1965 Mustang Fastback 5.0 Restomod

Video: summer time fun

2017-07-16T11:38:00.002-07:00

Went out for a test drive with the latest tune recently and thought I'd post a video. Tuner software is estimating 360HP. Not too bad for a pushrod 5.0 ;)
Enjoy

New Fuel Tank

2017-07-16T08:27:00.000-07:00

I had a few problems with the improvised EFI pump and pickup that I installed in the original fuel tank. I installed it in the factory pickup hole for convenience.
I had problems with a pump that started to squeal and the seal leaked more than once. I don't get how people kept the seal from leaking over the years. It is such a crappy and awkward fitting. The other issue was having no gauge pickup -- no idea how much gas was left.

First attempt was to install a stock 65 mustang fuel float attached to the same mount as the pump but it leaked.

Next attempt was to cut 2 holes in the top of the tank and mount the pick up and pump from the top but the stock opening on the bottom leaked again. Getting tired of this.

I went to just weld the factory pickup hole shut and saw that the inside of the tank was pretty rusty so that settled that.

Finally, I bought a brand new EFI conversion tank from Tanks Inc. along with the correct EFI pickup tube plate and gauge sending unit. The tank has a baffle tray already welded in so no more risk of starvation. This new pump mounting plate has the pressure and return lines plus the vent fitting. These tanks are very nice replacements and look like the original. It comes with in a silver paint (or might be powder coat.)

Everything fits great and no leaks. The only catch is now the fuel lines and fittings are in trunk. Not ideal. Given the history of these trunk mount tanks, I will need to install one of those rigid safety covers one of these days. For now, its back to annoying the neighbors and leaving posi marks everywhere.

On the road - having fun

2016-05-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

Last month, I finally got my Mustang buttoned up enough to drive to NY state inspection and it got that sticker. Not all work is done but now I can drive and enjoy it which is the whole point of this project.

I'm already having fun driving and looking forward to a fun summer.

So, some recently completed items are:
EEC-4 ECU Mount
I had to mount the ECU somewhere so I chose just behind the glove box area. I made a bracket from some steel straps and mounted from top of the glove box to a flange underneath the dash.

Battery
The battery has always been in the trunk but hadn't been secured. I got a universal hold down and made weld-on brackets for the j-hooks.

Windlace
This was simple to install. It just presses into place around the door flange. A couple spots needed a tap with a rubber mallet.

EEC-IV mount

Hood pins
I installed these in the front hood bumper mounts. The pins were a kit came with tethers. The hood holes were a little tough to drill. Had to transfer marks from the pins to the underside of the hood using a dab of paint to mark where to drill. The issue was that the pins were at an angle because they were mounted in the hood bumper holes. This is in the same spot as Shelby did it and matches the slope of the hood but the hood lowers at a different angle so the pins rubbed on the way down. Just had make the holes big enough to give some slack for closing.

Front license plate mounting
Since I have the Shelby style front valance, there was no place to mount the front license plate. I made a couple brackets out of some metal strapping that I had. It bolts to the valance mount at the top and the lower bumper guard hole at the bottom. Quick and dirty but does the trick.

Exhaust
My Mustang has a low stance so on the fist few drives, I could hear the mufflers scraping as the springs absorbed some bumps. It also didn't have a nice sound. A little too loud -- not a good loud either. I had a local shop make a mandrel bent 2 1/2" h-pipe-back exhaust and now the 40 series flowmaster mufflers are in the the correct place and the tail pipes extend out under the rear valance. Bare tail pies do not look so good but will suffice for now.

The exhaust note is much better but I still get a loud resonant exhaust sound around 2100 rpm - the whole car vibrates. May have to add a couple small, cheap glass-packs inline or something to disrupt the resonance. (The neighbors must love me)
Another thing is that with the triangulated four link rear having control arms attached near the center housing, there wasnt any room to go over the axle housing in the usual spot above the axle tubes so it routes underneath. It looks fine and the axle tubes do not make contact.

Next Priorities
Tuning. I have a Tweecer and BinaryEditor software. Its basically an external chip that mounts to the EEC-IV and lets you upload a new calibration via a USB cable. It can also read live data like MAF volts, RPM, injector pulse, measured A/F ratio vs. commanded, etc.
So far I have roughly dialed in the fuel and timing. With the latest tune, LogAnalyzer estimates about 340HP and feels like it. BTW, the Tweecer and BinaryEditor is invaluable in the custom tuning process. The engine actually idles pretty well for a high performance cam and stock ECU.

Rear differential gears
Right now, I'm running 4.11 which turns out to be way to low for my power band and T-5. 1st gear winds out too fast and I have to use overdrive around 45 MPH.
I'm thinking to change to either 3.27 or 3.55 - not sure yet.

Wheels, Tires
The rear tires are 245 45 17 and rub a little on the fenders. I rolled the metal lip a little but they still touch on bigger bumps. They should fit but the wheels I have now have an odd offset so the are a little too far out toward the fenders -- there's plenty of room to the inner wheel wells. I may have to run 235 in the rear until I get the new wheels.

Alignment
The TCI front coil-over suspension is nice and handles well. I can tell that it is not aligned right so I need to find a shop that can do a real alignment - not just set the toe and let it go.

Bodywork
Have some sanding and filling to do on that left front fender. I did a test with Plastidip a while back and it sticks well to the primer and peels off cleanly. I thought about vinyl wrap in the past but it may be too expensive and I'm not sure how well it will stick to primer. Plastidip will protect the metal since primer is porous and may have to do until I can afford a good paint job. Anyone have an extra paint job laying around that needs a good home?

Interior
Still need to paint some of the rear interior pieces before installing and clean the old rear fold-down seats -- the vinyl is in great shape.

So far so good.
Videos coming soon.

Windshield and rear glass roped-in

2016-01-05T18:34:00.000-08:00

With the headliner and dash complete, I could install the windshield and rear window.
I did a lot of research on this and learned about the rope-in technique. It turned out to be fairly easy.

For my Mustang, I left out the calk since I will eventually remove the glass to paint.

The hard part was getting the rubber weatherstrip around the windshield. The slot for the glass is very tight and the rubber is stiff so my hands were pretty sore after. The first step is flipping the weatherstrip so that the short side is at the top edge of the glass and laying the strip out over the glass.

Next I pried open the glass slot at a corner and worked it on the corner of the windshield a few inches in each direction. Then moved to the next corner on the short side and then the opposite corner and the remaining corner, trying to keep the weatherstrip stretched evenly. I finished by working each of the sides in place. I had to use a plastic strip to pry open the rubber in places. It helps to pat the strip in place as you go along.

To install, I used a length of thin nylon rope and tucked in into place around the full length of the perimeter and overlapped a little at the bottom center (It may be easier to install strings overlapping at the top). I found that an old silicone tube tip worked to quickly pull the rope along the edge.

I started rope-in by carefully placing bottom edge of the weatherstrip and windshield into the bottom flange making sure it is centered and down all the way. With the windshield laying in place, begin pulling on the rope ends equally, slowly, straight out. I found the corners to be the hardest part due to stiffness of the rubber. After, there were a few places where I had to press the weatherstrip in closer to the flange.
I repeated the same for the rear glass -- the rear glass was thinner so the seal went on easier.
Be careful with the rear glass, I know first hand that it can easily explode into thousands of tiny pieces.
There are lots of videos on this. I thought this video was the most useful https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4igX1ZO5as

Dashboard

2016-01-03T17:39:00.000-08:00

Refinish Dash

The dashboard was looking a little pitted and had a few dents. Also the ignition switch hole was mangled likely due to a previous owner not knowing how to remove the switch.

I started with a little glazing compound over the pitting and dings followed by progressively finer sanding, alternating coats of high build primer and wet sanding. This work included the A pillars too.

For the ignition switch hole, I straightened some metal and welded a little steel to fix the notch. I added a little glazing compound to smooth things out. Then more high build primer and wet sanding.

I finished the job with basic rattle can black semigloss. I know there are more concours compatible finishes but I dont really need that.

Wiring

I had already fixed the wiring harness issues a while back so there wasn't much to do. This harness was for a basic mid-year 65 Mustang so there were wires for the charge light, oil light, and single turn signal indicator in the cluster.

The cluster I have is a 66 round gauge style. Its in rough shape and the fuel gauge is fried. I gave it a basic cleaning and had to trim plastic off the bottom of the center circle to fit the straight dash metal -- the plastic bezel was already cracked so no biggie there.
I had another leftover donor harness from a 66 and swiped the left and right turn signals, and the oil gauge connectors. For the turn signals, I just spliced the bulb wires to an existing left and right signal wire.
Conveniently, the main power wire from the trunk passes right through the amp meter loop on its way to the fuse panel.

Headliner

2016-01-03T16:04:00.000-08:00

Another task before the goal of passing NY state inspection is the headliner. This has to go in before the windshield and rear glass.

I researched how most people install headliners and ended up using lots of small metal binder clips to keep the vinyl stretched and hold while the glue dries.

The headliner I purchased (TMI I think) came with a sound deadener/insulation pad and also bought the headliner glue. I was worried it would be a huge mess and end up loose and full of wrinkles but it turned out fine.
The key was to use lots of clips to hold it and stretch evenly and carefully.

I started by placing the bows in the car to make sure they are in the right order. Then sprayed adhesive on the mesh side of the insulation and on the roof underside. This holds it in place while installing the liner. Once tacky, pressed the insulation onto the roof underside, making sure nothing hangs down. Fatmat would probably have been nicer but I didnt have room in the budget.

I recommend screwing in the visor, mirror, and coat hook screws in now, before the liner, because it will be really hard to find the holes once the liner goes in.

Next I slid bows into the liner pockets and trimmed the excess pocket material since it would make the sides too bulky.
Installing the liner starts from the back. I hooked the rear most bow into the holes and made sure the liner was centered. This was followed by the wire hooks that hold the rearmost bow to the rear roof frame. These are really important to hold the bows as you pull from the front. The wire hooks pierce the vinyl pocket and clip onto rear the bow.
Next, I hooked in the remaining bows and pushed each of the bows up into place.

After that, the stretching starts from the front center, working out to the sides and placing clips as i go. Just make it very snug but not so tight as to pull the clips off or tearing stitches. Next is stretching from the back center outward then each of the sides.
It may be necessary to carefully snip excess material as you pull around the curves of the A pillars and window frames. Look for loose spots and wrinkles and adjust at clips as you go.
Once stretched, the gluing starts. Again from the front center, remove clips and spread glue on back of liner where it meets the frame and also apply to window frame. Slather it on consistently and allow it to get a little tacky for a few minutes before stretching and clipping again, it will bond immediately. I repeated on the back and sides and let it dry with clips in place and left clips on until the windshield and rear glass went in.

Be careful to stretch and snip as you gradually pull the liner tight around the A pillars and curves to make things neat and wrinkle free. This and the quarter vent area were the hard parts.

I highly recommend watching videos and reading further.

Getting ready for the road- horn relay

2016-01-03T10:33:00.002-08:00

It's been a while since I updated my blog and much has been completed of the past 2 years.

Horn relay.

The original 65 Mustang harness was designed to send two 14 ga. wires up the column to the horn button switch. One wire with 12 volts and one returning from the switch to the horn.

Since I had installed a Flaming River steering column and a basic Grant steering wheel, I needed to wire in a relay to get the single wire horn button working. The concept is pretty simple. The horn switch turns the relay on with little current and the relay sends a higher current to the horns.

For a 65 Mustang wiring harness, there is a 14 gauge wire that comes from the headlight switch and is always hot. I connected this wire to pin 86 and 30 of the relay. The wire that sends 12 volts to the horns is a another 14 gauge wire, yellow with green stripe on my 65 harness.
I connected this wire to pin 87 of the relay. Lastly, I connected the black wire from the horn switch to pin 85 of the relay. When the horn is pressed, this wire will be grounded and turn the relay on which sends power to the horns.

Something to watch out for is that the relay may have an internal diode so connect the hot to pin 86. If you dont have a diode, its a good idea to add one to eliminate flyback voltage spike.

Rear Coilover 4-Link Suspension

2013-10-07T19:15:00.001-07:00

The rear ride height of my Mustang was a little high for the look that I like. I thought about installing some lowering blocks but wanted something more modern with a little better performance. After researching a few rear suspension options, I decided to update to a coil-over suspension and install a suspension kit. Combined with the front coilover suspension, the end result will be a classic street machine that handles more like a modern sports car.

I decided to go with a bolt-on kit from TCI. Considering that many vintage race cars run factory style leaf springs and lots of people race with that kind of set up and have few failures, I didnt see the need for a full on competition suspension kit. Bolt-on works well in a factory leaf spring style setup so a beefed up bolt-on 4-link system should work well too - albeit less sexy than a pre-welded Fab-9 or Moser setup.

Weld-on brackets

Once the old setup was out I could begin mounting the new control arm brackets.

The upper control arm brackets are welded to the axle tubes at specific locations, centered between the axle flanges. A jig is provided for exact placement. A heavy duty welder is needed as the brackets and tubes are pretty thick metal.

The lower control arms bolt to brackets that get bolted to the existing spring perches. If you have Ford 9 inch with 3" tubes then you can cut off the stock perches and weld on brackets like most of the beefed up kits use. My housing has tubes that taper to 2 13/16 (2.8125) inch diameter so there would be a lot of slop to fill in the 3 inch holes. I went with the bolt-on brackets and did a couple welds for extra insurance.

Powder Coat
Once everything was welded and ground, I dropped the housing and kit pieces off at the powder coat shop. At the powder coater, they cleaned and media blasted everything and applied a custom metallic gunmetal on the housing and metallic silver on the control arms, sway bar, and crossmember. The frame brackets were powder coated in chassis black to match the existing metal.

Install
After drilling holes in the frame rails and floor at the prescribed locations, the chassis brackets are bolted on. The kit also provides thick reinforcement plates that bolt to the opposite side of the brackets.

With the brackets in place, it was just a matter of positioning the housing and bolting in the control arms. This was followed by installation of the center section, the axles, and the drive shaft.

Heater Box

2013-04-19T17:58:00.000-07:00

I found a few minutes to get some work
done so I thought I'd do a quick write up on the old heater box. This was a pretty simple rebuild.

The heater box is fiberglass shell held together with small metal spring clips. You have to be really careful prying these clips off since the fiberglass is dried out and brittle.

Once the shell is open, you can remove the heater core and spacer bracket. Mine was already open and the heater core was gone. Just a few crumbs and black dust were the only the evidence of the seals that were once there.

First step was to clean out the shells and remove and remaining seals. There are two screws on the outside of the that hold the heat diverter box.

Once they are removed, you can remove the diverter and clean it. It helps to take a few pictures if you need help getting it back together later.

The metal parts were pretty rusty so I wire brushed and sanded them (a media blaster would be nice right about now).

After a little primer and paint it was ready to go.

Next is reassembly. I picked up a can of general purpose spray adhesive from the auto parts store. It looks like rubber cement and seems to hold pretty well.

I found that the best way to stick the new foam on was to first dry fit the pieces and know where each one goes before spraying. The triangles that go on top and bottom of the diverter had to be punched out first to make clearance for the crank arm.

Then I sprayed the foam pieces one at a time, letting the adhesive tack up for a minute before pressing into place. I just hope this glue holds well with all the heat that blows through there.

There are pre-cut foam squares and strips for the all the doors and the diverter box. The instructions that came with the CJ Pony Parts heater rebuild kit had diagrams that were a little small but usable.

The pieces that go inside the diverter box can be tricky to line up when covered with adhesive so it helps to figure out how it lines up before spraying.

To aid in lining up the strip that the diverter screws go through I ran the screws into the pre-drilled holes in the foam and sprayed the foam. Then used the screws align to the holes in the case. Once the glue was holding, it removed the screws.

Then I laid in the diverter box. This requires that you spread the case open a little as you press it into place. Its a little scary to do as it sounds like the case is about to split. Fasten the diverter back in with the two little screws.

Next, I sprayed glue on one of the heater core seals and stuck it to the case - have to line this up carefully so that it seals against the core. Then carefully laid the core over the seal and making sure the tubes are centered in the holes.

The last thing was to close up the case, carefully lining up the edges. On mine, this was a little tough as the new seals made it hard to squeeze the halves together. I tried slowly clamping using vise grips an a couple edges bit one of the lips cracked. Be really careful, the outer lips can snap right off. I found that I could use a larger clamp on one of the larger surfaces to bring edges close enough and was able to get clips on. There really needs to be a special tool to stretch the clips because there is not good edge to push against.

Headlight Install and Wiring Relays

2013-01-01T20:15:00.002-08:00

Next job is to install the parking lights, headlight bowls and headlights. After that, wire in the headlight relays.

Assembling the headlights

I would recommend mounting the parking lights in the valance before bolting on the valance itself. The mounting nuts are easier to get to if the valance is off the car. Once the parking lights are in, feed the wires up through the hole in the bottom of the headlight recess and plug into the harness.
This is a good time to inspect headlight plugs and wiring before moving on. Make sure the wires are not melted or frayed and about to break off. The replacement headlight pigtails are easy to get if needed. Luckily, I didn't need to replace mine.
Next, I installed the new headlight adjusters, springs and bowls. Here is an easy way I found to install the bowl and springs.

First snap in the adjusters and remove the two adjuster screws from the plastic mounts.
Then, with the spring hooked in the back of the slot and holding it in place with one hand, I turned the bowl around so the front is facing back and hooked the spring into its hole in the headlight bowl.
Next, carefully turn the bowl around with the spring still hooked and line up the tabs with the adjuster holes. While still holding the bowl in place, start one of the adjuster screws, making sure that the slot in the screw is engaged correctly with the slot in the tab.
Start the other adjuster screw and run in both screws until the bowl is pointing basically straight ahead.

From here its pretty simple. Plug in the headlamps and mount with the stainless retainer rings. After a quick test I found that my headlight ground wires were not attached. Oops.

Headlight relay modification

Once I knew the headlights were working right, I started the upgrade of the wiring.
Its a pretty simple concept. Control a high amperage circuit with low amperage circuit. A simple way to do this is with relays and I found a couple 12 volt ones that can easily handle the load. The circuit diagram is pretty simple. You just cut the low beam and high beam wires and use them to energize the relays. Then run 12 volts to the common terminal and the other end of the cut wires to the Normally Open contact.

The idea of adding the relays is to reduce the current flowing through the headlight switch and thin wiring and should eliminate burned out switch and melted wires.
On my Mustang, I placed the relays up front on the apron close to the radiator support. This way, the wires to the headlamps are short.
Make sure that the lights already work properly or you will be troubleshooting old problems. Also, remember to disconnect the battery. The relays I used came from Summit Racing http://www.summitracing.com/parts/via-80238.
They are not very weather proof but they should be fine for my application.

Note: Modifying wiring incorrectly (especially without a fuse) can be a fire hazard and should be performed by an experienced technician. Author is not responsible for damages caused by incorrect wiring. Use of these directions is at your own risk.

I started by unwrapping the headlight harness at the junction where the wires split off to the right side. Next locate the thin red-black and green-black wires. These are the wires that come from the dimmer switch to power the high beams and low beams. I chose a spot about 6" back from the split and cut just the red-black and green-black wires.

For my car, I chose to solder the wires for solid connections and use shrink tube to insulate.
Solder the red-black wire coming from the firewall to one of the relays coil wires (labeled '85') and the green-black coming from the firewall to the other relays coil (85). Next, locate each wire that comes out of the relay coils (86) and solder both together to the same black wire and crimp a ring terminal to the other end of the black wire. Ground this wire together with the original headlight ground wire to the body. (This is a good time to check the old headlight ground wire terminals. If the end looks frayed you will have problems. Best to cut it and replace the crimp terminal.)

Next, you need a hot lead to power the headlights. Find a 12v lug to connect the hot lead. On my Mustang, I have a 12V lug in the area where the battery used to sit. You could also use the hot side of the starter relay. I chose to use a 20A circuit breaker instead of a fuse. Do not wire this up without a fuse or breaker! Connect a 14 gauge wire from the hot lug to the breaker/fuse then from the breaker/fuse, routed to the headlight relay area.

Locate the 'common' terminal wire (labeled '30') on both relays and solder both of them together to the 14 gauge hot wire. On the relay with the red-black wire soldered to the coil terminal (85), locate the the N.O. terminal on one relay (labeled '87') and solder that wire to the loose red-black that goes to the headlight. Repeat for the green-black wire, solder to the other N.O. wire (87)
Connect the battery and test the headlights. Try hi beam and low beam. Re-wrap the harness and make sure the new hot lead is secured. Mount the relays.

Originally the current flowing through the headlight switch and wire for my 55 watt head lamps was 5 amps. Now its only 0.14 amps. Now you can run those high watt headlights and not burn out your 47 year old switch and wires.

Troubleshooting

If your headlights glow really dim, its likely that one headlight ground is disconnected and the power is back-feeding through the other filaments to the good ground.

Working from front to back

2012-10-30T12:50:00.000-07:00

I decided to work on completing the car from front to back and at the end I will be ready to drive to NY state inspection. First thing was the bumper bracket mount points at the front ends of the frame rails.

On one side, the internal threads were gone and the bumper bracket was welded on and on the other side, the threads were rusted out. Here is how I fixed the mounts.

First measure from existing mount holes to another point on the frame for later reference. Mark a vertical line a little past the mounting holes and cut just the outer metal of the frame rail. Mine was not terribly rusted out so I cut only about 8 inches back just for replacing the threaded holes.

Next drill out the spot welds around the front edges of the rail. I actually ended up cutting a couple of the bottom ones with a disc. Remove the old piece.

Clean up the rust and prime.

Measure, mark, cut the new front out frame rail piece to fit the space. On mine I drilled holes for plug welds. Verify that the hole measurements are what they were before and clamp and weld in place.

Since I had a lot of metal left after cutting the rail patch to fit, I used the rest to make the patch for the other side. I took measurements and drilled holes to match the old metal. I welded in a couple nuts and cut it to match the old piece. I also needed to add the tabbed piece on the end that the lower valance and bumper guards bolt to.

Next I started working on the body pieces for the nose. This was the headlight buckets, lower grille support, stone deflector, and headlight doors. I had 2 pairs of buckets to choose from but only 1 pair of doors so I picked the ones that fit the doors the best. Starting with 320 grit, I sanded the old paint, primer and scratches. Next came the high-fill primer coats. The stone deflector had some deep gouges from someone's attempt at removing old paint so I skimmed on some 2 part icing.

For the buckets and headlight doors, I just used some of the spot putty for scratches and pits. I sanded smooth and repeated the high-fill and a couple touches of spot fill followed by some wet sanding with finer paper and another coat of high-fill and more wet sanding.

After some test fitting, I found that my cheap e-bay shelby style valance will take a lot of persuading to get it to line up (must be why they were trying to offload it for cheap). You have to drill all your own holes on this so it took some time to complete.

I needed a good top coat for the rough hot rod phase. It'l be a while before real paint goes on and I plan to drive it ;)

I experimented a little and came up with a buffed primer finish that looks a little like the dull black paint that some people like these days. Its just a black wash-primer lightly buffed after it dried.

All assembled with its new grille, its starting to look road-ready.

Holey Cowl

2012-08-21T20:15:00.000-07:00

Its been a while and I completed a few tasks to advance another step closer to First Posi-Mark Day. As the corny title suggests, the cowl was my next task. Its been on my list for some time now but I have been trying to avoid doing that work since its pretty major surgery.

Background

The plan was to remove the top of the cowl, trim the metal and weld in the replacement 'hats'. But as these things go, a closer inspection showed that someone had done work here in the past. They had cut the top off and just sealed off the grille from underneath with a metal plate. Leaves and dirt had already gotten stuck inside.
I considered trying to work with what was still left but there was just to much damage to fix. The was even a nasty crease on the passenger side in a very conspicuous place. There were also some rusted out edges along the firewall that would take pounds of seam sealer to waterproof.
Shopping around, I found that it was cheaper to purchase the entire assembly so it made sense to place the whole thing.

Removal

Don't forget to support the car with jack stands under the frame rails just behind the firewall or the empty cowl opening will collapse together a little (or a lot if your floors are rotted).
To remove entire the cowl assembly, I began by drilling out all of the spot welds around the perimeter, starting with the apron extensions. Make sure you have a sharp 5/16 or 3/8 drill bit and be careful not to drill all the way through. For most spot welds on the cowl, you have to cut through the metal of both the top and lower parts to free it from the firewall and cowl sides. There are also a bunch of spot welds along the windshield flange that attach the cowl to the dashboard metal. In my case some of my spot welds were in rotted areas so I didnt have all 150 to drill out. After some chiseling and prying, and cutting a couple factory braises, the cowl was free. Note that the rear of the lower half does not attach to the dashboard flange and is welded only to the upper half of the cowl. Did I mention this would be much easier to do when the engine is not there?
Looking at the old cowl, it turns out the the plate just under the grille was meant to catch water and route it off to the passenger side. When they welded the plate on, it caused the crease in the upper surface of the cowl.

Cleanup and Repair

Next its time to break out the flap disc, clean up the mess and assess the damage. I ended up cutting out the cancer in the flanges along the outer edges of the firewall. I had some left over edp coated metal that was the same thickness and used some thin cardboard to make templates and trace out on the metal.

Once the patches were welded in, I added some seam sealer in the hard to reach spots. A coat of primer on the entire flange surface was next. I used weld-through primer but I have seen some people use regular primer over dots of tape where the spot welds are going.
This was also a good time to patch up some unneeded holes in the firewall.

Reassembly

I have seen a few different ways to assemble the two cowl pieces. Some attach the lower part first then the top. Some attach the two parts together completely then attach to the car. I decided to do a combination of both.
First, I added a little seam sealer around the bottom edges of the hats to reduce the chance of water getting in.
Next, I set the lower part in place and chose and marked all the points that were to be spot welded to the flanges taking care not to line up with the old drilled out spots. You'll notice that rear part of the lower cowl doesn't reach the dashboard metal. It is supposed to attach to the bottom of upper cowl piece (it helps to look at the old cowl). I used my hand punch to punch 5/16" holes around all the edges of the lower cowl. The plan was to spot weld the bottom half to the top just along the back edge. The idea is that you will see little or no evidence of welds on the top making less work later. This area is under the windshield clips so not too much to worry about.
Before attaching the bottom to the top, I lined up the upper and lower parts using the alignment holes and clamped them together so I could mark top through the punched holes. The idea here is to spot weld the top and bottom and firewall/dashboard together through the same holes.

With the two pieces partly welded, I placed them on the opening and used the large holes to line up with the alignment holes in the firewall and clamped everything together and started spot welding. The corners near the pillar posts may need a little extra hammering and clamping to get things to sit right. Make sure all of the spot welds penetrate well. There is a lot stress on this part of the body.
Its a good idea to tack the cowl assembly in a few spots then place the fenders to make sure the cowl lines up right and the gaps are good.
Finally, I spot welded the original apron extensions in place and lined up using the drilled out spot welds.
Later, a nice bead of seam sealer will go in underneath along the firewall and cowl sides.

Pedal Assembly 1

2012-01-10T20:37:00.000-08:00

Its been a long time and a lot has been completed. I decided to get started on the pedals so I could complete the brakes and clutch. A quick search in my parts pile revealed the original pedal mount with brake pedal in place and it didn't look to be in great shape. Doing a little research, I found Mustang Steve's bearing kit and a way to install a clutch quadrant.

The hope was to salvage the original pedal mount and install Mustang Steve's bearings. Not sure what is supposed to be used for the axle in mount but the axle was just a fat bolt that was tack welded in place and there were no bushings or bearings of any kind.

I cut the all tack welds and cut nut off the end of the bolt. It looks like the original was badly damaged at some point and washers were welded in to support the brake pedal. Unfortunately, this mount will not work for what I want to do. Mustangs Unlimited had a replacement piece so the next day I had my new mount.

The Mustang Steve bearing kit consists of two sealed bearings, bearing mounts, washers, and bushings. The work started with removal of the stock pot metal bushings that come installed in the new pedal mount. Next step is to lay the large washers in, centered over the large holes. The washers get lightly welded to the mount. Then the clutch pedal, bearings, bearing mounts, bushings, and brake pedal are installed and clamped in. Being a perfectionist, I took the time to make sure the axle was centered and square in the mount before tack welding the bearing retainers in place. Next step was to remove the bearings and bushing and pedals and do some minimal weld beads around the bearing retainers. Light welds are needed as you could warp the retainer rings or the pedal mount. Once thats done, maybe shoot a little paint and you're done.

Mustang Steve also has the plans and kits for an adapter plate for mounting a later model power brake booster. This simple plate is simply welded to the front end after the stock mounting ears are cut off. It gives you a nice way to align and bolt-in the booster without much fuss. Stay tuned for the clutch pedal quadrant/cable mod.

"New" Driveshaft

2011-11-23T14:08:00.000-08:00

I was sorting through my parts pile and found two drive shafts. Both are the flange yoke type and are a few inches too short for my application. My setup is a Ford 9 inch and new Tremmec T-5 with 26 spline output. The rear yoke is a 1330 with 3 5/8" width and 1 1/8" caps. The cap to cap length is about 47". I looked around locally and found a place that would make a new steel shaft but I was a little skeptical about their quality so I looked online. I found a few shops that do custom shafts and settled on Denny's Driveshaft. They had a sale on for $299 for a custom "street rod" shaft with 1330 rear joint so I went for it. Three weeks later shaft arrived in a well padded box and I quickly unpacked it for installation. The shaft looked well made and welds look good.

I have to say I was a little disappointed in the transmission slip yoke that Denny's Driveshaft used. It appears to be a used yoke that was refurbished. It has the look of having a lot of pitting or galling still left after being polished down. Its smooth and groove free so I guess it doesn't really matter but I was expecting all new parts.

Looking at the site, it doesn't actually say "all new parts" so I guess I cant complain. I will always ask from now, that's for sure! Hopefully, the u joints are new. They do feel new and stiff though.

One positive is that it came with new u bolts. Everything installed well and seems to fit perfectly so I'm happy.

Rear Disc Brakes Install

2011-09-28T09:13:00.000-07:00

After a long summer of projects around the house and vacation, I finally found time to take another step forward on this Mustang project. I had ordered a complete rear disc brake conversion kit for Ford 9". This kit included (and this may frighten the purists) GM calipers with brake levers and GM universal rotors, brackets, hydraulic hoses, parking brake cables, and some necessary hardware. Why do they use GM parts? Probably due to low cost and high availability and readily adaptable design.

The first step is to remove the bolts that hold axle retaining plate and pull the axle. The axles need to be removed so that the old drum brake backing plate can be removed. The kit provides a new spacer plate that is the same thickness as the drum plate so that the caliper bracket can sit flush to the rear housing and not against the bearing. It just slips over the bearings like the drum backing plate so no pressing is needed. If they just machined a recess into the mounting plates, a spacer would not be needed. Probably costs less this way.
The next step is to replace the wheel studs. This is not required by the kit but is needed for my application since I'm not using the stock steel wheels. This should be required since you need larger diameter wheels to clear the calipers anyway and they tend to be thicker alloy wheels - YMMV. I used Moser Engineering 8250 Torino/Lincoln wheel studs. Stock is 1.5", these are about 2" and thats just enough for my application.

Next step is to reinstall the axles and mount the caliper bracket adapter plates to the housing. The plates are held in place by the axle retainer bolts and I used slightly longer grade 8 bolts since the brackets add thickness. The stock ones are supposedly long enough but in my case they were replaced long ago with grade 5. Since brakes are involved, I'm not willing to compromise. Then the caliper bracket plates are bolted to the adapters.

After that, the rotors are mounted. The instructions say that some axle flanges may have a larger diameter and need to be machined down for the rotor to fit correctly. Luckily mine were ok. Finally, the calipers were installed using the supplied bolts.
Once I find the stock parking brake parts, I can begin that install along with the brake lines.
Stay tuned....

It Runs - Fuel System Part 2

2011-06-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

Now, determined to get my Mustang started, I ordered a new in tank pump and a new in tank pickup tube. Other than the crappy Ron Morris 'Sending Unit' , I had not seen anything that would be plug-n-play with my 65 Mustang fuel tank so I need to make something. Looking at the online auto part sites, I found a perfect pickup tube from AdvanceAutoparts.com part #FG30B for a 93 Mustang for $89.99 and it even has the fuel pump plug and leads. Its also has a 3/8" tube. This 'hangar' is actually a 2 piece unit, held together with 4 screws. I could also cut and weld if needed. Next I got a Walbro electric fuel pump part# GSS307, a 255 lph in tank pump. It comes with a pigtail plug and small hose, clamps, and a strainer.

I started my custom setup by unscrewing the bottom half of the hangar and attaching it flipped around in the opposite direction and the small tabs bent out of the way. I used 2 #8-32 screws and nylock nuts so the bottom section could swing freely. The outer cover fits only one way so I had to make sure I could get the angle of the whole assembly correct and match the approximate angle of the original sender unit and still be able to let it flex.

Next, I installed the pump into the bracket. It is held in place by the strainer and a zip tie. I also added a couple of wide rubber bands to the pump for extra noise isolation. I also cut off the end of the return line above the elbow since it interfered with the pump. I then cut the pre-bent hose that came with the pump so that it was just a single curve that was long enough to allow the assembly to flex enough installation. This must be EFI rated fuel hose. I also soldered the wires from the pump to the hanger plug and covered with shrink tube. The pump bracket is clocked a little from vertical but not enough to be a problem since the bracket flexes toward the bottom.

To install the new pump unit into the tank, it must be folded a little to fit through the hole then once in the tank, allowed to straighten and drop to the bottom. The cover plate is exactly the same as the 65 unit so it fits right in.
The only catch is that it uses a funky connector so I had to order a 93 Mustang fuel sender plug from CJ Pony Parts #HW2606.

With the pump installed and plumbed there's nothing left except to start it up.

Shocking Wiring and Fuel Fouled Up

2011-06-16T13:43:00.000-07:00

I'v gotten a lot of engine compartment work completed. The power wiring is nearly complete and I just need to get the looms in and tidy up a little. The battery is located in the right side of the trunk and the power is routed to the front using a Moroso 2Ga cable passing over the right side wheel house, along the edge of the floor and through a grommet in the fire wall then along the frame rail to the former battery location. The cable connects to a lug on the starter solenoid and every thing that needs 12v is connected to that same lug. The engine and starter are grounded to the body via a short 1Ga wire I got from my brother-in-law.

The new fuel system is composed of 3/8 steel tubing, an in-line fuel pump, and a fuel filter. The fuel pump is Professional Products 220 LPH EFI fuel pump #70151. I also have a new Ron Morris efi conversion pickup tube and sender for the 65's tank.
I hand bent the feed and return lines and connected them to the filter and pump, then connected the pump to the tank with efi fuel hose. The front side connections were through another efi fuel hose to a spring lock fitting to the stock fuel rail. I then wired the pump to the pink wire from the RJM wiring harness for power and a short wire to body ground. To prime the system, I jumpered the eec test connector which switches the relay on. Hmmm, pump is running but no fuel is coming out of the hose at the rail. After some trouble shooting, it turns out that the Professional Products pump cannot pull the fuel up and out of the tank, even though the pump is a little below the tank. I think I will need a normal in-tank pump -- even a stock pump will work. Stock was fine for my old 300+ hp blown set up so it should be fine here. ..To be continued...
A note about the Ron Morris pickup tube. During installation, the return fuel line tube fell out in my hand. It seems that the soldering was really bad and probably would have leaked all over if it hadn't fallen out. Should have returned it but I just tried to sand the pipe for soldering with enough solder to hold it tight and seal it -- but that didn't hold. Bottom line : DO NOT BUY A RON MORRIS RMP 9112 SENDING UNIT !!! THE TUBES WILL FALL OUT AND IT WILL LEAK FUEL. IF YOU HAVE ONE SEND IT BACK TO CHINA.

Installing a TFI Distributor in 5.0 Mustang

2011-05-18T10:15:00.000-07:00

For those who don't know how to install and line up a distributor, here is one way to do it.
First make a highly visible mark on your damper at 10 degrees. It will help you line up the marks and makes it easier to see when setting the timing. Mine has a mark at 0 and 10 since the mark may be out of view when I'm using the timing light.

Next, using a breaker bar or big ratchet on the center bolt on the damper, turn the crank clockwise until the #1 piston is moving upward for the compression stroke. This is much easier to do with the spark plugs removed.
You have to determine when the #1 cylinder compression stroke is about to happen. This can be done a few ways. One way is with the passenger side valve cover removed, turn the crank until the front most intake valve opens then closes -- that will be the start of the compression stroke. On my engine, the headers are not installed yet so I used the #1 exhaust valve closing event as the start of the intake stroke and turned the crank until the timing marks came back around.
Start turning the crank clockwise slowly, when the piston nearly reaches the top, you should see the timing marks approaching the pointer. Carefully, bump the crank clockwise until the 10 degree BTC mark is lined up with the pointer. If you go past to 0 remember to reverse past 10 degrees because of minor slop in the timing chain, then come back to 10.

Now, figure out how you want the distributor clocked. On mine, I wanted the TFI plug turned so it points toward the power steering pump or AC compressor. This will leave enough room to adjust timing + or -. Then, with the rotor installed, line up the rotor tip close to the #1 wire. This is marked in the top of the distributor cap. I usually mark the distributor where #1 is lined up with the cap. Next, turn the rotor to a point just past the #1 mark counter-clockwise. Drop the distributor in the bore and wiggle it to line up with the oil pump drive shaft. The rotor will move clockwise toward your #1 mark as the helical drive gears mesh on the way down. Once all the way home look at the rotor tip alignment. If it doesnt point at your mark, try moving the body a little. If there is not enough room left for adjusting the timing then pull it back out and drop it in again with the rotor slightly repositioned until it lines up. Install the distrib hold down loosely.
If you get this lined up right, it should start and idle on the first try. Remove the pip jumper plug and hook up a timing light and set to exactly 10 degrees. Dont forget to replace the pip jumper after and tighten the hold down bolt.

5.0 Engine Installation

2011-04-28T08:43:00.000-07:00

Since the weather has improved, I have been itching to get some Mustang work done -- actually, the nice weather inspires be to go for a ride in my 65 Mustang but it needs a little work before I can drive it.

I stopped by Quality Rental in Carmel on the way home from work and picked up the hoist and got to work upon arriving home.

The first order of business was to cut the hole for the RJM Injection Tech EFI harness while the engine was out of the way. This needs to be an oval hole 1.5" x 3" to fit the rubber grommet supplied by RJM. It was simple to do by marking the 2 center points 1.5" apart, drilling, then trimming the triangular

pieces to complete the oval. I chose the location so that the harness would be less prominent based on what Brad suggested.

EDIT: The hole actually cannot be in the middle. My harness from RJM Injection is well wrapped and branches off to either side of the intake in precise locations. I could probably re-wrap the harness but they did a nice job wrapping and it would be easier to redo the hole where the instructions say.

Next, I installed the used bell housing to my new Tremmec super heavy-duty T-5. Here are the specs for this tranny:

Ford Racing Super Heavy-Duty "World Class" T-5 5-speed Transmission.
Features double-moly 2nd, 3rd and countershaft cluster gears, carbon-fiber 3-4 blocker rings, 1-1/16" diameter 10-tooth input spline, 28-tooth output spline and Cobra style pocket bearing. Rated for 330 ft-lbs. torque. Fill with Mercon/Dextron ATF.
Ratios: 1st - 2.95, 2nd - 1.94, 3rd - 1.34, 4th - 1.00, and 5th - 0.63.

I hooked up the hoist and engine tilter to the engine and removed it from the stand.
After that, I bolted on the new pressure plate and clutch disc. Nothing special here, just the basic stock replacement parts. The stock t-5 and clutch survived more than 10 years in my 93 Fox Mustang -- and that was supercharged and dyno'ed at 320 horses at the wheels. I also raced it quite often and only the part I had to replace was the thow-out bearing after 103000 miles.
With the clutch ready to go, I tilted the engine to line up with the tranny and bolted together. Tip: using the clutch alignment tool to get an idea of the rotation of the clutch disc splines and rotate the transmission's input shaft's splines to match. Everything slips together with very little effort. Also, apply some anti-seize lube to the engine's bell alignment pins. I found that this helps installation and, years later, removal.
I highly recommend using an engine tilter especially when the tranny is attached. I've installed engines lots of times in the past without one and it was a real pain having to unbolt and reposition the chain to the right angle. Using the tilter to get the right angle is just a matter of buzzing it with the impact gun.

The engine basically just dropped right in and with the engine mounts supplied by Total Cost Involved, it was a snap to line up. The extra space left after removal of the shock towers helped a lot too. I could almost stand in the engine bay with the engine if needed. I should be able to bolt in pretty much any exhaust header without clearance issues.

Here are some of the torque specs and bolts I used:
Transmission to bellhousing - 30 ft-lbs w/ Loctite
Pressure plate bolts - 25 ft-lbs w/ Loctite
Bell to Engine - 30 ft-lbs
Bell to Engine bolts were 7/16" coarse - grade 8
Tranny to bell were M12 x 1.5 - grade 8

Out of the stable

2011-04-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

The weekend's weather was nice enough to do some work outside so I thought I'd give this 65 Mustang some fresh air. I managed to accomplish some work too. The old door mechanicals were removed and will be residing in their new doors soon. The doors I had are just too far gone to warrant repairs. The interior side on one door is rusted out and slathered with Bondo (not a good look) and the other door also rusted out and is bent where the hinge mounts are -- looks like its Ivy Green donor was in an accident. Incidentally, mine was originally Silver Blue
The picture shows what the ride height will be like at the front end. Pretty low already and the engine is not even installed yet. The coilovers are pretty stiff. Also, with the 96 Mustang 17" Cobra wheels mounted, theres not a whole lot of clearance but there is no contact without rolling the fenders. The tires are 245 45 17 in case you're wondering.
Kinda looks like crazy old-school rake is going on (not my taste) but its just that the rear has new springs and it sits really high with only the 100 pounds weight on it.
The engine and T-5 transmission go in next.

On 4 wheels

2011-03-27T18:16:00.000-07:00

For the first time since I owned the car, it is resting on its own four wheels and a suspension. It sounds like an insignificant moment but to me its very encouraging. This 65 mustang can now be endowed with its drive train and eventually move under its own power and the thought of that makes want to get out there and turn wrenches to hasten that moment's arrival.

Front Suspension - Completed

2011-03-08T07:59:00.000-08:00

To complete the install of the Total Cost Involved front end, I primed and painted the Mustang's frame and cross member parts and control arms and got the fasteners organized.

I started the installation with the lower control arms and coil-over shocks. This was extremely easy. Its just a matter of bolting the parts in place. No adjustments needed. Next came the upper control arms. This was also simple but required some thick washers to be added for setting the initial camber.

This step was followed by installing the pre-assembled spindles. When I ordered the front end kit from the dealer, Ryan at Stang-Aholics, I opted for the basic disc and caliper and it comes ready to install with bearings packed and calipers and pads already in place.

After that, I installed the power steering rack. The rack needs to be steered to the center point on the range so that the steering wheel will be centered. At this point I set the toe-in to roughly 1/8" at the rotors and spun the tie-rod ends on to equal turns and attached them to the spindles.

Lastly, I installed the sway bar. I decided to leave it a steel finish and clear coat it.

Finally, the suspension install is complete and ready for the engine and wheels. Just in time since I need to push the car out of the garage to do some electrical work on the house.

Next, after painting the firewall and the rest of the floor underneath, I will be installing the RJM Injection EFI harness and the ECU.

Sway bar mount

2011-02-27T18:58:00.000-08:00

The old strut rod mount and sway bar bracket had to be removed and the new sway bar mount installed in its place. This requires drilling out 13 or 14 spot welds on each mount/bracket and separating the parts from the frame. Sounds easy but if you dont cut all of the welds or miss a little bit, the task is a real knuckle buster. I did eventually get the old parts off but not without cutting the parts a little to make the job easier.

The new Total Cost Involved sway bar brackets were pretty easy to install. I just cleaned up the area with the grinder, clamped it in place and welded. Welding was easier since I only had to attach the 3/16" thick bracket to thick sheet metal frame rail.

While the primer was drying, I finished installing the rear end. Always nice to see some more parts installed. Its starting to look like a car and will be on four wheels soon.

Next: Front Suspension Completed

Front Suspension 7

2011-02-13T19:26:00.000-08:00

I was unpacking the box with the power steering rack and came across some parts that I didn't realize that I had. A new sway bar and its mounting hardware. I was going to install one as a later upgrade but of course I'll mount that puppy now. This means removing the old sway bar mounts and strut rod mounts and installing the Total Cost Involved sway bar brackets

... And I thought I was done welding.

Next: Sway Bar Mount

Front Suspension 6

2011-02-09T10:54:00.000-08:00

Once everything was plumb and square, I completely welded around the cross member's contact points. After a finish grinding I was ready to install the A-arm/shock towers.

The A-arm/shock tower is bolted in place using the alignment hole and clamped against the frame rail for tack welding. After clamping, I noticed that the tower was not square to the frame rail and cross member so I had to add a thin shim between the frame rail and the tower. Once lined up right, I tacked it in place and removed the clamps.

The final welds were done with my Millermatic 140 MIG welder cranked up to 100 and wire speed at 67. I could have definitely used a little more power but I was able to accomplish it with more than one pass in some places.

The front end welding is finally complete! If I was impatient I would start bolting parts on now but I think I'll resist the temptation.

Any suggestions?

Next: Front Suspension Part 7