92 GTS-Rs Project Thread

So I purchased this car in the UK and I think I paid over price for what I ended up with

That aside, I am trying to get the car watertight and importantly Safe to drive.

I have owned other American cars, but this 71 Mustang is the oldest one I have ever had.  Purchased in good faith (first one I looked at).

I took a gamble and sadly am uncovering a minefield of bodged repairs.



The car was delivered to me and arrived with hardly any gas in the tank, but you could smell fuel in the car.

I drove the car 1/2 mile to the local garage and started to fill the tank, next thing I found was fuel was flooding the garage forecourt and over my feet! :shootself: 

So upon investigation I found all the rubber tank seals had perished!

1st Job was to change the parts.

I purchased a new cork gasket for the filler neck to rear panel, a new rubber trunk neck gasket and a new fuel tank collar.

 



As you can see,the parts were FUBAR!

So that  was Issue No1 Sorted.

Next issue was the car overheated on the 2nd time I took it out.

It turned out the car has been rewired using a harness from Kwick Wire, now someone had wired the radiator fan and A/C fan to the main Heater switch! (No thermostat switch on either radiator)?

So if you turned the heater fan switch off then the car would overheat     I also found two relays had burnt out!.

So I have got to go through the whole new harness to work out what has been wired and what has been ripped out of the car.  I am pretty useless when it comes to wiring so I will have to get someone to help me solve the issues.  :huh: 

None of the instrument warning lights work, I have checked the bulbs and they do work so it's a wiring issue. 

The shifter linkages need adjusting, whoever had the car before must have been a complete *****, instead of adjusting the linkages correctly, they decided to lengthen the centre slot of the console to allow the lever to travel further back!  

lollerz 



I Purchased 4 new Black screws for the centre shifter cover but looking at other peoples pics, i think these are supposed to be Hex head? 

I have a ton of issues to sort out on the car but I'm trying not to let it get me down.

More updates soon.

Got the car up in the Air and have found many more problems.

Damaged rear passenger floor pan,

Front suspension strut crossmember bent.





Someone tried to weld up the crossmember!





I have purchased a replacement Crossmember and that should be fitted in the next couple of weeks.



The Weatherstripping on the car is in a very poor state and I have also purchased the parts needed.





One thing many of the companies don't tell you is that there are actually 2 weatherstrips on the outside of the door, the upper weatherstrip normally comes in the new beltline kit, but the lower one is NOT included! This seems nuts to me.

So I managed to find the correct part from NPD.



I have made a start on Stripping the doors, clearing out surface rust, vacuuming out the crud and treating the interior of the door and quarter panel with water based rust converter I purchased off eBay. Once this is fully dry (and the weather improves) I will spray over this with Grey Zinc primer.







I have also started rust proofing the inner quarter panels

Before clearing off the crud,(you can see the moisture build up)





After rust treatment



I have also had to remove the passenger side roof drip rail as that is damaged and I now need to find a new one







Again I will give the rust treatment a blow over with Zinc Primer prior to reassembly.

Now if anyone can help me with advice on the correct sealants and reassembly of the roof drip rails and weatherseals I would appreciate it

I will most likely have to order everything from the USA.

Now I needed to do something to cheer me up actually Fitting something on the car (rather than keep removing stuff), so I purchased a interior glove box light from an earlier mustang.

I had to make the empty hole on the glove box frame a little bigger using a step drill and 1st fixed the new light switch and bulb.



2nd job was to fill the empty hole above the centre console where the infamous Map light should be (depending on which model car you have,

my car is a basic 302 so it did not come with the light).

I had seen posts from some old members on here but I did not get any reply on seeking a replacement light, I had seen one on eBay for over $238.00 (which was nuts) So I decided to make my own.

I purchased a Hella interior light (which I think is mercedes and features a 3 position switch) for $9.00 then found an old bit of black plastic and cut the recess for the light to fit, then I shaped the plastic to fit the shape of the centre console. It's not finished yet as I have to clean up the black plastic to get a good finish on it, I also have to wire it up, but I am pleased with the result so far

There have been several threads on the drip rails, here is a recent one.

https://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-how-to-remove-and-repair-your-71-73-roof-line-drip-rails?

The older the cars are the more problems you'll find, that's for sure. Rust is the biggest one, hidden damage from previous blunders a close second, and ***** previous owners next, Overall, it looks like you have a decent platform to begin your restoration/restomod journey.

Good luck

:thankyouyellow: Thanks Don

So I have also been working on the floor pan.......

Removing the side sill cover plate and ripping up the glued down carpet I found this galvanised steel folded up sign!

 

under the sign the floor was wet (god knows for how long)?



Someone had used Bondo as the glue to hold the metal plate down! 

Scraping back the floor the chisel went straight through the floor pan!



This car was supposed to be an Arizona rot free car! ........Yeah Right   

 

So the next job was cutting out the Rot ......



This car would now be perfect for Fred Flintstone  lollerz

I have Bedrock for a floor  

The new pan fits Good  ::thumb::





My main struggle is I do not have a garage to work on this car, so I'm outside battling with the weather



Will update as progress continues

Mark UK

Found out why the exhaust was blowing! Idiots had welded it up from under the car and could not get to the top part of the exhaust.

I think a 3 year old could have made a better job of welding!



As you can see, this car truly has been worked on by Cowboys!

Using a Dremel with small drills I managed to Drill out the rusted screw threads and make good the holes where the roof drip rail sits and upper weatherstrip.

I also fitted an electric aerial on the car today. Reason being, I can now get the car cover on and off more easley.

Sadly I keep finding more and more problems with the bodywork.

Just wondering, How easy is it to remove the whole interior dash? I have found rust issues in the lower front cowl area

Well today things just got a whole lot worse

Lifting the front carpet I found that there are several small holes in the passenger front floor pan! This is because the Heater box has been broken and the condensate pipe from the A/C is missing.







Its looking like I have to remove the whole heater A/C box and repair it, That is a big job!

Being in the UK Shipping a replacement heater box will be very expensive with Duty and customs so I'm not happy at the moment

Also I have to address the passenger floor pan issue! Does anyone supply a short front RH floor pan for a 71? They list one for earlier models but I can't find a 71 short floor pan

I like your determination to work on the car outside in winter in England. Your life would get a lot easier if you spent about $120.00 USD plus UK taxes, to buy the 1971 Ford shop manuals, and the Body, Interior, and Electrical assembly manuals. I could never have properly completed the restoration of my 1972 Mach1 without them. Keep up the good work. Chuck

Finally got the Heater box removed after getting the A/C Drained.

This was the state of the Heater box when viewed from under the dash with the glove box insert removed,













Needless to say a new Heater Box is required!

Now I looked around for a New heater box with A/C and checked out all the usual Websites,

It pays to look around because I got one over $100 bucks cheaper than the going rate!

My new Heater Box



Another interesting issue was found when removing the Heater box, Some previous ***** had overtightened the A/C Evaporator Core pipe!

Now its not leaking and I can't see any fracture cracking so I am wondering weather to try and untwist the pipe or leave it as it is? Thoughts?





Next Issue

Lower RHS inner Cowl area. This is what I have found so far......









Now I do have a cracked front windscreen, so the screen does need to be replaced, so if I get the screen out I think the best way to tackle this is to remove the hood, cut the top RHS of the upper cowl away and then cut out and replace the lower part

Currently I can only find a whole Upper and lower cowl for a 1971?

Is anyone making just the RHS Lower section for a 71/73 yet?

Forgot to mention I have also found holes in the Drivers Front foot area too



And the LHS Rear floor pan, so have ordered another Rear quarter pan.

I'm not a fabricator and have no experience of welding, but I have found a local guy that used to fabricate and build Hot rods for the dirt oval tracks.

The car is going in for its first bout of welding next week.

I do have a question though, When you do welding to the floor pans, do you cut the hole out to exactly match the replacement panel or do you leave a 1/2" lip all round so that the new pan has a bit of extra metal to hold it in place? Probably a dumb question, But I'm here to learn.

This is a picture of the current front windscreen part number fitted in my car



Anyone know if these are still available?

Oh Yea,

Surfing around on the Net I found the Original advert of the Guys selling my car in the USA

https://www.affordableclassicssandiego.com/1971-ford-mustang-fastback-c-12538.htm

Anyone know this car?

According to the Advert it has a 9" rear diff upgrade? What does that mean? I do know if I try to spin the wheels on the car only one side spins, So it's not a LSD (unless that's broke too)!.

Because it has a 302 engine it likely came with an 8" rear axle, so a 9" is an upgrade to a stronger rear end, but they can either be an open differential, or one with a locker or posi-traction (EquaLok).

To answer an earlier question about having an overlap when installing the floor pan, the overlap will make it a little stronger and easier to weld, but the benefit is short-lived. The overlap provides a place where moisture can penetrate and take a long time to dry out, giving it plenty of time to rust out the edges of your new floor pan.

And, yes, windshields are available, here's one vendor:

https://www.npdlink.com/1965-1973-mustang/body-exterior/windshield?year=1971

Thank you, that's what I was thinking  too about the Floor Pan,  so I will tell him I want it Butt welded.

Thanks also for the Diff rear end info.  ::thumb::

Thanks also for the Windshield link, looks like the same part number as my current screen

DW772 is the number assigned to the windscreen by the auto glass industry. You'll want to refer to that, as many place have difficulty with the coupe/fastback distinction, since they are both coupes by definition.

DW773 is the glass for 71-73 coupe & convertible

Forgot to mention I have also found holes in the Drivers Front foot area too

And the LHS Rear floor pan, so have ordered another Rear quarter pan.

I'm not a fabricator and have no experience of welding, but I have found a local guy that used to fabricate and build Hot rods for the dirt oval tracks.

The car is going in for its first bout of welding next week.

I do have a question though, When you do welding to the floor pans, do you cut the hole out to exactly match the replacement panel or do you leave a 1/2" lip all round so that the new pan has a bit of extra metal to hold it in place?  Probably a dumb question, But I'm here to learn.

Click to expand...

All the rust areas you have shown are very common. My car is a duplicate to yours, probably worse. I didnt see the amount you paid for your car? not that it matters however Im sure these forum folks can do the quick math and tell you how much your going to get into the repairs as pictured. Being Ive done all the ones you have shown so far I can answer some of your concerns. I just posted some pics on the cowl repair. That one is a cuss word and a half.

Anyone can buy a car restored! most of the fun on these cars is the build and the satisfaction of doing it yourself. Sometimes it will mind boggle you. rest assured the folks on here will help you leaps and bounds. 

I see the rust converter you are using is the milky one that turns black when painted on. I would suggest por-15.  Home improvement centers sell a acid concrete etcher called Klen Strip concrete and metal prep. It contains Phosphoric acid. The rust will simply go away when soaked or sprayed on rusty areas. Then apply por-15 on that area for permanent protection.

My buddies and nieghbours always give snide remarks like. Man you should of bought a car done! Your going to have to much money in that car when completed.  My response is.......Maybe but In the end I have a mustang and you dont!  lollerz

Good luck and keep smiling!

Thanks for the tips  ::thumb::

Thanks for the Info on the Screen Numbers.

Oh Yea,

Surfing around on the Net I found the Original advert of the Guys selling my car in the USA

https://www.affordableclassicssandiego.com/1971-ford-mustang-fastback-c-12538.htm

Anyone know this car?

According to the Advert it has a 9" rear diff upgrade?  What does that mean?  I do know if I try to spin the wheels on the car only one side spins, So it's not a LSD (unless that's broke too)!.

Click to expand...

Have you purchased Marti Report to see where this car was sold new at? With the amount of rust in the floors I would expect this car spent time in the Midwest USA. Most California cars have a lot less rust.