So, here we go....

OK, I didn't pull the fenders, but did at least remove the right front tire. I didn't see anything scary or interesting, but took a few pics anyway. If any of you see anything scary or interesting in them, especially related to frame damage, PLEASE let me know.

OK, so I'm now officially doing the project. Might as well start with the suspension since the car's off the ground, eh? I know have motor and tranny stuff ahead, but cosmetically I'm in very good shape. So, since I have to replace the ball joints, inner and outer tie rod ends, move up to a 1" sway bar, shocks, etc. should I go ahead and replace the upper and lower control arms, and even the springs since I'm doing the tear down anyway? It's probably another $350 or so, and I'm not made of money, but what do you suggest?

I'm not gonna race her, maybe put her in a small show or two, and teach Burnouts 101 at the local community college. LOL

Please ignore safety issues in pics. I'm headed down to get jack stands right now.

Also, I'll reduce the bit size of future pics for everyone that doesn't have a T3, which includes me!

Doc

I've seen worse on my Coupe project! LOL Plus you have front discs! I don't think you can go wrong unless you find some really bad mojo under those fenders...

I've seen worse on my Coupe project! LOL Plus you have front discs! I don't think you can go wrong unless you find some really bad mojo under those fenders...

Click to expand...

Dang! You and those fenders! :exclamation:

I'm worried that once I take them off, I won't be able get things lined up right again. It's kind of like I want to learn to swim, so I head down to the shallow end of the pool and say "I'm going to wade in here and see how the water is." And you say "Take that dumb life preserver off and jump off the high dive, ya jack wagon!" (I got the jack wagon thing from the GEICO commercial).

Anyway, I guess I might as well do it. I've already got seam alignment issues, so what can it hurt? When I get them off, I'll send a couple pictures. Hold my life vest for me, will ya?

Doc

I would go a head replace what I could afford to. Its alot easier while you have everything apart. If your replacing ball joints then you will probably be replacing your upper and lower control arm as most ball joints are rivited to the control arm,also with the upper you will get a new control arm shaft. I know it starts adding up money wise , but once its done you don't have to worry about it. . Its not that hard once you dive in to it and I am sure there is plenty of help on here if you get in a bind.

Haha, You can leave the fenders on if you like, I really think you'll be fine under there...but for me, I like to know exactly what I have to work with! It looks like you're in great shape! Keep us posted!

I see you are "on it", Doc!

I agree with Jay (73 MACH I) in that you should replace those "well-used" front suspension parts while you are on that part of the car.

I have found that by "working" the car in "systems", I am more able to focus on the really important parts for that system. In the long run, it will probably be less expensive. Several of the mustang parts places have "kits" (Mustang Plus comes to mind) that are a pretty good deal. OMS (our site sponsor) may also be competitive in this area.

Again, I am glad to see you apparently decided to "take the plunge" and I believe you are in for some GREAT times (along with some aggravation)!

Keep the faith!

BT

Thanks for the tips and encouragement, everyone.

Now, time to get off here and grab a wrench. I'll keep you posted, of course.

Doc

I'd pull the fenders-- 71 to 73s seem to suffer from rust where the fender aprons overlap the shock tower and the extention panel near the windshield. I welded in patches in all these areas and sealed the seams.

On alignment--be careful and record where the shims are--how many are in each place. Dont take the hood off--use it as a reference point.

Thanks, Tomahawk. I'll keep those things in mind as I work through the front suspension.

Doc

Thanks, Tomahawk. I'll keep those things in mind as I work through the front suspension.

Doc

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NP--I dont know if youve got a 100 point trailer queen or a good driver--I've known people to drill tiny cheater holes front and back next to bolt holes--big enough to stick something into them (nail or awl tip) to line the fender back up. I"ve done it with hoods but never fenders.

I would not pull the fenders unless you need to repair the aprons.

You can get a good bottom side veiw of the aprons from inside of the fender well. Look for swelling at the overlap seams

As for front springs, does the car ride good? Have a decent stance? How many miles?

We have a stock suspension kit

Don

I've seen worse on my Coupe project! LOL Plus you have front discs! I don't think you can go wrong unless you find some really bad mojo under those fenders...

Click to expand...

Dang! You and those fenders! :exclamation:

I'm worried that once I take them off, I won't be able get things lined up right again. It's kind of like I want to learn to swim, so I head down to the shallow end of the pool and say "I'm going to wade in here and see how the water is." And you say "Take that dumb life preserver off and jump off the high dive, ya jack wagon!" (I got the jack wagon thing from the GEICO commercial).

Anyway, I guess I might as well do it. I've already got seam alignment issues, so what can it hurt? When I get them off, I'll send a couple pictures. Hold my life vest for me, will ya?

Doc

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Ya mean like this?? LMAO!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=465526&l=8a15b70e4b&id=100000027814872

Or this??

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=465527&l=9ab30f014f&id=100000027814872

BTW - unless you're 'scared of Yellow,' I think you're disqualified for the 'Jack Wagon' status. LOL!!

Yikes! That looks scary, considering that the 'vert looks pretty good to me as she sits. LOL!

I'm sure that before all is said and done, I'll have taken the fenders off at least a couple times, but I'm not there yet.

Doc

Yikes! That looks scary, considering that the 'vert looks pretty good to me as she sits. LOL!

I'm sure that before all is said and done, I'll have taken the fenders off at least a couple times, but I'm not there yet.

Doc

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I would take a good look under the battery tray.

The white acid on the frame would scare me!

Don't forget the strut rod bushings while you're down there.

Good luck and take your time and do it right.

Thanks for the good tips - I'm replacing just about everything related to the front suspension (and now, it seems, the rear suspension as well since I'm looking at a "complete suspension kit" at a reasonable price). I've been reading the other thread about the battery tray, but since that's not something that is pertinent (yet?!) to my immediate project, I've just filed it under "Info for Later if Needed". I need to start thinking a little more about how issues associated with one system can impact other systems - the "bigger picture" if you will.

I'll definitely take a closer look at the strut rod bushings, and let you know what I find.

Thanks again,

Doc

This is the area I'd be concerned about:



When I had my accident, the front bumper bracket on both sides broke off, and the rust found underneath was horrible. The area I've circled is the exact area where i had virtually no metal left.

This is what my driver's side front frame rail looked like after the bumper brackets were removed, the undercoating sanded off, and a majority of the rust removed:



So definitely go over that area very closely.

i would also take the fenders off. thing to note:

get the front on on jack stands, get the wheels off ,

taking off the fenders will first require removal of the lower valance, and removal of the front fender supports and water shields.

you can then lowering the bumper or remove it, then the removal of the front grill so you can take apart the headlight buckets.

you can leave the hood and hood latch, and center support in front of the radiator support.

once all those parts are removed you can remove the 2 lower bolts on the fender by the doors, there is also a bolt in front of the doors(open the doors to get to it)

the fenders are not super heavy they are maybe 50 pounds i had no problems taking them off and moving them around just be careful not to damage them.

once the fenders are off, evaluate the hardware and how bad it is, just like tomahawk said keep track of the shims.

i would recommend a AMK body bolt hardware kit and replace everything that is in bad shape. its expensive though.

with the fenders off and the the front end lightened next pop off your shock tower supports and take the caps off. pull off the shock tower covers with the rubber suspension stopper(these usually rust out no fear they are available in reproduction.

next remove the front shocks at this point your ready to get the springs out, but first i would disconnect the soft brake lines and cap the hardlines so you don't leak dot 3 all over the place and start removing paint.

pop off the tierod ends on both sides so the spindles are free. now you have the spindles just attached to the upper and lower suspension arms. and they are free to move.

for the sake of lightening the parts pull off the calipers and brake pads make sure you mark them Left and right. ok you are now 1 spring and 6 bolts away, 2 strut rods and mabey a front rollbar away from the front suspension being on the floor.

next the fun of using a spring compressor and getting the front spring out. nows a good time to think about lowering your car with a new 620lb front spring. (its easier to put the 620 back in since the spring is much shorter then OEM.

pull off the sway bar if you have one. now is a good time to think about upgrading the stock sway to a thicker one.

ok springs out, next mark the inner nut for the strut rods, try not to move them so the caster won't shift around too much when you RE ready to assemble. Loosen the front nuts on the strut rods and loosen the 4 nuts on the lower suspension arms, now you can slide out the strut rods toward the back of the car,

so at this point the upper and lower suspension arms will be attached to the spindles and the chassis, 8 nuts and 2 cam bolt and WOOHOO the suspension is on the floor.

now is the time you want to think about cleaning everything up making it look new and replacing hardware.

AMK to the rescue here.

i'll put together some photos to help you from when i did my front end on my 72.

puting everything together with new parts will be much less frustrating when the time comes.

This is the area I'd be concerned about:

When I had my accident, the front bumper bracket on both sides broke off, and the rust found underneath was horrible. The area I've circled is the exact area where i had virtually no metal left.

This is what my driver's side front frame rail looked like after the bumper brackets were removed, the undercoating sanded off, and a majority of the rust removed:

So definitely go over that area very closely.

Click to expand...

ah the horrible memories,

one thing to clarify, you could do this with the fenders installed, however it will make things a bigger PITA and you could damage the fenders. also when your feeding the upper arms into the shock tower you will able to get your hand inside the engine bay to get the nuts on.

plus with everything exposed you can see anything bad that might be lurking under all the undercoat and grime. also if your aprons are in good shape and the rails are in good shape, you could take it a step further and using a wire brush get off all the loose junk then use a drill with a disc on it and sand everything and get ready to repaint everything and make it look awesome.

This is the area I'd be concerned about:

When I had my accident, the front bumper bracket on both sides broke off, and the rust found underneath was horrible. The area I've circled is the exact area where i had virtually no metal left.

This is what my driver's side front frame rail looked like after the bumper brackets were removed, the undercoating sanded off, and a majority of the rust removed:

So definitely go over that area very closely.

Click to expand...

Thanks, Jeremy. Including the photos really helps me understand exactly what you're talking about. I went out with my trusty framing hammer and tapped (bashed) along that whole frame area, front to back, and couldn't knock anything loose, and all sounded solid. As I described in another post, I've sealed (at least temporarily) all of it with a rubberized Rustoleum undercoating primer. So I think I'm in pretty good shape as far as structural integrity in that area is concerned

Thanks again for the help. I appreciate it.

Doc

Thank you 72HCode! Step by step description of exactly where I'm headed, along with tips about pitfalls and potential problems. Much appreciated! Are you running for Associate Moderator, by chance? LOL

A couple of questions: I don't have a spring compressor, but I've read that you can use a couple of REALLY BIG hose clamps to use to crank down the springs so you can remove and install the coil springs. Have you ever heard of this, or do you have a suggestion for those of us that don't have a spring compressor and don't really want to buy one?

Everything about cleaning things up while I'm doing this makes a lot of sense. And yes, if you have a chance to post some photos of your project, it would be very much appreciated.

This is exactly the type of advice that I see this forum providing for those of us starting our own projects. Thank you!

Doc