Sig's 68 Fastback

[sigtauenus]

Sam,

Which tires are you using on the front? Do the tires have a directional tread pattern on them? Because your's aren't matching....

Yes, they do have a directional pattern. I didn't notice when I put the tires on to take it to the body shop 2 years ago and I still haven't rotated them yet. I need to swap the driver rear and the passenger front.

 

[Fast68back]

looks like your getting close!

 

[apollard]

Great work, that is one sweet stang-

 

[Horseplay]

Sam,

Which tires are you using on the front? Do the tires have a directional tread pattern on them? Because your's aren't matching....

Damn! You either have exceptional eyesight or are really detail oriented. Even knowing what I was looking for it took a bit to see you were right about the tires.

 

[sigtauenus]

Damn! You either have exceptional eyesight or are really detail oriented. Even knowing what I was looking for it took a bit to see you were right about the tires.

I went back and looked too to see how he spotted that. I've been by Dave's house, and the way he keeps calling me out on stuff, he might not ever see my car in person. j/k Dave.

 

[daveSanborn]

Damn! You either have exceptional eyesight or are really detail oriented. Even knowing what I was looking for it took a bit to see you were right about the tires.

As the late Paul Harvey would say..... ".... and now for the rest of the story"

A couple years back Duane (blue65coupe) stopped by my house and we were out in the shop shooting the breeze. My '66 was just about done and sitting there in the shop. Duane noticed that my directional tread front tires were both facing in the wrong direction. I'd installed them without even thinking about the tread pattern.

:wm? mg


Since Duane caught me with mine screwed up I've started looking closer at everyone elses. It's not that I have an eye for every detail, just certain ones that I've previously screwed up!

 

[sigtauenus]

That actually makes sense. I forget what the psychological term is for that, but I assume its similar to when you buy a new car, you then notice everybody else who is driving that same car on the road, and it suddenly seems like there are a lot more of them than there was the day before. For most of us, we probably see every Mustang on the street, parked, in the weeds, or under a car cover too.

Sometime in the near future I'll have to put the car on jack stands and rotate the tires around. The car was tracked through some mud pulling it out of the paint shop, so I need to clean them up at the same time. At this point they probably should be replaced due to age (tires came with the wheels, but have some usable tread left), but I figured I might as well burn off the tread.

 

[sigtauenus]

Making slow progress.

Dash is coming together.

Trap door and trunk

I bought the heavy rubber mat from NPD supposedly pre-cut for fastback. Like everything else, it needs trimmed. I think if I trim a little bit around the filler neck it will lay down flat. I also am not pleased with how short it is cut on the passenger side but assume that was done that was because the spare tire will cover it anyhow. I guess I also need to cut a little notch for the spare tire hold down.

Don't have pics of the lights, but so far I have tested everything installed electrically and it all works, all the interior lights, exterior lights, brakes, turn signal, flasher, etc. I like the sequential LED tails. Very cool.

 

[Johnny M]

Looks good Sam.

You are very nearly there!!!!!!!

 

[Kats66Pny]

Looking good! :10

For most of us, we probably see every Mustang on the street, parked, in the weeds, or under a car cover too.

Guilty! Ever since I got my mustang, I've noticed every mustang new and old around town. Then I realize, holy crap this town has a lot of mustangs. :amaz

 

[tarafied1]

this car is beautiful

 

[sigtauenus]

So far a pretty productive weekend.

I still have a problem with the wipers in high speed. They work fine in low speed so I'm going with that for now. Pretty sure its the motor. Will grab a used one from Dave in a month or so. I know the instrument cluster has to come back out for that, but that's ok. I don't like how it fits on the right side against the middle a/c vent, I'm going to have to shave it a little bit so it can fit nicer right there.

I ended up going with the original factory gauges for right now (factory tach car). They look ok, but I noticed the trip odometer isn't resetting like it should. I need to either send the speedo and tach to the tachman to be tested/calibrated/rebuilt or pony up for autometer gauges. I really like the look of the factory gauges so I'm leaning towards keeping the set I have.

I couldn't find woodgrain applique for the floor console, so I ordered some for the roof console and cut it to fit. I like how it turned out. Its an original console so it doesn't fit as well as it used to, particularly the face piece around the glove box type door and radio area. Seems like it shrank.

I put in the 13.5" Grant wheel for now because its cheap and it works. With the fox seats in there, I need to either lower the seat pans or install a tilt column to get more space between the wheel and the seat for comfort to use a larger wheel. The stock 15" wheel absolutely did not work. When I get to that, I'd like to go with a Motolita style wheel or cough up the cash for an actual 68 deluxe wheel. I think I like the Motolita better and its cheaper so that is more likely sometime in the future.

I tried out the lumbar support for the fox body seats today and that works.

Tires are rotated (see above - Dave called me out for having the directional tires mismatched).

I'm pretty sure I have all the leaks in the brake system fixed - stainless lines and Dot 5 fluid - has been a pain in the ass.

My goal for tonight and tomorrow is to get the exhaust up. I'm going to have a go at it myself and if I can't figure it out, I'll take it to be done. Biggest concern is the pieces that connect to the collector - need to cut that pretty good for it weld up clean.

Last two big parts orders are going to include the stereo and deluxe door panels and all the associated accoutrements from NPD, and one of the aftermarket a/c kits. I've gone back and forth on this multiple times, and right now I'm leaning towards jumping on the VMF group buy for a Vintage Air Gen IV a/c system. PM me for the price, I'll honor the request to keep it from being posted publicly. Its a pretty substantial discount.

I have a set of 68 deluxe seat belts, but they're in black, so I'm using standard parchment ones for right now. One of these days I'll send them off to Snake Oyl to be rebuilt in parchment or just put in an aftermarket 3 point kit with the retractable shoulder belt.

 

[sigtauenus]

After looking at that Grant wheel against the rest of the woodgrain, I think I need to try some darker wood stain to get a better match. Even if I do end up replacing the wheel, I don't have to look at a crappy match in the meantime.

 

[sigtauenus]

Can't seem to get a good crop of pics with good lighting. I saw an article online awhile back about how to take good pictures of a car, I think it was a Cobra website. I'll have to look that up.

Anyhow, took the car for a drive, car is inspected and ready for the road, interior is almost done. Big projects remaining is passenger side door, stereo and a/c. The car will be shaken down over the next month or two to assess how it drives and make corrections to alignment, tuning, etc, as required. After that, it will be a regular driver.

Pics...

 

[sigtauenus]

Last pics for awhile.

A/C is in, stereo is in, and drove the car to work.







(before Dave says anything, looks like I need to tighten that left screw and loosen the right one to even out that console/stereo bezel.)


Rear seat. Should have replaced the foam, but it will spend its life either folded down or in the attic, so not concerned about it. I want to put in a custom storage compartment like Laurie has in Trouble.

 

[Bobb428]

Looks GREAT!