Jim & Zach's mustang build thread

[tony-muscle]

The only thing I have left to do is get a new filler piece fabricated.  The Original black plastic Filler piece that goes between the radiator and the Core Support is so fragile I dont want to try to put it back on there.  It is completely disintegrating.  The clips are also not going to hold it to that thick radiator frame.  So I think I will run by the metal shop on Moday and get them to bend me a piece of polished Aluminum to match the original filler piece.  Then I will just screw it to the radiator frame.  I will have to see if I can find some better threaded clips as well that will work with the 1/8" thick frame.

I also installed a Champion CC381 radiator no long ago, which is thicker and wider than the stock. That said I have gaps between the vertical side of the shroud and radiator, and a gap between the radiator and frame. I am not able to use the original filler piece unless I modify it. At this point I am looking for ideas. I don't want to modify the original filler piece. Do you have pictures of your solution?

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

I finally got around to putting on the "Mach 1" Decal on the trunk lid.  I think it looks great.  Might be a bit low, but I like it.

Wrong trunk stripe for a 73 for sure.

 

[73pony]

Good thing it is wrong for a 73 since the car is a 71.

 

[jowens1126]

The Brake line project is coming along nicely.

Today we finished up the front.  Got all the clips on and tightened everything up.  

I also made the Master Cylinder lines and got the Adjustable Proportional valve installed.

All we have left is the Main Rear Feeder line.  We got it roughed in, but havnt secured it yet or connected it to the hose int he back yet.  We just ran out of daylight.

Hopefully we will finish that up tomorrow and get the system bled.

Old Stuff coming out



Fishing the new crossover line thru, that was no fun at all.



We ended up removing the emissions cylinder to get access.  It was so rusted.



Finally got it behind there.



New Proportional Valve roughed in.

 

[jowens1126]

Brake line project continues this weekend.

We worked a good bit today. We finally got the main front to rear feeder line out and the new one in. Only to find that yet Another end fitting was incorrect. There is no reason this one should have been wrong. There is only 1 variety of rear brakes that came on the mustang originally and that is Drum Brakes. (AFAIK).

So I double checked what I ordered and I did order the rear mid line for a 71-73 Drum Brake Car. I dunno why it was the wrong fitting, but it damn sure was.

This is the original



And this is the one that came on the new Stainless line from Classic Tube



This caused about 2 hours of delay today. My son tried getting it connected for half an hour or more before he called me out to give it a try. It only took me one try to realize it wasnt the right size. So Back to the computer to see if there is any adapters made that size. Fortunately I found one, then went to Auto Zone to see if they had it. Amazingly enough they did.

So 2 hours wasted screwing with that and we got it connected. Then it was just down to getting all those stupid clips back on. Which took a long time. It would go so much faster with the car on a lift.

We ended up getting everything squared away up to the firewall. All of the lines are now connected and all we have left is to put the firewall clips back on and bleed the system. Then we will be ready for a test drive. I cant wait for that.

 

[jowens1126]

We got everything wrapped up this morning. We are bleeding the brakes and fixing the leaks. Damn I have never bled brakes with new lines. Its taking FOREVER.

We already found a few leaks and fixed them. I Still have no pedal to speak of. I made sure that the master never lost prime so I know its fine. I guess it just takes a long as time to get all the air out when you replace all the lines.

 

[jowens1126]

Well we finally got the brakes bled.  The reason we were having so much trouble bleeding the back brakes is because we had another leak.  We found that and got the back done.  Then we moved on to the fronts.  The fronts gave us no issues bleeding.  We got those bled out in no time.

The test drive was fantastic.  This car has NEVER had this kind of stopping power before.  I am now actually happy with the Drum brake response.   Next Big job will be converting the front to Power Disc.

All we need is the kit, and a new master cylinder and we have everything we need for that.  Hopefully we can get that done this summer.

I do not know who the hell designed the front drum brakes for this car, but he should have his ass whipped for the placement of the front bleeder valves.  There is no reason for them to be so difficult to get to. I cant get my Flare wrench in there, so I almost strip the damn thing every time I open and close it. what a pain.

 

[jowens1126]

After completing this project I wanted to say that I really love this new adjustable Proportional Valve.

The one I got came from NPD. It looks exactly like the Wilwood Valve but costs a lot less. I don't know if its a copy or just a cheaper unbranded version of the valve made by the same supplier.

https://www.npdlink.com/product/combination-valve-brake-pressure-black-fully-adjustable-for/207794/200852

At $61 its somewhat cheaper than the wilwood version which lists for $99 and can be had for around $80.

Using this valve I was easily able to dial in the front/rear bias on my 4 wheel drum system, even though it is designed for Disc/Drum. Once I complete my conversion to disc/drum, this will be one less thing I have to worry about. I already have replaced every part of the brake system. The construction seems to be very nice on this valve. All of the lines went on relatively easy, even though all my lines are now stainless and hard to bend even a tiny bit. I did end up making some modifications to the lines to fit the port configuration of this valve, but the extra work was worth it to be able to actually adjust the bias.

I will try to upload some pictures of the finished install later today for anyone that cares to see it. The valve itself is suspended by the hard lines. I did not bolt it down because it wont move at all even when I try hard to move it. The stainless lines are so stiff that they keep it in place.