spot they go on the compressor that is currently sitting in the corner of the garage.

You don't have to pull the motor for the fender apron but I'd pull it if it were me doing the cowl vent if nothing else to give better access.
 
July, 2017. Kat issues the following report:

Hi Guys! Another update for you about Gertie. After getting the engine and the rest of the drive-train in, I've spent the past 3 months getting the interior in, and need to decide on a steering wheel. Do you think a wooden wheel will be too much bling? Once I select a wheel, I should be able to finally start the new motor over and take Gertie around the block for her inaugural drive! I can't wait!
 
Several of the items on your list wouldn't take very long individually. If you had all the harnesses ready to go you could rewire the whole car in a Saturday's worth of work, etc.

It's going to be the expense (and the cowl vent) that will probably slow you down the most.
 
From Pete's reply:

Bag and tag all hardware AS YOU REMOVE IT.........keep things separate as far as left and right sides too. Sandwich size zip locks and 3x5 cards to label on the inside with. Writing on the bag does not work.
Click to expand...


To expand on this, DO NOT trust your memory for even the slightest detail! When removing ANY hardware items, immediately BAG & TAG the item and include a detailed description within the ziplock bag of EXACTLY where each item was removed from.

I still have ziplock bags leftover from 15 years ago that contain a few loose hardware items with the not-so-much-help note in the bag that say's "trunk" or "interior". What seemed very obvious during the removal phase became very frustrating during the assembly phase when the note that I'd written didn't really help me much. Be specific with your note taking! Use the space on the 3x5 card to write EXACT details of where/how the removed item came from.

Most of the Mustangs I've bought over the years have been abandoned projects. Where the owner stripped the car, threw ALL of the hardware into empty coffee cans and then couldn't exactly figure out how to "put humpty-dumpty back together again". The quickest way for you scare away 99% of potential buyers is to disassemble a car. Put yourself in a good position to re-assemble the car by taking the time to accurately record the disassembly process.
 
"daveSanborn" said:
From Pete's reply:


To expand on this, DO NOT trust your memory for even the slightest detail! When removing ANY hardware items, immediately BAG & TAG the item and include a detailed description within the ziplock bag of EXACTLY where each item was removed from.
Click to expand...

And to expand on this as well. Take pics. You do not need to print them out, just store them on your puter and reference them to the part removed.

fd
 
What I was just thinking is that sitting for a long time is pretty bad for a motor.

You could break your task list into logical groupings. Get some of it done, drive her a bit, get some more done, drive some more, etc.

Maybe do the suspension / brake upgrades then drive her for a couple of months, etc.

Just a thought but it would spread the cost out some as well.
 
What I was just thinking is that sitting for a long time is pretty bad for a motor
Click to expand...


If the engine is sitting outside uncovered and exposed to the elements, I agree, but there's no reason to think that a motor in good running condition would deteriorate if stored in a garage/shelter. I suppose it's possible that a fuel pump diaphragm could deteriorate over an extended period of time, but not much more than it would in operation.
 
Put the engine on a stand, and cover it with a 55 gallon plastic trash bag, tieing off the opening. What I did was first take out the spark plugs and shoot a tablespoon of motor oil into each cylinder. I then drained the oil from the pan and removed any remaining water. Once a month, I rotated the engine 1.25 turns so that the lifters got some action and didn't sit in the same position for more than a month. After 5 years, the car started up (albeit with one lifter kinda noisy...but it went away quickly), but I did have to replace the fuel pump and water pump after those sat so long.
 
Only reason I thought of it is due to one time a buddy of mine bought a car that had really low miles because the previous owner was a collector that never really drove the car.

It was low miles but lacked power among other "issues" under the hood and the motor needed to be pulled to go through it...of course that was a bunch of years worth of just sitting....
 
Mid's reply is spot on - oil the cylinder well. The cylinders where valves are open will collect condensation & rust, even in a garage. Especially one you heat only when you are out there.

Ask me how I know.
 
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