The Rickster - a 73 Mach 1 work in progress

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Great work, Ron! 

That reminds me of exact the same steps on  my car with the doors and the body I did 1 and 2 years ago. I know that feeling too with welding and thin metal spots, oh well... 

Glad it worked out good for you and I am glad that this work is behind me. There is still an immense bunch of work to do. 

Keep up the good work, I will follow up  :thumb:

 
It's taken a while, but I finally got the rear quarter extensions done. The transition between the quarter panel and quarter panel extension wasn't as good as I liked, so some smoothing was needed. After fitting the extensions and tightening them in place, a skim coat (or two or three) of body filler and sanding I was able to get them to line up really nicely. I used a contour gauge to make sure both sides matched. The right side did require a bit more filler than the right to make it match.

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After getting them sanded and matching really well, it was time to separate them. Removing the nuts and a few taps with a hammer resulted in the body filler cracking along the joint.

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I mixed up a small amount of filler and used it to sharpen a couple of irregular areas along the edges. I sanded them back to a nice sharp edge, and then eased it with some fine sandpaper. After that, I installed the quarter panel extension seals and reinstalled the quarter panel extensions.
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Now all they need is a coat of epoxy primer to seal it up, and another coat of high build. Now, on to the doors.
 
Today, I got to work on the driver side door. I pulled the fender off, and tweaked the door gaps with the rocker and quarter panel and tightened the hinges down. My priority was that the style lines on the door matched up with the style lines on the quarter, and the top of the door matched up with the bottom of the rear window opening, as they cannot be adjusted.
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With the door position set, I noted that there was some minor variation in the panels. I added a skim coat of body filler along the seam, covering the gap between the door and quarter panel. After it set, I sanded it down with some 80 grit sandpaper, and added a second coat.

20220105_170526.jpgAfter sanding again, I found a few more low areas, and added a third coat of body filler, and again, blocked it down to match the contour.
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After 4 or 5 skim coats, it blocked out nicely, with only had a couple of small spots that needed a tiny bit of filler to touch it up.

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Now, it was time to separate the door from the quarter panel. I used a new hacksaw blade to follow the seam.

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It was a PITA, as the mud was close to 1/2" thick in some areas of the seam. It took maybe 15 minutes, but once separated, the door swung open revealing the filler that filled the seam.

20220106_150050.jpg

A bit of quality time with the sanding block and some 120 grit paper took the body filler back to the metal edge of the door and quarter panel revealing the gap as it had been set. There were a few areas where the filler was up to 1/16", but there wasn't much filler remaining after all the sanding.

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I set the door handle in the opening, and found the opening needed a small amount of filler to fix one corner. It took two applications, but after a final sanding, the door handle fits the opening very nicely.

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Just a bit of clean up of the door lock opening and the drivers side door transition is done. All it needs is recoating with epoxy primer and then a couple coats of high build.

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Now on to the passenger side.
 
Sooo... today I tackled the passenger door. It was essentially a repeat of what I did the previous day on the drivers door.

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I got the gaps set, and then five skim coats of Rage Ultra body filler and sanding later, it was looking good.

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I got the hacksaw blade and got the door separated from the quarter panel. There was even more body filler in the groove than on the drivers door, but I got the cut made.

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I still have a little clean up to do along the edges, but it was time for dinner and I had to shut down. Ill have it done first thing tomorrow. Overall, I'm happy with it.
 
Thank you for taking the time to post your progress photos. That is one nice looking Mustang! We had our 73 Mach 1 restored recently. I was not in a condition to do a lot of the work on my own (brain cancer survivor, 8 years), so we had a local restoration specialist do the work over a 13 1/2 month period. Below are two links showing photos of its progress, and a walk-around video of the final outcome. We are very pleased with it. Soon after restoring it we swapped its C4 for an AOD tranny. Well worth it.






I look forward to more photos and your finished result.
 
It's been a bit since I've posted an update, but I have been working on the Rickster. After getting the transitions between the doors and quarter panels blocked, the guy who is going to paint the car came by and checked it out. He pointed out a few areas that needed a bit more sanding, but overall, he was pleased.

I cleaned up a few areas, and masked a few areas, in preparation for more high build primer. I sprayed two more coats of high build primer on the roof, doors, quarter panels, and tail light panel.

I started block sanding, and about 18 hrs later, had it all blocked sanded again. I did find a couple small areas that were slightly low and added a tiny bit of Dolphin Glaze putty to fill them, and a then sanded them smooth. I am thinking that because they are small, we can just cover them with sealer before paint. Dave, the painter, will let me know if we'd be better off spot priming those areas before sealing.

I've got the hood on, and gaps are okay. I've been working on getting the bow to match the fender. It was sitting about 3/8" high along the middle on each side. The sealer along that hem seems to be pretty sticky, because it's been a bear to straighten, but it's now within about a 1/16".

I went by the paint/body shop yesterday, and let Dave know that the Rickster is ready for paint. Unfortunately, he's got a 73 Nova to finish first, but thinks he'll have it ready by middle to end of next week. In the meantime, I'll get to work on getting the fuel tank mounted, running the fuel lines, etc, etc, etc. There's still an awful lot to do, but it's getting there, slowly, but surely.
 
The front bumper was stripped back to bare urethane with 80 grit sandpaper. I removed the bumper support from the cover. I removed the top supports, and sandblasted them. I cleaned up the metal support with a wire brush and some sandpaper, and used Eastwood Rust Converter to kill the rust, and then covered the support and top supports with a coat of epoxy primer.

Along the lower edge where the cover and bumper support bolt together, there was a small bulge and two tears on either side of one of the bolt holes.

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I used my die grinder with a cut-off wheel to extend both of the tears down along the face a short distance. This allowed the flap to be elevated revealing the accumulation of rust that was causing the bulge along the front. I also widened the tear making it into a V-groove, so that I could have fresh clean urethane for the epoxy to bond to. I scraped the rusty metal under the flap, vacuumed it, and blew it out, to get it as clean as possible and then treated the metal with Rust Converter to kill the rust.
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Once the Rust Converter had cured, I was ready to repair the urethane cover. I used the Bondo Bumper Repair kit, part number 00280, that had been recommended by others on the forum.

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I purchased 2 tubes because I knew I had couple of good tears to repair. In the first tube, one side was really stiff at first, and I had to poke a wire into it to get it to dispense. Once I got that working, though, it was easy to mix. I used the small spreader they provide with the kit.

I mixed one batch and spread it on the metal core and bumper cover to adhere them together, as they were bonded during the manufacturing process and I wanted to replicate that. I clamped it down with several clamps, and a piece of angle iron to insure the front was flat and adhered uniformly. After the flap was "glued" down, I filled the V-grooved tears with the filler and leveled it out. I had to work fast and the working time is pretty short.
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After it had set up, I sanded it down with 80 grit to level it out, revealing a few low spots.
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A second coat of the bumper repair epoxy was applied to fill a few small void and help clean up and seal the back edge. It took all of both tubes for this repair.
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Again, I blocked it down with some 80 grit to get the surface smooth.
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There were still some very small imperfections, so I chose to fill them with SEM Bumper Bite glazing putty. A skim coat over the tear and a couple inches beyond was all it took. A little sanding with some 180 grit, and it looks ready to disappear.
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I sanded the bumper cover with 180 grit sandpaper in preparation for priming, followed by a quick wipe with wax and grease remover. I used SEM Flexible Primer Surfacer, part number 39133, and gave it a couple medium wet coats. After an hour, I used guide coat and blocked it down with 220 grit sandpaper. There were some areas I couldn't get perfectly flat, especially along bottom, but that's the nature of a flexible beast. There were several areas where I burned through to the urethane, so I added a couple more coats of Flexible Primer Surfacer. Overall, it came out really good, and I am super pleased with how it turned out. 20220128_170141.jpg20220128_170420.jpg

The support was painted satin black, as was the top support, and the exposed core inside the bumper cover.
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Once it was dry, the top supports were fastened back to the support, and they were installed in the bumper cover. I torqued the 4 fasteners on the inside, but will wait until after paint to install the bolts along the bottom edge. Overall, I think it came out great, but I guess only time and a paint job will tell.

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Yesterday morning, I got a call for Tri-Cities Plating in Elizabethton, TN, letting me know that the rear bumper guards were ready. I think they turned out great. 20220203_135909.jpg
If you need to get something plated, I highly recommend them. https://www.tricityplating.com

I have been working on the Rickster, but not a lot of really visible stuff. I've been working to get the bow out of the hood, so that it matches the curve of the front fenders. It has been a real bear, but I've got about 1/4-5/16" out of it so far. Still about 1/8-1/16" more to go, but it's getting there.

Once the bow in the hood matches the curve of the fenders, I can tack the hems to make the hood forever match the fenders. So for now, I just work on the hood and take care of small details. Mostly, working on being patient, while waiting for the paint shop.

Slowly, but surely.
 
Well, it's been a month since I've posted an update. Time flies when you're having fun, and by fun, I mean working on an old mustang.

In the mean time, though, I have gotten the rest of the floor covered in KilMat. I also built a block-off panel to close off the passenger compartment from the trunk. You never know when you might have to give your mother-in-law a ride, and you wouldn't want her kicking her way out of the trunk. ( For those without a sense of humor, that is a joke.)

I used 18 gauge sheet steel and CAD (cardboard aided design) to determine the shape to cut out. I wanted the center portion to be removable so the top of the rear shocks are accessible, so I used rivnuts and #8-32 machine screws to attach it. The smaller pieces on each side were a little more troublesome, but not terribly bad, and they will allow me to attach KilMat along that back wall, too.

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Overall, I am pretty happy with it.

This morning, I got a call from the paint shop letting me know that they would be picking up the Rickster in an hour or so. I got the doors tied together, the hood and trunk lid strapped down, and got it pushed to the shop door waiting on them. Sure enough, around 9:30 a.m. they pulled into the driveway and we got it loaded up and it's off to the paint shop - again.

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It's been a long road, with an 11 month detour due to a really poor paint job last year, but it's exciting, too, knowing that we've hit this major milestone in the journey. I am so looking forward to seeing it with a beautiful paint job in dark green metallic, and getting back to work putting it all back together. Slowly, but surely.
 
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Today, I got to work on the driver side door. I pulled the fender off, and tweaked the door gaps with the rocker and quarter panel and tightened the hinges down. My priority was that the style lines on the door matched up with the style lines on the quarter, and the top of the door matched up with the bottom of the rear window opening, as they cannot be adjusted.
View attachment 58494

With the door position set, I noted that there was some minor variation in the panels. I added a skim coat of body filler along the seam, covering the gap between the door and quarter panel. After it set, I sanded it down with some 80 grit sandpaper, and added a second coat.

View attachment 58495After sanding again, I found a few more low areas, and added a third coat of body filler, and again, blocked it down to match the contour.
View attachment 58496

After 4 or 5 skim coats, it blocked out nicely, with only had a couple of small spots that needed a tiny bit of filler to touch it up.

View attachment 58498View attachment 58497

Now, it was time to separate the door from the quarter panel. I used a new hacksaw blade to follow the seam.

View attachment 58499

It was a PITA, as the mud was close to 1/2" thick in some areas of the seam. It took maybe 15 minutes, but once separated, the door swung open revealing the filler that filled the seam.

View attachment 58500

A bit of quality time with the sanding block and some 120 grit paper took the body filler back to the metal edge of the door and quarter panel revealing the gap as it had been set. There were a few areas where the filler was up to 1/16", but there wasn't much filler remaining after all the sanding.

View attachment 58501

I set the door handle in the opening, and found the opening needed a small amount of filler to fix one corner. It took two applications, but after a final sanding, the door handle fits the opening very nicely.

View attachment 58502

Just a bit of clean up of the door lock opening and the drivers side door transition is done. All it needs is recoating with epoxy primer and then a couple coats of high build.

View attachment 58503

Now on to the passenger side.
Very nicely done.
 
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