Where do I start?

Okay, I've got a rustbucket that I'm going to restore. The core support, right front apron, cowl, floors (both side front and back), rear seat extensions, trunk floor, drop offs, left outer wheelhouse, and tail light panel need to be replaced. The left inner wheelhouse needs patching along with the over axle intermediate panel. Both left and right rear quarters need repair, but at this point, I'm not sure if I can just do the skins or if I need to replace the whole panel. I'll be able to tell more after the paint and bondo are removed. Oh yes, then there is the moon roof that was cut in the roof.

So with that info, where would you suggest I start. It is stripped, and ready to be blasted. Should I do the panel replacement first, or should I get it blasted and then replace the sheet metal. And when I replace the sheet metal, where do I start? Core support? Trunk floor and tail light panel? Roof? Cowl?

I've got a bunch of new sheet metal from Don this last week, and realized I can't find my spot weld cutter, so have a new one on order.

I'd appreciate any ideas on how to proceed, and also comments on possible pitfalls and suggestions on how to avoid them.

Might seem a little odd, but by the time when i finally got around to restoring my Mustang about 20 years ago, the very first thing I did was to collect every bit of replacement sheetmetal I thought I would need.

Probably took over a year, I think. There is more avaialable today, so it would not be as difficult. But trunk floors and wheelhouses were tough to find, as were the rear sections of the inner fenders.

But i found them, having them on hand prevented any work stoppages, which can really derail a resto.

Be careful who you ask with that question ("Where do I start?"). When I asked the same thing, my pal Jim said, "With a tetanus shot." rofl

I'd get it 'blasted first. Dig out all the seam sealer you can find, strip it down to absolutely nothing left attached, and take it to the 'blaster (if you're not doing it yourself).

After that, coat the thing with epoxy primer (like Rust Bullet), and you won't have to chase any 'new' rust while you're in the process of replacing/restoring everything. When it's time to cut/grind/weld/whatever a particular area, just clean off the primer, do your work, then primer it back when you're done.

That's not how I started mine, but it's the direction I wish I would've gone from the beginning, after learning the things I have from being a member here.

Okay, I've got a rustbucket that I'm going to restore. The core support, right front apron, cowl, floors (both side front and back), rear seat extensions, trunk floor, drop offs, left outer wheelhouse, and tail light panel need to be replaced. The left inner wheelhouse needs patching along with the over axle intermediate panel. Both left and right rear quarters need repair, but at this point, I'm not sure if I can just do the skins or if I need to replace the whole panel. I'll be able to tell more after the paint and bondo are removed. Oh yes, then there is the moon roof that was cut in the roof.

So with that info, where would you suggest I start. It is stripped, and ready to be blasted. Should I do the panel replacement first, or should I get it blasted and then replace the sheet metal. And when I replace the sheet metal, where do I start? Core support? Trunk floor and tail light panel? Roof? Cowl?

I've got a bunch of new sheet metal from Don this last week, and realized I can't find my spot weld cutter, so have a new one on order.

I'd appreciate any ideas on how to proceed, and also comments on possible pitfalls and suggestions on how to avoid them.

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I would suggest starting on the engine bay

The reason being is that you can pull a panel and replace a panel without loosing your geometry

Always do one panel at a time any where on the car

Take measurements and pictures before you start then you will have your reference when you start re-installing

Go to harbour freight and buy like 10 spot weld cutters

Get the little zip cut saw with a couple boxes of the disks

Get a 1/2 belt file sander and lots of belts

Get hard wire for your welder and use shielding gas , don't use flux core as it welds like crap

On your way back from harbour freight stop at the pharmacy and get bandaids and poly sporran as the journey you are stating will require ample amounts of blood sweat and many choice swear words

Most of the engine bay you can drill out the spot welds or use a spot weld cutter

Just think about which side would be best to plug weld from

So drill them out if you want to weld from the old panel side

Spot weld cut them if you want to weld from the new panel side, this means you can drill your new holes in your new panel so that you can plug weld them back up using your old panel with out holes behind

When you remove you old panels you can use the cut of grinder to remove the balance if the spot weld, then you can use the 1/2 file sander to finish the prep

When you weld up the panel by plug welding the 3/8 spot weld cutter holes, just skate around the perimeter stop and start if you need to so that you don't blow threw

You can use the cut of grinder and 1/2 file sander to clean off the weld high spots

Then fill the Center of the plug weld in and clean up the high spots

This should get you rolling on the easier welding and fitting

The blasting I would suggest just do the area your working on

If you blast and don't prime within a day or two it will just start to rust all over again

I would also plastic and tape off the other areas as the grinding particles will get every where and in every seam

Scott has video of the floor replacement which is the right way to to do them but you will have to be good at welding to butt weld them together

Leave the back till last and get full 1/4's as this would save you a lot of body work later

Good luck and post pic as you go

Be careful who you ask with that question ("Where do I start?"). When I asked the same thing, my pal Jim said, "With a tetanus shot." rofl

I'd get it 'blasted first. Dig out all the seam sealer you can find, strip it down to absolutely nothing left attached, and take it to the 'blaster (if you're not doing it yourself).

After that, coat the thing with epoxy primer (like Rust Bullet), and you won't have to chase any 'new' rust while you're in the process of replacing/restoring everything. When it's time to cut/grind/weld/whatever a particular area, just clean off the primer, do your work, then primer it back when you're done.

That's not how I started mine, but it's the direction I wish I would've gone from the beginning, after learning the things I have from being a member here.

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Thanks for the advise. I've just about got it completely stripped. Just the headliner strips along the roofline, the sail panel standoffs, and door strikers are left to remove. Then major cleanup and ......

I've got to get the air drier hooked up, so my blaster won't clog so much, and then hours of blasting.

I guess if I take the entire rear quarter off, I can easily clean up in there and seal up the metal on the outside of the inner frame. Hmm. So many little things to things about.


Wow, M Beauchamp. Thanks for the extensive write up. I hadn't thought about the direction of cutting out the spot welds. I've seen those little belt sanders at HF, but didn't know what I'd use it for. I've got a flanger/punch, DA sander, die grinder, angle grinder, etc. Also have an Eastwood 115V welder that really does a pretty good job.

I was thinking of starting with the core support and right front apron. I'm thinking I should measure everything first to make sure things are where they are supposed to be before I start. It will probably be easier to fix at this point when I'm cutting welds than after I've spent a bunch of time burning things together. This poor old pony definitely shows signs of being rode hard and put up wet. I definitely appreciate the notes and will keep refering back to them as I go forward.

Might seem a little odd, but by the time when i finally got around to restoring my Mustang about 20 years ago, the very first thing I did was to collect every bit of replacement sheetmetal I thought I would need.

Probably took over a year, I think. There is more avaialable today, so it would not be as difficult. But trunk floors and wheelhouses were tough to find, as were the rear sections of the inner fenders.

But i found them, having them on hand prevented any work stoppages, which can really derail a resto.

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Thanks for the heads up, Kit. I did get the core support, right front apron, both full floors, front extensions, trunk floor, drop offs, tail light panel, and trunk lid from Don this last weekend, so I should have enough to keep me busy for a bit. The jury is still out on if I will go with the full rear quarters or the much less expensive skins. I need to get the paint and underlying bondo off of them to see what I have to start with before I make that decision. I know the cowl is rusted, but not sure how bad, so I have to pull the top off to see how extensive the rust is and if it is repairable or if I need to call Don for the repop.

I almost to the point where I will find out if the seat platforms are toast or not. Based on the rest of the car, I can't imagine that they're not, but we'll see. I shouldn't say that. The trans tunnel seems to be okay.

Ron

My tranny tunnel was fine as well... but the seat platforms were bad right along with the floor pans forward of and behind them. Hopefully, yours are still usable... even so with some minor repairs if necessary (since you got welding skills ).

I picked up some of the coupe/'vert platforms and wound up just cutting them down a bit. So, my seats are sitting somewhere between where they should with fastback & coupe/'vert platforms. I'm thinking I'll still need to find a way to make the seats lean back just a little, whether by leaving the stopper pads out or some other kind of solution. I still might get some late-model seats and upholster them with the Mach 1 Sport Seat foam and skins (for recline-ability) if it's too much of a problem (my head riding the headliner, for instance).

How far gone is it?? Maybe you would save money and heartburn by finding the nicest shell you can and eliminating a ton of work.

How far gone is it?? Maybe you would save money and heartburn by finding the nicest shell you can and eliminating a ton of work.

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That was my thought as well.

And where would I be now if I'd taken that advice?

And where would I be now if I'd taken that advice?

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It crossed my mind several times, but I wouldn't been mine. Plus, I have some pretty high satisfaction thinking about how far we came.

Well, I could send this one to the scrapyard, too, but I hate doing that. I'm thinking I let the coupe go to easily, but the wife had serious reservations about the strength of the frame after the fire, so it went to the crusher. This one has some rust problems, but since a lot of the sheet metal is repopped, now, I can get the pieces I need, trim them and weld them in. It's just a matter of time. I don't expect it to happen overnight. Like Mister 4x4's Frankenstang, it will take a good while, but hopefully, when it's done, it will be worth it. The wife really likes it, and is excited about getting it done, so I'm going to bite the (rust) bullet, and start working on it, piece by piece. Just a matter of which piece is first.

Well, I could send this one to the scrapyard, too, but I hate doing that. I'm thinking I let the coupe go to easily, but the wife had serious reservations about the strength of the frame after the fire, so it went to the crusher. This one has some rust problems, but since a lot of the sheet metal is repopped, now, I can get the pieces I need, trim them and weld them in. It's just a matter of time. I don't expect it to happen overnight. Like Mister 4x4's Frankenstang, it will take a good while, but hopefully, when it's done, it will be worth it. The wife really likes it, and is excited about getting it done, so I'm going to bite the (rust) bullet, and start working on it, piece by piece. Just a matter of which piece is first.

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I admire your resolve and your sense of hope. As you mentioned, Eric (Mister 4x4) journeyed down that road, and has arrived with his sanity (for the most part) intact. rofl

Keep us in the loop and post lots of pics. We're here for ya'!

As you mentioned, Eric (Mister 4x4) journeyed down that road, and has arrived with his sanity (for the most part) intact. rofl

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As far as you know. ::tease::