Have started the long job of cleaning the 73 Mach 1

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Steve,

It would be tough because I did not remove the dash. Can't see anything with the dash there. Motor City Mustang is doing an install right now and has great pics with the dash out of the way.

If I had help I would have taken the dash out but no help just me. 

Also you can order the Ford assembly guides from Osborne that show all the details. But some of them are wrong, lol. I noticed the other day they say to torque the gas pedal to I think 97 Ft. Lbs.. I think they are 1/4" or 5/16" bolts. They also show a decal on the ram air cleaner lid that was never there.

Here are some pictures of the fuel tank. Looking at the top of it you would have thought it would have been perfect. Did not have Stabil back then but did put Marvel Mystery oil in the tank and filled it but did not help. Inside was horribly rusty. Took to radiator shop and it cost more to clean than a new one costs, lol. $100 to just hot tank it and they have to cut two holes in the tank to get it to sink in the vat.

So I just ordered new sending unit that comes today and the Q vert had new tank on it so I pulled it off and it is one the Mach 1 now. Note how rusty the sending unit was.

Couple pics under the car also, no rust under the tank you can see the color of primer they used at Dearborn.

If the car will not run right we will push into the museum. This is not a competition or show just a museum showing Mustang history. There will be a barn find car with the barn brought in with the car not cleaned at all.

I stuffed the tank vent with the material from a PCV filter like clips into the air cleaner. The one in the new tank had nothing to stop the liquid.

the heater hoses were from NPD but had the Marti tags. Are said to be Concourse. They look nothing like the originals laying beside them. I cleaned the original clamps and will put on the new hose. Pay a fortune for the parts and never right. Radiator hoses same way nothing like the originals.

Well off to get started long day ahead for sure. Could not sleep my head filled with what has to be done to finish.

BTW I flushed the gas line out several times with denatured alcohol. That dissolves the deposits inside the line the best of anything I have found. I have done repeatedly and catch the liquid in bottle so I can see when the rust and crap stops. I did replace all rubber lines with methanol resistant. I am going to use non methanol 91 octane. They want max of 1/4 tank in the car for insurance reasons and fire marshal.

Note the date code on the tank. 3-11-73. I ordered in March built in April.

 

[baz70]

Steve,

It would be tough because I did not remove the dash. Can't see anything with the dash there. Motor City Mustang is doing an install right now and has great pics with the dash out of the way.

If I had help I would have taken the dash out but no help just me. 

Also you can order the Ford assembly guides from Osborne that show all the details. But some of them are wrong, lol. I noticed the other day they say to torque the gas pedal to I think 97 Ft. Lbs.. I think they are 1/4" or 5/16" bolts. They also show a decal on the ram air cleaner lid that was never there.

Here are some pictures of the fuel tank. Looking at the top of it you would have thought it would have been perfect. Did not have Stabil back then but did put Marvel Mystery oil in the tank and filled it but did not help. Inside was horribly rusty. Took to radiator shop and it cost more to clean than a new one costs, lol. $100 to just hot tank it and they have to cut two holes in the tank to get it to sink in the vat.

So I just ordered new sending unit that comes today and the Q vert had new tank on it so I pulled it off and it is one the Mach 1 now. Note how rusty the sending unit was.

Couple pics under the car also, no rust under the tank you can see the color of primer they used at Dearborn.

If the car will not run right we will push into the museum. This is not a competition or show just a museum showing Mustang history. There will be a barn find car with the barn brought in with the car not cleaned at all.

I stuffed the tank vent with the material from a PCV filter like clips into the air cleaner. The one in the new tank had nothing to stop the liquid.

the heater hoses were from NPD but had the Marti tags. Are said to be Concourse. They look nothing like the originals laying beside them. I cleaned the original clamps and will put on the new hose. Pay a fortune for the parts and never right. Radiator hoses same way nothing like the originals.

Well off to get started long day ahead for sure. Could not sleep my head filled with what has to be done to finish.

BTW I flushed the gas line out several times with denatured alcohol. That dissolves the deposits inside the line the best of anything I have found. I have done repeatedly and catch the liquid in bottle so I can see when the rust and crap stops. I did replace all rubber lines with methanol resistant. I am going to use non methanol 91 octane. They want max of 1/4 tank in the car for insurance reasons and fire marshal.

Note the date code on the tank. 3-11-73. I ordered in March built in April.

hi David,  My fuel tank also had that USS stamping and i assumed it was a repro part, and have ordered a replacement. ! I'll check to see if the date stamp is visible on mine as well. Although my tank only has surface rust looking inside the tank it did look gunky so i thought I would replace my whole tank and ancillaries.... also my underside of trunk floor panel looks like yours, clean sop grey like colour. keep up the marathon effort and glad you're putting your feet up if only for a short while after you cross the finish line....

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Yesterday was pretty good day. Got the heater AC box back in and made some pic but I must have hit a nob on the camera they are all out of focus. Must have turned the auto focus off. I just looked and I did little switch on the lens.  

So I put foam kit in the heater AC box and added my mesh wire to the cowl opening. I used contact cement to glue one of the foam seals to the box then the wire and then contact the other foam seal so easy to install.

For those that do not have a vacuum pump to test the vacuum motors here is how to test. Push the arm in to make the diaphragm go in and put finger over the vacuum port and let the arm go. If it stays put the diaphragm is good if it just pops all the way back out it is bad. Mine were all good, hurray.

Make sure that all the doors work freely and not stuck before install.

I had the dash loose but not out did not want to have to take wiring loose but wish I had.

Of course you put the blower back in the center there is one stud through the firewall with a fender washer and then the nut with some 3-m sealer.

There are two hex screws that go up into brackets on the cowl to attach the blower. The one on the left side also has a hole for the ground wire from the blower to attach. Run the top screws up close then go to firewall and tighten the nut on the stud then back inside and tighten the cowl fasteners.

Plug in the wiring and get your vacuum lines from the firewall out of the way.

I pulled the dash toward the rear of the car to give enough room to drop the heater AC box down to the floor. You have to swing it up into the blower housing and also get the two studs through the firewall along with the connections for hoses.

I had my starter jump box in the car and used it to put under the heater box to hold it up. I got the one cowl screw on the right started and ran up close. I went to the firewall and put the two nuts on and ran up close then back inside and tightened the cowl bolt and back to firewall and tightened the nuts.

Back inside and put all the vacuum lines back on. No need to even bother marking them they are color coded and Ford manual actually has a very good diagram. Plugged in all the wires and heat and AC in.

I put the distribution plastic piece in the center that hooks up the defrost, center and side vents. Put the two tubes in going to the sides in.

Then I lifted the dash up and started the top bolt on each side then the two bolts on the bottom. I worked the plastic center vent into place and started the screws holding it in place. Tightened all the bolts and added the one that is above the steering column.

I put the instrument cluster back in I had already cleaned all the printed circuit with pencil eraser and all the lights worked on the bench. Hooked up speedo, tach and plugged in the instrument cluster. Then to the dash center I plugged in the center light and cauges and put the two top screws into the dash. I put the heater AC control in and plugged in the vacuum lines and electrical. Then on to the AM / 8 Track. I could not get the bezel to line up with the four holes in the dash and after about 10 min. I decided to give it a rest and do something else. I went to engine comp. and installed the heater hoses and AC lines with the new o-rings. All of the original heater hose clamps were still good so used them.

I had the car on the two post lift and I do lots of the dash work with the car lifted to convenient height to stand on the floor and do the work. Much easier than laying in the car. I do not think I could have done this without the two post lift. When even cleaning I raise to just the right height and can sit on shop stool and work. When in the engine compartment I raise so not bending over so much. I have the front fenders off so that also makes it easier to work in the engine bay. Only takes a few minutes to remove them and then they are out of the way and not damage either.

The sign shop called and my display poster is printed and ready. 20" X 30" giving info on the car. Marti called and they did push my expensive Marti report to the front and shipped it yesterday. I did have to pay some extra postage to get here in time. Marti will be one of the speakers at the MOM also. So maybe I will get to meet him in person.

I also put the new rubber in the roof rail. I did not bother to glue it. It was a Daniel Carpenter product and fit lit a glove. Not too long or short just right. I started in the back corner above the side window. Since I have PW I had the side windows rolled down. On fixed you would have to drop them. The roof rail channel has a lip on each side and I used a plastic trim tool to tuck the rubber into the two channels. I see no reason to glue it in and if needed to come out you can just remove it.

The only issue I have with it is I am going to have to remove the door panels and adjust the window up stop. The new rubber is too tight against window and cannot shut the door. I did not want to pull them but have to.

I went by the upholstery material shop here and got some new insulation to go behind the rear side panels. The mice had used most of it to build a couple of condos in the back, lol. I did get Clay to do a sniff test and he said no smell left. The ozone generator works great. Will run it some more to make sure all smell is gone.

So got to make a run to the plating shop and get the phosphate done so I can put hood back on and button up the front and will put more of the interior back.

Keep your fingers crossed I might just make it. 10 weeks to take it apart and put back together is pushing my limits with this bad neck for sure.

Sorry for the blurry pics I reset the camera.

 

[Pegleg]

Thats another step closer David. Looks like you past the tough jobs now.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

I could not get the plating shop to phosphate the parts so I got my old solution out and did them yesterday while I put vacuum lines on the engine. Got the right fender on and this morning Clay stopped by with his dad and we put the hood back on. Will get the PS pump and AC compressor on then right fender and outside is back together. Will hit the interior hard today. Having the fenders off makes working under the hood so much easier and also use the 2 post lift to put at ideal height.

Got the sending unit in the gas tank and 5 gallons of ethanol free 90 grade fuel in will see if it cranks with key soon. I always have some electrical issue, lol. I hate the wiring in these cars. I have been cleaning every connection and putting electrical grease on them as I go.

Going to wait until the car is at the museum to put the Goodyear tires on to keep them spotless.

Still got lots of bolts in the box, lol. I am sure I will have some left overs always do. The car is actually missing quite a few on the inside. They left off lots of fasteners. The center windshield locator was never installed either. When you had 2 min. to get your job done sometimes you did not. Or went to break or lunch and came back and forgot something.

About the only thing I have ever worked on with more pieces is a player piano. I was rebuilding one when the garage started and on the back burner. I rebuilt the keyboard with new felts. Also put new bridals on the hammers. Had to pull all the base strings off and fix the bridge. Made friends with a guy that does them for a living and was a huge help. I think he said that there are over 8,000 pieces to a player piano and you have to touch everyone of them in some way. I think they are amazing that the work with just vacuum. You can still get every piece you need new and they still make the player rolls.

That will be some of my work I do after the neck surgery no lifting.

I just love the sound of an old player piano. It works just like a punch card reader. When the holes in the roll go across the reader it lets the vacuum break and triggers the key. It can play more keys than a human so can get some great sounds. I even have Hotel California on a roll. Notice the words are on the right side of the roll to sing along. These have been around way over a 100 years and were built without computers to figure it all out.

Here is link to a couple videos you can see the workings. https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-pty-pty_email&hsimp=yhs-pty_email&hspart=pty&p=qrs+player+piano+video+youtube#id=51&vid=d3c051d1679e6c5410ae15b2a0989ee5&action=view

This one shows the vacuum motor on the right that drives the player roll. Everything is mechanical the speed is regulated mechanically the roll is tracked mechanically. https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-pty-pty_email&hsimp=yhs-pty_email&hspart=pty&p=qrs+player+piano+video+youtube#id=71&vid=f6a8a3bc8e764b5d295be1f82b38da4c&action=view

 

[Pegleg]

Many strings to your bow David. I am more a violin man. I just love the sound of a violin. I am sure it touches the soul. I love to play my favourite piece by Jay Ungar Ashokan Farewell. It featured in a well known civil war documentary

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

I think people that can play an instrument are great. I never had the patience to try to learn. My sister took piano for 10 years I believe. My brother in law that passed last year could play any instrument, piano, banjo, fiddle, trumpet, anything. He could not read music just had to listen to the music once then he could play it. He was amazing.

Here is one of my advertising video slide shows with some piano & violin in the background. This is in South Africa in the wine lands in Paarl and Stellenbosch, beautiful there. One of my favorite places to visit. Had two couples that booked a 3 week tour and plains game hunt on that trip. Another of my passions, lol. https://animoto.com/play/aB9LsScBsU0DJ5tjkG369Q

Well yesterday I had a goal to get the front of the car buttoned up and made it. Now today will be to put the interior back in and the car will be ready to go to the museum on Friday. 10 weeks of lots of cleaner, lacquer thinner and pain killer for me.

Camera is on the blink won't focus right on automatic it is getting old like me.

Got the ram air on, PS pump, AC compressor, radiator and all lines. The wiring back in place and the vacuum lines in place. So maybe I can sneak some early pics in at the museum tomorrow.

I did make a safety prop rod for the hood. With the cleaned and lubed hinges if you shake the car much the hood will come down. The springs loose tension over time due to being stretched out when hood is closed. They are the correct flat springs. Not sure how they want them displayed open or closed. They did say doors closed so people do not try to cross the barriers to look in the cars.

Will put the side marker lights in and that should have the outside complete.

One odd thing is that when I tried to hook the front shocks back up the front end will not go low enough to get the rubber, washer and nut back on. Left is sitting on the tires last night to see if it will settle down more.

I just set the alignment by eyeball not going to drive. I could not find the other NOS ram air duct one on the right side is old one. Too many bins of parts in too many places.

That is the original paper dealer tag on the front also. I took it off the day I got the car along with the tag frame and put up. Pictures suck.

One issue I have to address is that the doors will not shut with the new roof rail rubber. I need to adjust the window up stops but did not want to have to pull the door panels. Will see if I can bump the PW down just a little.

 

[Pegleg]

You have done wonders David. I just hope i have the same fire in my belly when i reach your age. By the sound of things its just the easy bits inside to finish it up. I am sure you will make your deadline for sure

 

[bkdunha]

Looks good! Congrats on hitting the goal and all off the hard work you have put in.

 

[jpaz]

Looks great David, hope all goes well with getting it to the museum today!

 

[Don C]

I'm impressed, David. That's been a lot of work, something you'll be proud of, and rightfully so. I'm a couple of years older than you, and I've already had back surgery and I don't know if I could have pulled it off in the time you had. Your Mustang will definitely show well.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Well guys and gals there is a Ginger 5-H metallic 1973 Mustang Mach 1 sitting in the MOM, Mustang Owner's Museum for the grand opening next week. It was driven in under it's own power.

Today was a very long day up at 6:30 and to garage to resume getting the carpet in and seats. My nephew was due here 8:30 with trailer to haul.

Of course it is raining and we had over 25" in February so nothing bu mud outside the garage where all the soil washed in.

So he arrived and helped me get the last pieces into the interior. I hook up battery and crank it over and it fires but backfires out the carb. I hook up timing light and yes we have a spark. I check sequence of wires on distributor and is ok. I did not pull dist. so I know in time.

Like Albert Eienstien says Doing the same thing expecting a different outcome is a sign of insanity. So I pull the dist. cap and crank the engine. For some reason my feeble brain remembered the dist. to go clockwise, NOT. I have the wires backwards. Switched them and cranked and it fired right up after 37 years of sitting. Carb needs adjusting for choke and idle but it runs, HURRAY.

So now to get a clean car out of garage through about 80' of slimy mud. What a struggle took hours. Got it to gravel and washed the mud off the tires. Had to drive down the road to neighbors pasture with enough room to load the Mustang. Pasture fits.

We got to the museum just before dark jacked it up and put the new Goodyear RWL tires on and drove into the musuem.

Cannot give lots of info on cars in the display but I think it represents our years much better than some do. There is a 71 429 Mach 1 also grabber blue but shiny black out on hood.

The earliest car there is serial # 0000004 a black convertible that was used at the NY worlds fair in the Ford ride and sent back to factory and given a drive train and sold. It has one of the very early Prototype tooling hoods on it.

There is a barn find car that is serial #211 a first day build car that is all tattered for sure.

There are some radical cars one with super charger on a 5.4 with twin turbos I think over 1,100 rear wheel horsepower.

I think there are 15 more cars to show up yet and then they will set up the display.

So I think this shows what a car can endure and still be a solid car. The car has sat since 1982, 12,301 miles when check in at the museum and started up with no stuck valves or engine issues. It was in an open pole barn with just a Beverly Hills car cover for protection. The car has still not been washed with running water only wet micro fiber. It has not been buffed and I use only one wax on any car. The paint on this car show how well it protects.

Here are a few sneak previews to the museum.

I am beat having a few whiskey and sprites with some Ibuprofen and then long sleep for me. I even took pups to sitter so I can have long sleep.

A crazy old man can accomplish a few things if he sets his mind to it. So never let anyone tell you that you cannot do anything you set your mind to.

So no matter what age get out there an just do it......

I guess my Nikon is dead will not focus anymore.

 

[Pegleg]

Congratulations David. What a fantastic job/mission you have completed. Car looks great among its contempories

 

[mudbilly]

:wrench: ::congrats:: :wrench:

 

[Hemikiller]

Awesome, congrats on making your goal! Maybe now you can focus on fixing that back of yours and getting well. My wife had two spine surgeries last year and the difference is incredible.

 

[tony-muscle]

Congratulations Dave. You have done a magnificent job. The car looks great. Incredible to see a 45+ year old car looking and running so good. I cant wait until i have the chance to visit the museum. Thank you for your contribution.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[Fabrice]

Fantastic work David!

Visitors will not know the efforts and passion behind to get the car there, but we do!

The car looks great and will surely let the youth dream!

 

[baz70]

What they all said David, I've thoroughly enjoyed reading your updates and at some points I was struggling to keep up! You've definitely inspired me to keep going with my buiild although not at your frenetic pace ! well done! I'd love to go to that museum one day and check it out.

 

[John J]

The car looks great. I am looking forward to seeing it one day at the museum. Job well done.

John J

 

[mach71351c]

Nice job David. Congrats.