71 Mach 1 - Novice Restoration

[tpj71mach]

Unfortunately it somehow looks better in pictures but it isn’t awful. Floors are currently bolted in but their isn’t any rust except for the passenger rear, they must’ve had Fred flints one in there.


I am a Pontiac fan to the bone however I am a sucker for fastback mustangs, I appreciate pretty much all muscle. This project prevents me from tearing my apart the T/A which helps a lot.


Yeah for sure, he has lots of knowledge along with my dad. But with forums and a Haynes manual I’m not stressing it too much. Bodywork is what’s really gonna test me.


Thanks to everyone else that said hi. This forum is a lot more active than I am used to compared to the T/A ones. Currently working on the trunk pan to practice my bodywork since it won’t be seen, getting the hang of it. Only peice of body that worries me is the entire rear lights panel, essentially the entire rear metal of the car, needs to be replaced I have a replacement but seems like a big job. I’m assuming someone has it documented but I still have to research that.

Thanks again.

I agree with Stanglover, do the floor first and then replace the taillamp panel it leaves you plenty of room to work with the taillamp panel out of the way. Here's a couple pics of my car at that stage. You can see in the last picture I did not weld the lower quarter panels in because sectioning in the lower quarter panels was the next stage I had planned.

 

[Zach]

Taking the tail light panel out would’ve made it easier but I ended up just patching the trunk anyways. I’ll do the tail panel and bumper brackets later.

What’s the best steps to make a smooth finish in the trunk. Grinded down my welds to sort of smooth, don’t want to go anymore since the metal is already pretty thin. Can I primer it then Bondo? Or should I take some more steps. Trunk doesn’t need to be perfect but I’d like to do it the right way. Trunk was my first weld job so it isnt great but I did better than I thought, super solid just not super smooth. Thanks.

 

[Cleveland Crush]

Zach, post a few photos of your trunk area in question, then our forum welding department will be better able to advise you.

 

[tpj71mach]

Taking the tail light panel out would’ve made it easier but I ended up just patching the trunk anyways. I’ll do the tail panel and bumper brackets later.

What’s the best steps to make a smooth finish in the trunk. Grinded down my welds to sort of smooth, don’t want to go anymore since the metal is already pretty thin. Can I primer it then Bondo? Or should I take some more steps. Trunk doesn’t need to be perfect but I’d like to do it the right way. Trunk was my first weld job so it isnt great but I did better than I thought, super solid just not super smooth. Thanks.

You can make repairs over an epoxy primer but it's not advised to bondo over other types of primers. I prefer to use tiger hair fiberglass product because it is not porous and bondo is. I like to grind the welds and then coat the weld with tiger hair da that down flat and then bondo over that for a smoother finish. This way the tiger hair keeps moisture away from the back of the bondo. I am sure there are many other opinions that is just how I have done it and its worked for me.

 

[Zach]

Zach, post a few photos of your trunk area in question, then our forum welding department will be better able to advise you.

If I can get around to it, my hack job is nothing to be proud of lol.

You can make repairs over an epoxy primer but it's not advised to bondo over other types of primers. I prefer to use tiger hair fiberglass product because it is not porous and bondo is. I like to grind the welds and then coat the weld with tiger hair da that down flat and then bondo over that for a smoother finish. This way the tiger hair keeps moisture away from the back of the bondo. I am sure there are many other opinions that is just how I have done it and its worked for me.

Sweet, basically what I was looking for. Thanks.

 

[Fabrice]

Welcome Zach! So nice to see young blood around here!!

My only old Monkey advice would be: take all 1 by 1 and don't let the shortcuts demons seduce you!
Good luck!

 

[Zach]

Welcome Zach! So nice to see young blood around here!!

My only old Monkey advice would be: take all 1 by 1 and don't let the shortcuts demons seduce you!
Good luck!

Yeah it is definitely overwhelming but I am managing 1 project at a time. Hopefully I won’t need to take many short cuts, both my parents are incredibly impatient which means I have inherited a great amount patience so I shouldn’t struggle to much. Although, a short cut I am deliberately taking is skipping sandblasting and primering the whole car before all this, it just isn’t ideal for my circumstances.

 

[Zach]

Here is my trunk pan hack job. It was my first time touching a welder and doing metal work. I chose to patch instead of replacing the whole thing since most the metal was good enough and didn't think it was worth it. I am pretty happy with it, my whole issue was my inability to cut straight lines with an angle grinder, bought some electric shears and they make it significantly easier. I had some pretty sizeable gaps, <1/4 inch in some places, was able to bridge with welds but would've been easier with straighter steel. Smoothing the welds out caused some of the already thin metal to become thinner so I figured I would deal with some bumps and maybe bondo it flat, trunk mats exist too. I definitely would change my approach if I were to do it again.

Next project is the passenger front engine bay apron, which should be a lot easier and shorter job.

 

[Zach]

Also did a Marti report since they are cheap and would be neat to know what the car had originally. Nothing too crazy, power steering and rear discs are nice, still equipped. Has staggered shocks and the better suspension package since it did have an M-Code, but all that will be replaced. Still have the original top loader. Might have the original AM some where. From what I heard it is a one wheel wonder so either someone messed with the rear gears or the kid who blew the m-code also blew the locker. Pretty basic car overall.

 

[tpj71mach]

Your welds look great for a first timer. As far as the right front apron replacement, it is pretty straight forward. You will need to drill out the spot welds and then plug weld the new panel in. This is also a project I had to tackle on my car and I also never really welded before this car. My previous cars I had a professional do the metal work for me. At the time, no one I knew had time for any side work so I had to learn.
I attached some pics of my experience with this repair. The brace pictured in the second picture is under the top rail and you will need to remove it from the old panel and weld it to the new one. You will also need to drill out the holes for the fender mounting. I applied masking tape to the top of the old panel and traced out the holes. I transferred the tape to the new panel as a template to drill and file the holes in the right place in the new panel. Fabrice, (he actually has replied to your thread) is a member who has mad metal skills, he suggested this process to me. If you look at my build thread, ('71 Mach 1 Resto Project), you can see his recommendations on this project as well as his pictures of how he did it. This was a great help for me when I was replacing mine.
Good luck and remember, to quote Lucky Costas from Hot Rod Garage, "grinder and paint makes me the welder I ain't"

 

[tpj71mach]

Hi Zach

I was looking at your pictures and it appears that you have the new passenger front apron in place but not welded in. I didn't see the battery tray support in the picture. If you have the original apron you can remove it from that or there is a member that makes them, you can buy it from him at postaldan514 on Ebay. I included some pictures from another member because I did not have any pictures from my own car. I am sure there are more pictures and information on this part if you need it. You can use the search bar, just look up battery support and there will be threads on it.

 

[Zach]

Yeah luckily half the job is done already. Old apron is cut out. Replacement is just sitting there needs to be fitted right. I was grinding everything clean last night, today I will try to weld it in. Thanks for the info.

 

[Mark Jones]

Glad to see the pictures. I have been watching welding videos on youtube. I have to replace the passenger side front apron as well as the driver side rear floor pan and some areas directly under the rear seat. i hope to have enough leftover material from the floor pan to fill the other small patch areas under the seat. I am a first time welder too. I bought a lincoln feed welder some time ago because it was on sale and I always wanted to learn how to weld. I have done a few sample projects with good results. I think the apron will be a piece of cake since it is only spot welding. I am more worried about the floor pan making all those tack welds and then stitching them all together. Patience and persistence will get me through. i am sure it will all come out ok.

 

[Zach]

Here is the replacement apron welded in. Still need to put the reinforcement and holes in. Luckily previous owner already fabbed a fender reinforcement so I didn't need to go through that trouble. This was pretty easy to do, although I didn't have to cut it out.

 

[Sheriff41]

Glad to see the pictures. I have been watching welding videos on youtube. I have to replace the passenger side front apron as well as the driver side rear floor pan and some areas directly under the rear seat. i hope to have enough leftover material from the floor pan to fill the other small patch areas under the seat. I am a first time welder too. I bought a lincoln feed welder some time ago because it was on sale and I always wanted to learn how to weld. I have done a few sample projects with good results. I think the apron will be a piece of cake since it is only spot welding. I am more worried about the floor pan making all those tack welds and then stitching them all together. Patience and persistence will get me through. i am sure it will all come out ok.

If you're not using a shielding gas, you should. MIG is easier and produces neater welds than FCAW. Less time grinding to make the welds look nice, too.

 

[Sheriff41]

Here is the replacement apron welded in. Still need to put the reinforcement and holes in. Luckily previous owner already fabbed a fender reinforcement so I didn't need to go through that trouble. This was pretty easy to do, although I didn't have to cut it out.
View attachment 79024 View attachment 79025

It looks like you have some rust through on the shock tower. You'll need to address that while you're at it.

 

[Mark Jones]

I will not be using gas even though my Lincoln is gas capable. I need to go take a course in welding before I mess with gas. My rust through was at the bottom of the panel so I suspect the weld-in will be easy. Thanks for the pictures!

 

[Mark Jones]

I bought a set of Cleco fasteners to make it easier to set the panel in place before welding. Just more holes to drill and fill.

 

[Zach]

It looks like you have some rust through on the shock tower. You'll need to address that while you're at it.

Yep, that is one of the next projects. Not sure what my approach to that is yet.

 

[Zach]

I will not be using gas even though my Lincoln is gas capable. I need to go take a course in welding before I mess with gas. My rust through was at the bottom of the panel so I suspect the weld-in will be easy. Thanks for the pictures!

YouTube helps a lot, although my dad help me set up my welder. Those pictures I sent were my second time ever welding something, first being the trunk pan. It really isn't hard just takes some practice, preferably on non important metal.

I bought a set of Cleco fasteners to make it easier to set the panel in place before welding. Just more holes to drill and fill.

I just bought a 200 some piece sheet metal self tappers box at harbor freight, cheaper but does the same. Maybe not as tight but a hammer fixes everything.