Progress Thread My 79 Coupe Is Alive.

[BMW Rider]

It's been a bit slow on the progress over the past few weeks. I've been picking away at a few odds and ends and getting it ready to go to the shop for the body and paint work.

Yesterday was the day.

It will be several months up there getting pretty. The shop is a small custom shop run by a longtime friend of mine. He only takes on a few projects at a time. He does amazing work and has done some really beautiful and unique projects over the years. I know he will transform my coupe into a thing of beauty. I have pretty much settled on the paint scheme; the main colour will be Ford race red used on the current Mustangs from about 210 up, and I want to do Lemans Shelby style stripes in silver. We will look at using the original silver paint code if it works well with the red, if not then a suitable shade will be chosen, but at any rate, it will keep a bit of the original colour at least in spirit.

But right now, I have a sense of emptiness in my shop with it gone.

 

[95BlueStallion]

Man I tell ya, after I got rid of my '11 for the Charger I now have, it didnt take long at all to have an empty feeling. I have owned a Mustang of some form since high school, aside from a couple year long spurts when younger thinking I needed to be "more responsible." I was purposely trying to hold out this time, but knew when I came across the '89 that I had to have it. Good luck remaining patient while yours is in the shop. At least you know you will be getting it back sooner or later, and looking new when you do.

 

[BMW Rider]

I will be going for regular visits too to help with the emptiness. Plus, this gives me some time to work on some other projects that have been neglected the past couple years.

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Alright, you start an ultra cool thread over here and then you stop updating it. You are a tease, that's all you are!

Update this thread! I want to know more!

 

[BMW Rider]

Sorry for the lack of updates, but there hasn't really been much to report. The car is up at the paint shop and this won't be a fast job. I have been up there and we spent a day going over the car detailing the work to be done. He had another project that was nearling completion and mine was next up. That said, He breaks up his time among a few projects. I talked to him a little over a week ago and he was nearly done the other car, at least the stage of that project it was at and would be starting on mine very shortly. Our time frame for the job is 10-12 months to have it painted and reassembled ready for me to do the final work back at home.

I did keep myself busy doing up a scale model and trying different paint schemes. What I landed on is the Ford race red as the base colour and LeMans stripes in silver. The stripes will be painted on not decals and will follow the true LeMans strip patterns from the old Shelby's including the tapering at the ends of the car to create the illusion of parallel stripes over its length. Surprisingly (or not) the dimensions of the Fox coupe is remarkable similar to the original Shelby's, so I think it should work quite well.

 

[BMW Rider]

Just got an update from the body shop. He has the car all stripped down now and is ready to commence doing the metal work.

He found a bit more rust around the right rear wheel well once it was cleaned up, otherwise, no big surprises.

 

[Mustang5L5]

I like those stands. Wish I had a set. Sure beats pulling the wheel off to bleed brakes.

Car looks like it's coming along nicely

 

[BMW Rider]

Latest progress on the car is that some of the body pieces have received the base colour.

Next up, he'll be getting the fenders and hood finished off. The fenders need a bit more work where I modified them and they need a bit of work to correct the gap at the back edge.

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Red when it's fresh is about as pretty a paint color you can get. The parts look beautiful. Very nice

 

[BMW Rider]

Everything will get clear coated at the end after the stripes are done. And of course satin black will be applied to the the grill and headlight openings and the bumper moldings.

 

[BMW Rider]

Latest update from the paint shop, the hood and trunk lid are done in the base coat.

First the undersides

and now the tops

 

[Mark 7 LSC]

I cant wait to see the finished product

 

[95BlueStallion]

Progress is good!

 

[BMW Rider]

Steady progress over the past couple of months. The fenders and doors are fixed, primed and ready for paint. The body is also near to being ready for paint. It has had all the body work completed on it and is in primer now. I had the fuel door removed and smoothed over as I don't need it with the fuel cell. He also filled the unused switch holes in the door jambs. A couple more rust repairs were needed one he had the car stripped clean to the metal, but nothing major.

 

[All Stock93]

What an amazing build! Nice work

 

[NIKwoaC]

This car is going to be amazing when done. I really like the small details and how you think things out.

So why no aluminum heads? You seem to be pretty mindful of weight, and aluminum heads are an easy (albeit not super cheap) way to drop some weight.

 

[95BlueStallion]

Its getting there!

 

[BMW Rider]

This car is going to be amazing when done. I really like the small details and how you think things out.

So why no aluminum heads? You seem to be pretty mindful of weight, and aluminum heads are an easy (albeit not super cheap) way to drop some weight.

The engine was one I built a very long time back and the heads are pretty uncommon being the 68 J code 302 4V. I did put a lot of work into them to port them out, installing the larger 351w valves, hardened seats, screw in rocker studs with guide plates and positive valve seals. The block is also a 68 and is running a hydraulic flat tappet cam. The pistons are flat top forged and the engine measures to 10:1 compression with the small chamber heads. I have not seen an aluminum head that I feel would be a good direct replacement for these, so other than weight savings, I just can't justify tossing these heads.

I built this engine for a different project vehicle originally, then abandoned that and was searching for a T-Bird or other Fox chassis to put it into when I came upon the 79 coupe. If I were building an engine today for the car, I would be looking at a roller block and aluminum heads for sure. Since the whole project started with the engine, I want to stick with it despite the weight of the iron heads. Maybe someday I'll build a different engine, but for now I'm OK with the weight penalty.

 

[BMW Rider]

Progress is picking up momentum again and I've been gathering some of the items to complete the car. I found a nice console to use and got it cleaned up, painted and some aluminum panels made to replace the display and ashtray as well as the arm rest/lid. I had ordered the Redline leather shifter boot and brake lever boot a while ago.

Also got tire on the new wheels;.Bridgestone Potenza RE71s, 235/45-17 for the front, 255/40-17 on the rears. Not as wide as I could go, but I wanted to keep the sidewall bulge minimized to improve the handling. The tires are super sticky and will make up for the slight decrease in width.

And the big news is, the car body has been painted.

Some reassembly will happen next week to allow us to do the layout of the stripes. Still looking good to have it home from the paint shop by mid November.

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Sexiest thing ever brother! Gawd that looks good.

Nothing like a fresh red paint job, that's just beautiful