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Andy’s 1967 Mustang Restomod: Episode 3

bruce4647

Updated: Dec 4, 2020

Andy's Stang is a series showing the restoration of this beautiful 1967 Mustang Coupe. In this episode, I give a step-by-step guide to the process of going about a car restoration project. I don’t have much experience with restoring cars, so I’ve created my plan which is basically, car restoration for dummies. This is how I intend on getting the project done and keeping it on budget. The car belonged to Andy Per who inherited it from his father who tragically passed away in 2011. This Vintage Burgundy Mustang was Glen's pride and joy and it was always his intent to work on the car with Andy and then pass it along to him. This car has a 289 cubic inch small block Windsor with some modifications. This series will explain the process of how to plan a restoration project. Follow the progress as I restore the mechanical workings, exterior finish and interior of the car. When done, I will make sure Andy and his mom have the opportunity to drive and enjoy the car before I decide what I am going to do with it.

Transcript:

I everyone, I’m Bruce Hitchen and this is Center Lane. I’ve been working on the Mustang in an attempt to jumpstart this restoration. In this episode I’m going to talk about the process of tackling a restoration project.

Before we get into it please remember to like and subscribe to my channel and click the bell to be notified of future editions.

Today I’m talking about the process that I’ve come up with to execute this project while at the same time trying to keep it on budget.


Now, this is my first real restoration project. While I did do some restoration on the 928, I had other people do all the work. For this project I’m going to be a lot more hands-on. I have to emphasize that this is new to me. I have never done much mechanical work so I am open to your thoughts and ideas, things to watch out for, or other helpful advice so leave me a message in the comments.


I want the car to turn out nice but at the same time, I don’t want to spend way more on the car than it’s worth, so I have to go about it in a methodical way.


Mustang’s similar to mine in decent restored condition usually sell for $30,000 so my goal is to finish this car and stay close to that budget, including what I paid for it.


I’ve already set my expectations which I told you about in my last episode, so I’ve broken the project down into the following 5 areas of focus:


#1 was to figure out the transmission problem. I already determined that the transmission is working fine and that the problem getting it into gear has to do with the shifter. I replaced the old shifter with a new Hurst Competition Plus shifter and now the car is driving fine.


#2 is to deal with any rust issues on the frame and figure out if there is any other work that needs to be done under the car. There is some frame rust but it’s not too bad for a car of this age. The frame rails at the back where the leaf springs attach have rusted through. At the front, there is some rust on the front frame rails.


This car also has a torque box which strengthens the frame by tying the frame rail to the outer rocker panel. 1st gen convertibles got one on both the driver and passenger sides, but the coupes and fastback didn’t get them on either side. In ’67 Ford added a torque box to the driver side on all body styles and then in ’68 they decided it was a good idea to have one on both sides. Since my car doesn’t have one on the passenger side, I’m going to add it. So far, the suspension looks but the rear of the car was raised. I guess to give it that dragster look that was popular back in the 80’s. I want to return it to the original ride height, and I noticed a lose rivel on one of the leaf springs, so I’ve decided to replace the leaf springs and shackles.


#3 is the engine. The engine seems to be running well and I haven’t found anything leaking. I’m planning to remove the engine but mostly so I can clean and paint it and refurbish the engine bay. The car seems to be running fine but before I remove it, I’m going to do a compression test to make sure there are no issues to address when the engine is out.


When it’s out of the car, I’m going to paint the block, have the manifold powder coated, and clean up all of the other components, and I’m going to change all of the engine gaskets. I’m also going to replace the valve covers and a few other components to improve the look of the engine.


#4 is the body and exterior aesthetics. I going to remove all the exterior handles, bumpers, trim, and emblems from the car. The front bumper is in good shape as is the window trim but the rear bumper, door handles, and other trim need to be replaced. If this was a rare car then all those parts would need to be refurbished or re-chromed but since Mustangs are so popular, all of these parts are available at a very reasonable cost so it makes more sense to replace them. I’ll save what I can but anything with pitted chrome will get replaced.


I’m also slowly taking apart this car and refurbishing what I can. I’ve taken out the tail-lights and I’ve painted the housings and polish the lenses. The chrome trims are pitted so I’ve bought new ones.


The grill trim is pretty good, so I’ll polish those parts up and straighten and repaint the grill.

I’ve also taken things off like the licence plate light, engine compartment light, bumper brackets and I have refurbished them. There is lots of little parts on the car that I will need to do this with as I work through the project.


PAINTING

The body is going to be re-painted. For the most part the body is in good shape. The lines are straight and there is minimal rust. A little bit of rust on the bottom of the doors and rear trunk but none of that seems very extensive. There are some areas where I can see sanding scratches from a previous paint job and the paint has reacted in some places.


#5 is the interior. I’m not going to focus on the interior too much right now. Mostly because the project seems too daunting when thinking about everything that needs to be done. I know it’s on the horizon and I have already pulled the center console and started to restore it. But I’m mostly focussed on the other parts of the restoration.

To prepare for all these things I’ve had to buy some tools and set up a process. The most common advice I hear from people is to take lots of picture and document everything. A restoration takes time, and you will forget how things came a part and how to put them back together. I also need to buy some tools. I’m lucky that an old friend of mine used to be a mechanic and then became a lawyer. He asked me to store all of his tools. I have those tools and have organized them so I’m in pretty good shape from that perspective.

I also bought a Quick Jack Portable Lift. This portable Hydraulic lift makes thing so much easier. I didn’t want to spend the money on a larger lift nor do I think I have the space so this little lift is perfect. They cost around $1,500 but I found mine lightly used for $900.

I recently got an engine stand on sale for $100 and I’m also going to need a engine hoist although I may rent that when I need it.

I have set up a computer in my garage so I can source parts and view instructional videos. I also bought this Dymo printer so I can label everything easily and legibly. I have a bunch of zip lock freezer gags so as I refurbish part, I can put it in a bag along with its mounting hardware and make sure it’s labelled so I can remember what everything is.


I also bought so larger plastic tubs and containers for other parts.


One of the things that I have found really helpful is going to CJ Pony Parts website and looking through all of the parts available for this car. CJ Pony parts specializes in Mustang parts and they have almost everything you could ever want.

I went through this site page by page and made a comprehensive list of everything I thought I would need and added it to a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet allowed me to budget appropriately. The are some things that are necessary, and then some things I would like to do. I know there is going to be some things that come up along the way, so I have to leave some room in the budget for those things.

That’s my plan. Now all I have to do is get busy. I’m currently in the process of cleaning the undercarriage and getting rid of all the surface rust. I made a post on my local Mustang Facebook Group asking for recommendations on who could weld the frame. Within a few minutes I had 5 or 6 recommendations. One guy said he is a professional welder and had his own equipment and could do the work at my house, so I’ve met with him and I just waiting for the frame parts to be delivered.

Next time I’m going to show you the work we’ve done on the frame and hopefully we’ll have the engine out. Until next time, thanks for watching

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