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On 72 I replaced carpet and dash pad. Installed new speaker and got it mostly put back together. I am going to send ammeter out to be converted to voltmeter. Found more evidence that car sat for quite a while.....dessicated baby mice and nest under back seat. Also found some money including more Mexican coins. Car still has the paper sill plate things. Replaced seat tracks on drivers seat. Very close to taking it for an inspection.  Added the seat belts. Someone had replaced the carpet recently but used very cheap carpet and did not put the belts back in. Luckily I had a set. I could not find the holes for rear belts so I left those out. When I get the car on the lift I will try to remember to look for them. Rim blow switch is on order for wheel refresh

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Well, today was the FIRST day at work on my 1972 Mach 1 from High School. (Great story, I will post up in another area on this site later.)

Today I removed front and rear spoilers. I don't like them any more, and I prefer the cleaner lines (available for $250 for all to local DFW folks for pick-up!) I also removed an after market console (functional but ugly), the spare tire and jack from the trunk, and installed some new 215/70-14's in the front and 225/70-14's in the rear.....That helped vs the old 235/60-14's that were in place on the Magnums. Turned the letters in. That helped some more :) New Brakes, shocks, springs are next, in addition to lots of little things. Great looking car IMHO.  Car is sitting lower in right than left in the rear by an inch. I am hoping springs cure a portion of this differential.

AFTER picture is first, BEFORE picture is second.

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Took out A/C heater box, few engine bay components, removed the hood, removed RH quarter window + mechanism, checked out my floor and cowl. Managed to poke holes in cowl with screwdriver. Not yet sure on how to proceed, will post elsewhere about that. Current state:

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Good times!

 
Got temporary wheel installed on 72 GT-351 and posted a walk around. Replaced dash pad on 71 Mach 1. Almost got dash out of parts car. Taking my time. Old plastic is fragile. Washed both of those cars as well (not the parts car lol)

 
I finished routing the front wiring harness and started making connections. I went from the frame rail to the boxed section of the radiator support then up through the bottom of the plates below the headlights.

The Painless Performance kit has plenty of wire length to make the multiple connections to the marker lights, turn signals and running lights... It's gonna look like a CHRISTmas tree out front. LOL!

I'm using the 71-72 turn signals below the bumper and the 73 grille lights as running lights. I'm deciding whether to make the side markers flash with the turn signals. It's a rather simple change in the harness. 

 
Last Friday, I removed all the remaining things under the back of the car. I had to remove the rear bumper and valence in order to get the gas tank out. Took about 4 hours to get the tank out, and what should I find but perfect paint. It didn't need to be removed after all. Now I'm spending a hundred bucks replacing all the hardware and software from the tank, bumper, and valence for no reason. Oh well. The last thing to take out of the underside of the car is the transmission, which I've removed all hardware from, and it won't budge. I'm not sure what's holding it in, but it's stuck to the engine. I think I might lift it up tomorrow and start trying to wiggle it in the up position rather than down. All I can think of anyway. After that, it'll be a very long slog of removing the rust, cleaning, and painting the underside. Wish me luck!

 
Nice! Two questions.

What does the bump steer kit does? It seems to lift the rod connection. Do you have a pic?

Did you have any issues with binding between the strut rod and the sway bar? What diameter is the sway bar?
So the 1 1/8" front sway bar I ordered came in yesterday, and after checking clearance between it and the strut rod, I can say it's tight! But fortunately no binding issues. I tested the clearance at several compression levels throughout the suspension travel, and the closest it came was 1/4" from the strut rod.

Took the car for an hour long test drive through the mountains and it was phenomenal. Virtually no body roll and incredible grip, but I could feel that my BFG radials were about at their limit, so it's probably time to start looking for some higher performance wheels & tires.

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So the 1 1/8" front sway bar I ordered came in yesterday, and after checking clearance between it and the strut rod, I can say it's tight! But fortunately no binding issues. I tested the clearance at several compression levels throughout the suspension travel, and the closest it came was 1/4" from the strut rod.

Took the car for an hour long test drive through the mountains and it was phenomenal. Virtually no body roll and incredible grip, but I could feel that my BFG radials were about at their limit, so it's probably time to start looking for some higher performance wheels & tires.
Which brand of sway bar are you using?

A 1/4" gap is better than what I have. With a 1 1/8" sway bar and Maier's suspension I am getting a hair of a gap. I still have not driven the car and needs to be aligned. I will approximate camber with an inclinometer and toe-in by eye before taking it for alignment. The suspension has adjustable coil overs. For now I will have it sit at 1" below stock. Hopefully this weekend I will know if I have binding on the road.

 
Which brand of sway bar are you using?

A 1/4" gap is better than what I have. With a 1 1/8" sway bar and Maier's suspension I am getting a hair of a gap. I still have not driven the car and needs to be aligned. I will approximate camber with an inclinometer and toe-in by eye before taking it for alignment. The suspension has adjustable coil overs. For now I will have it sit at 1" below stock. Hopefully this weekend I will know if I have binding on the road.
I'm using scott drake's sway bar. Normally I try to avoid their products, but this one seems to be decent quality. I was leaning towards an Addco sway bar, but my coilover manufacturer recommended scott drake's bar due to potential clearance issues with other brands. 

Hopefully the alignment gets you some more clearance. I would imagine the caster angle would have a pretty big impact on it. I'm also running about a 1 inch drop vs stock ride height.

 
I'm using scott drake's sway bar. Normally I try to avoid their products, but this one seems to be decent quality. I was leaning towards an Addco sway bar, but my coilover manufacturer recommended scott drake's bar due to potential clearance issues with other brands. 

Hopefully the alignment gets you some more clearance. I would imagine the caster angle would have a pretty big impact on it. I'm also running about a 1 inch drop vs stock ride height.
Which coilover are you using?

 
Of course fitment is important! however the steel used is more critical.

If a person wanted to check just how good is the sway bar material used (most important) ? take it to a tool and die shop  or a large machine shop. They can rockwell test the bar for hardness of the material used. If they used a non carbon steel? your going to have issues down the road. 

 
Of course fitment is important! however the steel used is more critical.

If a person wanted to check just how good is the sway bar material used (most important) ? take it to a tool and die shop  or a large machine shop. They can rockwell test the bar for hardness of the material used. If they used a non carbon steel? your going to have issues down the road. 
Very true. I couldn't find much info on this specific sway bar's material other than the manufacturer saying it's a "high carbon steel with forged ends", so that leads me to believe it's some proprietary blend of 11 herbs & spices.

 
Very true. I couldn't find much info on this specific sway bar's material other than the manufacturer saying it's a "high carbon steel with forged ends", so that leads me to believe it's some proprietary blend of 11 herbs & spices.
These days they may add a little bit of COVID to make the sway bars stiffer.

 
Stick Gator was toast... all perished away 

So wanted to make a hairy version like the Jagwaar XJS has ( I had one years ago - V12)

So what you need to do to start - is get inspiration from thinking about your stick coming through something hairy.  However you want to do this is up to you.  :biggrin:

see pics for the process of getting a hairy stick.  :classic_tongue:

Before ...

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the gator had gone and only the retainer left over 

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I bent my stiff bits to the right curve --- then trimmed my pubes to the right length with a little interlacing between partners. 

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Mounted them and epoxy was used to make sure they stayed put. 

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Now I have my stick protruding through hair/pubes  :classic_biggrin: :thumb:   ...nothing like having a hairy stick  :classic_laugh:

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