Thanks for the encouragement

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GreenGold73

Active member
Joined
Jul 14, 2010
Messages
39
Reaction score
1
Location
Lincoln, NE
My Car
1973 Bright Green Gold Met Coupe
Thanks for the words of encouragement in the other thread about the "while I'm under here virus"! Really appreciate it.

My car is still 240 miles away and trying to figure out the perfect time/way to get it into my garage. Guess I need to start with making space in the garage LOL! Anyway for those who haven't heard about my project. My mother bought the car new in 73 and drove it till 80. I got it in 80 and drove it through high school and the first couple years of college. I then left it home for my grandparents to drive around town until 95. At that time it was parked and covered, outside, and had been there since. I've not had the location or money to do anything with it till now. I posted pics I took a couple of weeks ago in the post "I've created a monster" and here they are again. I don't think I have major structural damage but lots of rust around the edges, wheel wells, bottoms of fenders etc. and some worrying (to me) spots under the hood on the inside of the fenders in the exact same spot on both sides a few inches in front of the hinges.

Thanks again

shawn

 
Hey Shawn -

Looks like a great project from where I'm sitting. Interior looks decent and like you said, a bit of rust here and there but nothing that looks very scary.

Go rent a dolly or a car trailer and get that puppy home so you can start working on it! Looks like fun! :)

Doc

 
Yeah, it don't look too bad! I have seen a lot worse and they still turned out really nice! Just takes time, patience and persistence! (A steady flow of cash helps speed things along! LOL) Otherwise just keep pluggin away at her! It will be looking good before you know it!

 
the spots inside the engine bay by the starter solenoid and in the same place on the other side are caused by water getting between the seam of the shock tower top, you can patch them or install new aprons and clean up the towers.

some of the pictures of the rust are surface damage, surprises will be underneath. you won't know how much until you start tearing into things.

the rear window will be a bear to deal with i see you already had some issues with it. i had/have the same problem on my fastback. i did a semi fix on mine because i didn't want to deal with it at the time.

quarters inner trunk drop downs, wheel wells, truck floor that is going to be typical areas of problems.

you have the lower stainless steel trim on the rockers and you can see the corners of the fenders are already going, you can either patch the fenders or replace them with reproduction or NOS parts the lower rockers are most likely going to be toast like on mine, that will need fabrication.

check your A pillar and B pillar for soft spots the B piller loves to rot out thanks to the quarter windows and the way the seal is designed at the top of the B pillar(top of the door), my B pillars are so-so and will need to be patched or replaced from a donor.

a place to work on the car would be a good start, keeping it and you out the elements is a good start and makes for a more productive work environment. do not over look storage however, when you take apart a car you will quadruple the area needed to work.

i ended up converting half my basement to parts storage on shelves and additionally i had to convert my garage to storage and at the height i ended up having to move the other car out of my garage and dedicate my entire 2.5 car garage to a work area and storage area.

as parts went back on the car i was able to breakdown the shelves and make more free space.

i think storage and work area become the hardest. tools storage becomes the next problem

tools are easy at first you get a large tool box and before you know it is full. I switched out tool boxes about 5 times over 5 years i started with a cheap hand held and before i knew it i filled a heavy roller on wheels and even that it beyond capacity now.

before i knew it i was making room for a major air compressor, a media blaster cabinet, a door alignment jack rig, a engine crane, creepers, ramps, phew at one point i was thinking about using my attic above the garage and setting up a dumbwaiter pully system to get stuff out the way lol.

if you can have a garage awesome, otherwise your stuck outside as the weather allows or you need a temp tent and even then it makes things harder, working outside is great when your doing small things that only take a day. you will also need storage, if the wife won't let you in the house, think about a good quality shed remember on average restorations done by yourself take 5 years or more.

once you have your place to work and you storage area, you will need a work area a nice table to rebuild things on. i used a fold up table and later built a table from 2x4s and 2x6s with a plywood top to work on my suspension parts. basically this becomes your new hobby.

I highly recommend a TV or radio in your work area so when your pissed off or cursing you can sit on a creeper and watch Spike Tv throwing things at the screen about how easy they make everything look, ROFLAMO.

A computer with network access is good, I ended up getting an Ipad for use in the garage and its freaking awesome, i scanned in the stuff i needed and headed out to the garage to work on things, just keep your hands clean :D

you will need a camera, take pictures of where things go, how they went together, take video if possible. its great if you can watch yourself taking something apart because 5 years later you will not remember a thing.

recap:

1)so garage to store and work on the chassis.

2) storage area

3) work area(table, interior rebuild, and small part rebuilding)

4) staging area(putting together the bigger stuff.

5) entertainment

6) internet

7) lots of tools.

8) camera!

optional*

9) divorce papers on standby.

if you take a deep breath and start slow break down all jobs into smaller jobs, don't ignore family and friends and when you get burned out walk away, until your ready to return. progress will be slow all along until the final push when all the little things are done and suddenly everything starts to go together.

my timeline

2005: interior and electrical, minor suspension work, minor brake work, indication of major problems. Mileage on car about 250 miles

2006: seats back in the car for the first time(june) worked late nights till 2am everyday until october, replacing engine bolt on parts.

car started up for the first time since 2005 it moved under its own power. mileage on car 50 feet. did first welding on car.

2007: finished interior and electrical, collected lots of parts. dealing with glass problems mileage on car, zero, did first oil change on car ever, did first entire interior rebuild on car, learned to use a sewing machine.

2007: body panel replacement, brake system rebuild, engine problems, pull engine, transmission, discover major issues, did first work on car brakes ever including rebuilding drum brakes.

2008: structure replaced, engine rebuilt, car stripped again, suspension replaced, engine bay rebuild, brakes rebuild #2(cleaned everything up i did and did it better)

car restarted for second time sep 2008, more problems, discover more mechanical/electrical issues. mileage on car 50 miles. Did first total suspension rebuild on a car, did first engine removal and installation on a car. did total electrical rebuild on car, did first 3rd member rebuild on car, did first drive shaft rebuild, did first complete cooling system, fuel system, A/C system rebuild on a car. Replaced 99% of everything bolted to a car body.

2009: finally fix engine problems, working out the kinks. first car show. mileage on car 1000 miles.

2010: minor maintenance, working out more kinks, changing things i did i didn't like, restoring more systems, restoring minor parts, replacing minor parts with better ones. trying to enjoy it, mileage so far 500.

things left to do:

Quarters, trunk, doors, fenders, floors, truck floor, rockers wheel well, roof, more structure, more sheet metal, paint, a/c, better alignment.

it never ends :)

you can see i started slow i tackled what i felt i could deal with at the time and built up my skills, i started with interior work since i was good at sewing and working with cloth. this lead me into first minor electrical work and later major electrical work. minor welding, then later one mechanical system at a time, and i would go back over those same systems and make my work better. i had to do some work 2 or 3 times but each time i corrected more issues.

finally with a little help i got the confidence to start on larger work this lead to more and more things i could do myself.

today would have no problems rebuilding, brake systems, fuel systems, cooling systems, A/C systems, transmissions, suspension, and anything at bolts to an engine, but limited on engine internals. over 5 years i striped my car to a shell and then rebuilt it replacing everything that is bolted or glued to the frame.

since i practiced all this on my rolling restoration these skills made their way onto my daily drivers, brake jobs, engine work, interior repair, oil changes, suspension repair, fuel system repair, etc.

 
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Divorce papers on standby lol---- actually thats sort of how I came by my 72 errr 71 well both. My ex wanted one and bought one on ebay--the 71--I wasnt aware she was buying it. Got it super cheap--looked good in photos--both front frame rails were gone--rear quarters etc etc. Total mess--but again it was dirt cheap. Fast forward to divorce--she gets the car but it never leaves the barn. She ends up needing cash and I buy the thing back (well I actually paid for it the first time so lol) But in the meantime I found a stripped 72 in much better shape body wise but missing everything but rolling chassis with motor and trans. Got it and now combining the two.

 
Thanks for the great summary! You could definitely teach Auto Restoration 427 at 7173Mustangs.com University. I nominate you for full associate professorship!

Again, nice description of your experience with your project. A photo or two would be appreciated, if you get a chance. :)

Doc

 
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