The Rickster - a 73 Mach 1 work in progress

[73MustangCoupe]

Thanks, David.  I'll double check the radius rod mounting points to make sure they are okay.  Other than the tears in that dimple on the front, that crossmember seems to be okay - so far.  I'll let you know if I need to replace it, though. Thanks for the offer.  The walls of the shop you see in the pictures are the interior liner panels, with fiberglass insulation behind it.  To be honest, it stays pretty comfortable in there.  

 

[73MustangCoupe]

Well, it's been a couple months since I've posted an update on the Rickster, but I've been working on it fairly regularly.  I repaired the front left frame rail that was damaged with the bumper bracket mounting hole torn out.  I've also gotten the engine crossmember replaced, as well as the front crossmember.  I also replaced the core support, left and right front inner fenders, left rear inner fender, and just finished replacing the cowl.  I'll post up some pictures in the next few days.  Now I am working on the drivers side floor pan which needs to be replaed.  All the fiberglass holding the floor pan to the rusted mess underneath is a real pain to clean up.  I thought the seat riser was okay, but under the fiberglass, the rear flange was rusted out.  I also cut out the rusty C-channel subframe connectors that had been welded in with some really, really ugly welds.    

Still, progress is being made.  I am hoping to have it completed before July 1st, next year, so have to keep my nose to the grindstone.  

Ron

 

[73MustangCoupe]

Well, here are some we pictures of the engine compartment with the repaired frame rail, replacement inner aprons, core support,  and crossmembers.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Look like you are moving along great. It makes is so much easier when you have a workshop. 
Measure Measure Measure the weld for sure. Glad you rescued some of the pieces off my parts vert to into yours.
I have 4 visitors on Friday afternoon. Three teenage boys and one their dads. We met up on an early Mustang Facebook page. He is only about 40 miles away in S.C. He is working a 1964 1/2 convertible. He did not know what to look for in 64 1/2 parts so he came up to view some of the early parts that I have. The boys were interested in what I was doing in paint room with the 72 vert on the rotisserie. 

I am still restricted on weight so my progress is slow. 
Keep pushing I think you will get done before your plan.
I have not been to Clay's shop since you were here will see him this coming week and will ask if he is interested in the paint.

Cheers,

David

 

[73MustangCoupe]

Thanks David,  

I hope you heal quickly and get back to full speed soon.

 

[73MustangCoupe]

Today, I got the cowl finished up.  It was a rusted out mess, as they tend to get over the years. 

I got it cut out and the new one drilled and prepped for installation.  I am going to have aftermarket AC, so both cowl vents will be blocked off, so removed them and welded the openings closed. 

I used a piece of 18 g steel and plug welded it underneath, and then finished with a solid weld bead around the inner edge. 



After grinding down the weld, I covered it with a couple thin layers of short strand fiberglass body filler to seal any pinholes that might be present, and then a layer of evercoat body filler and sanded it smooth so any water will flow out with no obstructions.  I put small bits of tape over the holes so I'd have a clean weld and then added small bits of tape to the firewall flange where the welds would be.  I sprayed the underside with epoxy primer, before finally putting it back in and welding in place.  

I drilled my plug welds for the top half, and scuffed the E-coat on the underside of the top half really well, and also scuffed the E-coat for the lower half.  



The bottom of the top half and top of the bottom half were masked off and sprayed with 2 coats of epoxy primer and finished off with a coat of Chassis Black Satin.  I cleaned up the plug weld sites and got the two half clamped together and finished off about 40 plug welds.  After cleaning the plug welds up, I got to work with the cowl extensions.  There was a fair about of rust under the them and the drivers side had seriously rusted the drivers side inner apron (requiring it's replacement).  I used the electrolysis tank to derust them, and then coated the inside with primer before welding them back in.

So there it is.  The cowl has been removed and replaced.  I'll use some seam sealer on the inside seams when I get to that stage, and in the next few weeks should have the engine bay stripped and be ready for a couple coats of epoxy and some paint.  In the mean time, it's on to floor pans.  Wish me luck!!!

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

The cowl is probably the toughest so you are down hill from here. Just measure a lot and make sure door opening are still positioned correct before floor weld. 

 

[73MustangCoupe]

Yesterday, I got started on floor pans.  I started on the drivers side and got the front portion cut out.  I thought I might be able to save the seat riser, but the rear flange was rusted out.  It was covered with fiberglass, so it wasn't seen until I was able to get the wire wheel to it.  


 

While cutting the floor pan out, I found that there were actually portions of three floor pans in the back, between the driver side seat riser and the torque box.  



Yes, it's a mess.  As I was cleaning all the fiberglass and ropey, snot-looking welds up, I discovered that there someone had sliced the upper portion of the torque box just above the lower row of spot welds.  The rust and damage have to be repaired, but it's kind of a complicated shape and cleaning rust from the inside will be difficult, so I ordered the upper torque box panel from NPD.  It should be here Monday, and I'll get back on it then.





In the meantime, I can work on cleaning up the other side to see how bad that side will be.  Also, I can fire up the blasting cabinet and have a field day cleaning up parts to go back on the car later. 

If it isn't one thing, it's another.

 

[Fabrice]

3 floor pans... if these cars could talk!!

Impressive work you're doing here! Please post many picts of your floor repair as I'll be holding the torch in these regions soon as well!

 

[92GTS-R]

When installing your new floor pans, do you plan to butt weld them in or perform an overlap weld?  Also interested to know what type of welder you are using.

Im brand new to welding, Im looking to buy a mig welder but don't want to make the mistake of buying a piece of junk.

When it comes to joining the box sections to the new floor pan, will you be drilling some small holes in the new floor pan then plug welding the holes to bond with the box sections?  Do you use copper based weld through primer?  

thanks

 

[73MustangCoupe]

When installing your new floor pans, do you plan to butt weld them in or perform an overlap weld?  Also interested to know what type of welder you are using.

Im brand new to welding, Im looking to buy a mig welder but don't want to make the mistake of buying a piece of junk.

When it comes to joining the box sections to the new floor pan, will you be drilling some small holes in the new floor pan then plug welding the holes to bond with the box sections?  Do you use copper based weld through primer?  

thanks

I am planning to do a short lap and weld the seam entirely.  On the underside, I'll fill the lap with seam sealer.  I've got an Eastwood 135, and it does okay.  It's a 120V welder, but does a pretty good job on sheet steel and small projects. 

When I install the floor, I'll set it in place, then mark the outside of the underlying frame rails.  when I flip it over, I can mark out where my plug welds will go and drill them out.  I'd suggest watching Barry  at JoDaddy's garage on YouTube.  This one is on floor pan installation, https://youtu.be/lhkA9gzbm38  ,  but he has several hundred videos. He provides a lot of info on rebuilding old Mustangs.  The Jade and Mystique playlists have a ton of useful tips.  

Once I have the holes drilled for the plug welds to the frame rails, I'll prime the both surfaces, but the go back and just remove the primer right around each hole, about 1/2-5/8 inch in diameter.  I was using weld-thru, but looking at the directions, the manufacturer says remove in the area where the weld goes, so I'll just use some self etch or epoxy rather than weld thru.  

Stay tuned.  I should be back on it tomorrow, as the upper torque box panel came in today so I can replace it and then the floor pans.  I'll be sure and take more pictures and post them up with a description of what I've done.

 

[92GTS-R]

Great, thanks for the detailed instructions  :thumb:

 

[73MustangCoupe]

I got the torque box covers in, and they seem to be a decent fit.  I ground down the spot welds on the upper torque box cover to thin them out and weaken them so I could remove the cover.  The inside wasn't to bad, just some surface rust.  





I cleaned up the frame rails and fitted the new cover.  It did take a bit of massaging to get it to fit as well as it was going to.  It was just a bit short, not wanting to cover the frame rail when tight against the rocker, but there was enough bearing on the frame rail to be a sound installation.  I also cleaned the inside of the torque box and then welded up a few cuts and thin areas in the flanges.



I drilled the plug weld holes in the cover and and cleaned it up nicely, and then put it in place and clamped it in. 

I put a small sharpie dot at each plug weld location.  Then I removed the cover, once again, and placed a 3/4" round removable label (Avery 5471) at each weld location.



I did the same on the bottom of the cover, covering the holes. 



I sprayed rust encapsulator in the lower portion, as removal of all the rust just wasn't possible.  On the cover, I used self etch primer.  After the primer dried, I peeled the dots to reveal nice round spots of clean metal, just right for welding.  





For the final time, I clamped the cover onto the torque box and started welding it up.  I started with the least mobile sections, the aft rocker plug weld, the making sure the front rocker and rear frame rail were tight, started welding those corners.  Some persuasion with the body hammer and clamps was necessary to achieve a tight fit, but it welded in really nice, I thought. 



Overall, it came out pretty good, I thought.  Now to patch up the small rust hole in the inner wheel house, and the portion of the floor that butts up to the rear floor pan extension.  I hope to have that all done in the next day or so. 

Moving forward, slowly, but surely.

 

[Fabrice]

Using stickers for welding points is an awesome tip!

Keep up the good work and thx for documenting!

 

[73MustangCoupe]

With the torque box repaired, I got to work on the driver side rear floor pan extension.  I removed the rest of the rear floor pan extension and the flange that folds downward around the inner wheelhouse.  



With the excess floor pan out of the way, I started making a patch for the rusted out area on the panel just behind it.  I cut out cardboard templates, dividing the repair into two pieces to make it easier to fabricate.  





I cut out some sheet metal to fit, and got the first and largest piece in place.  I cleaned the new metal, and also cleaned both sides, top and bottom, of the floor along the edges where I'd be welding.  



I tacked the new piece in place and then stitched it place.  There were a couple thin spots and I wound up burning a couple of holes, but overall, the welds went in pretty nicely.  I ground them down and touched a couple pinholes and moved on to the next piece.  



The second piece was a little more complex with some concavity along the bottom.  I used my beater bag and hammer and dolly to create the curve, and then used some pliers to make a slight round over to ease the transition where needed.  Again, some spot welds and then stitch welding it in place.  

Then it was on to creating the patch for the inner wheel house.  I cut out the rust hole and adjacent messed up spot welds. 



Again, I made up a cardboard template, copied it onto some metal, and cut it out.  Trimming it down, I got a nice fit, and later drilled it for the spot welds that will connect to the inner structures.  



So far, it's not welded in place yet, because I have to wait until the rear floor extension has been secured in place.

Lastly, I created a small patch for the rusted out corner adjacent to the inner wheel house.  



Again, I used a cardboard template and made my patch.



Again, spot welds to secure it in place and then stitch welding and grind them down, completed the patch.





So making some progress.  Time to start working on the rear floor pan extension.  More to follow.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Great to see your progress. There will be light at the end of the tunnel soon.

 

[73MustangCoupe]

Over the last few days, I got the rear floor pan extension modified and welded in place.  It was a major pain in the backside.  Since the rear floor pan extension isn't made for the 73, I started out with the 66-70 pan and modified it.  The first problem is the arch around the inner wheel house and the second was the elevated area just in front of the wheel house.  

First, I started with the arch around the inner wheel house.  I made a cut about 1 inch from the flange that fits along the wheel house.  Then I made some cuts around the edges, so that it could be formed to match the curve that I needed.  



After that, I cut a patch to fit between the modified flange and the floor pan.  MISTAKE!  I got it welded in, and discovered that it didn't fit.  As I was fitting it, I realized that the floor dropped in two directions and it wouldn't lay flat.  

Sooo, I got to cutting and bending it so it would lay flat, and then piece it back together with cardboard templates, and then steel tacked to fit it together.  After, finally getting it welded together, I drilled it for plug welding to the rear floor support, frame rails, and the ledge along the rear of the extension.  I double checked my fit and applied the "dots" where the welds would be, and over the holes and hit it with rust encapsulator primer on the lower part and self etch on the upper.







After getting it in place, I started welding it in place.  Things weren't going great, and I thought maybe I had some primer in the weld area, so tried one spot that I knew was clean, but it was still popping.  A quick check of the argon/CO2 tank revealed that I had forgotten to turn on the gas.  Turning on the welding gas made a huge difference, and the welds burned in nicely.  



The next day, I got to work on the edge along the transmission tunnel.  I decided to butt weld it.  I drilled several 1/8" holes used clecos to hold the floor pan extension to the trans tunnel.  Then I used by body saw to slice the two layers at the same time making for a really nice match.  As I cut along, I was able to peel the waste away and put a few spot welds along the edge as I went to keep things lined up.  After getting to the rearmost part overlapping the ledge, I used the cutoff wheel to keep the cut above the ledge.  A bunch of stitch welding later the floor and trans tunnel were one.  



After getting the floor pan extension welded in, the welds were ground down and cleaned up. 



Then I moved onto the inner wheel house patch.   I placed a few edge welds along the edge of the floor pan flange tying it to the underlying structure.  I placed the "dots" where the three plug welds would go, and hit it with self etch primer.  I removed the dots, and secured the patch in place and got it tacked in. At that point, I welded the plug welds and finished stitching the patch into place.  The welds were then ground down and cleaned up.  



Now, onto the front, driver side floor pan.  Slowly, but surely.

 

[73MustangCoupe]

It's been a week since my last post, so I guess it's time for an update.  I had most of the driver side floor pan cut out already.  I trimmed it some more and test fit it, trimmed some more, and kept at it, until it fit nicely against the rocker and had about 1/2 to 1 inch overlap along the trans tunnel, drivers toeboard, and along the back between the trans tunnel and torque box.  I also used the portion of the floorboard to mark where the parking brake cable goes through the floorboard.  Once I had it fitting okay, I painted the inside of the frame rail with POR15.  



I used a hammer and dolly to square up the frame rail flanges, again.  Clamping the floor in place and using a few clecos to hold it down, and then traced the outline of the frame rail on the underside of the floor.  Removing the floor, I was able to mark where I needed to drill to put my plug welds in about the same location as the original spot welds had been.  



I cleaned up the holes and then put the floor back in place so that I could put a put a small dot to locate each hole.  That done, I put a removable label over each hole and also on the flanges where the plug welds would go.  



Once the "dots" were in place I used some self etch primer to treat the bear metal.  I also used some tape to cover where the lap weld would occur so that I could also spray some self etch on the metal that was overlapped.  



I had removed the seat belt reinforcement from the old floor pan after making careful measurements.  After media blasting it, I marked exactly where it needed to go, drilled out the center hole, and then the two smaller plug weld holes, and got it welded in place.  I should have primed behind it, but forgot.  Oh well, I gave it a good coat of self etch on the exposed surfaces.  I also made sure that I had about 1/4" of clean metal along the inside and outside edges where the lap welds would be placed.  



I put the floor pan in place, again, and secured it with some more clecos and a few self tapping screws to hold it in place and started welding.  



I put a few plug welds in, and then started tacking around the perimeter every 2 inches or so.  There were a few spots that needed a couple relief cuts allow the new floor pan to lay flat against the trans tunnel.    







After getting all the plug welds and perimeter tacks completed, I spent some quality time with the welder doing a complete perimeter weld, about an inch or so at a time, bouncing around to spread out the heat input and minimize distortion.  



And then, the grinding.  Lots of fun, grinding the welds down so that they won't be felt under the carpet and pad.  





So now, I just need to replace the seat bracket and quarter trim bracket and it will be on the passenger side.  

 

[rio1856]

GREAT JOB!!!

 

[73MustangCoupe]

Thanks, Rio.  I hope I'm not getting to crazy with the pictures, but I figure my experience might help someone else trying to do this.  More to come,