Restomod '66 Mustang

Great Link

2010-03-30T15:12:00.001-07:00

Here is a link that I got from a fellow Mustang enthusiast. Lots of great info here for all types of Mustang questions.

http://www.onlymustangfords.com/index.html

Shaving the Drip

2010-03-30T15:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm finally getting back to some progress. After staring at my car for months as an escape from commotion inside the house - Dogs, Cats and Kids, I fired up the welder. There was rust inside the drip rails and I mulled over what to do. Well, I decided to shave them completly. I believe that this is one of the many things that will add to the smooth and clean look. You probably won't notice many of the things I have done, but you will decide that there is something you like about the clean lines on the car.

2010-01-07T17:08:00.000-08:00

2010-01-07T17:06:00.001-08:00

2010-01-07T17:05:00.001-08:00

Back at it!

2010-01-07T16:54:00.000-08:00

I am replacing the frame rails directly under the driver and passengers since the originals were all beat up. I want the underbody to look as good as the top when I am done.

Here is the list of tools that I put together to remove the Drivers side underbody frame extention.

1. Drill with a spot weld remover bit.

2. Grinder with a cut-off wheel

3. Screwdriver / prybar

4. Small Sledgehammer

5. Patience!

As you can see, the amount of factory spotwelds make the front section look like swiss cheese. Also, I thought I had them all until it would not come out. There is 4 hidden spotwelds in a place you cannot get to unless you bend the outside sheet metal down. sheesh!

Yes, I'm mad!!! ( In response to a fellow Mustang enthusiast)

2009-07-30T17:38:00.000-07:00

I mean that in the 'crazyest' sense of course : ))

I'm a very busy person and I actually only have a few hours here and there to work on this thing. As you can see, I have not posted in a while since I have not had time to work on my Garage-ality show.

Soon though, you will see some more progress, I'll be starting on setting up the suspension after a bit of metal work is done. There's always the small, nagging details you have to force yourself to finish.

I really appreciate comments good or bad, they keep me motivated.

The pic above is a backpacking trip I took as a rest period. It was great! Now, back to work!

Both Quarters Down

2009-03-04T07:39:00.001-08:00

First Quarter down

2008-11-01T18:48:00.000-07:00

The right quarter is completely welded in. Some of the inside area that recieve spot welds were a bit tricky to reach, but I got them all.

I also have the pillar spot welded in place. This side quarter is nearly complete!

Corners

2008-11-01T18:46:00.001-07:00

Here I have added the Right trunk corner. the back end is getting much sturdier now.

Mocking up rear sheet metal

2008-10-22T15:27:00.000-07:00

Now the back end is taking a bit of fitting and re-fitting since all of the parts are crucial to each other. My neighbors must think I'm crazy since I have to keep putting things on and taking them off.

Well, they do have a point......

Fender Wells In

2008-10-22T15:25:00.001-07:00

Okay, I am speeding you along since I have not added to this blog in a while. I have gotten the fenderwells in place and welded. It too a bit of coaxing here and there, but all in all, not too bad.

Clean Metal!

2008-10-22T15:22:00.000-07:00

I have the '66 back into a garage, and although it is in quite a disarray, it is very nice to have a rust free metal base to work with. Here you can see the front sheet metal is put together.

I'm back!

2008-09-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

After a 3 month hiatus of moving etc. I am back.

I left off at putting the front sheetmetal together - now the front end is complete. It's nice to have it taking shape.

During the move, I had the '66 carted off to the metal stripper to get dipped.

More soon......

My recommended parts and restoration experts....

2008-06-24T16:46:00.000-07:00

I have appreciated the help and support from my local Mustang restoration experts. Give them a call for help with your project:

Mustangs, Muscles & Classics

3187 Coffey Lane

Santa Rosa, CA 95403

(707) 571-8077

M-F 9-6 & Sat 10-2

1964 - 1973 Mustangs Only

Prepping the support

2008-06-22T09:15:00.000-07:00

Now I am on the the last piece of major body section to the front - the radiator support.

The grind

2008-06-22T09:09:00.000-07:00

This is a bit of trivia you may find amazing. After each time I have a work session in my garage I sweep up.

This pic shows how much metal dust I made in 4-6 hours by welding and grinding!!

Frame fill

2008-06-22T09:03:00.000-07:00

You may have seen in one of my previous posts how may holes I had to drill to remove the front strut rod brackets. Well, now I am filling this section back in by removing that section of metal completely. Ironically, the pieces from the frame I had to remove for the C-notch are the perfect size! I just grind them a little and then clamp and weld.

All the room

2008-06-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

Look at all of that room! I betcha really want to know what I'm going to do with all of it. Well, you'll just have to wait and see. I promise it will be really cool.

The other side is complete

2008-06-22T08:56:00.000-07:00

After another 5 million spot welds, the other side has the filler panel in and ready to finish grind.

Questions from J.S.

2008-06-19T12:40:00.000-07:00

Questions from J.S. are at the bottom and the answers are at the top:

Hi Scott -

On the seams - I will be using 'Kitty hair', a fibreglass reinforced resin. Why? it is strong and it is flexible. I will be doing so many mods to this body it would be an unecessary step to make one part of the car original when the rest will not even be close.
On the body being straight - I do measure quite a bit to make sure things are in the right place. I will do two things after the car is mocked together, 1. I will take it to a frame alignment shop 2. I will take it to a wheel alignment shop. These two things will be done before the final bodywork to ensure everything tracks straight.
Humor question, "Do you think Ford assembled these straight in 1966?"

Repro parts never ever even come close to fitting, and unfortunately most parts that are available are only repro. I do get 'Ford Tooling" whenever available. In this project, I accept the fact that I will have to work to make things fit as I like and need.

This project is a 'Take my time, enjoy the process' type of thing. I get no pressure from anyone on it so I will deal with problems as they come.

As always, anwers are just my personal opinion. Others may feel differently and that's perfectly fine!

Thanks for your visit, does my response help?

- Dave

From:J.S. Sent: Thursday, June 19, 2008 12:25 PMTo: snobigy@comcast.netSubject: 66 Stang

Dave, It looks like you are well on your way. I started mine about 2 months ago. It appears that mine has much more rust than your starting out. I am having to do full floor and some frame rail work. I do have a couple of questions. Are you going to re-lead the quarter seam or use something like “all Metal”? Have you done anything to make sure the body is straight after you are done being this is a unibody car? Are you using repro parts or getting original ford tooled parts? If repro, how is the fit?

Thanks,

J. S.

Now the other side

2008-06-17T17:05:00.000-07:00

Now I just need to repeat the process on the other side.

Spotting again

2008-06-17T17:00:00.000-07:00

Now, after 15 million spot welds, the filler panel is in and flush. A little grinding and I will have the ability to finish the inside and outside and have them look very nice.

Cutting away

2008-06-17T16:58:00.000-07:00

I chose to cut away the overlap for two reasons:

1. To eradicate the holes that I would have to fill.

2. To make the finished product flush on both sides.

Setting up the filler panel

2008-06-17T16:55:00.000-07:00

First, I mocked up the filler panel to see where it will fit the best. Clamps hold it into place so I can mark it.

Spot welded

2008-06-16T14:01:00.000-07:00

Now that the front section is in, I start to position the filler panel that will fill the gap where the former shock tower used to be. I will mark it and prepare for fitting and then welding.

Starting the Firewall

2008-06-16T13:56:00.000-07:00

Now it's time to start the firewall sheetmetal. I do this by first sanding dow the mating surfaces to remove any surface rust and paint. I also drill holes to allow for spot welding.

I use four varying types of clamps and keep adjusting until this front left piece is in the correct position.

Puttin on my hats

2008-06-16T13:49:00.000-07:00

So now I finish off the major front suspension metal install by first test fitting, measuring, leveling and then finally welding. Now it just needs some light grinding and then I will go onto the firewall sheetmetal.

Crossmember is in

2008-06-16T13:07:00.000-07:00

Now the crossmember is in. Now it's time to fit the spring hats.

Crossmember

2008-06-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

Now I measure, level and tack the crossmember. Once I was totally sure that it was in the correct place, I then proceed to weld it in.

Finish grinding

2008-06-16T12:48:00.000-07:00

Here you can see how this whole piece looks after grinding. It almost looks like it is a one piece unit. Now it is ready for the cross member and spring hats.

Welding in the support

2008-06-16T12:43:00.000-07:00

Now the box frame support with the C-Notch can be welded into place. A little grinding and these handy vice-grip C-clamps really make this easy to fit and finish.

C-Notching

2008-06-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

Here Again, measure twice, mark carefully and then cut with a die grinder very carefully.

Inner frame support

2008-06-16T09:07:00.000-07:00

First, install the innner frame support. This will strengthen the frame so you can cut a notch in the other side. Measure and center it horizontally and vertically, then clamp it and weld it.
Remember, measure twice, tack it, measure again and THEN weld it.

Get used to Grinding

2008-06-16T09:04:00.000-07:00

Yes, get used to it. Grinding is and endless job in restomodding. Here I am prepping the frame for the pieces that will fit over it. Almost there.....

Holes are gone!

2008-06-14T15:07:00.000-07:00

A littel grinding and the holes are gone. Now I can get back to the frame supports.

The grinding wheel

2008-06-14T15:04:00.000-07:00

I grabbed one of these 24 grit grinding pads for another Project and found that they are fast and create a flat surace.

Filler up

2008-06-14T15:03:00.000-07:00

The holes are successfully filled and now for some grinding.

Holes

2008-06-14T14:59:00.000-07:00

There is enough holes after this that your frame looks like swiss cheese after this. So, I keep the mig loaded and get to weldin.

Clearing the way

2008-06-14T14:52:00.000-07:00

You will discover, as I did, that the strut rod supports and the sway bar mounting bracket is in the way. They must be completely removed in order to proceed. This is a pretty tough project.
No sense fretting about it, get your drill out and start finding the myriad of spotwelds and get to work!

Weld it up

2008-06-14T14:47:00.000-07:00

After I remove the clamp, I weld up the gaps that are there from removing the tabs.

Prep the rails

2008-06-14T14:38:00.000-07:00

First, the upper and lower outside tabs must be cut off. A cutting wheel on a grinder does this quickly. After this, you can see I used a clamp to tighten the gaps and spot welded the gaps.

Mustang II front suspension install

2008-06-14T14:33:00.000-07:00

Here we go on something more substantial. I have
to first install the frame rail supports on each side.
We'll take this step by step so you can see the progress and understand the process.

After looking around alot, I chose to go with Full Tilt Street Rods set up. They have alot of options and have quite a bit of experience on a huge variety of set ups. They also have everything I need to set up a full air suspension, which is the route I am going.

All that and reasonable pricing too! Check them out at - http://www.fulltiltstreetrods.com/hub_to_hub.htm

Rear pans installed

2008-06-14T14:25:00.000-07:00

After alot of cutting and fitting, I got both sides of the rustly rear pans installed. This takes alot of spot welding!! You just keep going around and around until it's all welded in. You have to do this so you dont create too much heat in one place to prevent warpage.

They B gone!

2008-04-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

Whew! I'm very happy that these things are off. And I know what I want my next anniversary present to be - a plasma cutter!

Now I'll have to wait for some parts to come in so I can start on what needs to fill this space back up.

The Two Towers

2008-04-21T15:44:00.000-07:00

Now I focus my attention on the two front shock towers. I am removing them completely to make room for some 'minor' engine enhancements.
So I break out the drill bits, the grinder and some hammers and chisels and get this next task under way.
I soon discover that this task is going to take some time and patience, there are lots of attachement points and the metal is a bit thicker here for good reason. Also, the drivers side has had some previous bodywork in the past and someone has welded sever points to the frame. More grinding!!

2008-04-21T15:39:00.000-07:00

Held up

2008-04-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

Here is a pic of the car with the rolling stands in place. And, as you can see, I start removing the front sheet metal from the engine compartment.

Take your Stand

2008-04-21T15:28:00.000-07:00

I now am fabricating rolling stands to raise the car and allow me to move it easily.
They bolt to the bumper locations in the front and to the rear leaf spring location in the rear.
This keeps them out of the way of general components underneath and allows me to work on the car without interference.

I then begin on the tedious job of removing seam sealer and old grease and dirt from under the car with several types of wire brushes.

I covered both myself and the garage with greasy dirt. Fun, Fun!

A Common replacement

2008-04-21T15:23:00.000-07:00

One thing that I noticed right off the bat after the carpet and padding was removed was that the rear floor pans were completely rusted through. It was so bad, I have no idea what was keeping passengers from falling right through?! I cut them out and put replacement panels on order.

2008-04-21T15:18:00.000-07:00

Just jackstands

2008-04-21T15:13:00.000-07:00

Here is the completely stripped body, waiting for the next few preparatory steps of metalwork. I like the look of a car down to this stage, it's like a bare canvass.

No suspension

2008-04-21T15:10:00.000-07:00

Now the engine compartment looks very bare without any front suspension. Now I begin to look over the metal and decide what method of attack to use.

Spare parts

2008-04-21T15:07:00.000-07:00

Here is the stock front and rear suspension out of the car. It doesn't look like much is there when it is all by itself.

Drivetrain is out

2008-04-21T14:34:00.000-07:00

The engine and tranny is out as well as lots of wires, hoses, tubes and lines. Now I can focus on the front suspension.

Engine Pull

2008-04-18T11:23:00.000-07:00

I take one more shot of the engine in place and then once everything is unbolted and loose - I use the crane to get it out.

I discover that the radiator support is barely hanging in there so I removed it completely. No wonder none of the panels were aligned in the front! This goes back to finding all of the faux pas of auto mechanics from 41 years of jimmy rigging this thing.

It's sort of exciting in a strange way to pull the engine, of course putting an engine back in will be even more exciting!

One thing leads to another

2008-04-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

Up front, I have to address the engine and transmission before I can address the front suspension. I'm taking lots of pictures along the way to make sure that I can refer to them in case I forget where a particular component goes. It's also fun to go back and view them to see the progression of my work.

Unsprung the Sprung?!

2008-04-18T11:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, now I have to go underneath the car to remove the suspension. It's really not a complicated job, but I do have to deal with very old and rusted, dirty and greasy bolts, etc.

I start with the back being careful to use jack stands to support the car and the floor jack to support the pumpkin. As usual, one bolt snaps off from being rusted in place. Oh well, I actually won't need to remove it since I'm installing a whole different four link later and this mounting location is the rear leaf spring area.

Load 'em up!

2008-04-05T06:12:00.000-07:00

I donate to the local salvage yard every now and then with sheet metal too mangled to use again.

Interiors bare!

2008-04-05T06:06:00.000-07:00

Finally, I get the interior stripped down to the bare-bones. Now I can start to access the needs to prep it right for the build-up and start thinking about what things I will do to it.

Hmmmm, what colors, do I want a console, air-conditioning, gauge types, & the like.

Interior removal

2008-04-05T05:45:00.000-07:00

It's been an interesting journey through time while removing the interior, finding lots of interesting things - coins, garbage from the 70's, long forgotten nick-knacks.

The most prevalent discovery has been poorly done repairs - everywhere. And most of these repairs are held together with bailing wire.

Another thing I discover is that taking this car apart is like a puzzle. Now I hope my brain doesn't fail me when I start to put it back together!

Skin removal

2008-03-30T07:45:00.000-07:00

Now that I have the doors off, I start the process of removing the door skins. I always start by grinding the edge through, and then carefully cut around the area with a bracket that connects to the skin itself. Once you have the main skin removed, you can work on the inside remaining strips. Easy!

Tear down

2008-03-27T15:39:00.000-07:00

In between metal working projects on the car, I take it apart little by little. There are so many little things to remove, you just keep finding them. Then, when you get them off, you bag and tag them and try to find a place to store them.

I was suprised to see so little wiring to operate this car. We'll see if I can get it back together and working properly!

Trunk Floor completed

2008-03-26T09:22:00.000-07:00

Now the back is starting to look better. I also added back the sheet metal across the back.

Now on to other things.

Now the other side

2008-03-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

Now I direct my efforts to the right side of the trunk.

Drill and Fill

2008-03-26T01:06:00.000-07:00

Now I couldn't help but get some of the sheet metal on. Here is a shot of the left trunk floor. You have to set it in place with clamps and then place the gas tank in to make sure the holes line up. Then mark it underneath where the frame rails are. Drill holes every two inches and then re-clamp it onto the fram rails. Now it's a matter of mig welding each hole.

Dashing!

2008-03-26T01:02:00.000-07:00

I opted to go for a smoother and painted dash look so I removed the bracket that holds the vinyl dash. Now I can fill the holes and paint it body color.

It will look great!

Down to bare frame rails

2008-03-25T19:15:00.000-07:00

Here is the bare back in all it's glory. It's very intriguing to get down to this point. I'm itchy to get the new metal on.

That will come soon enough.

Babys got no back

2008-03-24T11:47:00.001-07:00

It is actually a good feeling to remove all of the ugly sheet metal. Although my friends an neighbors don't all understand why I would take the car this far apart.

It's all in the effort to do it up right!

No room for parts!

2008-03-24T09:12:00.000-07:00

I found that my garage is feeling smaller and smaller with all of the parts and tools that I started to collect! Time to start organizing and then going onto Craig's list to sell parts off I do not need.

More Mock up Fun

2008-03-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

This pic shows the difference in the look with the new tires and rims. The new, meaner stance on the left looks so much better than the wimpy, weak stance on the right. It's like having bigger biceps!

Again, doing stuff like this is fun as well as helps you with set up.

More Drilling

2008-03-23T10:33:00.000-07:00

Now I can get into the trunk area and start removing more sheet metal. This does take some time since the Mustang is a uni body - the frame is stamped to the body instead of a separate frame to remove. Lots more drilling to remove these panels.

It's not too bad if you just have patience.

Mock up

2008-03-22T14:17:00.000-07:00

In case you didn't notice, I did purchase 19" rims and tirres for the mustang. I put them on with 1 1/2" adaptors to make up for the huge offset. The 19's with ultra low profile tires will do a couple of things for this car - it will fill the wheelwell with an up to date and sleek look. And they will have more than enough room for big disc brakes and calipers.
I put them on and set the front fenders on to determine stance changes and to understand how I will need to set up the cars suspension and sheetmetal clearances.

Plus, it's seeing the car like this that gets you excited to keep working on it!

The tear down begins

2008-03-22T13:43:00.000-07:00

As you can see below, I started on my sheet metal removing journey by removing the quarter panels.

To do this, you just have to have a bunch of cut-off wheels and lots of large drill bits - not to mention a good deal of patience. find all of the spot welds and drill through the first layer of sheet metal carefully.

You will have to sand away the paint at the bottom of the pillar so you can expose the lead filler. Use a propane torch and a wire brush to melt it away and expose the spot welds. There are lots of hidden spot welds so you have to be a detective to find them all. I cut away much of the main sheet metal so I could see inside to identify how to approach each area.

The '66 started looking like less and less of a car fast. After the quarters and the rear filler panel was off, then I could see how to remove the interior trunk pieces.

Drilling, drilling, drilling is what you have to do to get these panels off. Some spots have to be drilled all the way through since there is no access to the back. These pics will show you the areas you have to get to.

Pretty....Ugly.....

2008-03-21T21:12:00.000-07:00

My original profession was body and paint. I could have patched up the few rust spots and massaged the body into decent shape, but I decided to go for the gusto. There is such a huge amount of parts and sheet metal available for the Mustang, it seemed like a great idea to just start fresh by taking this car down to the basic core and adding back clean, new sheetmetal. So here I go....

So I began....

2008-03-21T20:05:00.001-07:00

The first things I did was to log on to Ebay and collect a few parts for future use. Remember the two barrel had to go? So I started my collection of engine parts with a Victor Jr. manifold and then a 600cfm carb.

I put them on the engine to test their working condition and bad news, the engine did not fire. A quick run to the local parts store and I picked up a rebuild kit for the carb. I should have taken a pic of all of the pieces, there was about 200!

To my amazement, I bolted on the carb and voila! It runs! Whew, what a relief.

My intentions for this motor was to rebuild it as a test motor - I will have bigger plans for the official one. More on this later.

I also bought some cobra valve covers to give it some coolness factor. It it starting too look nice, almost too nice to tear apart......but that won't stop me.

I've made my decision!

2008-03-20T10:46:00.000-07:00

Well, after looking at the car from every angle and determining the shape it is in after all of these years, I decided to go for the gusto. It will be a restomod!

Yes, I realize that purists will be eternally offended at my decision to permanently alter a classic specimen, but I justify it in this way:

1. There are sooooo many 1966 Mustangs notch backs out there now, you can easily get one at any price of the spectrum. Surely the purists can find a stock specimen anywhere for decades to come.

2. This particular car had rust spots here and there so it would require a complete build up anyway. So then I might as well add the improvements I would like as I go.

3. The car was all there, so taking it apart would educate me as to how this particular model 'ticks', allowing me to know what type of mods would improve it.

4. Did I mention that I'm crazy??

On further review.....

2008-03-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

Driving home was an adventure. This poor thing had a terrible problem with play in the steering, I don't know how the owner drove this daily on the street! One thing I did notice was the looks from other drivers, although I'm not sure if they were watching me sway at them or the fact that they liked the look of the nostalgic car. :)

I punched the gas of the 302 and the two barrel eeked out a little horsepower and a lot of blue smoke. That would definitely need to be changed.

Once I pulled it in my shop for storage, I gave it another look over. What to do - do I restore it as original or do I modify it with modern day power and conveniences. What I needed to decide took me quite a while to figure out.....

The Deal was Made....

2008-03-20T09:40:00.000-07:00

I liked the idea of a '66 Mustang project. It brought up memories of driving around with a good friend of mine who had one in high school - very erratically I might add. Plus, it was the same age as me, the car and I built a bond immediately.

I gave the owner a call and we took her for a test drive. Man, it was just awful to drive, nowadays we are all so spoiled by 'instant- on' fuel injection, power steering and windows, air conditioning, etc. I could barely turn the wheel to get onto the road! But it still beckoned me to buy it - the sheer nostalgia of it all. I could visualize the final product - a shiny piece of history - with all of the upgrades it deserved. I could make this car better than it ever thought it could be.

So, being the man that I am, I worked a deal that the owner couldn't refuse $3000.00 did it for both of us.

In the beginning......

2008-03-20T08:43:00.000-07:00

This is the starting point.

You can call me Dave, but most call me 'different'. This blog is all about the adventures I will go through whilst building a resto-mod 1966 Ford Mustang. I want to help as well as entertain readers to learn all aspects of auto body, drivetrain, engine and suspension as we go. Feel free to ask questions and I will do my best to help.

I embark on this project for some sanity, work is enjoyable, but stressful. I was talking to my wife about my prior profession, auto body and paint, and lamenting about how I wish I could build another car. I'm getting a little older and I had not really worked on a car for some years, some of my friends didn't even know I could do this!

It all began when my wife and I were out for a drive and she spotted it, a 1966 Ford Mustang. She alerted me to it with the sign in the window, "For Sale." Being a guy who loves cars, these signs are very attractive to the eye. Even more attractive was the price - $4000.00. We pulled over and walked back to look it over. More details coming soon in my next post.