1972 mechanical rebuild

I thought I would start thread documenting my son and I rebuild of a 1972 Mustang. The initial thought was we were going to go full in and teardown the car and restore the whole thing from the ground up. However, with a 1973 Grande in the works already. We decided that we do minimal body and interior work. Our focus would be on putting the car back together, put an engine back into it, fix up the brakes and exhaust, and get the car roadworthy. The car has an existing FMX that we were told is still good. We will go with this as is (for now).



We bought the car and it came with three engines. The original 302-2V, which the previous owner had said was blown, a "rebuilt" 302 with a high performance Weidend alum intake and Holey 4 barrel, and a 1969 351W out of a Mustang (so we were told).

See the engine in the back of my son's truck:

Good luck on your project. Keep us updated with your progress.

We opened up the "blown" 302 and at first thought the engine looked very good. Not to grimey. Maybe this would just need a freshening up.



Then we took the heads off and found that one of the pistons had indeed split. It looked like the top ring land broke away and left metal in the oil pan. The cylinder walls looked OK. I think a 0.030" bore (still had the stock bore) would clean it up. No missing block parts, so this is rebuildable. But we put back together and stuck it under the work bench for a later date.

So we went to the "rebuilt" 302. We opened this one up and it looked much nicer! It definently been worked on.



We took the heads off and everything looked very good. The pistons are stamped 0.030 indicating the engine has been bored and the cylinder walls looked like they still had soom cross hatch honeing. So low mileage rebuild.

Then I looked at the heads. Curious about the casting numbers on this engine head combo?






1979 302 block with what appear to be 1987 heads. Then you look at the rockers and I think Wiskey Tango Foxtrot!



Those are screw in studs with rail type rockers! 1987 heads should be pedastal mount with later style rocker? Well it seems the previous owner went through the troouble to tap out the holes to 7/16 thread and installed screw in studs. Then he must of changed the valves to the longer style to work with the rail type rocker arms. I did not like the idea that the previous owner used mixed type studs so I replaced them with all the same kind:





So we have this engine partially back together and waiting for some nice weather to paint the engine outside (the wife hates over spray on her freezers and cabinets in the garage).




Forgot to mention the timing chain was a double roller! My son thinks that is way cool:



And we opened up the Holley (List 1850-3) and it looks really clean inside. New gaskets and back together for this one.



We have been collecting any of our missing parts (starter solenoid, voltage regulator, radiator hoses, and new distibutor). I think we have everything else to put this together. We even got a very generous donation of a used exhaust system from a 1971 Mach 1 that we will be putting on. The goal of getting this engine in the car and started is two-fold:

1) Collect all the parts required to make this car running.

2) Run this motor and the offer it up for sale as a running 302.

We want to get to the 351W and use the cash from the sale of the 302 to fix this one up for a permanent home in the 1972 Mustang!

One parting shot. Soon as the weather improves, we will get to the body and putting it together. At least it has all the glass and none of it seems to leak.

Very good documentation pics...keep em coming

With the paint in the valley and in the heads, someone took some pride in putting that engine together.

With the paint in the valley and in the heads, someone took some pride in putting that engine together.

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Yes they did. The front of the block, behind the timing chain, is also painted. With the attention to detail inside the engine, the exterior paint was non-existent or very crappy. It appeared to be painted black, but even this is mostly gone and just a bare block with surface rust. It also has new brass feeze plugs.

So my biggest gripe about this engine is the lack of exterior care and shine. I should also point out, and will show in a future update, the valve covers were aftermarket chrome that were also painted a funky red. However, the chrome was not bead blasted and the paint did not stick. Real ugly now. (you can see this in the picture of the engines in my son's truck, it is the one in the back with red valve covers).

When we are finished putting this together and detailed outside, the engine should be sweet. Hope it has a nice cam that has a slight rumble and this should sell quickly. I am not going to ask some ridiculous amount like I have sen others ask. I figure between $600 and $700 would be fair for a good looking, running engine (this excludes the altenator, power steering pump, carburetor, and distributor).

What do you guys think, fair price?

If running and you have documented the interior's condition with pictures and a compression test, I'd think $6-700 is fair, maybe even a bit of a bargain.

Well my son and I got a litle time this weekend to finish buttoning up the 302. We installed the rocker arms and adjusted. Then I primed the oil pump and made sure that each rocker was getting oil.







Then we painted the motor, cleaned and painted the valve covers, and cleaned up the intake. Installed the intake and then dropped in the distributor. Got the valve covers looking pretty good.







Just a note about these valve covers. These were originally chrome valve covers and the previous owner tried to paint over them with something red. The paint did not stick as it appears the chrome was not roughed up. We took the time to ensure that the entire outside surface was bead blasted with a good etch so the engine paint will stick very well. You can see in some of the pictures, they are a little beat up. But as this is not the keeper motor, they should be good enough.

The motor just requires a few more items and then ready to go into the 1972 Mustang. Need to install the fuel pump, motor mounts, and exhaust manifolds. We will install the brakets and pulleys in the car as we are not quite sure how everything goes together and if we have everything. Stay tuned for more!

Time for an update!

My son and I were able to get a good weekend of work in on the 1972 Mustang and it is starting to come together:

First, got the engine buttoned up



We got this put into the engine bay but had a hard time trying to get the engine to line up. Well duh! We chekced the oil pan, it was hitting the crossmember. It seems that the oil pan on this 302 was wider and designated for a F-150. We swapped it out for the correct oil pan and the engine slide right in and everything bolted right up!







Then we dropped the gas tank to have a look, The gas fumes from this tank has been a constant source of irritation and foul stench. Guess we can see why now!



Not sure if we can save this or even try? Inside the gas tank:



At this point the gas tank and sender are out of the car until we deide what to do. I suggested buying a new gas tank, but my son is on a shoe string budget and wants to try and carb clean the sender, new filter pickup and brass float (the unit still works correctly when checking with a DVM). I have 'Metal wash' and acetone to try and flush the tank. Then put in a fuel filter before the fuel pump?

If the tank looks like that, then the lines need to be addressed as well. You may be able to clean it all up, or you may waste some time and money trying and then still have to spend the money. New tanks are only about 150 bucks or so.

Good looking work so far-keep it up!

More updates. After the motor got put in we moved to putting some of the body back together. The main issue is that we bought the car in pieces. The pile includes a coffe can full of bolts, nothing labeled! I guess we were warned about buying a project car that someone else disassembelled. You are not gaurenteed everything is accoounted for. Seems we are missing some P/S bracket, fan spacer, and possibly the correct water pump pulley. However, does seem I have the radiator and all the mounting hardware. So we have to collect some missing peices before we can start the motor. Stay tuned for that.

My son installed the trunk and got a good look at the tail lights. ARGH! Seems we are going to have to fix this area even though we vowed not to do any body work.





With the bottom of the taillight housing gone, there is nothing to bolt the taillights too!!!

Next we installed the trunk. No real issues here, though the trunk lid is rusty, it works:



You can see we set the taillights in, but they are only held by the top two nuts, not good for driving

We moved to the front and installed the front fenders and hood:







Overall, not a bad fit for the front fenders. But there is shoddy repairs:

See next post!


The front of this car has some very bad welding repairs. The previous owner basically welded patches over the rust. And not very good welds either:



Underside:



Then this is the hood hinge area:



And a frame rail repair:



And the cowl area is gone and see daylight looking up from inside car:





And how about this core support:



We started this project with the intent of doing no body work except sand paint the exposed metal roof and C-pillar. The engine area is painted some kind of black paint over all these rusted/patched areas so we are going to leave them as is. However, this is what we will have to look forward to when the body restoration happens in a few years. I expect new aprons, new core support, new cowl, and some better frame patches. Overall, the main frame and under structure is in good shape. Everything I can find on the front sheet metal is repro and can be replaced. Just going to take a lot of spot weld cutting when we get to this pahse

If the tank looks like that, then the lines need to be addressed as well. You may be able to clean it all up, or you may waste some time and money trying and then still have to spend the money. New tanks are only about 150 bucks or so.

Good looking work so far-keep it up!

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I thought about the lines. I think I will set up a siphon and fill the lines with a carb cleaner. Sit for a few hours. Then siphon acetone through and finally flush with fresh gasoline. I certainly do not want to get into replacing the fuel lines along the bottom of the car (if it can be avoided). I used carb cleaner on the sending unit, and it really seemed to clean up nice. Still need a new pick up filter sock and the brass float has a hole in it. So I think the carb cleaner can clear up the lines. i just need to make sure I can fill the line and let it soak and then be able to flush out the line WELL!


We had a good productive week end. Since the motor is waiting for missing brackets and pulleys, we went to the interior.

The carpet was wet in the front seats so the carpet had to come out (see above cowl rust). Knowing the floor will get wet when it rains, my son is OK driving this with no carpet and only on non-raining days. However, this car will not have a garage for storage and the carpet cannot stay wet!

The floor is rusted at the toe board:





We will install some hokey metal patches and screw them down. Do not panic fellow Mustang restorers this is temp and will be corrected at a later date. We will not cover these with bondo or "Great Stuff". It is just to keep the feet from poking through while my son drives the car around.

It also seems that the rear glass leaks and left some holes in the corner under the rear seat:



And critters made nests all under the rear seat!



Good news is the center of the floors are solid, the frame rails are great condition, and the seats are NOT torn! Check out this bucket seat (this is the worst one):



There is a black stain that we have to try and get out. What would be a good vinyl conditioner?

Check out the bottom foam and frame:



We are pleased, no major reupholstery is going to be needed for the seats. Clean and repaint the plastic trim and a little fix-up/spruce up for the door panels and all looks good. Headliner will require new and carpet will require new. Have to get into that dash, looking under it seems like there is a lot of lose insulation (more critter nests) and the previous owner hacked into the wiring. Hope he did not mess up the essentials: ignition, lights, and heater controls. Radio is low priority at this point (though my son may have a different opinion about that).


Now a look at the trunk:

Rust -



More rust



Even more rust



And bondo to cover even more rust



I did not get a picture, but looking up from the bottom with the gas tank removed, the floor appears to be good. It is only an illusion as inside the trunk is paper thn metal and has been rusting from this top surface and not the gas tank side. The entire trunk floor will have to be replaced, inner and outer whell houses and the quarter panels. Look at previous post on the tail light panel and it is clear that the entire back part of the car will have to be replaced with new sheet metal. Of everything needing new sheet metal (aside from the actual cowl work) this is going to be the most extensive and hardest to tackle when the time comes. On the plus side, the rear frame rails do look to be good. But, I cannot see the inside part of the rail and when the trunk floor is removed, these may be junk as well. Hope not, but would not be surprised!


Just a recap of cost:

$1500 for car and three motors (302 original blown, 302 'rebuilt', 351W from 1969 Mustang)

$250 for gaskets, thermostat, and paint for 302.

$350 for distributor, hoses, screw-in rocker studs, starter solenoid, voltage regulator.

$100 misc cleaning supplies.

I figure I am into the car for about $2200 at this point.

Still need all brakes serviced (disc brake calipers, rear wheel cylinders, master cylinder), P/S bracket, water pump pulley, fan and spacer, belts, anti-freeze, battery and cables.

Investigating gas tank options.

Then, with many prayers and crossed fingers, the engine fires up and the car is driveable! The tires will need replacing, but I think we can use them for a few months before replacement is required. At the very least we can get short test drives before they need replacing.

Not even going to mention the rear springs are flat and slightly curved backwards (air shocks mounted in back hold the rear up correctly) or that the front passenger upper ball joint appears to have been welded to the upper control arm??? Or that the emrgency cables do not seem to work at all. I have no idea if the FMX transmission is any good (was told by previous owner it is good). Or how about the rear end grease smells wretched and should really be changed ASAP. And only the Lord knows if the electrical even works!!!

I was out of town most of last week, but did spend a little time Sunday putting on the lights and front valence. My son cleaned up the head light buckets and painted them black. Then he cleaned up the back side of the front valence and painted this black as well. We chose to paint them Rustoleum black to just keep them from rusting any more than they were. A good sand blasting, priming, and painting should preserve these pieces!





One note about the front signal light housings. These were rotted out, the mounting pegs broken off, and the housings had holes in them. The plastic lenses were good. Not to be deterred (and being cheap) I had my son bead blast the housing very well. This revealed a lot of rust holes in the housing. I then used JB Weld to fill all the holes using painters tape as a backing to keep the JB Weld from running through the holes. When set up completely, I then sanded each housing smooth on the inside and leveled the outside. We primered them and I used Eastwood reflective paint for the inside and silver for the exterior. Overall, they turned out great. I then carefully drilled and tapped a 12-32 screw to remount the housing. I did not get pictures of this process (wish I had thought of it). I think most would be amazed that they could be salvaged (though I would not use them for a show car) for a good street driven car.

Maybe I will take a finished shot of the housings when I remove the front valence to install the bumper.

Stay tuned. New gas tank and sender on the way and some finishing in the engine bay and should have the engine fired up soon!

Wow, looking at that makes me feel a lot better about how much work i have to do to mine. My taillight panel is full of bondo however my floors are pretty good. I had some rough areas on passenger side cowl that i patched up this weekend. I don't have ability to pull the whole cowl and IMO the little rust there just didnt warrant it.

It's a lot of work and a lot of time. I'm on a tight budget on fixing mine up so if you want any help or hints dont be afraid to ask.

No acetone in rubber lines-it will damage them . The fuel line runs along the bottom of the driver's side rocker panel. It is easy to get to and if you can bend line it is cheap to replace. The hard vent line can be blown out. only vapor returns through it.

Make temporary covers for the cowl vents out of thin sheet metal and silicone down until you do the repairs. This will also keep engine fumes from entering the car through this area.

Looks like a fun project.

FYI, I've got a rough - but potentially usable - repro taillight panel up in the FS section. It'll take a lot of cleanup, but it may be worth it for a budget build:



PM me if it's of interest. I have a pair of floorpans that are still part of the entire rocker/trans housing assembly, but they're probably too rough to use.

-Kurt

No acetone in rubber lines-it will damage them . The fuel line runs along the bottom of the driver's side rocker panel. It is easy to get to and if you can bend line it is cheap to replace. The hard vent line can be blown out. only vapor returns through it.

Make temporary covers for the cowl vents out of thin sheet metal and silicone down until you do the repairs. This will also keep engine fumes from entering the car through this area.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up about the rubber line. I am going to replace all the rubber when I feel the metal line is clean. So that part wasn't much of a concern for me. I actually blew out both the lines and doesn't seem like there is much in them. I flushed some carb cleaner and only a little bit of black came out. However, I am still going to fill the line and let it soak (probably this weekend). I decided to give up the gas tank and sending unit. I will be purchasing new tank and sender unit as well as the rubber filler neck seal.

As a side note, the filler neck is OK but the end does seem to have a little surface rust. Should I sand it off and leave it? Will this expose the underlying steel removing the galvanized coating? Maybe it no longer matters as surface rust has already exposed the steel.

Good choice on the new tank. I went that route as it will offer peaxe of mind down the road if you ever need to diagnose running issues.

Sent from my SCH-S960L using Tapatalk

Time for an update!

I finished installing new rear wheel cylinders, brake hardware, and brake shoes. Still need to replace the rearend lines. Got the master cylinder off and will be replacing. Got the proportioning valve off and will rebuild (thanks Mecheng for the tip).

I am now working on restoring the grill to a useable state. The car came with two grills (both look like a Mach1 grill). I will take the best one and fix the cracks and breaks. I will have to use some of the mounting tabs from the second grill to bond to this grill. You can see the repairs started (forgot to take a true before shot):





Notice the ends are missing the plastic lip:



Not sure if it is worth trying to build this up and replicate this or leave it as it will not be highly visible on the car.

I also scored a new in the box gas tank for $60. Picking it up this week end.

Meanwhile, my son has reconditioned the seats and they look great. Will try to get a picture of them this week end, but I have to say i was impressed at how well he cleaned them and they appear to be rather soft after a generous application of saddle soap and Lexol leather stuff.

We are a bit behind as we were hoping to have this started and runing by now. But who else has kept their target date for their project goals? Wait, that sounded to much my like my job I just enjoy working on the car when I have time.


I should mention, that carpet is in my garage! I put hardwood floors in my house and used the carpet to put in my garage for the winter. I will be removing it when I get to the point of either painting in the garage or the stains are no longer bearable. But it is nice to work in the garage in your stocking feet (just don't drop a wrench on your toes).

Update time:

Got to spend some time fixing and finishing up several areas.

First rebuilt the rear brakes. New wheel cylinders, shoes, and hardware. Waiting for the rear end hard lines and the soft line from the body to the rearend. Also installed a new master cylinder and rebuilt the propotioning valve.



Next sanded and cleaned the floor. Sprayed down some epoxy primer to arrest the continued rusting. The holes are still there and we will cover them with a temporary patch.



Then we added the seats. Which cleaned up very nicely. The front seats are very pliable and soft. The rear seat is hard and you can see some duct tape residue left. We did not want to be agreesive in fear the stiching at the seams might come apart.





Then I finished cleaning the power steering pump and installed. At this time I need to purchase a spacer and a fan (mine are missing). What spacer? I see at least three 2.25, 2.5, and 2.625? Then different size fan blades?



Also put the front bumper on. Frankly I got tired of tripping over it and always moving it. The driverside bracket is rusty and needs to be replaced. But the bumper is on and out of the way whating for the day we purchase new brackets.





Finally, started cleaning up the back expecting to put a gas tank in shortly. Got to looking and poking and found this for the trunck drop off!



This is a piece of roof flashing that you can buy from Home Depot. That thin aluminum junk used as sheet metal repair material. Nice work

Here is what it looks like pulled away from the undercoating:



Well the engine is almost ready to fire up. Fan and spacer, antifreeze, battery and cables, belts, and plug wires. Will have to suck gas out of the gas can to start as I do not have the new gas tank. Plan is to have the engine running on memorial day! Then a race to finish the brakes, tune the motor, odds and ends, and then initial test drive!