Fabrice's 429CJ 71 project

[Fabrice]

It's weekend and it's again a dog weather. But as my 73's brakes parts are still somewhere above the Atlantic I don't care as I'll be busy inside on my 71's apron!



I've received last week the battery support that David kindly sent me (among other goodies, thx again David!!)
That thing being made of steel and unprotected, rust already found her way.

Not planning to install rusty parts, especially this one that is usually a bonk of rust...  So I've started by bathing its light rust into acid, which gave me, after 30 minutes a pristine part which i've then massaged with electrons to end up end of the day with nice bling bling part protected for the next 50 years. Probably more as I've applied at least twice what I usually apply as because meanwhile I was busy removing these @#$% strut rods nuts that were really really not planning to get out..



As this support needs to be welded in place, the next step was to test fit it with the apron in place to make sure I'd be welding it at the right location and that all the apron holes and alignment would match.
Both apron and support not being Ford parts, I was very happy to see that all the punched holes were correctly done and perfectly matching. Refreshing for once!
After a final check, marking where spot welds will be applied, I've removed on the support the precious protective zinc, because zinc isn't really ideal to make strong welds...



Apron removed and support placed in its definitive location it was time to weld it. Few arcs later the clearly blingbling part compared to the rest, was home! 



Now that the support was in place, it was time to weld the apron. As the baby had been already prepped and massaged to fit, all went smooth and took my time to weld each point with more power than usual to obtain strong welds with good penetration. 
Once the point of no return was reached, I was very satisfied to see the bolts location and centering hole of both the apron and support were perfectly aligned.



More arcs later the entire apron was in place and the car was felling strong again. Too late to make noise with grinding to finish the welds, something I'll do next week, I've returned to the other side...



2 weeks ago I've discovered a nicely hidden in bondo new perl on the other side! The driver side apron has been badly repared from an ancient accident. Not a real surprise as I've fixed and welded the fender and hood there, but aside the dents, on top, some rust has been fixed with a terrible welds/bondo mix. On the inside, on the (supposed to be) flat regions in between pressed shapes, there was tons of bondo to fix the at least 8mm diff from top to bottom and the waves..
Fixing it would take ages, not to mention the corrosion trapped into the sandwich. As these aprons are available and affordable, a new one would be much less work. So I've ordered one last week along with my 73's brake parts. Would be nice if it would arrive this week...



Of course, just like the other side, I expect the apron to not have the top reinforcement (or fender holes), so took it already out of the car before the apron itself, as I wanted to have welded the other side in before remove it.
Saving that baby took me some time, as I needed to replace a few inches with new metal, but eventually, got it back to a usable state, and it's now enjoying an acid bath before I plate it somewhere this week...

All with all, another dirty noisy weekend has passed, but satisfied to know one side is done

To be continued...

 

[Fabrice]

Bit late for a weekend update.
But been busy...

First received my brakes parts from NPD for my 73. New calippers, pads, flexibles, hardware..
Was planning to install them Saturday, but weather was so bad I couldn't. In a way that might have been better
as when I saw the new callipers, basically a block of oiled cast iron, I thought they'd turned to a bonk of rust in no time.



So while working on the 71 inside, I've tried something I never did before: zinc plate cast iron.
As they are delivered sand blasted and oiled, I simply degreased them very well, and taped holes, rubbers and piston.
Massaged them for quite a while, their shape being complex, I had to move them and the anode 6 or 7 times to have each and every corners covered in a thick layer.
With each pass cooked 10 to 20 minutes, the amount of zinc that found a new home is quite significant and should protect them for quite a while! Also oiled them as I don't use the toxic passivation.

Bellow you can see the diff between the oiled cast iron and one done. Pretty pleased as I've red a few times that cast iron is hard to plate. I guess they don't use the same soup as I do as I could see the metal change colour in realtime 
Now that I've seen how well the deposit attaches, I think I'll handle the entire suspension and my new master cylinder same way, but will need to invest in a stronger power source as for such metal and amount of surface, the resistance is too great my current one...



While at it, as you do not replace callipers everyday, it was also the perfect time to replace the pressure plate, hardware and flexible.
It's so easy to install everything when all is bling bling! I could get used to that!

Unfortunately, the temp outside was really too low and couldn't see a thing anymore, so purged the fluid yesterday with day light and took it for a ride around the block.
Super smooth to the pedal and strong brake power. Hopefully this time I should pass the tech control this week...

View attachment 46255

While my calippers were cooking, I was busy on the 71 to remove the old driver side front apron... Soo many spotwelds to drill out!  Even more than on the battery side. Pfff what a [bad word] work that is!
Eventually got them all and cut the inside of the old one to ease the chisel work to make sure not to damaged the parts staying on the car.



Once all was peeled as a banana, it was time for a first test fit. Almost ok! Only the lower part has some curvature where it should be straight and unlike the other apron, the front was a direct fit to the radiator support.
So looks like there will be much less hammer work needed than with previous one to have it to fit perfectly.
However just like the other apron, for the top support (which is now 80% restored) the bolts holes for the u-bolts for the fender will need to be done as well. And there is no reinforcing plate behind where the wiper reservoir is supposed to hang. Will look at the original one closer to see if I salvage it or make a new one next weekend.



Most work for the removal went into the top region where ancient damage and rust have been fixed with tons of welds and bondo. Not planning to cut too much of the original metal, I wanted to see first what I could save but once the blobs of welds were grinded out, it became pretty clear I need to have 1.5 mm metal sheet in house before next weekend...

It was a very cold weekend mostly spent outside but glad another little progress was made on both my cars!

to be continued...

 

[Robsweden]

Hi 
If you have the propotion block the valve could be stuck in there. So its always a bit pressure on the front calipers.

Reagards Rob

 

[Fabrice]

yeah, it's possible, but now the friction is much less than it was, looks like (watching the disk becoming shiny) its the new pads. If still not ok, i'll look at that one. Gonna get there!

 

[Fabrice]

Did not do much this weekend...
Saturday was about helping the friend of my oldest with a busted powerwindow mechanism on his VW Golf... man, I'm glad I don't own one of these things. Really not made to last..



But the real reason I did not do much was not even the very cold weather we have here atm
It's because past week, I've finally successfully passed the tech control!! 

Above is the lady 73 waiting for the tech master in a cold sunny wind who was few mins late after lunch break.. I was bit anxious, but the pass on brakes test stand showed right away a good equal force and few details checks later, I got my papers!  Big smile on my face!

Sooo what do you do when it's very cold but dry and sunny on a Sunday?
Exactly! You drive the lady around and go to a mustang friend!

As night falls in late afternoon atm, I even got to test my pair of "Harley day breakers". 
Geez what a difference! Even if the focus is set according to the law, which is a bit too low for our long nose, there is no question about how they perform. For the non original guys, I'd say if you do not have LED headlights and drive in dark now and then, go get yourself a pair of these. Simply amazing and worth every Chinese pennies !

Oh and there were some carb/EFI discussions last week.
Well I know now that even at -2 Celcius (that's "freakingCold" Fahrenheit)  the car starts on first starter rev, idles a bit higher than normal for a couple of secs and then stabilises as a modern car. No miss fires, no hesitation while engine warms up as you drive away.



Tho Saturday, I've managed to do bits done on the 71. As the tower apron has been damaged and then poorly repared, I can't install the new front apron without fixing this first. As this apron is in 1.5 thick metal and metal looked alright and strong around the damaged area, decided to "L" cut it vs do a straight cut. The reason is the recess where the support (see bellow) needs to be welded on in sandwich.
Cutting it straight would mean to somehow build some strong tool to press down the thick metal to recreate this lower plane...  plan B it is!  

As you can see on the pict, I've instead first folded it to match the 2 angles, and then hammered the side to match the little side going down. Keeping extra metal around, which I could cut after all would be welded in place.



The before and after. Clearly looks better and some hard pull/pushes told me it's not going anywhere! So as I needed to help to fix this @#$ Golf power window, applied in a hurry some primer and will get back to it next week.



While busy, the ugly rusty too short reinforcement fixed last weekend received the usual massage and should be good to go for next week todo as well. It's still ugly but it's now strong, of the right length and should remain rust free for a while

To be continued..

 

[Fabrice]

Another cold and wet weekend passed.
No weather to take the 73 for a spin, so went back to the driver side front apron replacement in my cold garage..
I'm afraid it's another boring post!



The old reinforcement de-rusted and plated last week went in first. Same as seen on the other apron, the alignment holes were of the exact same distance and after making 7mm holes on the apron, marking them over on the reinforment to remove the zinc where the welds would be. Used the holes to align and welded the old guy in. The heat marks on the other side of the relatively thick reinforcement told me it should not go anywhere for a while!



Next came the most time consumming part of the job, measure on car 10 times, make a template and slam the to be drilled fender holes corners. Starting 2mm to 5mm to finish with the progressive bit on 7mm on the most rounded once. Dremmel cut to connect the holes and finish with files to obtain something good enough. Just like on the oher side, the die maker thought pressing in regions totally off the position needed for the holes would be handy



Rest of the work was to make the zillion holes that need to replace the original welds, test fit, clean up the metal on both car and new panel. test fit, and recheck all distances before clamp that baby to its definitive location.
Many arcs later the garage wasn't that cold anymore and the car was robust on the front again!

This country being reknown for its wonderfully dry air, I've added a quick protection against rust forming that I will remove later on when I'll epoxy the entire bay in one go much later on.
I still have some grinding work ahead next week, but for now I'm pretty pleased that both aprons are in place. Pretty boring and tedious job it was!

To be continued...

 

[midlife]

Why is it always cold there?  Are you living at the North Pole and are really Santa Claus?

 

[Fabrice]

Just a little update...



Did not do much this past weekend, kuz Saterday was cold but dry, which means that after 2 weeks of rain, it was time to take the lady Grandé out..
The idea was to do a little 50 kms trip and get back to work in the garage, but when I came back home, it was still dry and thought I should go check the tires pressure, add some gas..  of course this took me another 2 hours  
I must say that thx a new 4v engine, EFI, new 3.50 rear axle and of course me who did not got any younger since I drove it daily, that the old lady isn't at all what it used to be. It managed to surprise/scare me a couple of time now that the EFI has learned plenty and me started to push the right pedal a bit deeper. :O
At this point what seams to be a must have is to get much better seats...

Sunday was for the 71. Nothing really nice to show as I mainly remove and collect parts that need either to be restored or be replaced and continue to correct/fix the many flaws of the engine bay.



Most I did in past 2 weekends was mainly weld, grind, remove paint, derust, protect, repeat...
So got my strutrods out, which on paper is easy and a little bit less when these 1inch/26mm nuts have decided to not let go...  Also removed the old fuel lines, fuel pump return line(429 special), brake lines, proportioning valve, master cylinder and labelled all these rusty things in case I need to compare them with the new stainless lines that I bought.



Thanks to some guidance from @Hemikiller, I've removed the original strut bushings. They were indeed having the inner sleeve swedged over the washer, probably sealed during install at the plant. 
As rubber was too soft to use a chisel, I've used a 1mm cutting disc and they were out in no time.



Also been (stil am) busy fixing the many extra holes that were added over the years. Here's one on passenger side...



As the paint that was sprayed at some point doesn't react to any of my chemicals and mechanical removal alone is way too messy in my little garage, in between welding & removing things, I heat remove bits by bits all I can till I'm tired of it  



Guess what, the engine bay has 2 sides!!
So there too, making progress slowly but surely. Once all is blank and clean, I apply a 1 component  zinc primer as rust is really too fast this time of the year...  which I'll simply thinner/wipe out on "epoxy day"
One of the positive point is that the cowl vent is so far in excellent condition. This old paint might be a pain to remove, but at least it did protect the metal very well.



Of course found again hidden perls, silent witnesses of how #$%^& talented this guy was...

So yeah, that's why I did not post much, because it's a boring messy tedious process and will remain that way for a few weekends I'm afraid!
But progress is being made each and every weekend!

To be continued...

 

[droptop73]

Keep up the good work Fabrice! 

 

[mach71351c]

Great work! Always enjoy this post. 

 

[baz70]

nice job as always Fabrice. question on the battery apron you installed, what's the battery support panel that you fitted under the panel and was that factory ? i didn't find that on my rusted out apron and was just trial fitting the new apron today when i saw you had done the same recently. I can't find that part on CJ Pony so was just curious to know more about it.... thx.

 

[Fabrice]

Thx guys, Been busy today, but got lazy after diner. Will update tomorrow...
 

@baz70 You mean the reinforcement that I've plated? Well as you saw on picts posted earlier, mine was rotted to death. Tho, after a week in acid it recovered greatly and I could have used it to make a copy or even patch it. Its main function is to help support the weight and add stiffness to the apron.
Its an original part and you should have one or some remains of it. If not, it was probably almost gone and someone removed it as there was no reason to keep some rusty thingy hanging under.
There is no official repop of these, but one guy makes them and offer them on E-bay for around 35 dollars. I got one of them via @David as they were no longer offer at the time I was looking for one. I could compare with the original one and it's better made, but its raw steel. Hence why I've plated it. They are all rusted when they are present.
It is truly adding serious stiffness, but needs to be welded to really do its thing. Tho bolting it would prolly work just as good if you do not need to replace the apron (needs to be welded before to frame and the apron is welded on it and the frame, so it's sandwiched. You could also cut to follow the top line of the frame rail, so you do not have to weld, its 90 shape once bolted on the apron will add sufficient stiffness. 
If you don't have one, which I really think you should have if you have the battery there (mine will be in trunk, so won't even need it lol, but wanted do it right in case of... )
Let some local metal shop fold a 1.5mm sheet or thicker 90 deg (or do it yourself) and cut adjust to fit. That would do just fine ( 5mm alu plate would also do ok ). It's not visible and only there to add strength. If you need some dimensions, let me know, I have the old de-rusted and could provide you all you need to make your own. 

 

[baz70]

yes, that's the one Fabrice, thanks, I'll keep an eye out for one rather than fabricate it. My original panel had a piece welded in for the support section so they probably took out the original rusted panel. But as I'm trying to go with all original look i will look search for the repro part

 

[Fabrice]

@baz70 Search in David's posts. He has I recall posted the seller's address on E-bay.
 

I'm trying to go with all original look

Well nothing to look at really. Once installed it's underneath and there is the plastic splash guard hiding it too. So really no judge would whine if you make one I would have make my own if David would not have offered his.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

I have been checking every week to get me a replacement but he has not been there and his link to his ebay mail is dead. Hope he makes more I need one soon.

 

[baz70]

I have been checking every week to get me a replacement but he has not been there and his link to his ebay mail is dead. Hope he makes more I need one soon.

this guy appears to sell them for 70-71 Torinos, pic looks the same as the one Fabrice posted. I'll message him to confirm. 

http://clubs.hemmings.com/cyclonemontegotorinoregistry/parts.html

 

[secluff]

Hello baz70

The reinforcement was part of the fender apron. Ford never released a service part or number for this piece on the 71-73 Mustang. Starting in the early 80's when you ordered the service part front fender apron it did not have the reinforcement as it should have. It May of been a tooling/die issue at Ford stamping and they felt the demand for the part didn't warrant the $$$ to resolve the issue. I have a NOS apron and the reinforcement is not on it.  Finding good used ones to harvest from Cougars and Mustangs was possible at one time, but most of the remaining parts car fender aprons are rusted and have acid damage.The 71-73 Mustang and 70-71 Torino share the same front end architecture. They use the same radiator support, but the fender aprons are slightly different although in illustrations they look the same.   

PostalDan is the E-Bay vendor David, I, and others here have bought the reinforcement from. I haven't seen any activity on his E-Bay store for a while. The E-Bay fees may have gotten the better of him and he is only selling through the Torino registry. I know in the past he would make a run of different Torino parts and then Mustang. So sometimes we would have to wait till our turn came up! When he did offer these on E-Bay they were listed separately for the Torino and Mustang. 

As you posted, I would contact him to confirm availability and if they can be interchanged or if he has massaged the reinforcement to fit both cars.

The two photos are the Mustang reinforcement I received from him and it does look the same as the Torino registry part unless that is just one of his stock pictures.  Good luck and please keep us posted.

 

[baz70]

Dan just emailed me back. They are the same parts for Mustangs and Cougars... and he does still produce these, its $30 shipped i.e. the $30 includes US shipping, payment via paypal. Unfortunately I had to pay $60 for international shipping hey ho, at least hopefully I can progress with the battery apron installation.

His email address is in the link provided (maybe he doesn't do EBay after all. Can't say I blame him, but as I'm not on Facebook or other social media I have no choice, other than this forum

Back to you Fabrice... (sorry for temp hijack of thread )

 

[Fabrice]

@baz70 How dare you!!?

Time for a little update full of crap, literally



First, as I did not update since last year, it's not too late to wish you all a great 2021 !
After many years saying "almost done", "I should have it back on the road by XX"...  
It's finally true! This year, I'll drive my 73 whenever I want again! (At least when it will be dry) So if you're busy with yours, I'm sure 2021 will put you closer to that moment too!



Because of the lovely weather that we have here atm, driving was removed from my planning and been busy on restoring the engine bay instead. Here's one more apron done. For this one, I needed to patch an ancient repair and close a couple of holes... 

Now under a coat of zinc, it was time to look at the next big bad patient: the cowl vent.



As the paint used in the past do not react to anything I've tried, I have to use brute force...
Aaaaah, the joys of smelly burning paint in a cold garage!!!



Slowly but surely got all the exterior paint out and next on the todo was to fix the extra holes that were made to hold a non original wipers motor...



The way things goes, the outside wasn't lots of fun to get to bare metal, BUT more fun ahead: It was now time to remove the paint inside!
Lucky me, I saw that the paint inside was not of the same type and after a long session of hand sanding to remove the thick bits, I've used chemicals in the hope it would work on this coat..
While the paint remover was doing its thing, also spend time correcting the many little flaws of the metal. Details that should please the eye once the final paint will be applied.



Oooh yes! The paint reacted and while it did not peel it, it made it soft enough to be brushed out.
So I could now enjoy the skin removal from my hands, adding bruises to them everytime I would make a false movement and end up on a sharp edge of the cowl.
If you ever cleaned the cowl or did same work, I'm sure you know exactly what I mean!



As seen on previous pict, while in overal excellent condition, there was some light rust starting at the motor location, a tad under the windshield and at the round air passages.
I don't like rust much, so next, after a good clean, it was time to spray a mix of water/ 20% phosphoric acid.
It did not take much time for that magic fluid to get rid of all that brown misery...



Once all the rust was gone or had turned black for the deeper one (easy to brush away once dry). It was time to rince with soda to balance the PH. At this point my garage was a mess
A little heat gun session later, all dry, I've ended up with a good as new cowl vent with a nice phosphate protecting layer on it, enough to wait a week for me.
With a little more fine sanding of the remains of paint here and there, a good clean, I should be able to protect it next week for a long term protection.

I did more here and there, but in short, I'm left with only one driver side apron to go and the firewall. But for these I need remove more, like steering box, fuel line and more. I'll cover that in a future update.

All with all another weekend full of tedious smelly dirty work has past, but glad this is done as it was the "big" part to do of the engine bay.

To be continued...

 

[timachone]

Wow, you must have tiny little hands, almost like a dwarf...  :biggrin:

Nice to see more progress and that cowl looking really good, nothing serious. 

What are you planning to paint it and what are your temperatures? We are under the freeze point here now and painting isn't something I would like to do know in the garage, which is almost near the freeze point...