Progress Thread '68 Convertible Refresh

[Barchiola]

The time has finally come to get started on our 1968 Mustang Convertible. It's been in our family since about 1974 when my Dad bought it for Mom to use as her everyday car. They bought it off the used car lot at Book Buick in Nutley, NJ. This was the car Mom used to drop me off at cub scouts, go grocery shopping, take us to friends' houses and it was the car my Dad's coworker caught me driving around the neighborhood when I was 15 and he was in Colorado on a business trip!

It was taken off the road in the mid eighties after my oldest sister and Mom were in NYC with it and got side swiped by a delivery truck. After that it was parked in the driveway and gradually repaired and restored to where it is today. All of the sheetmetal is rock solid and the paint was done around 1990. The roof was done maybe around 2010. Kudos to the old man for keeping it on the road and getting it to where it is today!

Tomorrow afternoon we're finally going to get started working on making the car into a safe daily driver which might eventually be used by my kids in a few years when they're driving.

The plan is to replace the front and rear springs and shocks and to switch the front brakes over to discs. We're also going to address the really loose steering while making sure the engine and trans are solid. There's a trans leak and the power steering is low on fluid so there might be more mechanical work to be done after the suspension and brakes are finished. The windows are hard to crank and the rear right window checked out last year and is in the permanently down position (I feel like that sometimes!).

Maybe after the kids go to college we'll take it off the road again and do a complete restoration, maybe not. Here's to finally getting started though! Can't wait to drive it when it's done!

Side note; my son is helping, he's 12. He was poo pooing the car up until today. We've been storing it for my Dad for the last three years and it's pretty much just sat in the garage (I sold my '66 Bonneville convertible project to make room). We had it out today and, in the sun, he saw it's pretty damn cool so he was smiling and excited to start working on it.

Before:

 

[LILCBRA]

Looks like a solid start and something that your son should thoroughly enjoy! I kinda wish our daughters shared the same enthusiasm. Our 12 year old actually tried hiding when my wife took the 67 to the middle school to pick her up one day. I think she's more embarrassed as she doesn't really like the attention.....

 

[Barchiola]

it's structurally sound but mechanically worn out. it'll take some time but if my son will hang with me and help then it'll all be worth it! my Dad may stop by from time to time to help, we'll see, he's an hour away.

I like your Cobra, btw, i always liked them

 

[LILCBRA]

Thanks! I've had it forever and was actually my dad's fault why I fell in love with them. He was a Chevy man, but borrowed a II one day to pick me up from mom's house (they were divorced when I was young). It was winter time and quite snowy, so he decided to go to a parking lot and have some fun. The crazy man hit a snow bank and put it up on 2 tires Duke's of Hazzard style for a bit. I was planted against the door grinning from ear to ear! Good times! But anyway, from that day forward, I always thought they were the coolest!

As for working with your son, I'd feel the same way as you. I've worked on cars with my dad way back when too, and I'd like to think it was one of the highlights that my dad felt when we tore into something. It's just one of those things that a family can get involved in to bring them closer, that everyone in the family can share even when there may be differences in other areas while growing up. The grin on your son's face tells it all. He's excited to share this with you and I'll bet there's no feeling better in this world for you. So good luck with your shared project in all aspects! It's gonna be a great time and rewarding for both of you when done!

 

[Barchiola]

five hours into it and the rear end is sitting on a floor dolly with only the right rear shackle still attached. i had to use a cutting torch at the front of each spring and will have to get back under there to get the front leaf spring bolts out somehow.

found something though that I can't figure out, there's a hose from the left side of the rear end going up into the body. is it a breather for the rear diff? i'm probably going to have to cut it and then just splice a piece in when it's time to reconnect it. not too worried about authenticity at this point as the underside of the car is worse than i expected. hot too horrible but not pristine either.

back out to the garage, i've gotta see that rear end out from under the car before i call it a day

 

[LILCBRA]

To the best of my knowledge it is just for ventilation. When I tore my Cobra apart, it also had a hose running from the axle tube, but not into the body. I ended up just leaving the bare end exposed for a while and it really didn't hurt anything. My advice is to install some kind of elbow onto the connection just so any kind of debris has a difficult time entering the axle and leaving it disconnected from the body, or you can somehow replace the hose going into the body which I believe serves the same purpose.

 

[horse sence]

It is a vent tube ,it runs up in side the frame to keep dirt out . There should be a clamp bolted to the cross member that holds the hose .

 

[Barchiola]

right after i posted that last post i went out in the garage and pounded myself in the face when a crow bar slipped off the right rear shackle! a few hours later i went to the emergency room for a few stitches but there were so many people there i went home and put a band-aid on it. i had been telling my son earlier you don't pull towards your face but i was tired and paid the price! lol

went back later and got the last shackle off the frame so it's all loose. just have to decide if i'm going to cut the emergency brake and replace the cable later or work it loose. i think it's frozen, will have to take a look at it later today.

thanks for the replies on the vent hose, kinda figured that there wasn't much else it could be, just didn't know it would be there so i was scratching my head. it looks like there is enough slack for me to cut it at the nipple and then pull it back down when it's time to reinstall it. the hose disappears into a hole along the forward side of the left wheel well. how far into that hole does it go? i haven't seen a bracket but i'll look more closely when i back under there later today.

the big challenges will be to get the hard brake line loose from the flex hose where it transitions onto the rear end. it's really frozen in there. i've also got to remove the yoke from the front of the differential so the seal can be replaced. that yoke is probably bolted on pretty tight so i'm thinking about bolting a pipe into the u joint saddle to hold it while torquing the bolt loose. my pneumatic impact driver isn't very strong, might have a good reason to upgrade! can't leave the seal leaking!

do you guys think it's worth opening up the differential to flush it out and take a look inside?

 

[Barchiola]

For anyone with the same plans that might find this thread later on, here's the list of things to disconnect to get the rear end and springs out.

drive shaft
shock absorbers
brake line (use a 7/16" hydraulic fitting wrench, the fitting is above the bracket where it transitions from the body onto the rear end, frozen, cut the flex hose for now)
emergency brake cables
rear end vent hose
front leaf spring bolts (outboard nuts came off easily enough, bolts through frame rail are frozen in place)
rear leaf spring shackles (came apart ok, could probably sandblast them, paint and reuse if I didn't already buy replacements)

i left the exhaust system in place for now, hangars are screwed up a little but ok for now.

 

[horse sence]

Use a small hose clamp where the emergency cables goes into the backing plate and tighten it over the fingers ,that is what keeps the cable in the backing plate . Tighten the clamp over the cable fingers and push it through .

A friend knocked himself out cold with a large pry bar trying to remove a tire from a steel rim .There should be a warning on them things

 

[Barchiola]

good idea Jim, i'll try that. the emergency brake is frozen but I haven't looked to see if it's in the forward cable from the handle or the rear cables. i can't imagine the rear cables aren't frozen.

have to order some stuff, just trying to decide where to draw the line!

 

[Barchiola]

There should be a warning on them things

that's pretty funny. i only have a little bit of a black eye, the cut is healing nicely, and not much of a headache today so i was lucky.

 

[Barchiola]

Rear end is out and starting to clean up the loose ends.

I made this video so my family could see the rear being slid out from under the car


The fitting where the hard brake line transitions into a flex line was pretty frozen in place so I cut it and spliced in a section. The car isn't ever going to be a creampuff again so I'm ok leaving non-stock repairs like this so long as I'm not cutting or drilling in a way that isn't reversible. Also, I noticed most of the parts I'm buying are made in China so a splice in the brake line just is what it is.

A few other photos that I took just for reference

 

[Barchiola]

while I was under there today I also noticed the fuel hose from the tank to the hard tube along the body was kinked where the hard line escaped its metal keeper tab. It caused the line to fold over on itself. I'm wondering now if the engine was starving for fuel due to the fold in the short length of hose.

 

[Billy B's 67]

Cool progress ! Be sure to keep your boy in the loop when you're working on the project ! My fondest memory of my dad is when he pitched in with me on trying to tuck-and-roll the door panels on my first car - a 39 Ford coupe. Mom on the other hand lost points in the car categories when she pressured the old man to lean on me ( 35 years ago ) when I had the three 65 and 66 2 plus 2s stored at the house !

 

[Barchiola]

we're at a stand still at the moment, we're waiting on the rear end to be finished so I can pick it up. they're replacing the pinion seal and while it's there I asked that they also replace the axle bearings. it's taken forvere to get the bearings and they say it may be done this week. would love to get it together and get moving with the front end!

 

[Billy B's 67]

we're at a stand still at the moment, we're waiting on the rear end to be finished so I can pick it up. they're replacing the pinion seal and while it's there I asked that they also replace the axle bearings. it's taken forvere to get the bearings and they say it may be done this week. would love to get it together and get moving with the front end!

Hang in there Buddy ! All good things seem to take time ! ( Or at least I think someone told me that ? )

 

[Barchiola]

thanks! i'm getting other stuff done while i'm waiting. i've still got to get the front leaf spring eyes out from under the car. when i was removing everything i cut the springs with a torch just to get them out.

everything else is accounted for and ready to go back together. i still need to paint the new leaf springs, probably just going to clean them up and rattle can them until they say uncle.

 

[Barchiola]

Finally got the rear end back yesterday

Next up is to clean it and maybe give it a quick shot of paint. It's grimy and I'm just wondering the best way to clean it short of a big parts cleaning tank. I'm thinking some Spray Nine, a scrub brush and a pressure washer (not by the seals) followed by some light wire brushing, a good wipe down and paint.

Anyone?

Gotta get this thing moving!