What did you do to your car today?

[Ms.Mach71351c]

Nice job.....::thumb::

 

[WILLIAMPARDELL]

PUT NEWS BELTS ON CAR. WENT FOR A RIDE. NO MORE SQUEEL.

I LIKE IT. THINKING OF PUTTING ROLL DOWN WINDOWS IN REAR. HAVE ALL THE PARTS FROM 73 PARTS CAR .

 

[NitrousVa]

New 600 lbs springs w/1 inch drop and spring mounts, the springs were a PITA to get compressed, I hope I won't have to take them out EVER again. The suspension bumpers were long gone, so I improvised and used sway bar bushings instead. I don't think I'll ever compress the 600 lbs springs enough to find out if my bumpers work.

 

[Joe Stang]

Lots o' black paint. I'll let it cure till Sunday and Shoot coat #2 after wet sanding a bit of the hood.

Today I picked up the heads from the machine shop. They replaced the Ford two piece valves with Manley stainless 1 piece valves, new springs to match my cam, hardened seals, grinding, resurfacing etc.

Another great and important feature of the Manley valves are that they have a "single groove" to hold the retainer on them. These are much better than the stock multi groove style that can fail @ high RPM. They sure look great.

Joe Stang

 

[71JCode]

Fired it up and listened to it rumble and drank in the rich smell of hydrocarbons.

*It was raining today. We don't do rain.*

dancebanana dancebanana dancebanana dancebanana dancebanana dancebanana

 

[Mister 4x4]

Didn't have a lot of time today, but I DID manage to get the repop fenders and quarter panel I'd ordered from OMS last week to the shop. Of course, I couldn't resist pulling them out and test-fitting. So, I hung each one on by just the top bolts, and I'm very pleased with how they look. Sure, there's a LOT of adjustment to do, but it was a huge "visual" step and morale booster, IMHO. It's almost starting to look like an actual car again.

Sorry about the crappy cell phone pic:

Next week begins the body work marathon. I'm off from Christmas to the Monday following New Years' Day - so I'm hoping to take a big swing at getting it closer to the paint shop.

 

[mach71351c]

Didn't have a lot of time today, but I DID manage to get the repop fenders and quarter panel I'd ordered from OMS last week to the shop. Of course, I couldn't resist pulling them out and test-fitting. So, I hung each one on by just the top bolts, and I'm very pleased with how they look. Sure, there's a LOT of adjustment to do, but it was a huge "visual" step and morale booster, IMHO. It's almost starting to look like an actual car again.

Sorry about the crappy cell phone pic:

Next week begins the body work marathon. I'm off from Christmas to the Monday following New Years' Day - so I'm hoping to take a big swing at getting it closer to the paint shop.

Eric Just seeing the fenders on is a great way to start the body work marathon. I know the deal well. I was so jacked when I bolted my passenger door on.
Mike


This afternoon I broke out the paint stripper and stripped my passenger fender. It took 3 application to get most of the paint off. Tomorrow I will D/A sand with 80 grit.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Lookin' good, Bro! ::thumb::

At least your parts car fenders didn't have a half gallon of Bondo underneath the paint you stripped off. I swear, every '71-'73 I've run across in-person so far has suffered from short-sighted drivers... and crunched fenders as a result. I guess most people don't realize that from the tip of their noses to the tip of the car's nose is something over 9 feet.

 

[mach71351c]

Lookin' good, Bro! ::thumb::

At least your parts car fenders didn't have a half gallon of Bondo underneath the paint you stripped off. I swear, every '71-'73 I've run across in-person so far has suffered from short-sighted drivers... and crunched fenders as a result. I guess most people don't realize that from the tip of their noses to the tip of the car's nose is something over 9 feet.

Very true. That's how my original fenders are.

 

[mach71351c]

Today I welded the rust patch on the bottom of my drivers door.To be honest I struggled with the welder today.:dodgy: Thank god for bondo. Then I primed the inside and bottom of the door. Well the primer dried I D/A sanded the passenger fender.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Sweet! ::thumb::

I'm thinking I might need some similar care for my doors as well (initial look only showed door skin dingers, though - once I pull 'em off, I'm sure I'll find more to do). I'll take your days of 'welding struggle' over my good days any time.

 

[Mister 4x4]

I stopped by a convenience store to pick-up a Mega-Millions ticket (Hey - why not, right?) and as I turned away from the ATM, I noticed this on the shelf with a few other 'lesser' car models:

Not the actual picture, but:

Someone already played with it and broke the steering wheel and mirror off, but Hey - I've NEVER seen a '71-'73 'anything' out in the wild of West Texas.

I figure I probably blew all my luck on finding the die-cast, but oh well - still a "win" in my book.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Finally got some quality time today (nobody showed up - must've all bailed for the Holidays), so I was able to concentrate on getting the door/window molding and drip rails removed. Only one screw stripped out on the passenger side drip rail molding, but I was able to buzz it off without damaging the molding and drilled the rest out (left-handed bit caught the last-bits of it and the hole is undamaged).

What a PITA. The upside: the seals did their jobs - no major rust damage, so getting it back in shape for paint shouldn't be a big deal. Yay! I think the last the rust is finally gone!!

Thursday, I'll start ripping off the passenger side quarter panel I messed up and get it replaced with the one Don sent me last week. I also ordered the Mustang Steve hinge kit last night, so I should be able to get the doors squared away ASAP as well.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Well, true to my word I removed the passenger quarter panel skin yesterday... or at least cut off the biggest part of it.

Today, I removed the last bits and repaired the factory metal underneath. I also stripped down the driver side rocker panel and discovered a few more holes than what I thought I originally had. No worries - gonna repair those tomorrow.

I did get a shot of the driver side A-pillar and where the factory lead had popped out when the previous owner hit something. Anybody have any ideas how to repair this, besides just building up the Bondo? The canyon is about 5/16" deep in places, and I need to clean it out for real before getting into it. I figured I'd just post up a pic in case anybody had any ideas.

Tomorrow, I strip down the passenger rocker panel, and repair both sides... and maybe... just maybe... get the quarter panel skin back on (correctly this time).

After that, I'll be installing the cool Mustang Steve hinge kit I received in the mail yesterday, and begin rehabbing the doors, then the hood, and finish stripping off the rest of the nasty old paint. I'm hoping to have that stuff done by next week when the Master Body Fastener kit shows up and I can start adjusting the fenders and start getting them and the rest of the front end sheet metal lined up.

 

[Austin Vert]

Looking good Eric,

Keep up the hard work. As you slowly make your way through the job, i think you feel a little more pleased as each step gets finished.

Greg.

 

[judge]

Clean it out real good, as a filler use the metal filled body putty. Evercoat makes one called "metal to metal". It is a month sag filler. It's filled with ground aluminum.

 

[Qcode351mach]

Well, true to my word I removed the passenger quarter panel skin yesterday... or at least cut off the biggest part of it.

Today, I removed the last bits and repaired the factory metal underneath. I also stripped down the driver side rocker panel and discovered a few more holes than what I thought I originally had. No worries - gonna repair those tomorrow.

I did get a shot of the driver side A-pillar and where the factory lead had popped out when the previous owner hit something. Anybody have any ideas how to repair this, besides just building up the Bondo? The canyon is about 5/16" deep in places, and I need to clean it out for real before getting into it. I figured I'd just post up a pic in case anybody had any ideas.

Tomorrow, I strip down the passenger rocker panel, and repair both sides... and maybe... just maybe... get the quarter panel skin back on (correctly this time).

After that, I'll be installing the cool Mustang Steve hinge kit I received in the mail yesterday, and begin rehabbing the doors, then the hood, and finish stripping off the rest of the nasty old paint. I'm hoping to have that stuff done by next week when the Master Body Fastener kit shows up and I can start adjusting the fenders and start getting them and the rest of the front end sheet metal lined up.

E..You know I made a vid on the Mustang Steve hinge kit..On the pillar to roof joint..Melt out the lead with a propane torch to really see what you have there..What looks like a crack may be a rust hole..Any which way WELD THE ENTIRE SEAM / JOINT ..Thats a known problem area on our cars & unless you weld the seam shut..No matter what you put on there it will crack again..Don't use all metal..Old technology..Use fibral http://www.amazon.com/U-POL-FIBRAL-Sandable-Repair-Filler/dp/B0006HCSDY like I did see about half way down the page for pics of my repair http://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-what-did-you-do-to-your-car-today?pid=102602#pid102602

 

[Mister 4x4]

Hey Q! Yes - I watched your video after I ordered the kit, and Steve asked me to send him the link to your video(s)... he said he liked 'em. I'm going to watch it again before I begin (probably Tuesday).

Thanks for the advice on the A-pillar joint... I'd forgotten you'd done that. Yes, makes perfectly good sense - I wouldn't think the factory would've had THAT nasty of a joint and just simply leaded over. Looks like I'll be taking the MAP Gas torch to the shop on Monday. (edit: I should be able to score some of the filler at my local [favorite] auto body paint supply store - they carry U-POL products - Thanks again! ::thumb:: )

Today, I finished stripping the passenger side rocker and found no rust holes - Yay! Although what I found in the driver side makes me want to cut an access hole, get all the loose stuff out, soak it with Osphate, and stuff in a Rust Bullet-covered sponge. (I still might just do that)

Here are the holes in the driver side rocker:

And, I decided that since I suck at butt-welding sheet metal, I'm going to bond these patches in from the inside, then bond some correct sized sheet metal patches with the leftover 3M panel adhesive I bought yesterday (that stuff's expensive, and I had to buy a gun, too - might as well use it). I made the cool butterflies to keep the patches pulled tight against the inside of the rocker panel - seemed to work pretty well. My thought was it's kinda like repairing a larger hole in sheet rock.

Fear not - the doors will be coming off for rehab when I do the hinges... but not until after I get the new quarter panel skin installed on Monday morning.

 

[MikeGriese]

Installed new repro marker lamps, AMK voltage regulator, starter solenoid, and took the shipping bends out of a set of new stainless brake and fuel lines. Hope to get those installed this week.

I have also started sorting through my parts cache looking for stuff I'm just not going to use. I will eventually have a complete dash (black) along with gages, wiring harness and switchgear, plus the ducting for a non-AC car if anyone is interested.

 

[MikeGriese]

Fuel breather tube, front brake lines, fuel line, brake line across firewall. Cleaned up rear tiedowns, brake proportioning valve. Started cleaning up underdash ducting.