robert912005
Member
rubbing alcohol might work on the glue in the jambs. and i agree with horse sence about the guide coat being wiped off.
Crane's 1968 Mustang Restomod
- Thread starter crane550
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The windows are back in. The final sanding continues and my paint guys say that it should be painted by the end of the week. They have been circling the car with the wet sanding and it looks very smooth. Can't wait to see it!
In other news, I think its about time to upgrade my shifter. I have always had problem with my linkage and never cared for the stock shifter. Seems loose and easy to bump. Plus I hit a shifter once and switched into R on the freeway, and have always been paranoid.
Been looking at the B&M Megashifter. It seems to fit the theme of my car. If I was doing a modernization I would probably go with a Quicksilver, but the Mega seems to be the way to go. Any thought? Better yet, anyone have pics of them installed? Do you screw it down over the carpet or do you cut the carpet around it? Do I need to modify my tunnel?
Alex
In other news, I think its about time to upgrade my shifter. I have always had problem with my linkage and never cared for the stock shifter. Seems loose and easy to bump. Plus I hit a shifter once and switched into R on the freeway, and have always been paranoid.
Been looking at the B&M Megashifter. It seems to fit the theme of my car. If I was doing a modernization I would probably go with a Quicksilver, but the Mega seems to be the way to go. Any thought? Better yet, anyone have pics of them installed? Do you screw it down over the carpet or do you cut the carpet around it? Do I need to modify my tunnel?
Alex
candphall
Active Member
I am getting ready for paint myself and was planning on removing my windows is there a benefit to painting with them installed?
horse sence
15 Year Member
If no interior in the car i would pull the windows .You will probably need to reseal them any way. Door glass you may leave its a little more trouble to take out ,but the paint job will be much better with windows out.
dennis112
15 Year Member
I'm always afraid of messing up the fresh paint when installing the front and rear window moldings so I remove the glass, prep and paint the channels, reinstall the windows/trim, then carefully tape the trim prior to spraying the car. This also allows me to apply sealant around the rubber with little fear of messing up visual paint while cleaning off the excess.
horse sence
15 Year Member
I just hate tape lines any where , and they usually chip . On a full resto. job i leave everything out when i paint .Lot less masking off and a lot less trouble .
Trim can be tricky but if you have help and take your time the outcome is much better. If the color is a non metallic i will paint in pieces so everything gets painted ,even in hidden areas. Metallics need to be assembled or as close together as possible to keep splotching and color changes from being an issue. i like to set the fenders on the front of the car and slide them forward so i can paint under and where you couldn't when bolted together ,hood and trunk lid i will set on benches in front and behind the car .That way i have no tape lines and every thing gets paint. Makes it easier to buff as well in pieces.
Trim can be tricky but if you have help and take your time the outcome is much better. If the color is a non metallic i will paint in pieces so everything gets painted ,even in hidden areas. Metallics need to be assembled or as close together as possible to keep splotching and color changes from being an issue. i like to set the fenders on the front of the car and slide them forward so i can paint under and where you couldn't when bolted together ,hood and trunk lid i will set on benches in front and behind the car .That way i have no tape lines and every thing gets paint. Makes it easier to buff as well in pieces.
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horse sence
15 Year Member
I kind of like the Quick silver It is a cable shifter and has a small console that bolts right on top of the tunnel over the carpet .its has a normal shift pattern and a reverse lock out .The windows are back in. The final sanding continues and my paint guys say that it should be painted by the end of the week. They have been circling the car with the wet sanding and it looks very smooth. Can't wait to see it!
In other news, I think its about time to upgrade my shifter. I have always had problem with my linkage and never cared for the stock shifter. Seems loose and easy to bump. Plus I hit a shifter once and switched into R on the freeway, and have always been paranoid.
Been looking at the B&M Megashifter. It seems to fit the theme of my car. If I was doing a modernization I would probably go with a Quicksilver, but the Mega seems to be the way to go. Any thought? Better yet, anyone have pics of them installed? Do you screw it down over the carpet or do you cut the carpet around it? Do I need to modify my tunnel?
Alex
candphall
Active Member
Thanks for the tip on the shifter. I think I am going to go with the Megashifter as it really goes with the theme of my car. It is on Amazon Prime for $227 right now. I think it would be totally worth it as far as the "fun factor" goes. Completely unnecessary (I'm sure new bushing would fix my current shifter) but there is an unmistakeable cool muscle car vibe that goes with a Hurst style shifter. If I'm not mistaken B&M purchased Hurst and shares the classic design.
I couldn't help it. I rode my motorcycle over to Middleton today and broke into (well not really) the shop to see how it looked. They said they were shooting today, and guess what? They did!
I didn't go over it with a fine tooth comb, but looking at it I have to say I am very happy so far. I did find one little wave on the trunk which I think is fixable, along with a little scratch. It is clear it has not been cut and buffed yet, but I was expecting this. For what it's worth, I visited other shops with top of the line downdraft tables and they didn't look this good before cutting. I'm sure it will turn out great. Specs here and there, but nothing that really worried me. Did find one scratch that I will address with them. Looking down the sides I am very happy with how straight it is.
Again, this is just first inspection but so far I am happy.
I didn't go over it with a fine tooth comb, but looking at it I have to say I am very happy so far. I did find one little wave on the trunk which I think is fixable, along with a little scratch. It is clear it has not been cut and buffed yet, but I was expecting this. For what it's worth, I visited other shops with top of the line downdraft tables and they didn't look this good before cutting. I'm sure it will turn out great. Specs here and there, but nothing that really worried me. Did find one scratch that I will address with them. Looking down the sides I am very happy with how straight it is.
Again, this is just first inspection but so far I am happy.
Well, I went back today and talked to the paint guys and took some more pictures. I also got to take some pictures with my DSLR camera. Also there was a little bit of natural light peeking through the windows....
....holy freakin cow.
I'm happy. I still have not gone over every square inch, but so far I see nothing big. There are a few very minor ripples here and there, but very small and you only catch it with a very critical eye. So far it exceeds expectations. We still don't have the whole thing together with the quarter panel extensions and front clip. I don't think they pay as much attention to fitting as other shops do, but since that is not done yet I'm not too worried. The good news is that is a very fixable thing after the fact.
The contours came out smooth. It costed a bit extra, but they shot primer and sanded 3 times to make sure it was straight.
The color is stock, except for one big change- we added a pretty big dose of gold pearl to add a bit of flare to the edges. I like it. It really pops. It doesn't look very metallic in person it just lights up more.
They are currently wet sanding the clear for the cut and buff.
....holy freakin cow.
I'm happy. I still have not gone over every square inch, but so far I see nothing big. There are a few very minor ripples here and there, but very small and you only catch it with a very critical eye. So far it exceeds expectations. We still don't have the whole thing together with the quarter panel extensions and front clip. I don't think they pay as much attention to fitting as other shops do, but since that is not done yet I'm not too worried. The good news is that is a very fixable thing after the fact.
The contours came out smooth. It costed a bit extra, but they shot primer and sanded 3 times to make sure it was straight.
The color is stock, except for one big change- we added a pretty big dose of gold pearl to add a bit of flare to the edges. I like it. It really pops. It doesn't look very metallic in person it just lights up more.
They are currently wet sanding the clear for the cut and buff.
Big news today...which is it is actually home and in my own driveway!
So now on to the task of installing everything. So far so good. It will take a week or so.
The letters went on easy. To keep my neighborhood HOA happy the rear plate is on too.
Also trying to clean up everything as best I can before reinstalling it. I spent some time on the rear brake lights, and did some buffing on the plastic.
I am getting to the point now where I would actually rather recondition original parts then get repros. Not only does it save on cost, but there is something kinda satisfying about using the original stuff. Not to mention, it goes on a lot easier.
Oh, speaking of that. I did install the drip rail moldings. Not sure what everyone is talking about when saying they are a nightmare...mine went right on and snapped into place. We kinda rolled from top to bottom and it fit really nice. I purchased them from CJ pony Parts for around $65 shipped.
So now on to the task of installing everything. So far so good. It will take a week or so.
The letters went on easy. To keep my neighborhood HOA happy the rear plate is on too.
Also trying to clean up everything as best I can before reinstalling it. I spent some time on the rear brake lights, and did some buffing on the plastic.
I am getting to the point now where I would actually rather recondition original parts then get repros. Not only does it save on cost, but there is something kinda satisfying about using the original stuff. Not to mention, it goes on a lot easier.
Oh, speaking of that. I did install the drip rail moldings. Not sure what everyone is talking about when saying they are a nightmare...mine went right on and snapped into place. We kinda rolled from top to bottom and it fit really nice. I purchased them from CJ pony Parts for around $65 shipped.
Got a ton of work done over the last few days. I spend some time buffing the stainless steel with a die grinder and cloth pad using a white compound. Worked great. I prepped it with a gray scotch brite (0000 steel wool-ish) which gave a dull sheen then polished up and down in line with the trim. Worked great, and I'm more then happy with the results. You can see a huge difference in the before and after here.
I also spent some time working on the audio system. I am not ready to drop the deck in quite yet, but am prepping the speakers. I bought the kit on CJ pony parts the come with the kick panels and speakers. They shipped separately not assembled, which I didn't care for at first, but then I realized it was actually really simple to put it together and it fits really nice. Plus the speakers got really good reviews once I had the actual part number, which isn't on the CJ pony site.
I also applied some Dynamat to the backside of the kick panels.
I also spent some time working on the audio system. I am not ready to drop the deck in quite yet, but am prepping the speakers. I bought the kit on CJ pony parts the come with the kick panels and speakers. They shipped separately not assembled, which I didn't care for at first, but then I realized it was actually really simple to put it together and it fits really nice. Plus the speakers got really good reviews once I had the actual part number, which isn't on the CJ pony site.
I also applied some Dynamat to the backside of the kick panels.
Aside from installing trim and assembling the car I have been hard at work on the engine, with the help of Jim over on VMF. We had a hard time getting it running, but eventually prevailed.
Here is a list of steps we did:
Timing. We needed to be sure we were dead on, so we did some various trick and make dead sure we were on TDC, and moved the distributer. I was pretty close, but we moved it a tooth or two so my pretty red plug wires lined up properly.
Next we turned it over. We noticed that it would only fire up when we were cranking the starter, but die as soon as we let off. After banding our heads against the wall for a good 3 hours we finally decided to try to hotwire it. Boom. Fired right up. As it turns out, when you are cranking the engine the starter solenoid not only provides current to the starter, but also bypasses the resistor wire for the ignition to give it a little bit extra spark. There is a wire labeled "ignition" on the solenoid, and if you follow the wires in this schematic you can see how it works.
My initial idea was to replace the resistor wire with a normal wire (yes, the wire itself is the resistor. It is a pink wire in an insulated case around it. The wire in the engine bay itself is NOT the resistor wire, it is just connected to it.) Unfortunately, it is really buried inside the dash, and I didn't have the motivation to undo the harness and fish it out. Then I had a better idea. Using the resistor wire, I extended it to a relay which I installed near my solenoid and then ran a direct fused line to my coil. Worked like a charm. I am also able to run my stereo off of this relay, which I like a lot better then the idea of having it all go through the ignition switch.
Next we needed to sort out the carburetor. We had a tough time with the Edelbrock 750 I was running. The right side (looking at the carb from the front of the car) idle screw didn't cause the engine to stumble when we turned it all the way down. It just wasn't running quite right, so we swapped out carbs for a 600 CFM Summit that Jim is lending me. After a bit of tweaking we are getting very good throttle response.
So today I took it for a test drive. I put the C4 tranny into "1" and sped up to about 30 MPH and then mashed the gas. Lets just say I'm happy. It ran like a scalded dog. I then smelled this awful burning smell.... it turned out to be my tires. I laid down at least 100 feet of rubber and she was showing no signs at all of giving up any time soon. I was too terrified to go any faster, so I let off the gas. Not sure how fast I was going, but it was way too fast for the road I was on. I would say I have achieved a very high "smiles per gallon."
A very good day.
Here is a list of steps we did:
Timing. We needed to be sure we were dead on, so we did some various trick and make dead sure we were on TDC, and moved the distributer. I was pretty close, but we moved it a tooth or two so my pretty red plug wires lined up properly.
Next we turned it over. We noticed that it would only fire up when we were cranking the starter, but die as soon as we let off. After banding our heads against the wall for a good 3 hours we finally decided to try to hotwire it. Boom. Fired right up. As it turns out, when you are cranking the engine the starter solenoid not only provides current to the starter, but also bypasses the resistor wire for the ignition to give it a little bit extra spark. There is a wire labeled "ignition" on the solenoid, and if you follow the wires in this schematic you can see how it works.
My initial idea was to replace the resistor wire with a normal wire (yes, the wire itself is the resistor. It is a pink wire in an insulated case around it. The wire in the engine bay itself is NOT the resistor wire, it is just connected to it.) Unfortunately, it is really buried inside the dash, and I didn't have the motivation to undo the harness and fish it out. Then I had a better idea. Using the resistor wire, I extended it to a relay which I installed near my solenoid and then ran a direct fused line to my coil. Worked like a charm. I am also able to run my stereo off of this relay, which I like a lot better then the idea of having it all go through the ignition switch.
Next we needed to sort out the carburetor. We had a tough time with the Edelbrock 750 I was running. The right side (looking at the carb from the front of the car) idle screw didn't cause the engine to stumble when we turned it all the way down. It just wasn't running quite right, so we swapped out carbs for a 600 CFM Summit that Jim is lending me. After a bit of tweaking we are getting very good throttle response.
So today I took it for a test drive. I put the C4 tranny into "1" and sped up to about 30 MPH and then mashed the gas. Lets just say I'm happy. It ran like a scalded dog. I then smelled this awful burning smell.... it turned out to be my tires. I laid down at least 100 feet of rubber and she was showing no signs at all of giving up any time soon. I was too terrified to go any faster, so I let off the gas. Not sure how fast I was going, but it was way too fast for the road I was on. I would say I have achieved a very high "smiles per gallon."
A very good day.
It has been far too long since I last posted, but I do have to say, that a LOT has happened since my last post.
Not sure where to start.
First- I broke a couple of power steering lines. Turns out the fittings I had were only rated up to 500 psi, so when I hit my end stops it blew a hose. Left a little streak on the road in the neighborhood, but after cleaning the mess under the engine bay it was fine. I ordered new hose and fittings from Amazon Prime and I was good to go again.
Next up was the headlights. This was a little bit harder then I expected. I can't imagine doing the spring with the headlight buckets in the car. It was hard enough to put the new springs on as it was. This was also a good opportunity to put in the splash guards. It was possible with the fenders in the car, but a little tricky.
Next was the trim. This stuff was a pain in the butt. I asked my painters to fill the holes cause I kinda like the look of this area without them, but they didn't so I went ahead and put them in. I went with ACP reproductions- doing it again I would try another vendor. They didn't fit super well, and were a pain to install. I really dislike speed nuts in this situation as they don't always bite correctly. A good tip is the bench thread speed nuts so it goes easier when you try to do it with your arm wedged behind the rear quarter window. I found that taking the three bolts that hold that assembly in gave me a bit more room to move around. You need to be a contortionist, but you can do it..
Not a good pictures, but I had my package tray recovered for $25 at my local upholstery shop, and I also put Dynamat on the back and finally installed my 6x9 speakers. They sound a whole lot better then when they are just laying inside. The package tray ended up being thicker, so it was harder to get it, but it did go.
Not sure where to start.
First- I broke a couple of power steering lines. Turns out the fittings I had were only rated up to 500 psi, so when I hit my end stops it blew a hose. Left a little streak on the road in the neighborhood, but after cleaning the mess under the engine bay it was fine. I ordered new hose and fittings from Amazon Prime and I was good to go again.
Next up was the headlights. This was a little bit harder then I expected. I can't imagine doing the spring with the headlight buckets in the car. It was hard enough to put the new springs on as it was. This was also a good opportunity to put in the splash guards. It was possible with the fenders in the car, but a little tricky.
Next was the trim. This stuff was a pain in the butt. I asked my painters to fill the holes cause I kinda like the look of this area without them, but they didn't so I went ahead and put them in. I went with ACP reproductions- doing it again I would try another vendor. They didn't fit super well, and were a pain to install. I really dislike speed nuts in this situation as they don't always bite correctly. A good tip is the bench thread speed nuts so it goes easier when you try to do it with your arm wedged behind the rear quarter window. I found that taking the three bolts that hold that assembly in gave me a bit more room to move around. You need to be a contortionist, but you can do it..
Not a good pictures, but I had my package tray recovered for $25 at my local upholstery shop, and I also put Dynamat on the back and finally installed my 6x9 speakers. They sound a whole lot better then when they are just laying inside. The package tray ended up being thicker, so it was harder to get it, but it did go.
Pococupcake
New Member
- Oct 23, 2015
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Crane550 I agree with you on the 351C It is one of the best engines around. My issue is that I bought the TCI suspension first as I was planning to install the original 302 that came in my 1969 fastback. Unfortunatly it was unpreparable. So I started building the 351C and had it stroked to 393. Now I'm looking at customizing the oil pan. Unless someone has a nother idea. Please
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