What did you do to your car today?

[Kilgon]

Got my new warranty O2 sensor for the air / fuel gauge installed yesterday.  The weather has warmed  up so I decided to take the car out for the first drive of the year.  It felt good to get behind the wheel again and let her run.

  First Drive of the New Year. - YouTube

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Since my neck / back kills me no matter what I do went back to shop and started cleaning up some of the window regulator stuff. Cleaned the fossilized white grease out of one of the rear guide plates. Cleaned up the guide rod and guide for R.H. door. About the time I finished cleaning the manual window crank and regulator I realized I was not going to use them, lol. So couple hours wasted. I am going to switch to the PW set up I got out of one of my parts cars. So I will find that box tomorrow and put the manual stuff in the loft. I sat outside it was 68 deg. F. here in the mountains of N.C..
Got news on my car trailer I ordered yesterday. They had told me that there was no white sheeting and pewter was lightest color they had. The white sheeting came in today so it will be white much cooler inside for sure.
Going to look at another mustang tomorrow. Been sitting about 13 years. original paint 68 coupe with C stripe, 302, automatic, PS, AC, PDB second owner. I helped them get it going last year.

 

[RC92234]

Crazily, after several very cool days and nights, once it warmed up back to normal for us (70s) I noticed a very small but steady puddle of gas growing on the ground under the front driver side near the wheel.

Turns out, old fuel line hoses were just enough cracked that when it got warm and vapors started expanding in the tank, it created enough pressure to leak.  So what I did was replace the fuel line hose -- it was "on the list" and I had the parts on hand.

 

[7173Vert]

Finally getting round to doing some work on the 73 Q-Code 4-spd. Coupe I bought in the Fall of 2019. I only did an oil change (and a master Cylinder when it went in for Provincial Certification) on it last year and drove it a few times in the summer... Its a pretty original car, except they partially painted it once and someone took a spray bomb to parts of the underbody, probably at the dealer where I purchased it in Daytona Beach... An original Oakland, Cali. car all its life until 2017 when it was sold and brought East by the dealer. The brakes need a complete refresh and I will change out all the fluids, do a tune up, etc. The carb sometimes run's rich for a while on start up and even after the choke should have fully open. After a half hour of driving, it miraculously run's fine. I will pull the carb and clean it up. Look at all of the emissions crap on these '73's... This is a California emission's car to boot, so it is fully loaded with that stuff. I will clean it up, it will probably be clogged under the carb., which is natural for these set-up's. I know most like to pull the emission stuff, but I endeavor to keep my car's as close to factory as possible. Think I will pull the valve covers and change the valve seals too while I am at it. It is a 45K mi car, so most of the original stuff is still there. It appears that only required routine maintenance stuff was changed out in the past; rad hoses and the A/C belt (I have all new Marti correct rad hose and belt pieces). Otherwise, an all original car. The front suspension still looks good, the ball joints are all in great shape. The two tie rod ends both have a cracked rubber boot, so I will look to see if I can save them or change them out if need be. You can see in the pic, that the rubber shock grommet has disintegrated, so I will replace where necessary. Spent the past three months on my 86 300ZX, which was its own challenge for me. Learned a lot on that car, but they are not too bad to work on if you have the manual and patience... Should have this Coupe ready for late Spring and knowing it will be truly be road worthy at that time. 

 

[clevelandcoupe]

Ken,

What a beautiful car for sure....

Thanks, Jay

 

[7173Vert]

Ken,

What a beautiful car for sure....

Thanks, Jay

Jay, Thanks. Hope you are staying safe down there. Cheers.

 

[droptop73]

WOW it was 66 deg. F. here today. My spring flowers are all up and about to bloom. I did go to garage and sit and sand a NOS front tag bracket for the Q vert. Got it painted Slop Gray so another bolt on piece ready.
Also looked at the T-5 five speed I bought on Sunday. The clutch measures 10.5" and looks to be about new. Flywheel also looks new. The Hurst shifter also looks new.
Since I have never put one of these behind a 351 C need to verify what all I need. The flywheel has 157 teeth. The bell housing is right at 7 5/8" deep. So I guess my questions would be is the flywheel good to go for the 351-C? I am not sure on balance being the same.
What starter do I need to search for?
Do I put a separator plate between block and bel housing? I am thinking yes they all do.
I do have three engines in shop our of cars so I can test fit.
I have put synchronize rings and plastic pieces in the shift on these before have the Ford manual for the transmission so I good there. Will take apart and check everything and shim if needed. That will be month out after back if fixed. I just want to know what to look out for while waiting.
I closed deal on 8.5' X 20' enclosed car trailer today. They are scarce as hens teeth. Covid has suppliers shut down and factory that does the outside sheeting has huge paint issue and also shut down. Could not get white had to go with Pewter. So the 73 Mach 1 will bet at the PITS on March 24 - 27 for the first big show this year. Then April 15 - 18 at the Mustang Owner's Museum and then June in Carlisle all Ford show. So lots of miles coming up. Need one of those new F-260 big canted valve V-8. I understand there will be on out drag racing this year. Stock heads, crank, block and with turbo over 1,400 hp. Some clutch, flywheel and trans pics.
Any info on the T-5 install will be appreciated. Going in 73 Grande body for Track car.

The flywheel that came with the trans is likely a 50 oz balance. You will need a 157 tooth 28 oz balance flywheel with the Cleveland. You may be able to run an original manual trans starter. I went with a PMGR style, I posted a link on your trans thread. The swap is pretty straight forward, I made my own mechanical clutch linkage as I had originals to copy and I read too many negative things about the hydraulic set-ups. I have it all out of the car right now and can provide pics if you'd like. As a fellow machinist/toolmaker I'm sure you can do the fab work. 

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Thanks for the info. I figured there was a balance difference between the two but did not know what it was. Any info you can share is welcome. Yes being an old tool maker does help you when working on stuff. I have a friend that has Moore Jig Bore, Bridgeport mill, lathe and grinder so can do lots. When I was working I made fixtures to blanchard grind my own flywheels, pressure plates and had two angle plates could set up a head and do the guides on mill and also put on wet surface grinder and grind them instead of mill. I made a fellow employee a front spindle for his Alfa Romaro. It spun outer bearing and broke. Made our of RDS oil hard tool steel and heat treated it. The spindle on them was pressed in the the front arm and not part of the forging so easy to replace.
I would have opened my own shop but when I went to the Small Business to get a loan I was discriminated against. The person at the desk told unless I was black or a woman my application would not even be considered. They suggest if I wanted to get a loan to find a black woman to apply for me. Talk about discrimination this was in the late 60's

 

[jakosaur]

I made a mess and probably gave myself cancer. I also found out that the car has more cancer than I thought. I started by trying to clean the rear wheel wells, and it turned into using a wire wheel to get the junk off. That went straight to bare metal, so I went ahead and just knocked as much junk off as I could reach. I'll hit it with a primer when I get a chance I guess. What sucks is the rust at the bottom right in the picture. There's some sort of metal tab stamped into the body or frame, and it's very rusted, and the area around it is rusting too. I poked a hole through the well liner trying to knock the dirt off. I already knew the other side of the car was rusted, too. Does anyone know what that thing is?

        

 

[shaheenk]

@timachone @vintageman

Guys, I did it , 71-72 bumper on a 73 , no need to change fenders or brackets. We fabbed up some rough brackets to mount the chrome bumper onto the 73 arms, 

All credit to my panel shop for coming up with this . We will fab a filler panel under the grill to close the gap,

 

[c9zx]

Looks good! Chuck

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

I am huge 73 fan just does not look right to me. Each to their own. When running on track I will probably put a fiberglass 73 look alike bumper to loose weight but will still be big.

 

[OMS]

Looks nice

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

My friend that restores cars came over today. I am loaning him woodworking tools for his home flip he is doing. While here he helped me remove the door that killed my back off the 72 Q code vert. I can at least rebuild the hinges. He looked at the 73 Grande I am going to make a tack days car out of and said he had never seen such a rust free mustang ever. So I will hack up a great car because it is worth more as a fun track days car as a restored car. Zero rust not a panel needs replaced but not worth restoring you loose money on a coupe.

 

[timachone]

@timachone @vintageman

Guys, I did it , 71-72 bumper on a 73 , no need to change fenders or brackets. We fabbed up some rough brackets to mount the chrome bumper onto the 73 arms, 

All credit to my panel shop for coming up with this . We will fab a filler panel under the grill to close the gap,

View attachment 49213

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That looks really good, thanks for updating us! 

Nice and easy idea your fabricated brackets which use the original mounting holes on the bumper as on the '73 bumper brackets, am I right? 

Please keep us posted with your solution for the gap between bumper and grill! 

If you could take the measurements of your brackets by chance this would be very helpful for guys which will go your route in future! 

Awesome  :thumb:

 

[shaheenk]

@Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs @timachone

Thanks guys , I will take some measurements and update on the filler panel.

It was never my intention to go this route, I imported (at a stupid amount of money) a 73 bumper from the US , it took 3 months to arrive as it came in a shared container due to weight. Arrived, the bumper was torn up , the inner brace was missing and trying to get another which was in good condition would have been more then duoble the cost on the Chrome one. 

The rear bumper on mine is chromes aswell , while I would have loved to keep it "period correct" , there are so many other subtle changes that it made sense to bling up the front . 

Some of the "non standard" 

Wheels 

Interior - Seats are not using the traditional vinyl  look 

badges are all removed 

side sills covers are all black anodised 

rear fuel cap is Mach1 

front grill is Mach 1 

Wiring harness is aftermarket 

door and dash wood inlays are now brushed alu look 

Engine bay painted and motor has lots of aftermarket tat on 

brake booster is not stock 

Fan shroud is not stock 

Electronic Ignition setup 

 

[shaheenk]

now with bumper tuck on the rear and some shots in the sun 



View attachment WhatsApp Video 2021-03-03 at 13.38.36.mp4

 

[7173Vert]

now with bumper tuck on the rear and some shots in the sun 


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Nice Coupe! Although I am a bit of a purist when it comes to these car's, you did a great job with the bumper upgrades. Too bad about the 73 front bumper mishap. Car sounds nice too. Enjoy your ride.

 

[droptop73]

That is a very cool coupe! 

 

[Vinnie]

I prefer the big fat 73 front bumper but that's just a matter of taste! Your conversion looks great and so does the rest of the car, well done and enjoy!