walterm
Member
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2016
- Messages
- 19
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- Yorkville, IL
- My Car
- 1971 Sportsroof 351C 4V 4 speed
I have started a restoration on a 71 fastback and have decided to document it here for others to enjoy. I'm sure I can learn a lot from this forum and hopefully I can provide some inspiration and help for others that have taken on a huge project like mine.
The car is an M code fastback with a 351C 4V closed chamber heads and a top loader 4 speed. It was originally bronze with ginger interior. The PO painted it yellow.
When I purchased the car, the motor(numbers matching original bore) was out and the front sheet metal was removed and the entire front end was sandblasted to bare metal and left that way for 18 years. All of the front end sheet metal is badly rusted. It was hit in the right rear and a bad bodywork job was done to the quarter panel and tail light panel. The worst part of the car is the cowl(arg!). The inner cowl and top hat are badly rotted as well as the outer cowl and firewall.
My plans are for a complete rotisserie resto-mod with a stock Mach 1 exterior. Don't flame me to bad for this decision, I know this is a rare car, but I just don't care for the looks of the standard trim. The powertrain and suspension/brakes will be upgraded significantly.
I started this project by first building a new heated and air conditioned garage to work in. I added a paint/sandblast booth to keep the mess to a minimum. I started out with plastic walls, but quickly decided that was not going to work long term, so I OSB'd the walls and ceiling of the booth. I also added a four post lift.
In the mean time I have been searching for the bulk of the missing parts and have acquired most of what I need.
Now the fun begins.
More to come,
Mark
I started out with the front inner fenders. I cut off the radiator support because it was rotted and welded in reproduction inner fenders on both sides. It felt good to finally get started with metal work.
I sandblasted the entire area and then primed with PPG etching primer to make sure rust does not return. This work was uneventful and relatively easy. All along though I found myself not looking forward to the cowl repair.
Mark
The car is an M code fastback with a 351C 4V closed chamber heads and a top loader 4 speed. It was originally bronze with ginger interior. The PO painted it yellow.
When I purchased the car, the motor(numbers matching original bore) was out and the front sheet metal was removed and the entire front end was sandblasted to bare metal and left that way for 18 years. All of the front end sheet metal is badly rusted. It was hit in the right rear and a bad bodywork job was done to the quarter panel and tail light panel. The worst part of the car is the cowl(arg!). The inner cowl and top hat are badly rotted as well as the outer cowl and firewall.
My plans are for a complete rotisserie resto-mod with a stock Mach 1 exterior. Don't flame me to bad for this decision, I know this is a rare car, but I just don't care for the looks of the standard trim. The powertrain and suspension/brakes will be upgraded significantly.
I started this project by first building a new heated and air conditioned garage to work in. I added a paint/sandblast booth to keep the mess to a minimum. I started out with plastic walls, but quickly decided that was not going to work long term, so I OSB'd the walls and ceiling of the booth. I also added a four post lift.
In the mean time I have been searching for the bulk of the missing parts and have acquired most of what I need.
Now the fun begins.
More to come,
Mark
I started out with the front inner fenders. I cut off the radiator support because it was rotted and welded in reproduction inner fenders on both sides. It felt good to finally get started with metal work.
I sandblasted the entire area and then primed with PPG etching primer to make sure rust does not return. This work was uneventful and relatively easy. All along though I found myself not looking forward to the cowl repair.
Mark
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