Extremely Beat 68 Fast Back

i finnished my first project early today so i leveled it up and checked it for square .the driver rear frame rail was 1/2 inch low at the very end.i braced a
2x6 from the trunk devider over the frame rail to the roof of my car port and jacked the rail up untill it stayed level all by its self ,you will not believe how easy the frame rails bend when they are bare. the rear trunk brace went in first,41 1/2 "between the rails with 4 1/2 "haing past the frame rails at both sides of each rail . the pass.side trunk floor went in with ease i traced the frame rails on the bottom of the floor and removed it and drilled for plug weld holes replaced it and welded it in. the pass. wheel tub was next . line the tub up on the inside with the inner tub not the outside flange or it will not be right. i left the rear tail un welded so i can line it up in the quarter a litle easier then i will plug weld it from the inside after the quarter is on. did the same with the driver floor as the pass. floor that was about as far as i got today.i will finnish the driver side tomarrow.
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i got the drivers side outer tub in along with the tail panel. i centered the tail panel checked it for height and level and welded it in place . the trunk latch assembly was welded to the tail panel before the tail panel was welded in. the rear bumper brackets will be next.
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the bumper brackets are welded in ,the quarter was next. its a little hard to get the quarter on with the roof on .the quarters went on first at the factory so you have to pry up the roof skin enough to get the quarter under . the problem is you have to get over the door jamb and inside the rain gutter at the same time as sliding under the roof.then at the back you have to slide under the lower rear window panel and over the tail panel at the same time.
a second pair of hands helps ,but it was just me today. the quarter at the door was a perfect fit right from the start so i tacked the points first then welded in between and the door jamb was done .then i welded the lower quarter behind the door and the top at the roof next. that is about it for today the rest is clamped in place and i will finnish the rest of it tomarrow
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i got the driver side quarter on to day it went on just as easy and nice as the pass. side.very nice door gap,points hit right on. the owner decided he wants the wheel lips rolled ,i wish i knew that earlier. the wheel tubs are much heaver guage than the origional so it is going to be hard to roll .i may have to tack them and finnish rolling them on the rotisserie so i can get at them easier. had i known i would have trimed off the wheel tub lip. the quarter is tacked to the tail panel but not so heavy that i cant break it loose if i have to because i want to fit the trunk lid with the quarters and i may have to move it in or out depending on the trunk lid, the trunk lid is going to be a shelby lid that i am waiting on from Stang-aholics. i checked it for level again and it is right on its looking good now.
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I have a full quarter for a '70 that went on just as easy. They are expensive but well worth the money. I like to put stuff together with sheet metal screws then when I'm happy with it remove the screws and weld the holes shut as I go. Perfect plug welds and almost no grinding.
 
my old snap on welder would make the best spot welds i have ever seen ,some i didnt even have to grind. they looked just like a factory spot weld.
it finaly burned up .this new miller is a pain in the butt .i spend more time working on it than welding.it likes to burn the wire back inside the tip so i have to keep taking it apart .when it does weld it welds prety good but not worth what i paid for it, i want another snap on. the new dynacorn sheet metal is prety nice the quarters are about 1/8 inch longer than the factory quarters but the guage is heaver so you can weld a little hotter .i use sheet metal screws here and there just to hold it in place and a 3/16 hole punch for the rest of the spot welds.
 
i got the trunklid on last night . the gaps are a little tight but that is good because now i can sand them in .i will not have to do much to the lid or end caps they fit realy well. i put the snubers in ,they are just hood snubers ,that is what shelby used. they need to be in place to keep the trunk lid and end caps aligned properly so i can sand across the surfaces . the quarters are not perfect at the ends from dynacorn they are off a little but it makes the end caps over haing very slightly in just a couple places but that is ok i can sand the fiberglass and should not have to add any thing. just a few more spot welds across the bottom of the quarters and some light sanding and the owner will take it home for a while and bring it back when he can afford to do more work.he said he wants to use 67 shelby fiber glass on it and he wants me to fit the fiber glass .not a problem
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horse sence
Its looking good. You do things right. Its just horse sence to do it right. Things are lining up because you leveled from point A.:)

My 68 was owned by a hack. He would fix the visable and neglect the mechanics. He installed a built 300hp 302 with the rear shackles ready to fall off. I bought when he installed the engine and didnt line up the torque converter drain plug and ruined the trans pump.He gave up.I gave 5000 and he had 6500 in the engine alone. He never got to hear the engine run.

It would be interesting to take your car back to the previous owner that wrote the car off for dead and let him see it. But then again that may be cruel.
Mike
 
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horse sence
Its looking good. You do things right. Its just horse sence to do it right. Things are lining up because you leveled from point A.:)

My 68 was owned by a hack. He would fix the visable and neglect the mechanics. He installed a built 300hp 302 with the rear shackles ready to fall off. I bought when he installed the engine and didnt line up the torque converter drain plug and ruined the trans pump.He gave up.I gave 5000 and he had 6500 in the engine alone. He never got to hear the engine run.

It would be interesting to take your car back to the previous owner that wrote the car off for dead and let him see it. But then again that may be cruel.
Mike
i am planning on building a full frame fixture .the problem is where do i keep it? it will be on wheels so i can roll it around and i want to make each corner heigth adjustable for un even ground but it will be a large item to have laying around. i have found these cars not to be square or level.

i am not sure where this car came from .it has been setting in a field for several years untill the new owner bought it. Jim
 
Jim
That would save a lot of setup time. Do you think you could make your frame fixture that disasembles like a engine hoist. You could have removable corner gussits that bring it back in square upon reassembly. Vertically and horizontally. The corners being square are the most critical. The length of pipe/beam in between are just a connection but also accurate in length.Also a floor support midway between corners. Have a rack for storage. Just some thoughts. You would still need your corner hight adjustments.
I not real confident they were in square coming from the ford factory.

Mike
 
do you mean the difference in length? if so it is usualy about 1/8 inch . i just slide the lower window panel down about 1/16 inch it will not interfear with the rear window fit ,then adjust the trunk lid back another 1/16 and everything lines up very well. a 1/16 inch is not a whole lot and is easier to hide .
 
I was asking becasue I am going to put on new rear quarter panels on a 67 fastback but the lower window panel is in good shape. I may loosen the lower rear window panel and move it down as you suggest.
Back in April I put in a one piece complete floor pan assembly from toe board to tail light panel (with frame rails and brackets) from Thoroughbred GT that fit really well.

I just put on a new radiator support piece from dynacorn and it fit ok, but will need some adjustment. Next will be the leaky cowl and then both rear quarters.

I really like your work. You put those big shops to shame on time and experience.
;)
 
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Horse Sence,
I finally got around to purchasing rear quarter panel assemblies for my 67 Fastback. They look decent overall, but the lines along the rear window are not nearly as defined as the original panels. Is this what you usually see with reproduction panels or did I get a pair that weren't stamped that well.

This thread is a great reference for replacing the rear quarter and associated sheet metal.

Thanks!
 
The last set i used were pretty good ,just the area where the quarter meets the back lower window panel needed work .The joint is not straight ,by about 1/8 inch .other than that every thing looked good .the quarter where the trunk lid and the window panel met up had to be lifted with a porter power though to make every thing fit flush. post some pics.
 
Hey, I will get some photos up. My computer has been out for the last couple weeks and the new one should be coming in the mail in the next day or two.

I have some photos upon a build thread on vintage mustang forums. I may try to post a build thread here with the photos.

You and some others on this forum are really doing some car building and VMF has a couple of members that reply to every posting with an opinion 24/7.